Chapter 4
Armias
“Bubby!” Aziel shouted after opening the door for me. He was smiling big but his eyes were red and damp, making it apparent that he’d been crying. Looking at his hair, I could see why.
“Wassup, man?” I walked straight to the living room that was conjoined with the dining room, and sat the bags of food from New Orleans Food & Spirit on the table.
Milan had requested voodoo rolls and a fried shrimp plate in the family group chat and that led to everybody else putting in their orders.
It was perfect timing because I was leaving the Westbank location of Pierre Cuts and I had been planning on coming over to talk to Rahesha today.
“Bubbyyy,” Aziel whined with his arms stretched up to me. My boy loved affection, so me only acknowledging him with words was never enough.
“My hands were full, Zee,” I chuckled before I leaned down to pick him up. I hugged him tight and kissed his forehead. Suddenly, he was all smiles.
“You got your hair washed today, man?” I palmed his head of wet hair that had been sectioned off into two poorly parted puff balls.
His smile turned into an angry pout as he nodded his head.
“You should just let me cut it off, Zee.”
“Noooo,” he shook his head in panic.
“I don’t know why y’all keep insisting on cutting his hair. It’s obvious that he doesn’t want to,” Aneesah said as she walked in wearing her cheer practice uniform.
“I’m just playing with my boy. I don’t want him to cut his hair either, but we gotta do something about this,” I brushed my hand over his curly hair. “I’ma get him braided up real soon.”
My mom walked in from the other entrance that led to the kitchen. She’d definitely been in the den because a leopard blanket was draped around her. She had on a cheetah bonnet, a short zebra print night gown, and red, fur slippers. That was her standard, everyday at home attire.
“You must have found him a new hair stylist,” she said while going straight for the food.
“No, I didn’t find nobody new,” I replied.
She stopped taking plates out the bag to look at me in disdain.
Before she could start popping her shit, my other siblings began trickling into the room.
They greeted me with hugs and love that usually served as a distraction from whatever I had going on, but nothing could take my mind off the news I got a few hours ago.
“Let me talk to you in the kitchen, Mama,” I said once my siblings were seated at the table and digging into their food.
Aneesah was grinning at me because she was already privy to what was going on in my life.
It was her and Aspen who’d clued me in last weekend, so I had already talked to them about what was going on.
We had our own group chat separate from our younger siblings and it had been a lot more active since Aspen went away to college in Baton Rouge.
“I was just about to say the same thing,” she pursed her lips as she stared at me irritably while walking away.
“So you back fucking with that bitch, huh?” She turned to me and questioned as soon as we entered the kitchen.
“Hol’ up, we not gon’ do that disrespectful shit. For real.”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want when it’s concering my children! That girl played you, so if you’re dealing with her again that’s crazy. But ya’ know what, you can do what you want but please leave Zee out of it. He’s a baby and he can’t defend or speak for himself.”
My eyes tightened as I glared down at her.
“Man, you know damn well Lourdes wouldn’t do shit to hurt an innocent child.
Don’t go pulling shit out yo’ ass because you don’t like her.
Ion’ even fuck with her like that and I wouldn’t go that far to say some stupid shit like that.
And if you think Zee can’t speak for himself then you don’t know him that well.
Even if he doesn’t say something his actions will and he’s always loved being around Lourdes.
She’s the only one he lets do his hair…now think about that and ask yourself do you really think she’d do him something? ”
“That was the past. You never know what somebody will do when they’re mad or jealous.”
“What makes you think she’s either of those things?”
“Because Naz is back in the picture and I know you won’t stop dealing with her just because you're entertaining Lourdes again.”
“Say, just let me lay everything out because you got it all wrong.”
“Alright, go ahead, Armias,” she crossed her arms with a boot in her mouth.
“First off, stop trying to make my situation with Naz more than what it is. She’s the homie and I care about her, but you know I’ve never had deep feelings for her. If I had, we would've been more than friends long before I ever met Lourdes.”
“Boyyy, don’t act like you haven’t been treating that girl like your woman lately.”
“Yea, we have been dating recently but it’s not on no exclusive shit. You’re talking about her like I’m in love and can’t do without her in my life.”
“Chileee, that’s messed up. Lourdes must suck a mean dick to have you talking down on Naz when she’s done nothing but hold you down and stick beside you.”
My face balled up in disgust. “Again, stop talking because you sound crazy. Like I said before, Naz is the homie so I’m not talking down on her.
I’m simply saying how I feel about her and I’ve always been 100% honest with her.
It ain’t like I’m telling her that we go together or that I’ma marry her one day.
I’ve never been the nigga to sell dreams. I don’t even know why you’re so stuck on Naz because you don’t even like her for real and she’s irrelevant to this conversation. ”
“I brought her up because I thought you were with her now and that Lourdes was in the past. But go ahead and tell me how she won you over after doing you dirty.”
“I’m not back messing with Lourdes, but we will be in each other's lives forever.”
She was dumbfounded for only a few seconds. Then astonishment overcame her and she gasped.
“Awwww lawd,” she bent over, clutching her knees. “Nooooo!” She stood up with her hands over her face. She turned away and threw her head back. “I know this boy not trying to tell me that this girl is pregnant!”
“Say, all the dramatics not called for.”
“Dramatics?!” She turned around swiftly with enlarged, glossy eyes. Her being moved to tears because my grown ass had a baby on the way was insane. “You permanently attached yourself to somebody who can’t be trusted and I’m being dramatic?!”
“I trust her to be a good mom and do right by our daughter. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
“She’s a liar!!! Why would you even believe that she’s carrying your baby?!”
“Because I know I never wore a condom or pulled out.”
“You don’t think the nigga she was living with wasn’t doing the same thing?!”
Picturing that was enough to make my blood boil, but instead of responding I pulled up the email I received a few hours ago.
I handed the phone over to her so she could see the DNA results for herself.
The probability of paternity was 99.9%. There was no room for doubt or questions.
I had a daughter on the way and she was due on January 18, so that meant that I’d gotten Lourdes pregnant in Orlando.
Shit, it probably happened on my birthday.
“I can’t believe this shit,” Rahesha grumbled before handing my phone back to me. “One thing I’ve always preached to you and your siblings was to watch who y’all have kids with.”
“You should’ve been preaching that shit to yourself. You really are the last one to talk about who somebody is having a kid with. Lourdes may have done some flaw shit to me, but I know she’s going to be a great mother. And I damn sure ain’t gon be a deadbeat like your baby daddies.”
“See,” she shook her head as tears fell from her eyes. “That girl is back in your life and you’re already treating me like shit again. We’ve been doing good these past few months but now I’m a bad mom all of a sudden?”
“I ain’t even say that shit, but if you heard it then I’m fine with that,” I sighed.
“I really don’t care how you feel about Lourdes because I can’t control that.
I just wanted to let you know that you have a granddaughter on the way, but you don’t have to be a part of her life.
She’ll know what a grandmother's love feels like from her mom’s side. ”
“Hold up,” she threw her hands up. “Who said I didn’t want to be in my grand-baby’s life?!”
“You won’t be in her life if you think you’re going to be disrespecting her mother and throwing shots on social media like a lil ass girl.”
“Throwing shots? I haven’t thrown no shots!”
“Your Facebook says otherwise.” I hadn’t even checked for myself but I was taking Lourdes and Ms. Lucia’s word for it. They had no reason to lie or create an issue with my mama.
“I haven’t said that girl’s name once on Facebook, but if the shoe fits then she can wear it.”
“See, and that attitude is what’s going to have you on the outside looking in.”
“So you’re really going to say fuck your family because you’ve made your own? You talk all that shit about my dead beat baby daddies just to turn around and act like them?”
“Yes! I would say fuck anybody if they can’t respect what I’ve created! And I ain’t nothing like the niggas you procreated with for that reason alone.”
“I haven’t said fuck what you created, though. You know damn well I’d love and spoil the fuck out of my grand-daughter.”
“Loving your granddaughter starts with loving and supporting the woman who’s giving birth to her.
If you can’t apologize and make amends with Lourdes then you just won’t be around.
And when I say you I mean you because I’m not talking about my siblings.
Cause I peeped what you were tryna imply and it’ll never be fuck them on my end. ”