Suddenly #3
“I guess we know who your fish dream was about, Mama.” Teddy shut Nisha’s door behind himself.
“Oh, I already knew that.” Chantel waved him off. “I came for proof.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know mama, but not with your favorite child here.” Nisha sighed.
“Girl, shut that shit up. Favorite child.” She sucked her teeth. “Ain’t neither one of you lived up to my expectations.” Chantel took a seat in the navy bar stool that sat around the kitchen pass-through.
“That’s my cue.” Teddy threw up the peace sign. “I brung her to you, you can drop her home.” He left out without getting a response from his sister.
“Talking about cues but missed the big red flag that the girl he won’t shut up about don’t want his ass.”
“I can’t stand my brother, mama, but you gave him to me. He’s mine. You can’t talk about him in my house.”
“Trick, I’ll talk about you. What house?
This ain’t shit but a shack. You been moving from place to place like a Gypsy.
What you need to do is go get Darnell back.
Your marriage was the only thing you had going for yourself, and you done fucked that up falling for a nigga that barely graduated.
I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with y’all. ”
“Who needs enemies?” Nisha mumbled.
“I damn sure don’t. You two have done enough.
I worked three jobs. A day shift, a night shift, and a weekend.
” She counted on her hand. “I stood in the welfare lines, the unemployment lines, took my ass down to that courthouse and filed for child support, and dealt with those raggedy ass bitches down social services for every bullshit recert to give you and Teddy everything. What the fuck did y’all do with it?
” She threw her arms up in the air. “Swander it for love.” She rolled her eyes at her only daughter.
“And don’t get me started on your father?
You know where he was while I was doing all of that?
On the couch where he is right now. On the next bitch couch because he’s not welcomed on my doorstep. ” Chantel ranted.
“Speaking of,” Nisha raised her eyebrows knowing her mother was about to be disappointed again. “I’m going to stay with Boom’s people for a while.”
“For what!?” Chantel backed away from Nisha like she swung on her.
It was enough to send her to her grave. She had gotten her children as far as she could take them.
They had respectable careers, but that’s all they had.
Teddy was risking his legacy by sleeping with one of his nurses.
Nisha had already thrown her career away by getting pregnant by her informant. They were too smart to be so stupid.
“I can’t bring a Turner baby into this world with the matriarch still wandering around Baltimore City. She’s already going around calling Boom a snitch. When she finds out about me, she’ll have it out for me and this baby.”
“So, you’re not stupid. You know that woman ain’t nothing to play with. Why would you walk into a lion’s den? And pregnant nonetheless. If you don’t give a fuck about yourself, you need to care about that baby!” Chantel was out of her chair.
“The same baby you told me to get rid of?” Nisha scoffed.
“And I stand on that. You are a married woman and having another man’s baby shouldn’t have even been a thought in your fucking head.
So worried about love.” Chantel sucked her teeth.
“Look at where love has gotten you. I know one thing, if you cared as much about the vows you made before God, you wouldn’t be in this predicament. ”
“But I am, ma. It’s nothing I can do about it now. This speech is not helping. Like at all. When you are done with the lectures let me know because I need some encouragement from my mother.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to help you do stupid shit. I’m not a perfect mother, but I’m better than what you give me credit for. Best I can do is shut up about it. So, let’s get on out of here so you can treat me to lunch before Tina kills you and my grandbaby.”
“Shutting up would be perfect actually.” Nisha snickered, grabbing her keys.
She didn’t expect Chantel’s agreement. She wasn’t looking for understanding.
This day out with her mother was in case she never saw her again.
Nisha wasn’t blind to the danger she was walking into.
It scared her more to think about Tina catching her off guard.
She wanted to see her when she was coming.
JAKIA’S APARTMENT | 5 P.M.
“Jump in the shower and then get right to that homework.” Jakia said she walked into the apartment with Khyell and Carmell.
“I know.” Khyell huffed, letting his bookbag fall to the floor by the couch.
“What was that?” Jakia dared him to repeat it as she placed Carmell on the floor. He immediately crawled in front of the TV back to Bluey.
“I’m just saying, I do the same thing every day, TT. You don’t have to tell me.”
Carmell fussed at his big brother in a language no one understood. His facial expression said that he was defending his auntie.
“Tell him again, Carmell.”
Carmell yelled louder using more words and dramatizations of his hands. Khyell sucked his teeth and Jakia burst into laughter making him madder as he walked down the hall to his bedroom.
Jakia understood that her nephew was overwhelmed with life. A lot had changed for him, and fast. Hussein being locked up was only added to Khyell’s disappointment. She couldn’t let him off the hook without at least trolling him.
Jakia got dinner started while waiting on Henni. She text a few days ago saying that she missed the boys. With court coming closer, Jakia wanted to spend as much time with her nephews as possible.
She felt like she had custody in the bag, but she couldn’t be sure until the judge made it real. She’d even been keeping Carmell out of daycare unless absolutely necessary. The best she could do for Henni was invite her over.
Carmell whipped his neck towards the door. The second Jakia let Henni in, he put his focus back on the TV.
“That’s how you feel Caramel!?” Henni was loud.
Carmell giggled, one hand on his toes and the other holding onto his pacifier as he bit into it. Khyell came running from his bedroom.
“Hey, TT, Henni.” He hugged her.
“What’s up, nephew?”
“Nothing. You bring me anything?” he looked around for a possible gift.