Chapter 4 Rhythm Brooks #2
The big, dark-skinned one stood close to Aria with his hand on the small of her back. Even in the picture, he looked protective. They both had wedding bands on. I did not know his name, but it was obvious that was her man, or husband, most likely.
The irony wasn’t lost on me at all. The biggest opportunity of my career had come through the same so-called gangstas my mother had been standing up against at that town hall meeting.
Thinking of how my mother would lose her shit when she found out had me cackling to myself.
I swiped again and then sat straight up.
There he was. Mr. Glasses. In this picture, he was in a fitted suit that hugged his shoulders just right and a diamond-encrusted watch peeking from his cuff.
The glasses were the same, but now I could see his face clearly.
He looked… exquisite. He looked sophisticated but still somehow dangerous, like he could talk numbers with a banker and still walk a block everyone else was too scared to walk.
My heart actually skipped. It was stupid, but I felt a little nervous, sitting there in my bonnet and mumu, like he could see me staring at him through the screen and knew I was stuck on his picture. I tried to scroll past, then ended up scrolling back up, looking at him one more time.
Then a call interrupted my ogling, a call from my mother.
“Hey, Ma,” I answered.
“Hey, baby,” she replied. “How did it go? I have been praying all day.”
I smiled into the phone. “It went… good. Better than good, actually.”
I told her about Aria, about the way she talked about my art, and about “Mothers of the Block.”
As I spoke, my mother made a little sound like she was trying not to cry. “Rhythm, I am so proud of you. I remember you at five, drawing cartoons on the back of junk mail. Your father used to hang them in the house like they were masterpieces.”
I felt that ache in my chest again at the mention of him.
My father had been gone a year. He had a heart attack out of nowhere, and my world hadn’t been the same since.
Watching my mother bury the man she called the love of her life did something to me.
Life suddenly felt shorter. My patience for halfway love got thin.
That was part of the reason I finally left Kodi.
I watched my mother mourn the love of her life, and then I looked at me and Kodi and thought, ‘This is not it.’
“I hated that I couldn’t afford art classes or fancy programs for you. I knew you were special, but I couldn’t get you in the rooms you needed to be in. Now God has sent the room to you.”
Tears burned my eyes again. “I hope I don’t mess it up.”
“You won’t,” she said confidently. “You’re ready. And you are not alone. Now you have people who see your gift.”
As she was talking, I heard a hard knock at my front door. I froze.
“Ma, someone is at the door. I will call you back.”
“Okay. Call me later. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I hung up and let out a low curse under my breath. Then there was another louder knock. I hated that this building did not have a working security door, no front desk, nothing. Anybody could walk right up to your unit.
I peeked through the peephole and saw Kodi.
Of course.
I cracked the door before he could wake the kids. “Why are you banging on my door this late?” I hissed.
He pushed it open with his hand, stepping inside like he paid the rent. “So, you just not answering your phone now? You didn’t see me calling you?”
“I saw,” I quipped. “And I ignored it.”
He blinked like I had slapped him. “Wow. That is how you moving?”
“That is exactly how I’m moving since you tried to sabotage my meeting today.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You forgot to pick up your own kids on the one day you know I had something important to do!”
His frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”
I didn’t believe his obliviousness for a second. “You know my meeting at Voss Contemporary House was today!”
He sucked his teeth, waving a hand dismissively. “Man, you acting like this gallery thing is a real job.”
Anger rose up so fast I had to take a breath before I woke my kids up.
“Do you hear yourself? For years, I supported your little hood dreams. I was there for every scheme, every play that ‘was about to hit.’ And what did we get out of it? Nothing but stress, arrests, and you maybe getting money that didn’t last long. ”
His eyes narrowed as he stepped closer. “Those ‘hood dreams’ kept you and the kids straight for years.”
“If me and the kids were really ‘straight,’ I wouldn’t have to sit in a cubicle every day. I wouldn’t have to choose between paint or groceries.”
His nostrils flared. I saw that switch flip on in his expression. His energy got dark.
But I scoffed, waving him off. “I’m done, Kodi. Completely this time. You can stop coming over expecting anything but time with your kids, and even that can be achieved outside of my home.”
“So, what, you think you too good for me now? You get one meeting with some rich lady and now you done?”
“It is not about being ‘too good.’ It is about you not even being willing to support or celebrate my wins. We are over, Kodi. For real this time.”
He stared at me like he did not recognize me. His hand flexed at his side, and I could see his jaw working. He looked past me toward the hallway where the kids slept, then back at me.
“It’s like that?”
“Yes. Now. I have an opportunity that could actually change something for me and the kids. Since you can’t even pretend to be happy for me, you do not get to be here to experience it.”
For a second, I saw that maniac in his eyes, the one who liked chaos more than peace. He stepped just a little too close, like he wanted to see if I would move.
I didn’t.
“Go home, Kodi,” I gritted. “Do not come over here unless it is about the kids. That is all we have left.”
He stared a moment longer, chest rising and falling hard, then finally cursed under his breath and stepped back. “You ain’t never leaving me. I’ll show you better than I can tell you.”
He walked out and slammed the door harder than necessary. I locked it behind him, feeling my hand trembling on the deadbolt from the hurt. But his threats had gone through one ear and out of the other.