Gills
Since being back from Chattanooga, Journei’s been givin’ me the cold shoulder. I heard what she said two mornings ago. It was my job to protect her, not the other way around. I understood her anger, but I wasn’t that type of man to let my woman handle anything I had goin’ on.
Her words placed me on top of a pedestal that her wife didn’t have the strength to knock down. She was expressin’ her feelings for me more, and that morning, she needed for my family to hear her loud and clear.
I was shocked to hear those type of words even leave her mouth. I was used to a soft woman who cried about everything, not a pregnant thug. Now I had to figure out a way to smooth things over.
Her lounge was on its final days of preparation and would be opened soon. Mama was stressin’ about havin’ a run-in with Alexis while I was waiting for the encounter. This go-round, Journei would be on my arm, not hers.
I was briefed on her business one night after we engaged in sinful activities. I was more than impressed. She took a traditional bookstore and fused it with a bar, creatin’ a space where patrons could both unwind and have peace of mind. I loved it.
We were at Ties her people looked good. The setup for the business as a whole was somethin’ to look at.
“Chris? Is that you?”
I turned my head in the direction my name was being called. My eyes fell upon family I hadn’t seen since we were teenagers. They moved to Ohio when my uncle took on a new job. I didn’t know they moved back.
“Oh my God! Emilia, look!” Nina screamed as she ran toward me.
The excitement was mutual. I embraced her and didn’t let go until Emilia was in reach. I missed them somethin’ serious. They were the only blood I had left besides their mom and granny. Our family wasn’t big at all.
“I’m sorry, but how do y’all know each other?” Journei asked as she walked over.
“Girl, Chris is our cousin. Hell, more like brotha. We haven’t seen him since we were kids. Question is, how do you know him?” Emilia countered.
“He’s the one that got me knocked up,” she answered rubbing her belly with a smile on her face.
“Cousins, we have a lot to catch up on. We can go have lunch and talk once this is over,” I spoke.
Their eyes were unsure, but they gave nods agreeing. It was confusing to anybody that knew Journei. She was a married lesbian woman before me, so to be pregnant and have a man on her arm threw flags.
It took a lil’ over an hour for the run-through to get done. She needed her staff to be able to work the tables, know where items were, and how to work the tablets. Her workers had specific titles and didn’t change from it.
As loose ends were taken care of, a call from Jourdell came through. I stepped outside to take it. “It’s Gills,” I answered.
“Hey there, Pastor. I just wanted to send another thank you for saving an old man. I am forever in your debt.”
“You’ve thanked me enough. No need to keep callin’, Jourdell.”
“There’s somethin’ else I wanted to talk with you about. Is it any way you can stop by to talk? I just need twenty minutes of your time.”
I wanted to decline, but instead, I said, “Shoot me your location, and I’ll stop by sometime between today and tomorrow.”
We disconnected the call after he said he would do so. If I had to take a guess on the conversation, the topic was goin’ to be mama. He wanted a relationship, and she didn’t. Journei wasn’t up for none of Jourdell’s shenanigans.
Journei walked out shortly after with the twins behind her. They had developed a business relationship already, and now it was time to get personal.
Everyone agreed on eatin’ seafood, so we decided to grub at a lil’ spot called Fish in a Shell. It was nice and spacious, so we were able to sit comfortably. There were a lot of people in the establishment, but no one had to raise their voice to be heard.
“I don’t want to be in your business, Journei, but I thought you were married… to a woman. Please explain to me how you’re on my cousin’s arm and not your wife,” Emilia said.
Journei looked at me, and I waited like everyone else for an answer. I knew why she was by my side, but I wanted to see if she would own her truth.
“Well, on my birthday, my wife decided cheatin’ on me would be a better gift than givin’ me my own business. Her icing on my cake was sleepin’ with her boss’s daughter durin’ our entire marriage. As far as bein’ with Christian, he put a spell on me.”
I laughed at her response. How she felt about me was how I felt about her. She had me out here goin’ against what I believed in with ease.
“Cousin, I see you found her words amusin’. Do you care to explain?” Nina questioned.
“It was a spell for sure, but it was her castin’. I was pulled to her without even knowin’ her name, and once I learned that I couldn’t get her out my head. Things happened, and now we’re here.” I used lil’ to no details to explain. Our business was our business until Journei wanted to share.
Emilia nodded and started eatin’. “I’ll accept it for now because it seems like y’all are still figurin’ each other out; however, I will ask again.”
There was a light chuckle that was let out by everyone at the table from her response. I knew my family, and they were goin’ to question us until our answer satiated them. Lucky for them, we had enough time to do that. Journei wasn’t leaving me no time soon.
therefore, there was no trust for him.
“What’s the word?” I asked, jumpin’ straight to it.
He sat on his couch before speakin’. “I peeped the interaction between you and Spot. I’m assumin’ you and my daughter are a thing.”
“That’s not your business, Jourdell,” I quickly chimed in.
“But it is. That’s my baby girl you fuckin’. What kind of pastor are you? I know y’all not supposed to be doin’ no shit like that.”
I stood just as quick as I sat. These people in the state of Tennessee were testing my faith as well as my patience. If I didn’t get out of there, Jourdell would see Hades before Alexis could.
“Whatever your thoughts are of me personally, don’t matter.
Regardless of what genetic ties you have with your ‘baby girl’, you and I both know she belongs to me.
And the reality of it is you called on me for help.
You know for a fact she doesn’t want nothin’ to do with you, but that’s where I’m supposed to come in, right?
You know there’s no Journei without me. Don’t hit my line no more. ” I reached for the doorknob.
“Wait, Pastor. As a man, I know when to apologize. I may have come at you wrong, but Spot will always be my business. That’s my daughter at the end of the day.”
My body couldn’t turn fast enough to follow the motion of my head. “The same daughter you beat on, right? You talkin’ ’bout the daughter you used to lock in a basement? Maybe I’m trippin’.”
I walked out the door, letting his words fade behind me. I didn’t care to sit with him in the first place, so I had nothin’ else to say. He’d better find somebody else to mend their relationship.
My hands, feet, and possibly other objects wouldn’t have been kept to myself if I stayed any longer. I saw Jourdell had a way of using his words, but I was a man of action. He’d better gon’ ’head.