Chapter 8
Toni McCall
THE STEEL EXAM
“Why you so quiet? Talk to me,” I said to my sister, as I sat at my vanity, doing the final touches on my make-up.
It was a little after eight at night, and I was getting ready to go out to eat with the women in my life.
It was going to be a lot of us. My mom, my grandmother, my auntie, all my friends, and Brooklyn were coming from my side.
On Steel’s side, his mom, grandmother, and even his god mother were all coming as well.
Just a dinner out with the girls, in preparation of the wedding.
The beautiful women in my life planned this night for me, and the only thing that I had to do was show up. There was literally a black truck service that they had waiting out front for me, so when it was time for me to head over, I wouldn’t have to drive.
Steel took Zayne out, so that the two of them could have a little father/ son time.
Zaylani was with her pop-pop, which was Steel’s dad, and Steel and I were going to need all the luck in the world to get her back because Steel’s dad loved his granddaughter, and she loved him just as much, and never wanted to leave him when it was time for her to come back home.
“I don’t know. I think I’m getting depressed in here.
I feel like I’m missing out on so much shit.
I know that’s my problem, and not yours, but damn.
My baby graduating high school this year, and even though I knew this day would come, and that I wouldn’t be there to celebrate it with her, it’s hurting me more as we get closer to that day.
Then, my big sister is getting ready to get married in a couple of weeks, and I won’t be free to be there for that.
This shit is hurting me,” my sister shared, and I paused for a second, dropped the make-up brush that was in my hands, as I took in the things that she was saying to me.
It wasn’t like Temperance to be vulnerable like this.
Even those moments when we were on the phone, and a conversation would come up that made her a little emotional, she would always mute the phone.
Well, she would mute the phone when she was calling me from the burner phone that she had tucked away in her cell, like how she was doing right now.
I liked that I was able to talk to my sister on the burner phone, but I was always scared that she was going to get caught with it, and more time was going to get added onto her sentence.
“Temp, pleaseeee. Like please don’t do this right now.
This shit is hurting me too, but I’ve been trying so hard not to even think about it.
Yes, I’m grateful that I have ma, grandma, and all the other women in my life, but this wedding experience would have been one hundred times better if I had my sister here in my corner.
I wish it was you standing behind me, zipping up my wedding dress.
I wish it was you holding a tissue to my eyes, trying to protect my make-up from ruining.
So many ways that I’m longing to have you right now for my wedding, but I try not to think about it because it’ll depress me.
What I do to make me feel better is knowing that you only have a few years left, and all the new memories that I have to create with you.
Don’t make me start crying, Temp. You know I’ll get in my feelings quickly, shut this entire dinner down, so that I can get in bed, and take my ass to sleep,” I finished, and she laughed, but through her laughs, I could hear her sniffling, so I knew that she was getting a little emotional.
“You just make sure that when those wedding pictures come in, that you mail me a few copies. I know you like to leave me out of the loop sometimes because you get in your head, thinking that it’ll make me sad that I’m not there, but I like to see updates like that.
I like to sit in here, and brag to the other inmates, so they can see the bad ass bitch that I have for a sister.
These hoes going to hate me when your reality show airs.
That’s the only thing that I’m going to make sure we watch,” she expressed, and I laughed, while using the tissue to tab at my eyes because this conversation did make me just a little bit emotional.
“Where’s Brooklyn? I’m going to call her before ya’ll leave,” she said, changing the subject.
“She’s in her room, getting ready. Her little ass wasn’t even supposed to be going. This was for the adults, but girl, she called Karina begging, so they added her in,” I shared, and she laughed.
“She’s really happy for you, T. We were talking yesterday, and she was telling me that she’s never seen you this happy before.
She speaks so highly of Steel, and I love that for her, you know?
I love the fact that my daughter can be around a healthy kind of love.
She needs that, so when it’s her turn to find love, and settle down, she’ll already have the blueprint, so she’ll know, and understand the way that a man is supposed to treat her,” Temperance shared with me, and I agreed with her, so as she was saying these things to me, I nodded my head, as if she was in front of me, and she could see me.
“Your daughter is going to like thugs though, Temp,” I voiced, and she laughed. She knew about Sergio because I told her.
“Hey, as long as he treats her good, that’s all I care about,” she shot, and I expected that kind of answer from her because thugs is what my sister loved as well.
We talked for about five minutes more because she wanted to call Brooklyn, and she knew that I had to finish getting ready.
I let her know how much I loved her, and she said the same to me, letting me know that she would call me again tomorrow.
From there, I finished with my make-up, and I pulled out the small curling iron, so that I could fix my pixie cut.
I had to literally pull myself away from the vanity because I couldn’t stop drooling over myself and witnessing the great job that I’d done on my hair, and make-up.
My face was beat down, and you couldn’t tell me that I didn’t just get up out of a chair from one of those popular MUA’s in Miami that charged an arm and a leg, where you have to book them months in advance just to get an appointment.
Something about this blonde hair, paired with a red lip that just always set it off for me.
I was told from my girls tonight that I needed to dress formal, but to also make it a little sexy.
When I hear formal, and sexy, the color black just always comes to mind.
Black was a statement color to me, so I opted on a sleek black halter gown.
I purchased the dress yesterday and when I tried it on, it sucked me in, just how I needed it to, showing off this sexy body that I was working with.
Although the dress was simple, there were small details about it that stood out. The high neckline, but the drama was in the back of the dress. My entire back was exposed, exposing my spine, shoulders, and it stopped just before it could reach my ass.
I slipped the dress on, and it fit just as beautifully on me as it did yesterday evening when I tried it on.
My dress was long, so you wouldn’t be able to tell the kind of heels that I was wearing, but I still chose to pull out a beautiful heel from Manolo Blahnik.
That was one of my favorite brands. This kind of dress was too powerful to overshadow it with too much jewelry, so I was simple, just wearing big rocks in both ears from Tiffany.
For my scent, I was mixing a few things tonight.
I loved to layer my perfume. I decided to mix Billie Eilish (No.
1) as my base, and then I added Baccarat Rouge 540, and Jo Malone London as the final finish.
This triple combo would have people stopping me all night, wanting to know what I was wearing.
I grabbed my clutch from the bed, and I went over to the floor length mirror that was in the bedroom, and I snapped a couple of pictures, and videos, just so that I could send them to my man. In the middle of me doing that, Brooklyn walked into the room, and she was fully dressed.
“I hope you not about to post those pictures on Instagram,” she voiced, and I laughed, while turning around to look at her, and seeing how beautiful she looked in her black gown.
“No. I’m about to send them to my man. You look so pretty,” I complimented her, walking over, so that I could fully take her in.
Brooklyn offered the compliment right back to me, telling me how much she loved my dress, hair, and makeup.
We eventually made it downstairs, where I locked up the house, and our driver was already standing outside, waiting for us.
He was pushing a nice Cadillac Escalade truck, and he stood there in a black suit, with a smile on his face, greeting us.
Brooklyn stepped in first with his assistance, and I stepped in after her, thanking him, and I set my phone, and clutch in my lap.
I put my seatbelt on, and once he came around, hopped inside, and started driving, that’s when I went ahead, and sent the pictures and videos that I took of myself to Steel.
Literally, within two seconds of the pictures, and videos delivering to him, he started face timing me.
I laughed, knowing that he was going to call, and when the call connected, he was sitting his handsome self there, being dramatic, having his tongue hang out of his mouth like a dog, as he used a napkin to dab at his forehead.
I chuckled at his antics while looking at him.
“And watch what you say because I have ears,” I had to let him know.
“Damn baby. Shit! Fuck! I can’t say what I want to say!” I really had his ass fighting for his life to not say anything vulgar to me.