Chapter 13 #2
“And you thought it was a good idea for you to show up to my place of business when you’ve been absent for most of my life?” I questioned, trying to make sure I wasn’t tripping. It was then I felt a hand on my shoulder and instantly knew who was behind Enoka’s presence.
When I turned to face my granny, she wore a guilty expression on her face. She knew how I felt about my mother, so I wasn’t sure why she thought this was a good idea.
“Why don’t we take this conversation to your office?” Granny suggested.
I flexed my jaw, knowing I was going to regret this conversation. Instead of giving her a verbal confirmation, I headed toward my office. I didn’t have to say anything because I knew Lyric wasn’t too far behind.
I allowed all of the women to step into the office before shutting the door behind us. As soon as I turned around, Granny started rambling.
“I know you might be a little upset, and I’ll take full responsibility for it. I was so excited about the restaurant that I told everyone who would listen. I thought maybe this would be a good steppingstone to bring us all together as a family.”
I kept my face neutral as I looked around the room. When my eyes locked on Lyric, she had an expression on her face as if she was ready to go to war. My baby didn’t play around, and I expected no different.
“I’m not upset about you inviting your child, but you should have given me the courtesy of a heads up.
She hasn’t been in my life since I was a youngin, so I’m not sure why either of you thought her being here on such a big day was appropriate.
All I’m gonna say is, keep her away from me.
Whatever you have going on with your daughter is your business, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a momma, and it’s gonna stay that way,” I stated firmly.
Granny thought she was slick, but I could see right through the bullshit. My momma put her up to this for her own personal gain, but she was in for a rude awakening.
“I know I’ve been gone for a while, but you’d better watch the way you speak to my mother. At the end of the day, we are family, and it wasn’t right for me to be excluded. How would it have looked to the public for you to have this big grand opening and not have your own momma here?”
The level of audacity she was spewing took me to another level. My mind couldn’t even fully process the fact that she was trying to make herself out to be a victim. It enraged me in a way I hadn’t expected.
“Bitch, are you crazy? It would look like a nigga had to raise his damn self while his mother jumped from state to state looking for the next nigga to mooch off of. Why do you think you should be here for my success, and you left me to struggle? The chemicals in those crunchy ass wigs must be frying your brain.”
Enoka raised her hand to smack me, but Lyric intercepted, shoving her back.
“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but don’t ever think you can put your hands on my man. You might have popped him out of that loose-ass coochie of yours, but you are no mother. Don’t get your ass whupped in here,” Lyric threatened.
“Oh, hell no. Who does this little bitch think she is? Listen, honey, I have panties older than you. Please don’t ever think you can check me, especially when it concerns someone I gave birth to.”
“Wait a minute, you two. We are still in a place of business, and this is not how we should be conducting ourselves. I understand that emotions are running high, but we have got to do better,” Granny interjected.
Under normal circumstances, I would agree with her, but I don’t know what other outcome she expected when she made the choice to bring my donor here. This night meant a lot to me, and it didn’t make sense for her to be here.
“I love you, Granny. You already know I would flip the world upside down behind you, but you violated with this right here. The reason why you chose not to tell me she was coming was because you knew I wouldn’t approve, and that’s not okay.
I would never disrespect you like that, and I expected the same in return.
This really isn’t the place to have this conversation, so I’m gonna walk away and let you deal with her.
Going forward, please respect my wishes.
I don’t want anything to do with her, and I don’t want you helping her with the money you got from me.
“One thing you didn’t do is raise a dummy, Granny.
I can smell a scheme from a mile away, and she is using you.
You might want to open your eyes before it’s too late, because I would hate to have to cut you off too.
” I meant what I said, and all I could do was pray she took heed to my words.
As I got ready to leave the room, Enoka’s voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
“You’re just like your no-good father. All you care about is yourself.
That’s the reason I left his ass where he was because he didn’t care about making sure I was straight.
All he cared about was his precious Jerzy and going legit.
That’s why I made the decision to keep you away from his ass.
He wanted a son so badly, but since he didn’t want to give me what I wanted, he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. ”
Her revelation caught me off guard, but it also alerted me to the fact that she was high. Her pupils were dilated, and her words were slurred.
“I thought my father was dead. Isn’t that what you’ve been telling me my whole life?” My attention was focused on Granny, who wore a strange expression on her face. Instead of responding to me, she addressed my donor.
“Enoka, what on Earth are you talking about? Demetrius was killed shortly after East was born.”
“Oh, please. I lied and let everyone believe he was the father. He was my main nigga, but he was never the only one. I couldn’t tell you who his father really was because I didn’t want to hear your mouth or your judgment,” Enoka admitted.
“What do you mean? I was always there for you.” Granny’s voice quivered. I could tell she was genuinely hurt by the discovery, which put me at ease slightly. I wasn’t sure how I would react if I found out she knew the truth and kept it from me.
I stood there, shocked, not knowing how to react. Enoka was known for being a heartless liar, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by her actions at all.
“Oh, please. You used to wave that raggedy ass bible around like it was the holy grail. Every time I did something you didn’t approve of, you would start quoting scriptures.
Did you really think I was going to tell you that I got pregnant by a man who didn’t want me?
Absolutely not. Since Metrius wanted to play daddy, I let him do just that until he found a new girl and decided to switch up on me.
I set his ass up and led his opps right to him,” Enoka voiced proudly.
All this time, I thought my father was a deadbeat who had been killed. I never once considered that those stories were false.
“Well, who the hell is my real father?” I blurted out. Truthfully, I wasn’t certain if it would even make a difference, but I still wanted to know.
“I’m not telling you a damn thing. You think you’re so much better than me, but you aren’t.
You’re mad because I chose myself instead of being tied down to your needy ass.
If your punk ass daddy got to go off to school and live his life, then there was no reason I couldn’t do the same.
Momma obviously did a decent job with your ungrateful ass, so I don’t see what the problem is. ”
I got ready to respond but was caught off guard when Lyric leaped on Enoka and started beating her ass. Baby girl was throwing haymakers left and right, and for a moment, I was stuck watching her in action. She was laser-focused as they hit the floor and she climbed on top of her.
“Get this crazy bitch off of me!” Enoka screamed, but I paid her no attention.
She should have stayed home, and none of this would have happened.
It wasn’t until Granny started crying that I decided to step in.
Lyric continued to punch her mercilessly until I wrapped my arms around her body to pull her off.
“Aye, chill out,” I whispered in her ear when she tried to break free from my hold. One thing about Lyric was that she never knew how to stop once she got started.
I held her in my arms until she finally calmed down. Since Enoka was still in the same room, I chose not to let her go completely.
“It’s time for you to go. Granny, I’m going to have Logic drop you off at the house.
I’ll be over in a few days, so we can sit down and talk.
As for you, Enoka, please let this be the last time you set foot in this establishment and any other one that my money funds.
You aren’t welcome around me.” I grabbed Lyric’s hand and attempted to walk out of the office, but she slipped from my hold and popped Enoka in the mouth.
“And that’s for playing with my man’s feelings. You’re nothing more than a pathetic, low-budget prostitute, but I promise I’m gonna beat your ass every time I see you. Stay away from my man unless you’re ready to lose those fake-ass teeth in your mouth,” Lyric warned.
Enoka stood there holding her mouth while blood dripped onto her clothes. I decided it was time for us to go. My managers were going to be closing the restaurant, and I needed to get away from here as soon as possible.
“How are you feeling?”
Lyric asked for the third time. I could tell she was worried because I hadn’t said much since we got home.
Truthfully, I was stuck in my thoughts. The last thing I expected was for Enoka to show up at my grand opening and cause a scene.
The night had gone well, and I hated that my last memories were of Enoka and her bullshit.
“I’m straight,” I replied as I smoked in my room. Noodle was spending the night with Aunt Pam, so I was able to smoke freely, although I missed my little peanut.