by Untamed
“Oh, shit.” Of all the things to hear, I wasn’t expecting to hear that, and I immediately embraced her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. After all of that, he still left you?”
That’s when I felt her silent tears falling on my chest. “Yep. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what you go through with a person. If they don’t love you, they just don’t.”
Guilt. For the first time since Jennifer had reemerged in my life, I felt guilty for how I’d treated her. It was a very sobering feeling to see myself in the same shoes as her ex-husband, and for the first time in a long time, I finally understood the depths in which I’d betrayed Jennifer. I didn’t like it, not as a man, and especially not as the father of a little girl.
I lifted her face toward mine. “Well, I’m sorry for all that I’ve done, and again, I didn’t mean to bring that up.”
Faintly, she smiled. “Thank you for that,” she said, the sincerity shining in her eyes. “And no worries about bringing that up. It actually feels good to talk about it to somebody.”
We sat there in a silent embrace as we continued to look at the DVDs of Jessica when she was a few days old. The more I saw the video, the more I realized how much valuable time I’d truly lost and how every moment was indeed precious.
* * *
Bam! I heard something slam and I scrambled to get up.
“What the fuck?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
Jennifer sat up and stretched. “What time is it?” she asked, looking around.
“Time for you two motherfuckers to tell me why you are cuddled up asleep on my fucking sofa,” Lucinda yelled with her hands on her hips. “So, is this how it is, Aldris? You just gonna disrespect me in our house?”
Shit. Somewhere along the way, Jennifer and I had fallen asleep on the sofa watching the DVD. What’s worse than Lucinda finding Jennifer in our house without Jessica present was the fact that we fell asleep still embraced in that hug. Fuck me. Now, Lucinda was home, and category 10 was about to be off the fucking radar.
Jennifer jumped up, looking at her watch. “Oh, fuck. It’s been two hours. My lunch was over an hour ago. I’ve got to call my boss and let him know I’m on the way.”
“No, you’ve got to tell me why the fuck you’re in my house. So, you just gonna be in here on my man and act like that shit is just a normal part of your day?” Lucinda screamed at Jennifer.
Jennifer put her hand up. “Listen to me. It was an honest mistake. You need to talk to Aldris, but right now, I have to talk to my supervisor,” she explained as she snatched up her cell phone and dialed her job.
I looked at Lucinda, and I swore I could see steam coming from her nostrils. Okay, this looked bad as hell, but it was so innocent. I knew better than to approach her, so I just kept my distance to explain the situation.
“Look, baby, I know how it looks, but it’s nothing like what you’re thinking. Jennifer came over to drop off some DVDs of Jessica.”
“Why the fuck didn’t she just drop it off and keep it moving? How the hell did that turn into you two curled up on my sofa together asleep?”
“She was originally gonna just drop them off at my job, but I asked her to come over here to drop them off—”
She stepped back in shock and immediately cut off my explanation. “Ooooh. So that’s what we do now, Aldris? Invite bitches to our house and spend time together. I can’t believe you invited her. You invited her?”
“It wasn’t an invite. I simply asked her to bring the DVDs here because I wasn’t at work,” I said, trying to calm down the intensity of the moment.
“Yeah, okay.” She shrugged sarcastically.
Just then, Jennifer walked back in the living room and grabbed her purse. “Lucinda, I’m sorry. It really was nothing. We were just watching the DVDs,” Jennifer said as she began walking to the door. “Again, I’m sorry.”
Lucinda’s mouth fell open, giving Jennifer a look of sheer disbelief. “So, you just bold enough to breeze your ass to the door like it’s all to the good? Bitch, you done tried me—”
Knowing Lucinda was about to pop off, I jumped between them. “Stop, Lucinda,” I yelled, blocking her from grabbing Jennifer just in time.
Jennifer looked at us wide-eyed as I held Lucinda’s arm in the air. “Oh, hell no. I am so glad I’ve got to go to work. Aldris, handle her. She done lost her fucking mind,” Jennifer yelled angrily as she snatched the door open and stalked out.
As soon as the door slammed shut, I was met with a huge slap across my face. I grabbed my face in pain, and before I knew it, I was up in Lucinda’s face. “Oh, hell nah. What the fuck is wrong with you? Now, I’m not hitting you, so don’t be putting your hands on me. Don’t you ever put your fucking hands on me.” My voice thundered with anger.
Suddenly, tears rolled down her face. “You had that bitch in my house, curled up on her like you were a couple, and you’re checking me? Wow.” She stepped back, running her hands through her hair, completely aggravated with me and this situation.
Pacing back and forth, I yelled, “You won’t let me explain. Since she came out of her way on her lunch break to bring the DVDs, I told her to stay and eat her lunch here.”
“And that still doesn’t explain you two being cuddled up.”
Frustrated, I tried to knead the tension out of my neck before I continued. “As we were looking at the videos, I asked about her baby with her husband, and she explained she lost the baby. She started crying about it, I hugged her, and we must’ve dozed off. That’s it. I put that on everything I love,” I explained, slapping my hands together in a sense of finality. I was over done with this whole scenario.
“So, every time this bitch has an emotional moment, you’re gonna be hugging on her? Let God be her comforter, not you. That’s not your role or position. Play your fucking position, which I thought was my fiancé,” she screamed.
Her words triggered a flashback in my mind. I remembered Jennifer being in the same position with me when we were engaged. Only then, she was justified in her assumptions. Still, I never wanted to make Lucinda feel like I’d made Jennifer feel. That thought alone caused me to reevaluate how I was handling her in this moment.
With a growing sense of understanding, I tried to grab her hands to center her, but she snatched away from me. “It was just a natural reaction because we’re friends.”
“Well, excuse me. I signed up to be engaged to Aldris, not Captain Save-a-Ho!”
This back and forth wasn’t helping anyone, so I opted to end this argument. I’d explained the situation, and all we were doing was going around and around the details. I decided to be the bigger person and just accept this as completely my fault.
Releasing a deep sigh, I walked up to her, grabbed her hands, and stared into her eyes. “Lu, I was wrong, and I promise that I won’t do it again.”
She looked away, and then looked back at me as if what I said didn’t even matter to her. “Really? Because if my memory serves me correctly, this is time number two.” She held up her index and middle finger in the peace symbol and paced the floor with tears in her eyes. “Do you even love me anymore, Aldris?”
“Yes! Of course I love you. You’re my fiancée.”
“Then why do I feel like I’m the baby mama and Jennifer is your fiancée? Ever since you found out about Jessica, it’s been all about you, her, and Jennifer. It’s like fuck me and Nadia,” she cried. “If you don’t want us so you can have your ready-made family, then just say so.”
Although I knew this was my fault, I was blown away. Was she really fucking serious? I fought so hard for us to be together in the first place, and she acted like this wasn’t what I wanted over a fucking hug? You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. She acted as if I was dicking down Jennifer. I mean, it was fucked up, but damn. It was in no sense a betrayal. I was so sick of her blowing shit up to a hundred when it was really only a ten. I had to get the fuck away from Lucinda for a little while before I said some shit I knew I’d regret.
“You
know what? I need to go. Mike invited me to play hoops with him today, and I think I need to take him up on his offer. We need some cool-down time.”
“Fine. Leave then, motherfucker. Maybe I’ll leave too.”
I tensed up and turned to look at her. “What the fuck does that mean?” I asked, looking at her as if she were crazy. She had my blood boiling. Then, I thought about it and shook my head. I couldn’t entertain this shit right now. “You know what? Never mind.” I grabbed my keys and walked out, leaving her standing there with her mouth agape.
* * *
I needed to be around my dude Mike and get a man’s opinion. I had to admit that even though I was pissed with Mike about the whole incident at my mom’s house, I was happy as hell when Lucinda trotted in the house with his number. He’d made a lot of changes in his life, and it was like we never skipped a beat, only this time he was a lot more mature. I was ready to release some stress by whipping some ass on the courts while at the same time getting some much-needed advice from him on how best to relieve the pressure of this situation between Lucinda and me.
“Mr. Fabulous finally joins us,” Mike said as he called time-out.
I went up to him and my boy Rod and gave them a one-arm hug. “What’s up, fellas?”
“Nothing much. Glad to have you back in the circle,” Rod said.
“It’s good to be back.” I laughed.
“This is my cousin, Sam.” Rod introduced us. “He’s going to be our fourth so we can beat you and Mike in some basketball, baby.”
Rod was amusing. He knew me and Mike had handles. “Whatever, son.”
Mike laughed. “Yep, it’s time to school these clowns.” He playfully hit my chest.
Rod looked at Sam. “You ready to do this?”
“All day, baby.”
We began playing the game with fierce intensity. We were truly street balling—throwing elbows, pushing, charging and all. It ain’t no fouls in street ball. We were having a blast. Then these fools started shit-talking.
“You don’t want none of this, you pussy-whipped muthafucka,” Rod said in my face as I defended him.
“Shit, nigga, please. Alize wears the pants in your house,” I shot back as Mike and Sam laughed.
“Fuck you, boy,” Rod said as I snatched the ball away from him and shot a three-pointer.
“Oooh, that shit wasn’t nothing but net my nigga,” Mike said, slapping hands with me.
Rod called time out, and we went and sat on the bench to drink water and wipe our sweat.
“So, you’re really going to do this marriage thing, huh?” Rod asked me between swigs. “I mean, I feel you. Lucinda is a bad bitch.”
I pushed him. “Man, watch your mouth. That’s you and Alize who play like that.”
Mike fanned him off. “You know this fool just dumb.”
Rod shrugged. “What? My bad.”
Just then, Sam’s cell phone rang. “Sorry, fellas, I’m up. I’ve been waiting on this hot piece of ass to call me for two days. I’m ’bout to go tap this.”
We all laughed. “All right,” we said, throwing up deuces.
“Hey, dude, I gotta get my stuff out your car so I can ride with Mike,” Rod called out as he got up to go to Sam’s car.
Mike looked at me. “That’s a damn fool. Rod ain’t never gonna change.”
“Hey, never say never. You did.” I hit him in the chest.
He nodded. “That is true. So, let me ask, can a brother at least get an invite to the wedding since I’m not gonna be in it?”
“Yeah, man. I’ll make sure you get an invitation,” I said, putting my head down.
“What’s up with the long face? You should be excited.”
Taking a deep breath, I let out, “I am.”
“What’s going on, man? This is Mike, baby. Talk to me.”
Without Rod and Sam around, I took the opportunity to open up to Mike about the current situation with Lucinda. “Man, this shit with Jennifer, Lucinda, and me is getting outta hand. Ever since Jennifer and I worked out our differences and became friends, we are cool as hell. We have no problems raising our daughter together as an extended family, and Jessica is the light of my life, man,” I explained, pulling out my wallet and showing him a picture that Jessica and I took together.
“But my issue is Lucinda flips the hell out every time Jennifer and I are around each other. Like today, I asked Jennifer to bring over some DVDs of Jessica. Well, Lu was in class, so she wasn’t there. Anyway, Jenn and I sat there looking the DVDs and joking. We started talking about some serious shit, she got to crying, and out of comfort, I hugged her. Somehow, we fell asleep, and then Lu came home. Even though I explained it to her and apologized for what happened, she was crazy mad, slapping me and shit, trying to fight Jennifer and stuff. I mean, just doing a bunch of crazy bullshit. Not to mention the sideways shit flying out of her mouth.
“I know this was an extreme situation, but it’s been like that with little shit too. Why is she calling you? Why do you have to drop what we’re doing to run over there? It’s crazy, and I hate to say it or even think this way, but a part of me feels like I’m pulling away from her because of it. It’s weird because I love her so much,” I explained as I leaned back on the bench, happy to get that shit off my chest.
Mike nodded as he took it all in. “Well, I know firsthand that the wrath of Lucinda can be a volatile one.”
I chuckled, remembering their fallout. “This is true.”
Then, he got serious and patted my shoulder. “Look, man. I hear you. But be that as it may, I learned that Lucinda is a good woman, and I know she loves the shit outta you, Aldris. That’s hard to find, and you found it twice—once in Jennifer and once in Lucinda. I know Lucinda is a firecracker—”
“Shit, more like a stick of dynamite,” I cut in. “Or a block of C4.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I agree with the block of C4, but she loves you. When I saw her in the store, she had a glow on her face when she showed me that ring. It was like that smile came from her soul. I also saw the turmoil in her face when she said that Jennifer was back and Jessica was your baby. I think you have to find a way to balance enjoying your daughter with the life you already have.”
“I am,” I yelled, offended. I couldn’t believe this fool was actually on Lucinda’s side!
Mike gave me that “get real” look. “Really? Even with you discussing this situation, not once did you say, ‘we did this or that as a family.’ It was clearly your life with Jessica and Jennifer, and then your life with Lucinda and Nadia. Of course, Lucinda is gonna feel threatened. You were engaged to Jennifer and you all share a child. Look at the picture you took. Granted, it didn’t have Jennifer in it, but it didn’t have Nadia in it either, and if Lucinda is gonna be your wife, Nadia is your daughter too.”
Did I just get my hat handed to me by my best friend? Ain’t this a bitch? Times had definitely changed. I couldn’t believe he was with Lucinda on this one. “Wow. You really think I’m doing that?”
“I think you’re allowing it to happen,” he said, wrapping the towel around his neck. “Look, I’m the last person to talk to about making a relationship work. It’s cool to do your thing with Jennifer and Jessica, but try to make Lucinda feel like she’s a part of Jessica’s life too, and not just the woman her dad is marrying. ’Cause the one thing I do know is Lucinda is completely in love with you. Don’t fuck it up.”
I was about to talk more when my cell phone rang. I knew that ringtone. Usher’s song, “There Goes My Baby.” It was Lucinda. I sighed and looked at it.
Mike looked at me and hit my arm. “Answer it,” he said, then grabbed his water and walked off.
“Hey, baby,” I said into the phone.
“Aldris, please come home. I’m sorry,” Lucinda apologized in a tear-strained voice.
Chapter Twenty-seven
LaMeka
“Surprise!” Everyone yelled at Tony as I rolled him inside the front door. A couple of his nurses were there, as
well as my mom, his parents, Pastor Gaines, and our kids.
He smiled gleefully and looked back at me. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s for you. It’s your surprise welcome home party.”
His parents walked up to him, and each hugged him for a long time.
“I love you so much Mom and Dad,” he said.
His mom pulled back, and instantly, the floodgates opened. “I’m just so happy and blessed to have you home. Thank you, Jesus,” she shouted, hugging him again with tears streaming down her face. She choked up damn near everybody in the room.
Tony had successfully completed his drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and he was on a consistent medical treatment program for his HIV. He was still a little weak from his surgery and in some pain, but he was doing very well, all things considered.
He slowly stood up and looked around. “Thank you all so much,” he said to everyone. “I owe all of you so much, and I put my right hand to God that I will get my life together this time.”
“Dada,” LaMichael said as he toddled away from my mom.
Shock filled Tony, and instantly, tears fell from his eyes as LaMichael staggered toward him and he picked him up. I grabbed Tony Jr., and Tony hugged all of us in his embrace. “Yeah, little man, it’s Dada,” he cried. “I swear to God I’m going to do right by y’all. I love you little boys.”
That’s when everyone’s floodgates opened. It was so emotional and cleansing to know that after all Tony and I had been through, we could stand there together as a family. That was God’s work.
“Enough with all this crying. This is a party. Let’s go ahead and turn up some music and get this food together. I know my son. He’s ready for some fried chicken, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread,” Mr. Light said.
Tony pointed to his dad, nodding his head in agreement. “That’s what I’m talking about, Daddy.”
While Tony mingled and played with the boys, I took the opportunity to call the two people who were on my shit list: Misha and Lucinda.
“Misha, where you at?” I asked as I stepped outside the house. “You were supposed to be at Tony’s parents’ house for the welcome home party.”
