Chapter Three- Sofia
By the time we got back to the main house, I knew something was up. My brothers and my parents all disappeared on me. One minute they were present, and the next they weren’t.
“What the fuck is going on?” Dior asked when she realized everyone had dispersed.
“I have no idea, but I’m going to get the hell out of these clothes. I’ll let the security take me home. You good being by yourself? Or you want to get dropped off at your place?” I asked her, adjusting Rocki’s sleeping head on my shoulder.
“I’ll just wait for Buddha. Um, Sofia, don't you think it’s time we talked about…you know,” Dior said, looking at Rocki. I knew we had to have this uncomfortable conversation one day. I was trying not to do so, so fucking bad.
“I know, and we will. I gotta go,” I gave her a tense smile before I turned and hurried out of the house. There were three armed security guards outside the front door. I walked up to the one I usually took and asked that he take Rocki and me home.
“I’m expecting someone, so let him in when he comes,” I told Ernesto, who was the name of the guard once he got me home.
He nodded his head and then stood at the front door where he would be until another guard came in the next few hours when they changed shifts.
I felt as though I was in some sort of prison.
I was sick and tired of dragging security along with me wherever I went.
I couldn’t wait for this shit to be over with.
Taking Rocki up to her room, I undressed her and put her in a comfortable onesie. I lovingly ran my fingers through her soft curls, knowing that finally I could stop trimming her hair and allow it to grow out.
“Mama loves you,” I whispered and bent to kiss her cheek.
I had to get ready before my guest arrived.
Once in my bedroom, I stripped out of my clothing, bundled my hair up, and hopped in the shower.
I welcomed the warm spray over my body, washing the day away.
Rummaging through my dresser, I found a comfortable pair of leggings and a baby tee.
I let my hair down, raking my fingers through the strands as they passed my shoulders.
Just as I sprayed Burberry Weekend perfume behind my ear, my phone began to ring.
“Jesus,” I muttered when I tripped running to the phone that was on the bed. This mothafucka had me tripping and falling and shit, I thought as I got to my feet and picked up my cell.
“Hello,” I answered, trying my best not to let on that I was just sprawled out on the floor.
“Umm, I am at your front door, and there is a big Popeye-looking mothafucka blocking my path.” Hearing his voice had me blushing like crazy. I began to make my way down the stairs so I could go open the door.
“Popeye, before or after he ate the spinach?” I joked with my hand on the door handle.
“Stop fucking with me,” he said, making me laugh as I pulled the door open.
“It’s cool, Ernesto; this is the person I was expecting. Come on in, Yusef.” I waved him in, but Ernesto remained standing there.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I have strict orders from Mr. Phillipe that I have to search anyone I allow inside.”
“Of course you do,” I said in a sarcastic tone. “Go ahead, I’m sorry about this, Yusef.” I apologized on behalf of my family.
“Nah, it’s cool, I get it,” Yusef said with his arms wide as Ernesto began patting him down like he just stole something. I stood back and waited until Ernesto did his job.
“Thank you, sir,” Ernesto said when he was done, and Yusef was free to come inside. I closed and locked the door behind us before I led the way to the sofa and invited Yusef to sit.
“How’s Rocki?” He asked, looking at me as he used the tip of his tongue to wet his lips.
Yusef, where do I even begin to explain just how much this man has helped me?
He began working at the main house about four years ago.
I remember the first time I saw him; I believed he was much older than he looked because of all the damn grey hair on his head.
Found out he was only thirty-seven at the time.
Fun fact about Yusef: he served about four years for fraud.
He did his best to stay out of trouble while incarcerated.
That was where his love for cooking began.
He was placed in the kitchen and started teaching himself basic cooking skills. When he got out, he went to culinary school and earned his certification in the field. My father hired him after learning that no one else would give Yusef the opportunity because he was a convicted felon.
Yusef was a very handsome man; he would come, do his job, and leave, barely speaking to anyone.
He was medium-built with a few tattoos on his arm and had a rich, tanned complexion.
He had short, curly hair and a well-maintained beard.
Both the hair on his head and his facial hair were mostly grey, mixed with his natural black color. He reminded me of the actor Dion Rome.
Yusef kept it all the way cordial on the job.
Barely made eye contact with me; it was always yes, ma’am, no, ma’am.
No matter how many times I told him to call me Sofia.
We grew close after I became pregnant; he accidentally walked in on me having one of my famous panic attacks at the main house.
My parents weren’t around; it was my mother’s birthday, and my father took her on a shopping trip.
Yusef was preparing my mother’s birthday dinner in the kitchen. I was literally just sitting there, watching TV; the next thing I knew, my palms got sweaty, my throat closed up, and I started hyperventilating like crazy. Yusef heard me from the kitchen and raced out to help.
He sat next to me, held my hand, and taught me some breathing exercises.
He was so patient and kind with me; I saw him in a different light that day.
I made him promise not to tell either my mother or my father anything, and he reluctantly agreed.
We grew closer after; he would be sure to ask if I had any pregnancy cravings when I came for breakfast. He often found ways to discreetly ask if I had panic attacks anymore and reminded me to use the breathing techniques he taught me.
Yusef never really pried into my personal business, but I knew he was curious about my pregnancy. He would use subtle methods to try to figure out whether my baby’s father was still in the picture or not. Like everyone else, I kept him in the dark about Rocki’s father's identity.
We casually exchanged numbers one day, and our connection grew even more.
As much as I knew Yusef was attracted to me, he never once crossed the line.
He kept our relationship platonic. However, the more I interacted with Yusef, the more I wanted to be in his presence.
Then late one night, as we were on the phone talking well after midnight, Yusef said, “Tell me something about yourself that no one else knows, and I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anybody before. ”
Shit, that was easy. Before I could give his question any more thought, I blurted out, “I’m having a girl, but I told everyone it’s a boy.” When I say the silence on the other end was deafening. I swore the phone call got disconnected without my knowledge.
“Yusef? You still there?” I asked, lines forming on my forehead as I waited for him to reply.
“Yeah, I’m here. I know you kept me in the dark about a lot of things, Sofia, and I never asked because it’s not my business.
But why are you changing the sex of your baby?
How the fuck are you even going to pull that off after your baby is delivered?
” His questions were valid and understandable, but I wasn’t ready to share the reasoning behind them.
Why was I changing the sex of my baby? That was the reason I believed my panic attacks started.
“I promise, I’ll tell you why I plan to pass my baby off as a boy one day.
With respect to how I plan on pulling it off.
I got my doctor who’ll be delivering my baby on board.
You’ll be surprised what money can do. Nobody needs to see the birth certificate, and I plan not to have anyone in the room when I give birth.
I’ll be scheduling a C-section, so there will be no surprises when I go into labor.
That way I can have everything go as planned.
” I confided so much to Yusef that night; that was how much I trusted him.
“I mean, all I can say is, I hope your plan works, and I really hope that the day will come when you’ll share your truth with me.
” I smiled because this was why I liked Yusef; he was so easygoing.
Anyone else would have tried to get me to spill the tea, but Yusef decided to be patient and wait until I was ready.
“Thank you for trusting that I will share my truth with you when I see it fit. Now your turn. What’s something that nobody knows about you?”
Yusef's confession was wild as fuck. He told me his mother was the one who taught him everything he knew about fraud. She taught him how to skim bank cards and credit cards. Yusef would get jobs in the service industry and target customers who had a certain look. He said he knew when customers looked like they had a few thousand in the bank. He would then attach a small device that reads your PIN, and that was it. Next thing you know, he’s shopping with someone else’s money.
What Yusef didn’t know was that the police were onto him and had been tracking him for some months.
He was eventually arrested, charged, and given jail time.
When he got out, that’s how he started working for us.
I trusted Yusef more than anyone else; he has shown me time and again that he is a man of integrity.
Which was why I knew Rocki was safe with him.
“Rocki’s good; she’s asleep,” I answered his question. I felt all nervous and jittery because this was the third time I’d ever had Yusef over at my home.