15. Drew
FOUR DAYS LATER
I wasn’t sure if the universe was plotting against Pretty and me or not, but I figured it was best to get the bullshit behind us now rather than down the road.
She told me about her run-in with her former college roommate, and I had spent the entire night comforting her about having to face the pain of her past.
At one point, she had even questioned if she had done the right thing. That was how I knew she had a big ass heart. I told her that Tanika could go set up a fucking GoFundMe to pay her bills, but that she wasn’t a drop-in shelter or a food pantry.
I agreed that her late husband had more than enough time to put his affairs in place to make sure his kid was good.
I, too, wondered why she hadn’t gone to his parents for support.
From what Pretty had shared, his parents weren’t as financially wealthy as we were, but they weren’t hurting for money either.
Tanika and Pretty had been college roommates in the same art program. They had often competed for various opportunities, and Pretty had won each time. I told her that woman was probably jealous of her, and she wouldn’t be satisfied until she got something that belonged to Pretty.
“I don’t need another handbag,” Pretty declared as we stepped out of the Chanel store.
“I thought it looked good on you,” I countered.
She rolled her eyes. “You thought everything looked good on me.”
“Everything did look good on you.”
I had been leaving the house earlier to run some errands, and she was checking her mailbox. I’d invited her to come along, and as a thank you, I had taken her to do a little shopping. I held her hand, and with the other hand, I held her bags.
I had bought her two pairs of shoes, three dresses, four skirts, a couple of slacks, six blouses, a sweater, and some scarves; everything was designer.
I had also picked up a handbag and an evening clutch along with a pair of earrings.
She had balked at the amount of money I was willing to spend, but I explained to her that I managed my money well, but I also liked to lavish gifts on the people I cared about.
“By the way, tomorrow I’ll be out of touch.”
“Why is that?”
“My brother Mael and I are house hunting. He’s looking for a new place, and he’s gonna be staying over with me for a couple of nights. He’ll be here in the morning.”
“That’s fair. I’ll miss you, though.”
“You’ll be fine. Hey, can you wait right here while I use the restroom? I can’t hold it until we get home,” she stated as we came to a stop at the restrooms.
“I’ll be right here.”
I watched as she disappeared behind the door. I was checking my watch to see how much time had passed when I heard my name.
“Drew.”
The brim of my ballcap was pulled down over my eyes, hiding them from everyone. No one would have recognized me except for someone who knew me. She was the last person I wanted to see, and I wasn’t even sure why she was in Georgia.
I turned around slowly and mugged the hell out of Kendra.
Noah was in her arms, and he was straining to get at me.
It ripped me apart because all I wanted was to hold that little boy in my arms, smell his sweet powdery scent, kiss his chubby cheeks, and feel his little arms around my neck.
I longed to feel his slobbery kiss on my jaw like he always did when I returned home from an away game.
My heart was fucked up seeing him like this. I hadn’t said goodbye; I hadn’t been able to. I knew that if I had seen him, there was no way that I would have been able to walk away.
“Hey, wassup with ya?”
“Nothing much, just living life.”
“How little man doing? How you doing?”
“We’ve been missing you.”
I slanted my eyes at her and sucked my teeth. “I don’t even know why you played the game you played.”
“I wasn’t playing a game, Drew. I thought he was yours.”
Noah kept reaching for me and trying to wiggle out of his mother’s arms.
I reached for him and held him close. He threw his little arms around me the way he always did, and he leaned his head against mine.
“You got a birthday coming up soon, doncha, li’l man?”
“Yeah. He’ll be two in a month and a half,” Kendra stated, moving closer to us. She was grinning like hell, but I wasn’t feeling whatever she was on.
“What are you doing here in Georgia?” I asked, bouncing Noah in my arm.
“I-I was visiting my aunt Ke-Ke for a week. I didn’t expect to see you.”
“Yeah, definitely wasn’t expecting to see you again.”
“I tried calling you, Drew. You’ve blocked me.”
“We had nothing else to talk about. You made your decision, it didn’t shake out, and I moved on. I didn’t want to hear the lies and excuses. The paper said it all.”
“Didn’t you get any of my messages?” she asked as her eyes welled with tears.
“I got your message. It didn’t mean anything to me. I knew what I knew, and nothing you said could change it.”
“I thought maybe we could work out something. He loves you, Drew. You can’t just turn that off. He’s an innocent baby. You could’ve kept up your relationship with him.”
“It’s better to break it off now before he gets older and becomes attached. He’s got a daddy. Make that nigga step up. Oh, yeah, that’s right; he was on again and off again in your other kid’s life until you dropped him on his doorstep. I’m guessing you plan to do the same thing with Noah.”
“You’re so cruel.”
I scoffed and shook my head. It was ironic that the people who did the cruelest shit would be the main ones begging you not to return the energy.
“I’m not cruel. I just refuse to be your fool any longer, Kendra.”
“Kendra? So this is the one you told me about?” Pretty asked.
I turned to see her walking up to us. She looped her arm through mine, and I shifted the bags on that arm.
“Yeah.”
“Who’s this, Drew?” Kendra asked anxiously.
“His future wife. Cute kid you’ve got there. He must look just like his daddy.”
Damn she was petty.
I handed Noah back to Kendra who was reaching for him. She rolled her eyes and replied, “Yes, he does. He looks just like Daddy Drew. Call me, Drew. My number’s still the same.”
“Kendra, get yourself a job and take care of your kid. Have some self-respect and some self-esteem, girl. Don’t spend all your life trying to find a man to take care of your responsibility. In fact, get his daddy to do it.”
Kendra had been walking away, but she quickly turned back. She pointed at Pretty and declared, “Don’t speak on shit you don’t know anything about.”
I reached out to move her hand from Pretty’s face, but Pretty gripped her finger and bent it backward. “You had your turn, and you fumbled the ball. I’m taking this ball all the way to the end zone. Come on, baby.”
Pretty removed her arm from being wrapped in mine and took my hand. We walked away, and neither of us looked back. I prayed that Noah would have a good life, and Kendra and old boy would get their asses together to give him the life he deserved.
“You good, baby?” Pretty asked, looking up at me.
“Hell yeah. I didn’t know you had petty in you, baby. Petty as hell.”
She giggled. “I wear petty boots every day. I never know when I have to step over bullshit.”
I lifted my eyebrow and laughed. “Look at your prissy, elegant ass trying to be gangsta.”
“I hate seeing people take others for granted, always thinking they’ll be waiting when they get their acts together. She didn’t appreciate you when she had the chance, and she definitely doesn’t deserve you now.”
“Where you wanna go, pretty lady? I’m willing to buy you the world.”
She laughed. “All I want is to be fed, Drew. I’m hungry and ready for a nap.”
She had no idea that she had just gripped my heart. A woman who stood up for her man and by her man was a turn-on for me.
“I think I can manage that. Big Drew’s gonna feed you and put you to bed.”
“You make sure you do that.”