9. Praise #2
Hitting the red button, I picked my phone up and texted Stone.
I only trusted him with Mattea, she loved him and he did well with her.
I was very disappointed that I would have to cut my trip short.
Not before I rolled up on niggas and surprised them with my presence.
When I got back into the living room, Nicole was in the same place.
I scooped her small frame up as she cried about her nose.
I assured her she would be ok. She said nothing to me and I understood her being disappointed.
I felt bad but not bad enough, hopefully, this would be a learning moment for her to check before opening the door when a nigga like me was involved.
Before I left, I helped her get cleaned up and called a hood doctor to help her out and prescribe her pain meds.
Her nose was definitely fractured but not too bad.
I wrote her a check for twenty thousand, left it on the dresser then headed to my mom’s house to face the fucking music.
Pulling up to my mom’s house, I took in my surroundings.
I originally grew up in Compton Ca, when I hit about fifteen my mom moved me and Teflon to Gardena Ca.
It was already too late; I was a full-fledged gang banger.
I put in so much work, I already was considered an OG.
It was still gangs in Gardena, yet the neighborhood was cleaner and quieter in my mom’s eyes.
Her lawn was kept perfect, her rose garden was on the side of her brick house, looking colorful as ever.
My mom, Miss. Leandra Renae Williams was the only neighbor in the city of Gardena period that had a brick house.
The bricks gave her house an elegant old-school look.
Last year I had her house remodeled inside out.
She sat on her wooden bench smoking a cigarette glaring hard at me.
I took one more tote from my blunt, took two pills out of my medicine bottle, and swallowed them down with the salvia in my mouth.
I always checked my mental before going around her.
It had been way over a month since I last saw my mom but she called to check in on me weekly.
She flicked her cigarette with her index finger and thumb.
I watched it land outside of her white picket fence.
Standing to her feet, she walked my way.
Her short heavy frame walked with a purpose and that purpose could sometimes be alarming.
Stepping out of the car, I gave her a crooked smile and hugged her tight.
Once she kissed me on the cheek and hugged me once more, those gray eyes turned dark.
She slapped me as hard as she could. Little did she know, I had already braced myself for her wrath.
My mom didn’t raise me to hit women no matter what.
I knew I was wrong and I was not about to debate it.
I owned up to everything I did as a man.
“Praise Lameer Brownston! I did not raise you to be putting your hands on a woman!”
Both of her lips curled as if she was scolding a kid. I remained silent, I let her rant and rave. There was no point in over-talking my mom when she got on one.
“That girl could send you to jail! Or even worse take you to court for custody all she has to do is take a picture and get a fucking medical record to show in court what a danger you are to her and my grandbaby!”
I tucked my bottom lip and bit down hard on it. I never back-talked my mom, not even if I disagreed with her.
“I understand ma, I was wrong.”
“Have you been taking your medicine Praise?”
She almost whispered that part, I nodded my head. She tilted her head to the side and looked at me like I lost my mind.
“Yes momma, I have. Laquanna is just a trigger for me. I’ve made it clear that I don’t want to be with her and she insists on it.”
I shook my head and leaned against my car. I didn’t know what I was going to do about her nutty ass. She’s the one that needed to be on some form of a crazy pill, not me.
“Well next time you have another grandbaby of mine, you will do well in picking the right woman.”
She huffed out as she reached in her bra to pull out another Newport long and light it. Taking a long drag from it she looked up at me with worry.
“No worries Ma, there will be no other woman with babies of mine, I make sure of it every time.”
That was my reality, I loved Mattea with all my heart.
Only God knows how much I battle with being a better man for her.
I’m sometimes ashamed of my condition because I don’t want her to grow up thinking her dad is a mental mess.
The way I see it, I refused to bring more kids or another woman into my life like I did with Nia.
“You deserve love baby. All you have to do is go sit down and talk to your doctor so you can get a good therapist. I worry about you, son more than myself. I want you happy, those pretty eyes of yours haven’t shown me happiness in a very long time.
Now please tell me what happened for you to bust that girl's mouth open like that. Had me getting blood all over my marble floors trying to stitch her ass up!”
I ran the story down to my mom and she was furious. So furious she went through two more cigarettes before I could end the story.
“Come on in here so I can talk to you both. That girl so caught up in love with you Praise I don’t think nothing I can say will make a change.
Listen to me though, you freeze whatever business you have and serve her ass with papers in the next couple of weeks.
You need to get custody of my grandbaby she’s not a fit mother in my eyes!
Before you start with excuses and street codes, I’m here to tell you that you will do as I say on this.
Even if I have to come to Vegas once a week to help you with Mattea.
I’m old but not dumb, streets talk Praise and I know you still got a lot of shit going on that you need to wrap up. ”
I followed behind her as I texted my lawyer.
Every time I got shit smooth in my life some other shit would pop up to make it complicated.
Now I would have to wait until Laquanna’s lip healed then take her funky ass to family court.
I knew I would win easily because I was paid.
Something in me told me that would turn her into a worse lunatic.
I still had enemies and other niggas out here in LA testing my gangster.
Weeks were passing and they still ain’t felt my wrath.
I had niggas moving in on territory because Teflon was too busy doing other things.
What those other things were I didn’t know, but it was causing my street shit to look out of tact.
I had a million things that needed to be done, like sitting down with the nigga that ran Vegas.
I needed to reassure him that I had no intentions of stepping on his toes with drugs in his state.
The only thing I wanted to do out there was buy hella property.
I loved Cali but Vegas was all about money.
Fast money, my goal was to start up the biggest casino and a chain of nightclubs.
I also wanted to buy apartment complexes and condos to keep my money flowing nicely before I did make my departure with the streets and its illegal activities.
“Praise baby, I’m so sorry. I just- “
“Sit your hot ass down before I make you melt girl!”
My mom spoke with so much authority she was able to do something I could never do and that’s shut Laquanna’s big mouth.
“Now my son done told me why that lip of yours is meaty. Had I known what you did and if I wasn’t too old, I would’ve given your ass an old school ass whooping, but Praise knows I ain’t raise a woman beater so apologize Praise.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, I bit my bottom lip hard but complied only because my mom made me.
“I apologize Laquanna.”
I said it through gritted teeth. She smiled wide at me like she had one up on me. Little did she know, my mom was nothing to be played with. Leandra was a sweet older lady, when you fucked with her boys she turned into a demon. Laquanna would soon find that out on her own time.
“Now Laquanna, you need to know your worth or find it. I’m not your momma so it ain't my job to teach or show you shit. However, you have my grandbaby, so I’m going to ask you nicely to start acting like a lady...
have some self-respect for yourself. Stop trying to keep a man that don’t want to be kept.
You should be happy you have a baby daddy like Praise.
Most side chick's baby daddies walk right away! Back in my day if a man had a baby outside of his home. The woman didn’t step out of place nor did the kid or the woman bother that man.
Even if that woman and kid saw that man out with his family, nothing was said.
I know cause my daddy and plenty of other no-good men in my neighborhood lived that way!
My son hasn’t led you on in any kind of way.
He stresses to you constantly that he don’t want to be with you. ”
My mom was going to take it very far so I braced myself.
She always was brutally honest. Her words could cut right through to your soul.
Laquanna remained seated with a quiet sour face.
My mom sparked up another cigarette then continued her talk.
All I could do was check the time, and my phone over and over because I still had so much shit to do.
“You looking like an unfit fucking mother to my grandchild Laquanna, and if the both of you can’t pull it together. I’ll take both your asses to court and get full custody!”
Laquanna stood to her feet furiously, I remained quiet. She was making another big mistake.
“I am a very fit mother Ms. Willams! Maybe if you taught your hoe ass son…”
My mom pulled her small deuce deuce from under her rocking chair, she held her cigarette between her thin lips. I wanted to laugh but held it in instead.