9. Bronx’s Tale #2
“Come on, kid. I know all that crying got you thinking something wrong. Ya mama is fine, though. She’s just dramatic.
” Bull glanced at Toni, who rolled her eyes as she got comfortable against the pillow.
“She knows she’s safe. You’re safe. I’m not letting anything happen to you.
So, give her a little relief, aight? You ain’t got long to go in there. ”
“Oh, my God.” She gasped as he uncurled and stretched, sending an alien wave over her stomach that Bull got to witness with both his eyes. “He likes the sound of your voice,” Toni whispered, placing her hand on the other side of her belly.
Bull’s hypnotic eyes latched onto hers. He was still positioned on the bed, hand on her belly, eyes full of admiration.
She’d been in here crying for days, no makeup, hair a mess all over her head, but she was still one of the prettiest women he’d ever laid eyes on.
It seemed the harder he tried to avoid getting close to her, the more this pregnancy progressed, it only did the opposite.
It showed him her true strength, and it was something that came from within.
He imagined it was hard being pregnant, witnessing your child’s father die in front of you, and then marrying his brother all within a couple of weeks.
Here it was months later, and the two of them seemed to constantly be adjusting.
“I’m gonna run you a bath and order something to eat for you. Then I’m going to come in here and clean up, change these sheets, and put a list together for groceries, since I know cooking is one of your ways to stay busy.”
A small smile claimed her lips. “Can you do something with me later?”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know.” She half shrugged. “Watch a movie, play a game. I’m so bored. All we do is sit in the house all day. I don’t have one friend. I don’t have a car, or a job. I need… something. And I love reading, but I like other stuff too.”
Bull nodded, fully understanding. She was young; she had to still have dreams or things she wanted to do, places she wanted to see.
This baby and this entire situation had flipped her life around.
That night, after disinfecting her room, feeding her, and going on a walk after dinner, Bull came back, made popcorn and baked chocolate chip cookies.
The two of them sat in bed watching Marvel flicks, and Toni was a DC girl.
Bull even talked to the baby some more, getting comfortable stretched out beside Toni with his hand over her protectively.
Eventually, she fell asleep, but she woke up with the urge to pee not too much later.
Eyes fluttering open, she couldn’t help the warm smile that came to her lips watching Bull sleep with his head against her stomach, cradling it close.
The little kick inside her made her heart flutter.
She didn’t know what this was, but the feelings swirling inside her were the kind she never expected or even knew she could harbor.
Toni stirred from her nap to the sound of keys clicking beside her. She popped her head off the pillow and found Bull clicking away on his laptop, a serious expression embedded in his face. Her dream took her back to another time as she rolled onto her side and squinted at him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, yawning and stretching beside him.
Looking toward the window, she saw that it was starting to get dark outside. Bull didn’t look at her, but his fingers kept swiping across the keys.
“Thought I’d work from home the rest of the day after my meeting,” he told her.
“I just had a dream.” She rubbed her forehead. “About us, back when I was pregnant with Breeze.”
Bull heard her, but he was also distracted by what he was doing.
“Where are the kids?” Toni sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes.
“Downstairs with Lotus.”
“She was supposed to be off today because of her doctor’s appointment. I put the kids down for naps and everything.”
“Baby, I don’t know what’s going on. She was here when I got here not long ago.” Bull was focused, so Toni leaned in to see what he was looking at.
Seeing Bronx’s name at the top of the screen piqued her interest. He scrolled through bank and property statements, call logs, and email history.
“What is this?”
“Just some shit I’m looking into.”
“About Bronx?” Toni pressed.
Bull sighed and leaned into the pillows propping him up.
“Yeah. Just trying to find something. A lead. Anything that can point me in the direction of where he put those other paintings. You recognize any of these phone numbers?” Bull slid the laptop over so she could view it.
Narrowing her eyes on the screen, Toni skimmed them, but none stood out. Bronx sure did talk to a lot of people, though.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Did you try calling any of them?”
“And saying what, T?”
“I don’t know. Depends on who answers.” She shrugged. “I’m gonna go check on the kids.”
When she was gone, Bull gave some thought to what she’d said.
Some of those numbers were bound to be disconnected in the last four years, but he didn’t have shit else to go with.
Picking up his cell phone, he started at the top of the list. As suspected, at least half of them were disconnected.
Another portion was sadly a bunch of jump-offs he’d been laying pipe to.
There was one number left, and he decided to try.
It rang twice before a low, raspy woman’s voice picked up.
“Hello.”
“Who is this?” Bull queried.
She laughed a little. “Um, you called me. Who is this?”
“I’m going through my brother’s call log and came across this number.”
“Mmm, well who is your brother?”
“Bronx Andrews,” Bull replied.
“Oh, yeah, is this Bezai?” She suddenly perked up.
“Yeah.”
“This is Shenai. Ms. Ruby’s daughter.”
“What you doing in Bronx’s phone?”
Shenai was in her late 40s, early 50s if he recalled.
The fuck was Bronx doing talking to her?
The soft giggle from her let Bull know too much.
His brother didn’t discriminate when it came to some pussy, that was for sure.
Young hoes. Old hoes. Skinny ones. Fat ones.
Long as she had a box, he was willing to stick his shit in there.
“Oh, that’s old news. I heard you was back in town and married his little side piece, though. So, what can I do for you?”
“What you and Bronx talk about?”
“Nothing I want to repeat over the phone,” Shenai rebutted.
“Okay, where can you meet me?”
“Got a sweet tooth right now. How about Sweet Magnolia Bakery in about thirty minutes?” she suggested.
Bull glanced at the clock beside his bed. The bakery stayed open until nine, so he had plenty of time.
“Okay, bet,” he agreed.
“See you soon, sweetheart.”
Downstairs, Toni found Lotus folding laundry in the living room with Breeze on the.
floor building with his large Lego blocks, and Jou Jou stretched across a pillow on her back, feet in the air while she played with them and tuned in to Ms. Rachel on the TV.
Sauntering into the room, Toni paused, and Lotus looked up at her.
“Hey, what you doing here?”
Shrugging, Lotus finished folding Breeze’s shirt and set it in a pile.
“I needed to do laundry. I knew I needed to do the kids stuff too, so I decided to just come in. The walls in that apartment were starting to close in on me.”
Toni sensed sadness in her tone and posture as Lotus bent to pick up another piece of clothing. She knew she was stressing over things with her and Eazy. Lately she’d been out of it and highly emotional.
“So, how did the appointment go? Did Eazy show up?” Toni sat on the arm of the chair beside her.
“He did.” Lotus nodded.
“I told you he would. That man is obsessed with you and that baby.”
“It’s a boy,” Lotus revealed.
“Really?” Toni shrieked. “Oh, Lo, congratulations!” She pulled her into a hug, and Lotus broke down in tears. “Ohhhh, what’s wrong?” Toni held her tight and stroked her back.
“He’s so… distant. I don’t know how to fix it. I fucked up, but I didn’t think he would be this cold.”
“Shhh, it’s okay, Lo. He just needs some time. He can’t be that mad if he’s still showing up. He cares,” Toni assured her.
“Maybe, but he’s still just… not there. He won’t touch me. Barely looks at me. He did kiss me today after we found out the sex. For a minute, it felt nice. Like I remember. But he won’t let me in. He pulled away the minute we were in the parking lot.”
“Okay, so he wants to let you back in. He’s just being stubborn.
You need to be patient and let the man cool off.
He’s doing everything in his power to make sure you and this baby are taken care of.
It’ll get better.” Toni nudged away from her friend as Bull’s footsteps descended the stairs.
He grabbed his keys off the table in the hall, and Toni eased off the arm of the couch.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to meet somebody.” Bull strutted over to her and knelt to kiss her lips. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.” Toni watched him walk away and listened to the door close. “Something is going on with him.”
“Yeah. Eazy and Jewel too. Rhema so much as said Jewel has been extra attentive and on high alert with her and the girls.”
“I’m starving.” Toni rubbed her belly.
“I left your lasagna in the microwave. The kids already ate.”
“Hey, if you don’t want to be alone tonight, feel free to sleep in the guest room,” Toni insisted.