It Is What it Is

by Ivory B.

  Feeling Neglected

  “Keema I cannot take this shit!” Ty screamed into the phone. “I swear Keem I feel like going upstairs packing my shit up and bouncin. When Nice gets his ass in here I’m giving him an ultimatum, it’s either me or those big nasty ass dogs! I can’t live like this!” Ty was past the stage of annoyed she was infuriated. She had just returned home from a long day at work only to find that Nice’s dog Bully had went and chewed up a pair of her Louboutin pumps and one boot to a pair of Manolo Blahnik ankle boots. Initially, Ty never knew Nice owned dogs. When she first started staying at his house there was no sign of a dog, nor did his house smell of dogs like some people who owned big breed dogs often did. There was definitely no dog in sight until he popped up one day with them. Unbeknownst to Ty his dogs were being taken care of by dog sitters in a long-term pet boarding facility. For some reason the sitters could no longer take care of them so they were back home. Nice claimed the reason the boarding facility wouldn’t keep them any longer was because they were getting too big in size but Ty had a feeling he was only telling half of the truth. Ty for one was not a dog lover. She could tolerate little toy breed dogs like Peanut Butter to an extent but big dogs no way. Ty tried to talk Nice out of keeping the dogs at the house but Nice wouldn’t hear of giving his dogs up to an animal shelter to be adopted. Not even Ty voicing her concerns about Kynah’s safety around the dogs seemed to sway his decision on having them home. Nice argued that the dogs had actually grown up with Kynah and were familiar and protective over her. He claimed the temperament in his dogs weren’t to be violent towards children and dogs would only attack like that if they were being mistreated and taught to fight blah blah blah…Nice had a rebuttal for every argument Ty had. Ty begged the differ, there were too many stories on the news damn near every other day of family pets gone wild and hurting sometimes even killing children.

  After awhile Ty felt as if there was no use in arguing her concerns because it was clear Nice was adamant about bringing his dog’s home. For the most part the dogs did stay outside in the backyard as Nice promised they would. All three of the dogs, yes three, had huge heated dog houses out back that even had electricity. Yup, Nice was crazy about his dogs and didn’t spare any expenses on them. True to Nice’s words the dogs seemed very familiar with Kynah and took to her very well, even making Ty a tad bit nervous when one of them got a little overzealous about seeing Ky for the first time in a long time. The dog barked, ran up on her stood on his hind legs and nearly took Kynah down to the ground as she laughed and his little cropped tail shook. Ty couldn’t understand it, Nice didn’t even come off as the type to own dogs. She didn’t necessarily think there was a certain look that identified anyone who owned a dog but one look at Nice and some would assume he was too pretty boy thug to have dogs like these, Really god forbid a dog dirty up his Giuseppe sneaks. The two male Rottweilers Bruno and Rocky weren’t all that bad in Ty’s eyes. They were absolutely beautiful dogs; their size, thick shiny coats, and white teeth showed signs of dogs that were well taken care of. Bruno and Rocky were obedient and adjusted to taking orders from Ty with Nice’s training quite smoothly. Every once in a while Ty would have to tell them more than once to get out of the house when they slipped in through the backdoor Kynah would often leave open after playing in the backyard on her playscape. But the bitch Bully was a problem; Bully was his female pure bred, blue nose Pit bull with the nastiest temperament. She growled and snipped at Ty and Ty’s Persian cat Sparkles more times than Ty could count. And in Ty’s eyes she was the ugliest dog ever, she was so strong and muscular looking with clipped ears, Bully just looked scary. She was also the perpetrator who committed the atrocity on Ty’s shoes today. Deep down Ty felt as if this was some type of power struggle with the dog. Ty knew it may sound absurd to some people but she truly felt as if Bully thought she was the HBIC of the house.

  Ty looked up when she saw headlights pulling into the driveway. “Keema I’ma call you back this damn man just pulled up.” “Alright mama, make sure you call me. And Ty calm the fuck down girl. I don’t wanna see y’all asses on the 11 O’clock news tonight,” Keema said through light laughter. “Giiirrl you just might, so make sure you got my bail money on deck cause I’m past hot right now. Kiss baby Jah for me and I’ll hit you back,” Ty grabbed her chewed up shoes before Nice made it in from the garage and stepped foot into the kitchen.

  “Kamar look at what that fuckin dog did to my shoes!” Nice looked at the chewed up shoes with an expressionless look on his face. “I can’t do this. It’s either me or these big nasty ass dogs!” Nice made a face then waved his hand at Ty’s ultimatum dismissively “C’mon ma go head wit that shit.” He had just walked in the house from spending a couple of hours at his lawyer’s office going over a strategic plan to get custody of his daughter that left his head spinning, only to be greeted by Ty’s ranting and raving as soon as he stepped foot through the door. Mia had actually made good on her numerous threats and finally went ahead and had him served for child support. Which was like music to Nice’s ears, he was tired of the bitch raping his pockets and he truly believed he would be coming off much cheaper by having a judge order him to pay a set amount of child support. Nice wasn’t a fool to think getting his daughter would be an easy task. Mia wasn’t going to give up her only source of income without a fight. He knew deep down inside Mia having him served had only set forth the beginning of a long, nasty legal battle for money and custody. But he was more than ready to go to war and fight to the death if need be for his.

  “I know you ain’t tell me to go head wit that shit. Oh so what I’m sayin to you is trivial?!” Ty screamed on him. It was a good thing Ky was over Grandma Cathy’s because things were getting loud and they had made it a point to try and never argue in front of her. “Ty what’s the big deal? If the dog chewed ya shoes up I’ll buy you more. Why you wildin?” Nice said sounding exhausted giving the impression from his body language that he really didn’t want to be bothered with the tantrum Ty was throwing. “What’s the problem?” Nice asked again with a little more bass in his voice showing his frustration. “The problem is your dogs tearing up my shit! And I thought you said they would stay outside so how is it that my shoes managed to get destroyed?” “Ty Bully was sick. She been eating them seeds or whatever that shit is that’s falling from the trees out back so I let her in. Did I say anything when ya cat peed all over my fuckin house? No…” “Oh please! She did that a few times when we first started staying here because she wasn’t used to the house. I got it professionally cleaned and she hasn’t done it since,” Ty said in defense of her cat. “Ty that’s hardly the point, the point is when she did it you didn’t see me losing it, spazin like I was on something cause I know accidents come with the territory of owning a pet. Like on some real shit.” Nice said tilting his head to the side peering down at Ty. “I’m tryin to figure out why you even coming at me on some petty shit like this. What’s really good wit you Ma?” “Petty?!” Ty screamed on him all hyped. “You know what fuck this, I’ma take my petty ass back home.” Ty muttered under her breath as she stomped off to get prepared to go home.

  Ty was in the bedroom packing to leave when Nice stormed into the bedroom “Ty c’mere yo why you acting up?” Nice asked as he reached over pulling a stubborn Ty into his arms. “What’s wrong?” Nice pressed as he buried his face into Ty’s neck. Nice noticed how Ty’s body went weak against his on contact. “I know what it is you miss Daddy ha? You need some attention?” “I don’t need shit, I’m good,” Ty snapped with her tough girl bravado on full blast although he had hit the nail on its head. The truth of the matter was she was feeling a little neglected. This argument had been a long time coming, them having alternate schedules and her feeling as if she hadn’t seen enough of him lately was beginning to weigh on her. She knew from jump he wasn’t a 9 to 5 nigga, so sometimes she was leaving out for work in the morning and he was just getting in. Or there were those other times he was tapping her on the shoulder thirsti
ng for pussy in the wee hours of the morning while she was trying to rest up for a long day at work the next day. Even those late night quickies wasn’t enough for Ty anymore, she needed some attention and for Nice to show that he still valued their relationship. “Yeah that’s what it is, you miss Daddy.” Nice said ignoring the attitude Ty was giving him as he backed her into the wall caging her between his strong arms. Nice stood firm looking down into Ty’s pretty face as she tried her best hand at looking evil. “Look Ky staying over with Mom Dukes for the whole weekend and tomorrow’s Friday all you gotta do is say the word ma and its all you,” Ty pursed her lips together trying to hold onto her stubbornness but one look into those dark seductive eyes and she couldn’t. Nice had called her out, yes she was yearning for his attention so much so she was even resorting to getting it the wrong way by acting like she was going to leave knowing she wasn’t going nowhere. Ty bit her bottom lip and shook her head in agreement before leaning in to softly kiss his lips. “I still don’t like those damn dogs,” Ty said with attitude. Both her and Nice locked eyes before laughing. The dogs were obviously one problem they weren’t going to solve in one night.

  Nice looked down at his phone and sighed loudly as soon as he saw Mia’s name on the screen once again. She’d been blowing him down non-stop for some odd reason and for the majority of the day he’d ignored her calls by sending her straight to voicemail. He figured it couldn’t have anything to do with his seed because Kynah was in good hands with his mother. Nice had told Mia several times before that if it wasn’t about Ky they ain’t have shit to talk about. On a whim he decided to go ahead and pick the phone up since he was only blocks away from a swanky French restaurant where he was meeting up with Ty for dinner. He didn’t want any interruptions once he got in the presence of his baby, from the way she was acting the previous night quality time between them was way overdue.

  “Ayo Mia fuck is you blowin my line up for?” Nice asked in his usual cold tone. Mia heard his deep baritone and although his statement was rude displaying his annoyance she still couldn’t help but feel her womanhood jump in response to hearing her name roll off his tongue. Mia sucked her teeth “Well damn Nice it’s about time you picked up ya phone,” Mia snapped. Nice gritted his teeth trying hard not to let Mia kill his vibe; he was in a good mood today and her ratchet antics weren’t going to change that.

  “First off, I know we ain’t been gettin along all like that lately, That’s an understatement Nice thought to himself. “And you probably feelin some typa way since I had you served wit them papers but at the end of the day you still my Baby Daddy and I’ma look out cause I don’t want you out here lookin crazy.” Nice cut Mia off abruptly from being long winded. He didn’t feel this had to be a long drawn out conversation “Nah I ain’t feelin no typa way ma trust, so what you really sayin? Where is this conversation going?” Mia rolled her eyes, she couldn’t stand that Nice was trying to play as if he were cooler than a cucumber when she knew he had to be really shaking in his boots about their upcoming court date for child support. Yeah right nigga you low-key stressin cause you know I’ma bring that ass to the cleaners “Basically!” Mia said with ghetto dripping off that one word in abundance. “I called to put you on to some shit I heard about ya bitch. The streets is talkin and they saying the chick you rockin wit is a certified Thot for real. I ran into some dudes out here in Jersey who said they know ya girl very well from them days when she used to be out here fuckin everything movin. And honestly I don’t know if I wanna bitch like that around my daughter.” “What?! Mia on some real shit you ain’t call me on some bullshit like this did you? Ma hole up, how long has it been now two or three weeks since you seen ya daughter? Why don’t we start this conversation all over again, why don’t you hang up, call back and ask me how our daughter is doing? How bout we do that?”

  “First of all I’m tryna help yo ass out! You the one walking around here lookin stupid wit a hoe on your arm, her own peoples even said she ain’t shit!” “Her own people who?” Nice asked with force. Right after that question left his mouth he wanted to kick himself for even dignifying the messiness Mia was on but anger and curiosity had gotten the better of him. “Her cousin Nona!” Mia shot back as if she had unsubstantiated proof that Ty was a hoe because Nona herself stood by the claim. Nice cackled sarcastically, “Nona!” he said incredulously “Word? And did Nona tell you I slutted her out then passed her to the team like a baton in a relay. Oh I bet she ain’t tell you that.” Nice had to laugh at the absurdity of this conversation. Both Nona and Mia should’ve been the last people on earth counting the mileage on another female’s pussy. He didn’t know how the two of them linked up together, whether it was Nona who sought out his Baby Mama to throw dirt on Ty’s name on some hating shit or if it was vice versa. None of that really mattered to him but he wasn’t about to let anyone including these two birds drag Ty’s name in these streets. Besides both of them had been displaying desert thirst behavior as of late anyways. Especially, Nona texting him naked selfies with dumb captions like You know you miss it, which he promptly deleted.

  “Mia don’t call me on no ignorant shit like this no more. You out of all people should refrain from calling anybody a Thot when you done had more niggaz run through you than a fuckin prison yard. The next time y’all birds congregate together wherever the fuck y’all do it at, on power lines, perched up on rooftops, or in parks eating stale ass bread crumbs just remember this keep me and my bitch name outta y’all fuckin beaks!” “Oh you’s a stupid ass nigga! You defending her honor fuck you and ya wide bottom bitch. That’s why she look like a fuckin Centaur! She ain’t bad nigga. The only reason she got something is cause her father died and left her wit some mon…” “Ohh! Yo you really out here on some private investigator type shit ha? Who you workin for now Homeland Security bitch? You out here doing fake ass background checks on niggaz, good! I’m glad to hear you finally got off ya ass and got a job, now I ain’t gotta give ya stankin ass as much as I do for child support since you gainfully employed and all,” Nice sneered sarcastically. “Oh nigga you gon give me my fuckin money!” Mia snapped. He pressed the end button on his phone just as Mia was really beginning to go completely in. The sad thing about it all was Mia was absolutely right he was going to give her, her money. Not because he wanted to but because he had to for the sake of his daughter. His lawyers had already told him it wouldn’t look good in the eyes of the courts if he stopped giving her child support payments after she filed suit against him. He might be perceived as a father who was being vindictive and cutting off payments in addition to filing for custody in retaliation. Although he was already planning on filing for custody Mia beat him to the punch and filed for child support first. This was like a game of chess she made her move and now he was going to have to be smart and careful about his counter move.

  He was beyond pissed at the moment; just like that Mia had the ability to alter his mood. It wasn’t a secret that Mia and himself held a deep seeded resentment for one another but the fact it seemed as if she went out of her way to antagonize him was crazy. As he pulled up to the valet he tried to shake the nasty encounter he just had with Mia off. He was going to meet up with his baby and it wouldn’t be fair to Ty if he let the negative mood Mia put him in affect their night together. She look like a fuckin Centaur! She ain’t bad nigga, Mia’s nasty words rang in his head. Out of nowhere he burst out laughing at the shot Mia took at Ty when he thought about the Greek mythology half man half horse creature. He didn’t see how Mia could compare Ty to that. Mia was a muthafuckin hater for real, Ty was bad; point blank period.

  Nice walked into the restaurant and gave Ty’s name to the Maitre d’ and he was briskly led to the rare of the restaurant where the seating and ambiance was much more elegant and intimate compared to the busy front of the restaurant. Ty was already seated looking down at her phone, forefinger plugging away as she text with lightening speeds. The flickering candle that was placed at the center of the table seemed to illuminate her
features. In that moment he got a chance to look at Ty in her rarest form when she didn’t know she was being watched. Ty reached up and tucked her long bang behind one ear the haircut still suited her well. The navy blue, silk blouse, she had on fit the curvature to her breasts like a glove. Her shirt was open to the third button giving him a glimpse of the butterfly diamond pendant that sat just above her plump breasts playing peek-a-boo from her shirt. He smiled inwardly proud, yeah proud to say she was all his. There was no way anyone could say anything negative about this woman, no way.

  Ty lifted her eyes from her phone catching Nice staring at her she flashed him a bright smile wondering how long he’d been watching her. Her eyes roamed Nice hungrily as he approached their table with a single long steamed yellow rose. Awe look at my baby Ty thought taking Nice in. He was GQ cover ready with enough swag to loan a few men in that restaurant. His muscular chest filled out the v-neck sweater he had on and the pale blue button up shirt he had peaking from the sweater at the neck and wrists blended well with his complexion. Nice was rockin a pair of black Armani slacks and topped the outfit off with a pair of Ferragamo loafers. Ty gave a silent nod of approval; hey what could she say her man was Niiiiice. Ty damn near shot up from her seat, she wasn’t intentionally trying to look so anxious but it was something about seeing him right now that had her all excited like a school girl seeing her crush walking down the hallway towards her. “Here you go beautiful,” Nice said as he leaned in to give her what was intended to be a sensual peck kiss on the lips. Ty had other ideas in mind and made them clear when she brought a hand to the back of his neck and slipped him tongue. The kiss they shared was intense but short. “Umm, damn ma I get all that with just a hello?” Nice asked as he sucked his bottom lip in and sat down watching Ty do the same. “Umm hmm, and if you’re a good boy tonight you’ll get even more,” Ty taunted with a sexy wink. Nice chuckled and shook his head Ty was him all the way with female anatomy. “Word that’s how you really feelin? Talk that shit just make sure you can back it up by the end of the night,” Nice countered. Ty giggled uncontrollably until a waiter approached handing them their menus.