The Way Love Heals

1. Brittish Abernathy

My plump glossed lips stayed pressed together as I listened to my employees talk about their baby daddy drama.

While it was entertaining, I couldn’t relate, and Lord knows I was grateful to be able to say that.

Even though Asher and I had been through our fair share of shit, one thing we did well was co-parent.

“Girl, his ass won’t even spare a penny for my baby but will have the nerve to want some pussy.” Julissa griped with a wag of her head. “I can’t stand his ass or his girlfriend.”

“All baby daddies are dogs, especially the ones with wives or girlfriends. Ain’t that right, Britt?” KC turned toward me, and the way I shook my head so fast.

“Don’t bring me in that shit, KC. You know I’ll never have anything bad to say about Asher or Zaina. Those are my people right there, so I’m sorry.” I held my palms up in mock surrender. “I can’t relate.”

Julissa kissed her teeth. “Must be nice. I love that for you, but I’m also jealous as hell. I mean, how did you and Asher work through everything?”

“Honestly, it was because of Zaina. When I tell y’all I love that woman down and thank God for her, I do. She truly changed Asher for the better, and I couldn’t ask for a better stepmother for my son.”

“You’re a good one. I don’t think I could ever fix my lips to talk good about my baby daddy’s girl,” KC admitted, and I didn’t miss the bitterness in her tone.

She sounded like me when Zaina first came into the picture.

I rose to my feet, stretched my five-foot-four frame, and expressed, “I hope that changes for you one day because when the co-parenting relationship is healthy for everyone, it makes it so much better for the kids. Now, I’ll leave y’all to converse while I go get ready for my next client. Let me know if y’all need anything.”

With that, I headed to the back toward my wax room to get prepped. I loved KC and Julissa, but when they started that negative talking, I had to distance myself. I didn’t need that energy around me. Their conversation did make my thoughts wander to Asher.

Asher and I were together for five years before we called it quits when our son, AJ, turned three.

Our relationship was toxic as hell, and I never wanted to go through anything like that again in my life.

No matter what, I would forever love Asher for giving me the biggest blessing in the world and being an amazing father, but he left scars I was still working on healing.

When AJ turned six, Asher met Zaina. At first, I was hurt because, deep down, I had a slither of hope we’d work things out for AJ and be a happy family.

The desire to have the beautiful fairy-tale relationship my parents had always fluttered my heart.

I never wanted to be a single parent, but life had its own way of working out.

My attitude toward Zaina was disgusting, and I still apologized to her about it because now, that was my girl.

I co-parented with her more than I did Asher.

From day one, she showed up for my son. She poured into him while encouraging Asher to be a better father.

During that time, Asher was the type who didn’t keep his word.

He’d say one thing and do another when it came to AJ, and it was truly beginning to affect our son.

At first, Asher tried blaming his behavior and actions on me, claiming I made it hard for him to see AJ and only wanted to use him for his money to spend on myself.

That was the furthest thing from the truth, being that I had my own business and was doing very well for myself.

Anything I bought for myself was funded with my hard-earned money, so he could miss me with that bullshit.

When I say I was grateful that Zaina stood back and watched instead of inserting herself immediately was an understatement.

She didn’t try to come to me on some woman-to-woman type shit.

Her communication was directly with Asher and what she saw he needed to work on as a father.

It took about a good year, but he got it together, and I stopped being bitter.

The first time we all sat down together and reached an agreement, I told Asher he needed to treat Zaina good and marry her. He did, and I was genuinely so happy for them.

Once my room was good and sanitized, I went back to the front to wait for my client.

It was going on two o’clock which meant I only had three more clients before my day ended, and I was ready to get home to AJ.

Since it was the summertime, he’d be going to stay with Asher and Zaina, so I wanted to soak up all the time we had together.

I’d still see him, but it wasn’t the same as him being with me 24-7.

“Hey, girl, hey!” My favorite client, Fancy, greeted me as she strutted through the front door of my business, Hands of Gold.

Hands of Gold was my baby. I’d been in business for five years, and each year seemed to surpass the last. Since I was a young girl, I’d loved all things skin care and beauty.

I’d watch my mother do her skin-care routine every day, and when I got older, I studied up on things more.

By the time I was in my freshman year of high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do in life.

While my parents supported me, they still made me go to community college to get my associate’s degree before pursuing my esthetician license.

What started in the comfort of my apartment turned into something much bigger than I ever imagined. My clientele was solid and growing by the month. I had to hire Julissa and KC to help with the weight of it all. The last thing I ever wanted to do was complain about something I’d prayed for.

Fancy was there to get her Brazilian wax, so once she was settled, I went inside and got started.

“How have you been, Fancy?” I asked as I put on my gloves and mask after washing my hands.

“Busy as ever, but you know I love it. What about you?”

“Same, girl, especially with Asher making the new travel ball team. The coach sent us a tentative schedule, and I’m already tired.”

“Oh, but you’re going to love it. All three of my kids are in sports, and while it’s basically a second job, the joy it brings me to see them so immersed in something they love makes me love it just as much.”

“I definitely get that.” I cleaned Fancy off and applied baby powder before going over to my wax warmer.

“I mean, when AJ was three and told me he wanted to play baseball, I didn’t know what the hell we were getting into.

You know Black people were brainwashed into believing baseball was a white man’s sport. ”

“Sure was, which is why I’m so happy to see more Black boys getting into the sport, and they’re damn sure dominating it too.”

“Exactly!”

Anytime I thought back to when Asher asked to play baseball and how I tried talking him out of it, I was ashamed.

I assumed since he was so young that he didn’t know what he truly wanted, but he fooled me.

He was persistent with asking both me and Asher, so we finally got him signed up.

We’d been locked in with baseball ever since.

“How is that fine-ass brother of yours doing?”

Dramatically, I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fancy, don’t start.”

“Now, you know every woman in Maven Falls is in love with Diamond. Hell, if Dionte was older, he could get it too.”

If she wasn’t my client, I would’ve slapped her thigh.

Since I hit middle school, all I heard about was how fine my older brother, Diamond, was.

He was four years older than me and had been breaking hearts for as long as I could remember.

We were extremely close, so it was hard for me to not want to cuss women out when they gawked over him.

He was happily married now, so they could stop checking for him.

Fancy’s service lasted for about an hour, giving me twenty minutes to prepare for my next client.

By the time my day was finished, AJ had called me four times, asking when I would be picking him up.

He was at my parents’ house, spending some time with them, so I called and let him know I was on the way.

My parents’ house wasn’t too far from Hands of Gold. They lived off the main street close to downtown, so it took me all of ten minutes to get there with the hectic evening traffic.

“What the hell do they have my baby out here doing?” I muttered to myself as I pulled into my parents’ driveway.

AJ was outside, shirtless, with Diamond and our younger brother, Dionte, with boxing gloves on. He and Dionte were squared up, so I hurriedly got out my car and marched over to them.

“Stop this shit right now,” I warned, knocking Dionte’s hands down before craning my neck to glare at Diamond. “What the hell is this?”

Diamond’s gloves met in the middle of his broad chest. “What? We’re just doing a little boxing.”

“AJ has baseball games coming up, D. He doesn’t need to risk having any type of injury.”

“Come on.” Diamond’s long, two-toned locs hit his face as he shook his head. “You know good and well we’re not going to let anything happen to him, for real. It’s just a little bonding. Ain’t that right, Nephew?”

AJ bounced on his toes and sent a right hook to Dionte’s side. “That’s right, Diamond!”

Dionte jabbed AJ back, and they started going at it.

When I had enough, I tried breaking it up, but somehow, they turned on me.

All three of them chased me around the front yard as I yelled for my daddy to come save me.

Daddy stepped on the porch and cleared his throat.

That was enough for them to leave me alone, but leave it to Diamond to sneak in one last punch to my arm.

Daddy jogged down the steps, and Diamond took off running. AJ doubled over in laughter watching them both run around the yard. I yelled my encouragement to Daddy to get Diamond good for me, and he did.

“What I tell you about messing with my baby?” Daddy had Diamond in a headlock. I wasn’t sure how that worked since Diamond was three inches taller than him, but I never underestimated Lucah Abernathy.