Chapter 19
Tasha woke up to the sound of a cabinet slamming somewhere in the kitchen.
Her eyes fluttered open, the room still dark from the blackout curtains covering the windows.
She was in bed resting from the procedure she had earlier today.
She tried to sit up but instantly regretted it.
The pain from her incision weighed heavy on her, reminding her it was time for another round of pain meds.
She exhaled, her eyes gazing toward her buzzing phone, then shifted to her clock on the nightstand, which read a little after two.
Realizing it was her job calling, she answered with a tired, “Hello?”
“Hi, is Tasha Hayes available?” Her supervisor’s voice punched through the line.
“Yes…this is her.”
There was a pause, that fake corporate inhale people do before they ruin your whole damn day.
“I know that you are on leave right now, but I’m calling to inform you that, effective immediately, you are relieved of your duties here at Emerald City Hospital. We will need you to turn in your badge at your earliest convenience.”
Tasha sat up fast, forgetting about her stitches. “Wait—relieved? For what?”
“We received a report that during one of your shifts, you were seen slipping medication into your pocket. We reviewed the footage and all the documentation, and as of now, you are not permitted on hospital grounds unless you are turning in your badge.”
A wedge of anger mixed with tears filled her throat. “What? Are you serious right now? I can explain. I…I didn’t—”
“Save it. No need to explain,” her boss cut in, with the, I couldn't care less tone. “You’ll receive an official email by the end of the day.”
The line went dead. Tasha stared at the phone, wondering what the hell just happened.
Her breath shook.
Her hands trembled as she put her phone back on the nightstand. She let out a loud gasp as her eyes searched the doorway. With everything she had going on, Emerald City wanted to pick today of all days to “relieve her of her duties”. Fuck them, Tasha thought to herself.
From downstairs, she could hear Juelz moving around. Drawers opening. Cabinets shutting. Then his voice floated up the staircase, sounding off-key, all loud and wrong.
“Shawty, you look so fine…
Shawty, if you were mine…” he was stirring a pot of mashed potatoes, moving his body in a circular motion.
“…I swear to God I would make it right.”
She shook her head, carefully easing out of the bed, on her way down the stairs as if she had just learned to walk, trying to see what he was doing.
When she got closer to the kitchen, her heart smiled despite the news she had just received.
She loved watching Juelz in the kitchen.
Unlike herself, Juelz was a great cook and loved to cook for her.
Her eyes were glossing over because seeing him like this reminded her of the first time she tried to cook for him.
The morning light slid through the blinds, soft and gold, cutting across the bedroom like a slow fire. Juelz was still half asleep when the smell hit him, something warm and smoky, but not in a good way, more like every bit of wrong.
He cracked one eye open, nose twitching. “The hell…I know this girl ain’t.”
From the kitchen came a clatter, then Tasha’s voice singing off-key to Keyshia Cole.
“First of all, let me say. You can’t accuse me of all the things you know that you are guilty of…”
He sat up, rubbing his face. “Lord, if you can hear me, please my G. Please don’t let her burn my damn house down.”
He threw on a muscle shirt, placed his dreads into a man bun, and walked down the hall. The smell got stronger with every step: burnt butter, half-cooked something, and more… smoke. Tasha couldn’t cook to save her life, and here she was in the kitchen as if she belonged there.
She stood at the stove, bonnet on, big T-shirt hanging off one shoulder, grits bubbling over like they were tryna escape. She was smiling, though, all proud.
“Morning, Jue,” she said, turning with a wooden spoon in her hand. “I was gon’ bring you breakfast in bed. Like they do on TV... but you spoiled it.”
Juelz leaned on the doorframe, eyes scanning the stove like he was trying to make sure it was intact. “Tasha… wha—what you doin’, for real?”
She rolled her eyes, pretending to be offended. “What it look like I’m doin’? Cookin’ for my man. My man, my man.”
He stepped closer, peering into the pot. “That ‘posed to be grits, my baby?”
She tilted her head, her eyes never leaving his. “Yeah… Why?”
“‘Cause it look like one big damn rice cake. That shit is overly done.” He poked at it with the spoon and squinted. “Nah, nah, hell nah, I’m not eatin’ that. Put that shit in the trash, girl.”
Tasha shoved him as she put a hand on her hip. “You ungrateful bastard. I woke up early and everythin’—”
“And…I appreciate the effort,” he said, grinning, cutting her off, “but this right here might send a nigga to the ER. No cap.”
She grabbed a towel and swatted at him, laughing. “Shut up, Jue! You always talkin’ shit witcha piss colored ass.”
“I’m just bein’ honest. These eggs look scared too, like they know they wasn’t supposed to be born.”
“Boy, whatever. I’m still learnin’.”
“Learn faster, ‘cause I’m too fine to die over a scrambled mistake.”
She laughed so hard she nearly dropped the pan. “You are a scrambled mistake. Right from that damn test tube.”
Juelz slid up behind her, arms wrapping around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. “You lucky you cute, ‘cause I’ll fuck you up.”
She smiled, leaning back into him. “Mmm-hmm. Well, we can stop and get somethin’ on the way out.”
“Thank you, Jesus!” he whispered as he turned away.
She smiled, shaking her head at the memory.
Back in the present, Juelz was still singing, not even realizing that she was standing there.
He was moving around the kitchen, shirtless, in a pair of basketball shorts that revealed too much, showing that perfect ass V-cut that made her melt.
His dreads were swaying freely every time he moved.
“Tasha! You’re all I neeed…” He was having a full-on concert.
“Shawty, the time is riiight…” he sang as he looked down at his Richard Mille watch.
Shawty, I’ll take my tiiime…” He was rolling his body as if Tasha was slow whining in front of him. Tasha was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh.
“Said I promise, I promise, to youuu…
“Bae,” he yelled, even though she was behind him. “Gonna make ya body oohhh-whooo, yeah…”
Tasha finally let a laugh slip out. The sound made him jump.
“Damn!” he spun around. “Girl, you almost got shot. You better make some noise when you come in here.” He put the kitchen mittens on the counter. “Whatcha doin’ outta the bed?”
He rushed over to help her. She had one hand wrapped around his arm, and the other on her lower abdomen.
“I was comin’ to tell you somthin’ and to see what all the noise was down here,” she said weakly.
He slid an arm around her waist immediately. “So, you decided it was smart to walk down the stairs by yourself?”
She lowered herself into the chair. “I’m sorry, bae.”
Juelz let out a breath and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. He was still confused about why Tasha was in the state that she was in when he thought it was a simple procedure.
“Man…” Juelz rinsed the glass and filled it with water, handing it to her.
“Here!” He placed Tasha's pills in her hand. “Take ya medicine.”
He went to open the freezer, grabbed the ice cream, and set it in front of her. “The doctor said soft food only right now.”
She nodded, tossing the pill to the back of her throat, washing it down with some water.
She started nibbling on the ice cream, trying to get some sort of food in her stomach, so the pills wouldn’t make her sick.
Juelz leaned back against the counter, watching her.
This is the one thing that these two did so well.
They knew how to take care of each other and could tell what the other one needed before it was ever spoken.
Once Tasha was done eating, Juelz helped her to her feet, his arm wrapped securely around her waist. He guided her slowly to the sofa, each step putting more pressure on her incisions. Once there, he carefully lowered her down, making sure she was comfortable.
“There you go bae,” he said, adjusting the pillow behind her back. “You straight? You need somethin’ else?”
Tasha nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. “I’m good, Jue,” she replied, tugging at his shirt. “Umm, I like the soft side of Juelz Hardwin. It does somethin’ to my insides.”
He sat down next to her, pulling her closer to him. “You better chill with that soft word, girl. Ain’t shit soft over here.”
She laughed, playfully pushing him away from her. He leaned back towards her, feeling the warmth of her body, kissing her on the forehead. “I love you, Tash. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know you do. You my headache but I love you too, bae.”
He reached out and grabbed her feet, placing them in his lap as she flipped through the Cinema app to find a movie to watch.
“My job called.” She twisted her lips to the side.
“They fired me, Juelz. Effective immediately. All the years I put into that fuckin’ hell hole, and this is the thanks I get. ”
Juelz stopped rubbing her feet. He already knew that Shyann had done the unthinkable and turned that fucking video in.
All because he caught her ass trying to trap him.
Tasha leaned her head back on her pillow and continued.
“They got video of me takin’ pills from the med cart.
” She looked over at him. “I know I shouldn’t have done it, but the fuckin’ gift shop was closed, and I was hurtin’. Bad.”
Juelz started back rubbing her feet. He hated that she lost her job, but there was nothing he could do about it at this point. “Don’t worry ‘bout that job, stank. I gotchu. Got us.”