Chapter 2 #2
“Girl, these niggas will bring out the worst in you. Trust me. I know. I have not one but two lame ass baby daddies. In the beginning, they all the same. Mainly because they want that gold between your legs. Once they have that, they stop trying so hard to keep it because they out looking for some more.” Ramona slammed her back against the lockers and kicked her foot up on the bench centered in the aisle.
“I thought when he got drafted, we could celebrate and do something. I was considering finally giving in―”
“Why, because he’s got an NBA bonus?” Ramona shook her head. “Girl, that was God. You’ve been spared. Be glad He opened your eyes now. He’s about to take that girl through it. You just watch and see. Fuck that money. Sometimes it ain’t even worth it.”
“Yeah, I’m just tired of feeling like a burden or like somebody’s damn employee.
I’m always indebted to someone. I’m working to pay off loans, and my sister swears she doesn’t need help with the bills, but she’s always gone above and beyond for me.
Speaking of, can you run me a bacon cheeseburger special, please, with a Sprite?
I told her I would bring it to her when I dropped Dane off. ”
“I got you.” Ramona pushed herself off the lockers. “I need you to do me a favor, though.”
“What’s that?” Ayla checked her phone and saw a message from Dane come through.
He was ready. The school was only about five miles away, so he would be okay waiting for a bit.
“Get that resume updated. You are a great chef, Ayla, and you got a following on social media. Crank that shit up, girl. You’re too good for this place.” Ramona smiled and winked on her way out, and Ayla let her words sink in.
She had her own brand, Palate Pleasures, which mainly consisted of her YouTube channel and a growing TikTok and Instagram following.
‘Just a girl who loves cooking and eating’ was her tagline, and it was nothing but the truth.
Cooking had been an escape since she was a little girl.
Although Inari was the oldest, Ayla provided most of their meals when they didn’t have their parents around.
She learned mostly through trial and error and loved experimenting and trying new recipes.
Ten minutes later, Ramona sent her packing with Inari’s order, and she took off to scoop Dane from school.
At fifteen, her nephew was already nearly six feet tall, lanky as hell, and reminding her of a young Kobe Bryant with locs.
He rarely got retwists, which Ayla was able to do since she was the one who had started and maintained the style for him over the last three years.
He preferred it to be messy, usually styling it for special events or holidays per his mother’s request.
With his Sprayground backpack draped over both shoulders, he approached her car when she slid into the pick-up lane in front of Ree Heights High School.
Dane hopped inside, milk chocolate arms and legs on display in his basketball shorts and matching jersey.
He grinned and leaned in to kiss Ayla, but she nudged him off like always.
He knew she hated him being all sweaty, and it was his way of greeting her every time anyway.
“Yo, it smells good in here. You bring me something to eat?” He peeked around, nose like a bloodhound, when he located the bag in the back seat.
“That’s your mama’s lunch. Touch at your own risk. She is not about to go off on me.”
“Damn, this her cheat day too. She might take a nigga’s head off. No, thanks.” He dropped the bag on the floor between his legs and shook his head. “I’m meeting up with the team for pizza in a few anyway. I just wanted to pop in on her before I went home to get ready.”
“How come this the first I’m hearing about this?” Ayla prodded.
“I told you about this two weeks ago, Lala.” Dane sucked his teeth. “Come on, man. You know if Ma on that bullshit, she ain’t gon’ let me go.”
“Watch your mouth.” Ayla aimed a finger at him as she checked over her shoulder before pulling off into traffic. “And I just forgot. It’s been a lot going on for me too. I might be out of a job after today.”
“For real? What happened?” her nephew queried.
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” she huffed, spotting her phone lighting up on the middle console inside her purse.
A picture of her and Qassen populated her screen, and she almost threw that motherfucker out the window. He had a lot of nerve calling her right now. She didn’t answer and fixed her eyes on the road. Seconds later, it went off again.
“You gon’ get that?” Dane looked down at the device, then up into her face.
“Nope.” Ayla popped the ‘p’ on the end and gripped the steering wheel tighter.
When Qassen hit her a third time, she reached down and snatched the phone up to silence it before tapping at the screen while driving until she had him blocked.
She didn’t want to talk to him or hear anything he had to say.
There was nothing he could do to defend his actions, and she refused to sit and listen to some bullshit.
Twenty minutes later, she whipped her car into the lot of Vintage Vault beside her sister’s Lexus truck. Dane had his head down in his screen, typing away. When she slipped out of the car with him, Ayla grabbed the bag of food.
The two-story building with the ‘antiques’ sign hanging in front was a staple in Ree Heights.
Pieces from all over the world somehow ended up in their collection, stirring a lot of tourism in recent years.
Inari had taken a position here nearly five years ago, and she got paid on commission.
She was one of their top auctioneers and constantly took home awards for her achievements.
Nobody was prouder of her than Ayla because she knew everything her sister had to go through to reach these heights of success.
Inari was a survivor in every sense of the word.
She made a way out of no way for both Ayla and Dane.
It was why she always felt like she owed everything to her, even though Inari swore up and down she wasn’t keeping score.
She was her sister, and there was no way she was ever going to allow the world to tarnish her.
Both Dane and Ayla spoke to the owner, Ms. Vernon, before heading upstairs to Inari’s private office.
Ayla tapped on the door before she pushed it open, only to find her sister wrapping up a phone call, wearing a serious expression as she placed the phone back in the cradle.
“What’s up, Ma?” Dane stepped around her desk to give her a quick hug and kiss on her cheek.
“Hey, baby.” Inari sighed and leaned back in her chair.
Ayla always thought her big sister was one of the prettiest women in the world.
Full figured with golden honey skin and oval shaped brown eyes, she turned heads in sweats with no make-up and on days like today in the peach two-piece skirt suit with a white V-neck blouse.
In no way was she petite, but Ayla didn’t know anybody more confident than her sister.
Including herself. She was insecure on any given day, and it was Inari who was always gassing her up.
“Oh, thank you. I’m starving.” Inari stuck her hand in the bag Ayla dropped on her desk and removed the contents one by one. “How was school?” She unwrapped her bacon cheeseburger and said a quick prayer before taking a mouthful.
“Straight.” Dane shrugged and leaned against an accent table with drawers near the big office window overlooking the store.
He grabbed a few of her fries from the bag and shoved one in his mouth.
“Will and David are coming to pick me up so we can go grab pizza with the rest of the team tonight. Is that cool? I’ll be home around eleven.”
“Fine, Dane.” Inari chewed and then swallowed.
“I just got word that one of our shipments that was delayed is coming in tonight anyway, so I have a shitload of inventory to complete. Make sure you’re home by eleven.
What about you?” Inari took another bite of her burger and faced Ayla, who’d taken a seat in one of the chairs across from her desk.
She could read the troubles on her baby sister’s face, and she hated it.
All Inari ever wanted to do was fix everything for everybody, especially Ayla.
She’d been deprived of so much, and Inari honestly didn’t know what she would do without her.
Cutting her eyes at her nephew, Ayla shook her head.
It was hard not to fall apart, so she’d been trying her best not to think about how Qassen had turned everything upside down.
Now, she was without a man and probably a job too.
“It’s over with Qassen, okay. I don’t need to hear your mouth or get some lecture about it either. I already know how you felt about him.” Ayla leaned forward in her chair.
Inari paused mid-chew to blankly stare at her sister across the table.
“Um, who you talking to?” She turned her nose up and took a couple of fries from the bag.
She’d had a smoothie for breakfast, and that was it.
All day she’d been craving something satisfying.
Someone had clearly shitted on Ayla’s day because she didn’t talk like that.
Both of Dane’s brows went up in shock, too.
Ayla was usually good natured and laid back.
She didn’t cuss a lot, and overall, his auntie was one of the sweetest yet most timid women he’d ever met.
All his life she’d been there for him, and aside from his mother, he couldn’t name a better person in the world.
“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but are you okay?” Inari spoke up. “I may not have liked him, but I know how you felt about him. I don’t ever want to see you hurt, Lala. You know that. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about how he rolled through the drive-thru at Snack Shack today with a whole other bitch in his passenger seat like shit was sweet? Is that what you want to talk about, Inari?”
Dane’s jaw practically hit his chest as his attention volleyed from his auntie to his mother.
“Uh uh. See… who is this bitch?” Her sister tossed her burger onto the wrapper and threw her hands up.
“It doesn’t even matter,” Ayla muttered.
“The hell it doesn’t!” Inari hissed. “He got you fucked up!”
“She’s pregnant, Nari! She’s also engaged to him!”
“Well, guess what? He ain’t pregnant,” she declared, pushing her chair away from her desk.
“What are you going to do?”
“Fuck him up!” Inari whipped her neck with attitude. “Bust both of his fucking kneecaps and slit the back of his ankles. I bet the NBA won’t want him after that.”
“I just want to move on and forget about this.” Ayla swept some lint off her slacks and shook her head.
Thinking back, all she felt was shame for being so blindly dumb to the situation. The heartbreak was causing her to reflect on the last year and all the things she’d ignored. Qassen really had her out here looking stupid.
“That’s your problem.” Inari aimed a medium length almond nail at her. “You keep letting shit go. People won’t learn not to fuck with you until you make an example of their asses, Lala. How many times have I told you that?”
“I’m not like you, Nari! Okay! How many times have I told you that?” Ayla jumped to her feet. “I’m going home. I just want to go to sleep right now.”
“Running and hiding every single time isn’t going to help anything.
I’m not saying be like me. What I’m saying is, set boundaries.
You have to draw the line with people, or they’ll feel like they can walk any way with you.
Why do you think I’ve stayed single all these years?
” Her big sister tested her. “It’s not because I don’t want somebody.
It’s because I refuse to lower my standards in what I want.
If a man can’t see that and want to be that, what am I supposed to do? Lower my expectations?”
“That’s real right there, Ma.” Dane bobbed his head. “And you know I was cool with Qas and thought he was dope. He helped me with my game, but wrong is wrong, Lala. You didn’t deserve none of this.”
“Boy, hush. Stay out of grown folks’ business,” Inari fussed.
“Y’all started talking in front of me!” Dane argued.
“Go with your auntie and just make sure you’re home by the time we agreed to,” Inari warned.
"You’re right. As usual.” Ayla stepped up to embrace her sister. “I love you.”
“I know… and I love you too.” Inari held her back before kissing her cheek and pushing away.
The pain was evident in her baby sister’s glossed over eyes, but she knew she couldn’t be the one to take it away for her. It was those damn growing pains. Life did, in fact, hurt. She and Ayla had their share of grief already in their young lives, so it made them cherish each other a little more.
“Don’t count this as a loss. Think of it as discernment and be glad the Lord showed you now. I’ll bring home some wine so we can drink when I get off.”
“Just wake me up when you get there.” Ayla turned and nudged Dane toward the door with her.