Chapter 27 #2
“Have been,” she happily beamed, showing me her iced out ring finger. “My husband can’t keep his hands to himself. This is baby number two.” Frankee held her two fingers up. “My daughter, Majesty, is ten months, and I’m a little over twenty weeks.”
“Ya hubby ain’t lettin’ up, he keeps you knocked up,” I jokingly snickered.
”Yup,” she said with extra emphasis on the P. “Had you not disappeared, you would have known. Coulda been in my wedding and found you a new nigga and alll, but nooo… you wanna be the run away wife or whatever they call it.”
“Aww, I’m sorry, boo.” I pouted, truly feeling bad. I hated that I missed out on Frankee’s big moments in life. “Congratulations. I’m really happy for you though.”
“What’s this?” Frankee asked, holding up my left hand.
“I guess I’m getting married again.” I tried to sound happier than I actually was. The look on Frankee’s face said she saw right through my facade.
Frankee pressed her lips together giving me a side eye. “Mmm. It don’t sound like you happy, but I’ma mind my business. Oooh, I know my brother finna be in his feelings.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” I sighed in agreement. Faheem was gonna be livid once all my secrets came to light. “Frankee,” I said her name in a serious tone. “I gotta tell you something.”
I twiddled my finger nervously as I debated with myself if I should tell Frankee about Ryver. It didn’t feel right sitting in her face smiling, talking about her kids and not saying anything about Ryver. I would feel fake as fuck if I left her without telling Frankee the truth.
“What’s wrong?” she asked with concern on her face.
“I, uh, I should have to-” I stopped talking, hearing tires screeching to a halt behind me.
Turning around, I was surprised to see Kojo’s dark blue Range Rover pulled up to the curb on the side of the restaurant. His driver door opened quickly, and his stocky frame became visible as he made his way around to the sidewalk.
Stopping at the edge of the sidewalk, he looked at me with a displeasing frown. “Juniper, why is my mom calling me yelling in my ear because you walked out in the middle of picking out the cake for our wedding?”
“Is it our wedding, or is it hers because she makes all the decisions? Really isn’t a point in me being there when she rejects every one of my ideas,” I smartly answered him, folding my arms across my chest.
”My parents are paying for it. As long as they’re footing the bill, my mom can have an opinion,” he sternly replied.
“It’s not an opinion when she gets everything she wants. At this point, you might as well marry her, and I can be a guest ‘cause y’all not finna make me lose my mind over this wedding when it doesn’t have to happen.”
“Here you go with that stupid shit. Every time you get mad, you want to throw a hissy fit. Grow the fuck up, Juniper. I’m aware you don’t know what a healthy relationship looks like. I know your soon-to-be ex husband wasn’t shit, bu-”
“Ant-ant, watch ya mouth when you speak about my brother.” Frankee poked her head to the side, checking Kojo. “Nice to see you, Mr.Smith.” Frankee finished with a fake smile on her face.
“Mrs.Mckinny, I wasn’t aware you knew my fiance.” Kojo tried to feign innocence, but I could read right through his fake ass acting.
“But I’m sure you know who my brother is,” Frankee replied with a frown.
“Not until recently,” he vaguely answered her and I wondered if he remembered Frankee from the night with Faheem or if it was a coincidence that he’d ended up going through Frankee’s realest company.
Kojo turned back towards me with a frown as he said.
“Listen, Juniper, I didn’t offer to babysit so you could catch up with old friends.
Since you aren’t going to be doing anything that is concerning our wedding, Ryver can come with you,” Kojo stated in a matter of fact tone before going over to the back passenger door.
Opening it, he unbuckled Rye from her car seat. She was happily watching her tablet. When Kojo turned it off, the cutest frown appeared on her little lips. She fussed at Kojo in her baby language, but once she saw me, her frown turned into a smile, melting my heart.
”Mama!” Rye called with her arms extended out and her fingers doing the come here motion.
“Hey, Mama’s baby,” I cooed once she was in my arms. I hoped Kojo didn’t think he was doing anything by bringing me my daughter.
I would never be too busy for her. If anything, he was making my decision to call off this wedding a hell of a lot easier.
“Okay, bye,” I shooed Kojo who was standing in front of us just staring.
I assumed he was waiting for a reaction he wasn’t going to get.
“That’s it?” he asked, shocked that he didn’t get a bigger reaction from me.
”What? Am I supposed to be mad you dropped my daughter off because your crazy ass mammy called you?” I sarcastically asked him.
“Iii mean… wwwell, how are y’all going to get home?” he stuttered, sounding as dumb as he looked.
“Don’t worry about it. You can go.” I waved him off dismissively. There wasn’t much for me to say to him. Kojo tried to do some bullshit, and it backfired on his ass.
I would bet my last dollar Margret called him and gave him the idea to bring me Rye since I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing.
Margret loved to remind me Kojo wasn’t Rye’s dad like I was the one in denial about it, and it wasn’t like Kojo really did a lot for Rye.
Yeah, she liked him because he always gave her what she wanted whenever he came around, but he didn’t do stuff for her like a real father would do.
Changing diapers, feeding her, bathing her, etc.
, I did all that, and I financially took care of her on my own.
Kojo had offered, but because Margret and her slick comments, I peeped what time they both were on.
It was another thing he would try to use against me.
I never let him do more than the bare minimum.
“I’ll be by your place around seven, make sure you’re there,” Kojo demanded in an attempt to save face in front of Frankee. He shut his back door staring at us, and I gave him my back. I wanted to bend over and tell him to kiss my ass, but Rye was here.
“Junipeeerrr…Please tell me you didn’t,” Frankee whined with her eyes glued on Rye.
“Frankee, this is Ryver, or Rye as I like to call her.” I rubbed Rye’s back, ignoring the dread on Frankee’s face.
“Don’t do this to me. I have a great life, Juniper.”
“Rye, this is your auntie Frankee. Can you say hi to your auntie?” I asked Rye in a soft voice, and she looked up at me then to Frankee. Then she shyly waved at Frankee.
”Welp, you did it. Rye, it’s nice to meet you, but I hope you know this is going to be your first and last time seeing me. Your dad is going to kill me and your mom. That is if Toi doesn’t get to us first.”
”He’s not going to be that mad, is he?” I nervously questioned.
I mean, of course Faheem was going to be upset, but the way Frankee was acting had me second guessing the level of anger I thought he was going to be at. How mad could he really be?
“Bitch, she looks just like him.” Frankee chuckled, unbelieving. “Juniper, you really did it with this one. My niece is beautiful.” She twirled Ryver’s barrettes in her head. “Faheem is going to fuck you up.”
“Are you gonna tell him?” I kind of hoped she would have.
“And ain’t. He isn’t gonna take my head off. But I will watch my niece when you do tell him. She don’t need to see her mama getting fucked up.” Frankee snickered playfully.
”Frankee,” I groaned. “I’m being serious. How mad is he going to be? And why aren’t you mad?”
“Mad isn’t the word for what my brother is going to be, and do you want me to be mad?
‘Cause I can be. You did hide my niece from us. But I get why you did. I’m sure if I was in a situation like yours, I would have done worse.
She probably wouldn’t be here if I was her mama, sooo, I’ll cut you some slack.
” Frankee gave me the reassuring smile that she always did when I needed it.
“We have our first court date in two weeks. I can tell him then.”
”I’d tell him before, but what’s a few more days to a nigga that ain’t all the way there anyways?” Frankee shrugged it off like what she said wasn’t a big deal. “This was why Daelite kept bringing you up. I thought she wanted to fuck you.”
I gave Frankee a dirty look. I would never fuck another bitch or let one fuck me, and she knew that.
“Come eat with me. You done stressed me to the point of hunger again. Hold up,” Frankee called when I went to go inside the restaurant so I could get to her table. “Give me my niece, you might try to run off with her again,” Frankee said seriously.
“Be forreal."
“I am, give her here.”
Shaking my head, I gave Rye to Franke, and she happily went to her.
That was a good thing. I felt a little relief now that my secret wasn’t a secret anymore.
I wouldn’t be all the way okay until I told Faheem.
I prayed he’d be as understanding as Frankee, but that was nothing but wishful thinking.
Today was a start to either my life being complete or my end.
__________________________________
Later That Night
Running into Frankee turned out to be a good thing.
We ended up going shopping with her after we ate lunch.
Ryver enjoyed the extra attention she got from Frankee and had the nerve to cry when it was time for us to leave.
I ended up promising Frankee I would call Faheem tonight to tell him about Ryver.
Frankee had a way with words, and she could convince me to do stuff even when I didn’t want to.
After getting Ryver a bath, feeding her, then getting her to sleep, I procrastinated in every way I could, down to arguing with Kojo to have a reason not to dial Faheem’s number.
Then Frankee texted me asking did I do it yet, and I finally decided to put on my big girl panties and get this shit over with.
Sitting curled up on my couch, with a glass of wine, I listened to the ringing of my phone, hoping he didn’t answer.
“Who dis?” My heart stopped after hearing Faheem’s voice come through the phone.
I went to speak, but my words got caught in my throat when I heard him talking to someone in the background.
“Ain’t nobody told you to stop keep suckin’ this dick,” he commanded to whatever bitch he was with.
The picture of him getting his dick sucked ruined my mood.
I hung up the phone without saying a word.
Fuck Faheem. He would find out about Ryver when I felt like he deserved to know about her.