Chapter 13 Miss
Independent - Zeke
Upstairs
“Hey,” I dryly greeted, answering my phone.
“Hey. How are you doing?” she questioned. Her voice provided me with more comfort than I had felt in days, and I was sure it wasn’t even intentional on her end.
“I’m maintaining. It hurts like hell though.”
“I can only imagine,” she stated before pausing like she didn’t know what to say to me. I couldn’t blame her because what do you say to someone who just lost a parent?
There was only a certain number of condolences someone could offer before the sentiment became an unwanted nuisance to hear.
“Do you have good taste?” Eva asked, throwing me for a loop.
“I’m interested in you, aren’t I?”
“Enough said,” she noted, making me laugh because I could hear the humor in her voice. “I think you could use a breather. If you’re up to it, I’m going furniture shopping because I’m tired of looking at my current living room set. I could use some company and another tasteful eye.”
Eva was a strong woman, and although I didn’t know her in the way I wanted to, I knew her well enough to know she didn’t need the opinion of anyone regarding what she liked and wanted to do.
She was the kind of woman who didn’t need confirmation, and aside from her physical beauty, it was one of the many things I found attractive as hell about her. However, her effort to get me out of the house was noted and appreciated.
“I think I can help you out. I know the perfect place too.”
“No, we are not going to your furniture store,” she reasoned, making me laugh.
I hadn’t even released a hee-hee since my mama passed, and there she was making me laugh from her naturally dramatic ways.
“The last thing I want or need you to do is to try to finesse me into a discounted furniture set.”
“Why can’t I do nice things for you? Most women want a man who has the means and heart to give them things.”
“You should know I am not like most women. I have my own, and I don’t need a man to do anything for me.”
“What I heard you say is that you aren’t used to a man who is in a position to do for you, so you don’t know how to accept it. Just like you expect for me to know you’re not like any other woman, you need to know I’m not like any other man.”
“All men say that at the beginning and then their actions always prove they are just like every other male who sang the same tune.”
“Be ready for my actions to prove me right. What time would you like for me to come get you so we can look for your furniture?”
“I’m heading out of the office in another two hours, and I’ll come and get you then.”
“Send me your driver’s record so I can make sure I’ll be safe with you.”
“Zeke, get off of my phone,” she teased through laughter. “I’ll call you when I’m on my way. Be sure to look presentable.”
“Aren’t I always?”
“We can talk about that later,” she noted, laughing, speedily ending the call.
Getting up from the bed which sat against the far wall of my childhood room. I leaned back as far as I possibly could until I felt a much-needed pull and stretch in my back. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the house, but I knew I would have to make a move back to my residence sooner or later.
Because of my choice not to go back to my house, I had been sleeping on a dated mattress and the tightness I felt from head to toe, but primarily in my back, was my body’s way of reminding me I was approaching my thirty-third birthday.
Thirty-three wasn’t old by a long shot, but I was a far cry from my teenage self who could jump out of the bed as if I had gotten the perfect night’s sleep. Honestly, back then, I probably was getting good sleep, but it was only because I didn’t know any better.
Being raised by a single mother with a mediocre job sometimes meant not having the best of everything and the mattress was not the best at any level.
Plus, since Zane and I were grown, Mama didn’t make a habit of switching out our beds.
She was hellbent on keeping things she worked hard for even though she raised two sons who could replace everything in her house in the blink of an eye.
The only reason the downstairs bedrooms were updated were because of my daughters and Tatum. She stood on them being comfortable whenever they would come over to spend the night or the weekend with her.
Shaking my head at the thought of my daughters, I pulled at my beard which was in need of grooming.
The day after my mama passed, I called Chante and let her know what was going on. From the day before, she knew Mama’s condition had gotten worse due to the way I rushed out of the store, but she didn’t know to what extent.
Much like everyone else, Chante told me she was sorry for my loss.
She said she would wait on me to tell the girls what happened, but I wasn’t in any rush.
The relationship Chasity, Elise, and Paige had with their granny was unmatched, especially Chasity.
With her being the first grandchild, her and mama had a unique bond of their own, and I knew it would hit her the hardest.
The longer I could spare her and her sisters from the pain and loss I was experiencing, the better. I knew I would tell them before the funeral, but I wasn’t rushing coming in contact with the inevitable devastation.
A knock on my room door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called out, causing Zane’s face to appear seconds later.
“Who were you talking to?”
“I was on the phone talking to Eva,” I announced, causing a light smile to appear on his face. “She invited me to go furniture shopping with her.”
“Y’all are moving fast. I didn’t know y’all were seriously dating. Are you sure you’re ready to move in with another woman after Chante?”
“I can’t even put my mind in that space with everything we have going on, but no, we’re not seriously dating. She called and said she needed a second opinion on some new living room furniture. I think she’s just worried and trying to get me to move around.”
“How are you doing? You haven’t been out of the room much. You know I’m right down the hall.”
“Zane, I appreciate you, but you lost your mama too, man. Don’t worry about me so much that you stop yourself from grieving,” I warned.
Zane had always been a big brother to the core, and I wasn’t surprised with his approach.
Since I could remember, he had maintained the militant, protective, intense, sharp, conscientious, straight shooter mentality he had as a grown man.
With us being less than a year apart, I didn’t think his overly protective nature was necessary, but I couldn’t tell him he needed to chill out because Zane was stuck in his big brother ways.
“I hear what you’re saying, but I’m your big brother. I’m naturally going to worry about you. It’s my responsibility.”
“You need a hobby then,” I added humorously.
“No, I need to keep my eye on you, but I’ll get out of here so you can get ready,” he stated with his tall, lean stature leaned up against the frame of the doorway. “Tara brought us some lunch. You need to put something on your stomach before you head out of here.”
“ You need to put something on your stomach before you head out of here, ” I mocked. “You sound just like Mama, man.”
“I guess some things come naturally,” he noted with a faint smile which lacked happiness, making it apparent the smile was forced.
“Thank you, Toon.”
“You know that I’ll always have your back, Tas.”
Watching him leave the room, I still couldn’t believe she was gone. Undoubtedly, my heart would remind me on a daily basis she was no longer with us. It hurt like hell, and although I knew she wouldn’t want me to stop living in her absence, I didn’t know how I was going to go on.