Chapter 2
“I can’t believe you still have feelings for that woman. It’s been what . . . a decade?” my friend, Lennon, asked.
“Thirteen years, but it doesn’t matter. Real love never fades away. What would you do if you were forced to let Calinda go?”
“We’re not talking about me. It’s been thirteen years, bruh? If Calinda hadn’t agreed to my terms and ghosted me, she’d be a distant memory in a matter of months. You could’ve fallen in and out of love ten times since she went ghost on your ass.”
I shook my head. “Nah, that’s not how I roll. Besides, I was never looking to fall in love again. My heart belongs to Ginae Burns, forever and always.”
I opened the drawer on the side of my desk, pulled out a black ring box, and opened it.
“What the fuck is that?” he questioned, leaning forward in his seat.
“You know what this is, bruh.”
“Okay. Humor me and tell me what the fuck it is and what you plan to do with it.”
“It’s Ginae’s engagement ring.”
Lennon sat back and pulled at his chin hairs as he shook his head.
“This is some simp shit.”
“Fuck you, nigga. Just because you let your parents force you into a loveless marriage, don’t take that shit out on me.”
There were several wealthy Black families in our uppity, elite social circle called The Black Collective, and Lennon’s family was one of them.
We’d been friends our whole lives, and both happened to be doctors.
He was a pediatrician, and I was an ob-gyn.
We owned the building where our practices were located.
Unfortunately, Lennon got caught up in the system our parents had begun molding us for from the moment we were born.
“I love my wife,” Lennon defended.
“Yeah, but you’re in love with Calinda. There’s a difference.”
He nodded in agreement. Calinda was his college sweetheart and the love of his life, but he wasn’t man enough to stand up to his parents when he was told he had to marry Sybil.
“True, but life is good.”
“Is it really, Len? You’re wearing yourself out running your practice and juggling two households.”
“It’s not as hard as you think, because Sybil and Calinda know about each other. If I were sneaking around, it would be another story.”
I wasn’t sure how he made it happen, but somehow, he convinced Sybil and Calinda to share him. While I admired his ability to manipulate his situation, I didn’t agree with that shit.
“Yeah, good luck explaining it to your kids in the future, Nick Cannon-looking ass.”
“It sounds to me like you’re jealous. I might be juggling two families, but at least I have a family to juggle.”
I raised my brow, nodded, and offered a surrendering smile. “You going low today, huh?”
“Aye, you started this shit. I’m just going where you led the conversation. You're about to propose to a woman who ghosted you thirteen years ago. That’s crazy as hell.”
“People in love do crazy things sometimes.”
“How did you manage to get Ginae assigned to your office?”
I shrugged. “It had to be God because I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t care what you believe.” I paused as I thought back to all those years ago. “Do you remember what happened after Ginae put me out of her apartment? I went straight to Kavia’s, and if Kevin hadn’t come to her place when he did, I probably would’ve killed her.”
The last time I was with Ginae, we’d spent the night and early morning hours bringing each other to sexual heights we’d only experienced with each other.
The next morning, I woke up with a determined heart and planned to call off my fake ass engagement to Kavia and tell Ginae everything.
Unfortunately, she found out before I had a chance to tell her.
Initially, I didn’t know who had gotten to Ginae, but Kavia had always been sneaky and conniving, so she was at the top of my list. I went straight to her apartment, and before I could accuse her of anything, the smug look she wore told me everything I needed to know.
She was so satisfied and pleased with her actions that she freely confessed without me having to ask. I was so angry, and all I could see was red. The next thing I remembered was Kevin prying my hands from her neck.
“Shit, you almost did kill your father,” Lennon added.
I shrugged, not wanting to discuss the fight that ensued between my father and me when I told him the engagement between Kavia and me was off, and I would never marry her.
“It was a crazy time, and the only thing I regret is not being upfront with Ginae. I’ll never forgive Kavia,” I said.
“Have you told her that? Because I’ve never met anyone more persistent.”
“You think something might be wrong with her?”
“That’s been evident for a long time, but are you thinking something specific?”
“I don’t know. Maybe her mental health is off.
She appears to operate in a state of constant delusion.
All the lying and manipulating of situations she does can’t be normal.
Her parents let her get away with it all through our childhood, and we just chalked it up to her being a spoiled brat.
The older we got, the more out of hand she became. ”
Lennon nodded. “Yeah. She’s always been different, especially where you’re concerned. I don’t necessarily attribute it to her mental health, but she’s definitely obsessed with your ass.”
“Anyway, back to Ginae. Apparently, she’s a traveling OB-GYN nurse. You know I’m losing one of my nurses within the next few weeks, for six months. When the assignment was accepted, I got the paperwork and almost shit my pants when I saw her name.”
“You still want me to believe this was completely random?”
“I told you, this was God. He’s giving me a chance to make things right with the love of my life. I’m determined to win her back.”
“I’m having a hard time believing you didn’t do something behind the scenes to make this happen. Did you know she was a traveling nurse?”
I shook my head. “The last time I looked up Ginae was about ten years ago, maybe more. I found her Flikstagram page and accidentally liked one of her pictures. I unliked it less than five seconds later and thought I was safe to continue creeping on her page in peace. The next day, there was no sign of her page.”
“Damn. She’s the queen of ghosting.”
“Tell me about it. I decided to leave her alone. Since she left me, my prayer has been that we’d be reunited again when the time was right.”
“And you think now is that time?”
“I know it is. I’m gon’ get my girl back if it’s the last thing I do.”
“What if she’s married or in a serious relationship?”
“She’s not. God wouldn’t tease me like that. Besides, what man would let his woman take a job that required her to be away from home for six months?”
“True.”
“And most mothers wouldn’t want to leave their kids for that long.”
“Good point. When do you plan to propose?”
“God will let me know when the time is right.”
“Well, I’m rooting for you, bruh. I’m tired of looking at your lonely ass.”
“Whatever. Take your philandering ass back to your office. Lunch time is over.”
“Aye, that’s not true. I’m fully committed to both of my women.” He chuckled because he knew how crazy that sounded. “I’ll hit you up later.”
Lennon left my office, and I replied to a few emails before my next appointment. The afternoon flew by because my schedule was jam-packed. When I left the office and hopped in my truck, I received a call from my mother.
My relationship with my father was non-existent, but my mother and I had a semblance of one. I felt like she usually operated on his behalf, so I never knew when I could trust her.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Hello, Son. How are you?”
“I’m great. You?”
“If you came around more, I’d be better, but I’m okay.”
“Let’s not do this, Ma.”
“Do what? I’ll never stop wanting you and your father to make amends so our family can get back to the way things were.”
“I’m cool on Pops. He’s the one who has a problem with me.”
“Well, you never did apologize to him for what happened all those years ago.”
I scoffed. “And I never will. If that’s what y’all are waiting for, please find something else to do.”
“Phyre, please—”
“Did you want anything else, Ma? I’m getting another call.”
She sighed. “Your father will be out of town for business next week. You should come over. I’ll invite Phoenix and Kevin.”
“I can do that. Let me know what day and if I can bring anything.”
“You know I have everything covered. Just bring yourself, and I’ll be happy.”
“All right, Ma. I’ll see you then. Love you.”
“I love you too, Son.”
I quickly ended the call and blew out a breath.
It was wild how talking to my mother for five minutes was so taxing.
I understood that she wanted her family to be whole again, but I didn’t have much faith that it would ever happen.
My father was a stubborn man, and clearly, I’d inherited that trait from him.
When I arrived home, I washed my hands at the kitchen sink and went to my fridge.
I had my meals delivered by a chef every three days because cooking wasn’t my ministry.
Most of the meals could be warmed in the microwave, but sometimes I had to use the stove top or the oven.
After reading the instructions, I put the meal in the microwave for the required amount of time and impatiently waited.
Ever since I found out Ginae would be working with me, I’d been feeling anxious. There hadn’t been a day since she kicked me out of her studio apartment that she didn’t cross my mind. I was almost afraid of what I’d do when I saw her again.
The microwave beeped, and I removed my food before getting a drink from the fridge and sitting at my breakfast bar. As I prepared to mindlessly scroll social media while I ate, my sister called.
“Hey, Phee.”
“Hey, Phy. What’s up with you?”
“Shit. Just got off work, and I’m at home eating dinner.”
“Did Ma call you?”
“Yeah. She invited me over for dinner next week. Your father is supposed to be out of town. I hope that’s true because I won’t hesitate to turn my ass around.”
“She told me the same thing when she called to invite me and Kevin.”
I still felt some type of way about my sister marrying Kevin, Kavia’s older brother.
After the fallout between our parents and me, our father threatened to cut Phoenix off if she chose to follow in my footsteps and go against his wishes.
She was an eyewitness to what happened, and I thought it scared her into submission.
I was cut off financially, but I still offered to let her move in with me and promised to figure out a way to pay for both of our schooling. Not wanting to make things worse, she declined.
Strangely enough, Phoenix and Kevin found their way to each other authentically. Thankfully, Kevin wasn’t as bad a guy as I thought. He genuinely loved my sister and treated her like the princess she was. As long as he continued to do so, he’d be all right with me.
“Are y’all going?”
“We don’t have any other plans, so we’ll be there. What’s going on with you?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. I guess I can sense something is different. Are you dating someone?”
“You know I don’t date, Phee. I fuck women when the need arises.”
“Oh my God. I can’t stand you.”
“I’m always honest, though.”
“So, nothing is going on?”
“There is something, but I don’t want to talk about it yet. I might jinx it.”
“Really? When will you be ready to talk about it?”
“Soon.”
We talked for a while longer before her husband wanted her attention. I was more relieved than anything that her marriage worked out. I wouldn’t tolerate my baby sister being miserable. I was miserable enough for the both of us.