Chapter 2 #2
“Where’s your hat? It’s cold out.”
“I’m good,” he said, pulling his hoodie over his head.
“It’s you having me buy a $400 Louis hat for no damn reason.”
“I wore it the other day.”
“You need to wear it in your sleep,” I joked, making him laugh.
“It’s in my bag. I got you.”
“Mmhmm.” I took another sip of my hot chocolate. “Text me when you make it to school.”
“Will do. And remember, I’m going to Cortez’s house for the weekend.”
“I know,” I confirmed. “Call me when you get there.”
“Aight.”
I watched him start to leave and waited to see if his head was in the right place. He paused at the door and doubled back to grab the garbage. “That’s my guy,” I said, and he threw up the peace sign as he walked out.
Letting KJ have some of his freedom back wasn’t easy, but he worked for it, so I let go of the reins a little.
I’d talked to Kaleb about it, and his first question to me was what brought about the sudden change.
I was honest, letting him know that KJ had earned it.
He still was tight lipped about the exchange that I’d walked in on that made him ban KJ from the projects, but he agreed to allow him some space.
“I’m giving him enough rope to hang himself, but I’m still holding onto this shit tight, Thyri,” Kaleb warned.
So far, so good. KJ made sure to check in. He hadn’t been in the projects, and everything else was cool. I was satisfied. Finishing my hot chocolate, I headed to my room to get dressed for the day. It was cold out, so the look for the day was warm, cute, and casual.
I threw on a two-piece set, my Chanel lace up boots, an oversized hoodie, and a peacoat.
Pulling the scarf off my quick weave, I finger combed through it before pulling a beanie over my head.
There was nothing wrong with being cute in the winter so long as warm was in the same category.
I tossed my keys and phone into my purse and made my way out of the house.
When I made it to Sullivan Manor, the front desk receptionist greeted me as lively as he did any other day.
“Hey, Thyri. The outfit is tea, honey. Never doing too much but still reminding the gworls of what and who it is.” Ty snapped and popped his lips, making me giggle.
I could count on him to have me laughing and to compliment me on what I had on.
“Thank you, boo. How’s your morning going?”
“Any morning knowing one of the Sullivan men can walk right through this door is a great morning to me.”
I side-eyed him playfully.
“Ooop. I mean any Sullivan but yours, booka. You know I admire them all from afar anyway cause they do not play my type of reindeer games.”
While Enzo and I hadn’t announced the status of our relationship, the couple times Ty had seen us together was enough for him to make us an item.
“You’re a mess. Lemme go see my dad. I’ll see you on my way back out.”
“Okay. I think they just took him back from therapy. He’s doing so good.”
“Thank you, Ty.”
He blew me a kiss and handed me a visitor tag, which I stuck to my hoodie. I took the elevator up to the second floor where my father was. Entering his room, I found him sitting in his wheelchair by the window. The sun was shining bright on him, and it looked like he was enjoying the view.
“Is that my handsome father?”
Glancing over his shoulder, he cracked a slow smile. “My babygirl.”
My face lit up as I crossed the room to get to him. “Hey, Daddy.” I leaned down, kissing his cheek. “How you feeling?”
“Strong,” he said confidently. “Getting back to my old self slowly.”
“That’s what I like to hear. How was PT today?”
He shook his head. “They kicked my ass today, Butterfly.” He laughed. “But you know I’m built for it. And they ain’t gon’ do nothing to hurt ya old man. Especially when I have you and Fawn in my corner.”
“You betta know it. Speaking of yo’ boo, has she been here today?” I took off my coat to get comfortable and pulled a chair over to sit with him.
“Not yet. She called. And who said that she was my boo?”
“Oh, Daddy, please. Y’all act like two people in love whenever y’all around each other. Be smiling so hard I can see y’all back teeth.”
He grinned. “You see ya daddy still got it.”
“You know I ain’t mad atcha, Poppa D.” I held out my fist to dap his.
We talked for hours during my visit. Me catching him up on how KJ was doing, my job as the finest nanny that a nigga ever did see, and I even let it slip that I had a date later on with Enzo.
Though I had no intention on telling him that, his reaction was cool.
It seemed like he already knew the nature of my relationship with Enzo but was waiting on me to bring it up.
Still, he didn’t pry. And I appreciated it, seeing as Enzo and I were in the beginning stages of dating.
“Thryi.”
“Wassup, Daddy?” I looked over at him.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice steady and strong. “Thank you for not leaving me.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “You don’t have to thank me, Daddy.” My voice cracked. “You can always count on me to be here.”
“I know,” he replied. “I still wanna say thank you. There were days when I wanted to push you away because I felt like a burden.” His head dropped, and I got up from my chair and threw my arms around his neck. “I’m gon’ get back to the father you know and love.”
“You never left,” I assured him. Tears blurred my vision as I sniffed. “Just a minor setback. You’re still my hero. Still the strongest man I know. I love you so much, Daddy.”
“I love you too, Butterfly. My biggest blessing and best gift.”
For a moment, I was thirteen years old again, and we were sitting in the living room of our apartment, both lost in our thoughts.
My mother had just left the house, and we both knew she wasn’t coming back.
The house didn’t feel stifled with anger my mother could no longer put words to.
I found peace in the moment, and by the way he sat back on the couch, so did he.
Only I didn’t know how to convey it. So, while I was fine on the inside, my posture must’ve told a different story because he got up and sat next to me.
“You know I don’t know nothing ‘bout being a single father, but I know everything about being your father. We in this together, Thyri. You’re my biggest blessing and my greatest gift. I got you.”
That was all the reassurance I needed.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting?”
We both looked up to find Fawn backing out of the room.
“No. You’re good,” I said, wiping at my eyes.
“You sure? I can come back if y’all need a minute. I should’ve knocked.”
“It’s cool, baby,” my dad said, winking at me.
I could see Fawn blushing from across the room. “Y’all are too cute. Come on in.” I waved her inside.
She had her purse on her arm and an insulated bag in her hand. “I won’t stay long now that I see you’re here.” She kissed my cheek. “I just wanted to make sure he had something to eat. I made that lasagna we talked about yesterday.” She set the bag down and leaned over to hug my father.
Watching their exchange, I decided to head out and give them some space. “I’m actually gonna go. I have a few errands to run,” I lied. “Y’all eat and hang. Me and KJ will be here on Sunday, Daddy.” I put my coat on and grabbed my bag. “I love you. I’ll see you later, Fawn.”
I left before they could try to convince me to stay. I wasn’t about to be the third wheel. Not even for my dad and his boo.
As soon as my butt hit the driver’s seat, my phone rang. It was Danae calling. Connecting my phone to Bluetooth, I set it on the car mount to answer.
“He…”
“You busy?” She cut me off.
“For a rude ass ho, I am,” I replied, rolling my eyes.
“Seriously, Thyri. Are you busy? I need you.” I didn’t detect any seriousness in her tone. I did hear a little stress though.
“Nah. I’m not busy. I just left from seeing my daddy. What’s wrong?”
“Listen, I desperately need to vent about this lunatic, Aura. Where you wanna meet? And if it’s the airport, I got a bag in my trunk right now if it means temporarily escaping his crazy ass.”
I laughed. “One thing you gon’ wanna do is vent about that man who you claim you don’t want as yo’ man. And as your cousin, it’s my job to listen. So, yes, I’m free. Not for a flight but something more lowkey like the nail salon.”
“Perfect. I need a fill-in and a pedi. I know where we can go too. My treat.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Send me the address.”
“Okay.”
I hung up, and the address came through. I could only imagine what Aura had done to my cousin now.
I walked into Spoiled Luxury Nail & Spa and spotted Danae at the second station. I’d been to this particular nail salon a few times with her, and the customer service was always top tier. The employees moved fast, but it never took away from the quality of the work. They earned every tip they made.
“Welcome to Spoiled Luxury. Do you have an appointment with us today?” A woman dressed casually in all black with the shop name on her shirt greeted me at the front desk.
“Hey. No appointment today.”
“Okay, no worries. What were you looking to have done?”
“A gel mani and pedi. I was actually meeting someone here. That lady right over there.” I pointed at Danae.
“Oh, you’re Nae’s cousin.”
I nodded.
“Okay, cool. We have you already set up. Here’s your drink menu. You can take a seat at the station right next to her.”
“Preciate it.”
She smiled and handed me a laminated card with a list of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, another added luxury. With my menu in hand, I walked over to Nae.
“Hey, boo,” I greeted, hugging her from behind.
“Hey, cousin. You smell good.”
“Thank ya.” Taking off my coat, I draped it over the chair, along with my bag.
“Have you met Marli? She’s the owner.” She introduced me to the woman doing her nails.
“Hey, love. Nice to meet you,” she spoke.
“Nice to meet you too. I love your place. You really did your thing.”
She smiled shyly. “Thank you. My baby was a labor of love.”
I didn’t know why, but when she smiled, my mind went to Enzo. They resembled each other around the eyes and lips.
“So, wassup, girl?” I said to Danae. “How was your day?”
“Peaceful up until you know who called fuckin’ wit’ me.”
Marli snickered and shook her head when Danae spoke.
“Oh, you must know about this.”
Nodding, she giggled. “All too well.”
“And it ain’t a damn thing funny. This man think he run me.”
I went to say something when the nail tech assigned to me came over to introduce herself. I picked out my color from the vast collection of gel colors, and she got to work.
“Why don’t you just give him a chance, Nae? Ion see no man going that hard behind a woman he don’t really want. I can’t lie, that nigga luh you.” I did my best Glorilla voice, making the ladies laugh.
“Nah. He loves the thought of having something he can’t easily access. Aura not slick. He just wanna lock a bitch down, and I ain’t ready for that.”
“Ooouuu, who flowers?” I heard someone say before turning my head to the entrance, along with everyone else.
There was a delivery guy at the door with a beautiful Eternity Rose arrangement from Venus ET Fleur. I knew that white box anywhere. We all watched as the flowers were handed over to the receptionist who had a wide smile on her face big enough to lock her jaw up.
“Must be nice,” Danae sang out loud. “Whoever sent it is very fond of you, my girl,” she added.
I nodded, agreeing with her.
“No, honey,” the receptionist said as she started our way, “according to the card, someone is very fond of you.” She set the box on the table beside Danae with a wink and walked away.
“What? Who the hell would be sending me flowers to the nail salon?”
Marli put her head down as she filed, and I knew who the sender was without her having to open her mouth. I watched quietly as she pulled the card out and opened it with her free hand. She read the card silently then looked back up at Marli.
“Really, Marli? I thought this place was sacred. That’s the reason yo’ ass kept asking what time I was coming.” She swatted at Marli, who had burst out laughing, with the card.
“Girl, I’m sorry. He offered to pay the light bill here for next month. That shit high as hell. I had to do what I had to do. I love you tho.” She blew Danae a kiss, jumping back when she swatted at her again.
I laughed. “What the card say?”
She turned to me and sucked her teeth before holding it up to read it. “Next time don’t let me ask you where you going, and you don’t tell me. Got me footing the bill at Marli place and shit. Your tab is paid for too. Have a good day, Ma.”
“Oh, bitch, that’s sweet as hell. You trippin’,” I said, and my nail tech agreed with an mmmhmm.
“That’s what I’m saying,” Marli added. “My cousin don’t be playin’ ‘bout you, D.”
“Cousin?” I questioned. “I knew you looked like Enzo ‘bout the eyes and mouth.”
“Mmhmm. She one of them sneaky Sullivans,” Danae said.
Marli gave her the finger and went back to working on her nails. Danae loved the flowers. I could tell by how she secretly admired them the rest of the time we were in the salon.
After two hours of pampering, massage included, we headed out to our cars.
“What you doing tonight?” Danae asked as she carefully slid her flowers in her front seat, strapping the seatbelt over them.
I got a kick out of her. “Period. Protect them flowers ya man sent you,” I teased.
“Shut up and answer my question, chicken head.”
“Oh, right. I have a dinner date with Enzo tonight. So, this stop came in handy.”
“Awww. Okay. Y’all taking EJ?”
“Not tonight.” I pouted. “He said my boy gotta stay with his grandma this time.”
“Good. Y’all need more alone time. Enjoy yourself. Let your hair down, boo. I got a date myself.”
My brows dipped. “With who?”
“A guy I met at the mall a couple weeks ago. I think I told you about him.” Opening her door, she slid into the seat.
“No, you didn’t. But send me all the information. Picture included. You are not slick.” I got in my car and rolled the window down. “I’m not playing either, Nae.”
“I know. I’ma send it.” She smirked. “Soon as I get home.”
“Yeah. You betta or else I’m telling Aura.”
“You wouldn’t dare, heffa. I love you. Text when you make it in.”
I giggled. “You right. And okay.”
She pulled off, and I went to do the same when my phone chimed. Looking down at it, I saw a text from Enzo that instantly made me light up.
Enzo: Been thinkin’ ‘bout you all day. Lookin’ forward to seeing what you have on later. Hope yo’ day going smooth.
Me: My day has been great so far. Lookin’ forward to you makin’ it even better later.
“Ooouu, bitch, you ballsy, ain’t you?” I said to myself, ready to give this date my all… literally.