On Monday, I took an extended lunch break to go see Jaylin. I called to tell him I was coming over, and when I got there, he was chilling around back by the swimming pool. He wore a white wifebeater, some blue jean shorts, and dark sunglasses. He flipped through a magazine and tossed a ball to Barbie so she could catch it.
When I asked where everybody was, he said Mackenzie and Scorpio were at school, and Nanny B had gone to the grocery store. He invited me in, but since it was so beautiful outside, I sat next to him on one of the plush lawn chairs.
“You look nice,” he said, checking me out in my soft pink pantsuit.
“Thanks.” I squinted at the sun shining in my face. “Is this what retirement allows you to do all day long?”
“Yep. And when I got something on my mind, I like to come out here and chill.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“It doesn’t matter, but why are you here?”
“I came to tell you I’m not going to your family reunion. Again, if you want to take LJ, feel free. I think you know as well as I do that I have no business going with you.”
Jaylin laid the magazine on the ground and avoided looking at me. He scooted back on the lawn chair and placed his hands behind his head. “That’s cool. I figured you wouldn’t go.”
“Please don’t be mad at me. I just need time to work on my relationship first.”
“I thought you and Collins had already worked things out.”
“I thought we did too, but Collins wants to move to Detroit. I’m not sure if I’m going with him or not.”
Jaylin was silent as he stroked his goatee. He whistled for Barbie to come to him, and threw the ball again. He leaned back in the lawn chair and cleared his throat. “When you move, make sure you bring LJ to me,” he said casually.
“Who says I’m moving?”
“Your man says so. He’s got you under his wing right now, making you feel all guilty and shit about having sex with me, so you’ll go. And I don’t care if you go. Just know that according to our agreement, my son stays right here with me.”
“I said that I haven’t decided anything. And don’t be so nonchalant about this. I remember what our agreement said.”
He removed his sunglasses and looked straight in my eyes. “Good. I hope you do remember; that way I don’t have to look like the villain when you don’t have your child.”
His words stung and angered me. I cut my eyes at him and snapped, “That’s not going to happen and you know it.”
“Yes, it is. And you want to know why, Nokea?” I looked down to fidget with my nails. “You’re going to lose out on everything because Collins is playing you for a fool. His decision to move to Detroit all of a sudden is to get you as far away from me as possible. It is a weak move on his part, and I can’t believe you’ve fallen for his bullshit.”
“That’s not what this is about. His business is in turmoil and he has to go take care of it.”
Jaylin gave me a hard stare. “Don’t be no fool, okay? Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to continue with my thoughts—alone. It’s been almost two weeks since I had to disrespect anybody, so please don’t be the one to break my record.”
I stood up. Just as I got ready to leave, Scorpio slid the patio door open and walked over by us. After she gave me a shitty hello, she leaned down, giving Jaylin a mouthwatering kiss.
“Hey, baby,” she said, ignoring me. “Guess what I got today?”
“What?” he said. His whole attitude had changed that fast.
Excited, she opened a small bag and pulled out a pregnancy test. “My period is three days late and we might have ourselves something in the oven.”
“Now, that’s what I’m trying to hear.” He pecked Scorpio on the lips and looked at me. “Do you mind?”
“No, I was just leaving.”
I said good-bye to Scorpio and left.
See, that was the kind of mess that made me want to move as far away from him as possible. One minute he was on, and the next minute he was off. If his plans were to have a baby with Scorpio and marry her, then why couldn’t he just allow my son and me to move on and do our thing? Sometimes I hated that he was LJ’s father. He was too darn controlling and always had to have everything his way. This time, if I decided to go to Detroit with Collins, I was going to put up a fight!
23
SCORPIO
My pregnancy test showed a big fat negative. I was truly disappointed, and so was Jaylin. He was pissed about me getting him all hyped up, but with the nauseated feeling inside of my stomach and my delayed period, I thought this time was it. I thought the test might have been wrong, but it proved not to be when I got my period five days later. Again, I hadn’t a clue what was wrong, but as I lay in bed with my head resting on Jaylin’s shoulder, I suggested maybe something was wrong with him. Of course, he corrected me.
“Ain’t a damn thing wrong with me,” he said, holding me as we watched TV.
“How do you know?”
“Because I just know. Simone, Nokea, or Daisha didn’t have no problems.”
“I know they didn’t, but how do you really know Daisha’s baby was yours? You’d only known her for a short time, so what made you trust her when she said the baby was yours?”
“I don’t know. I just did. Besides, when I saw my son, I knew he was mine. There was no denying him.”
Frustrated, I got up and walked outside on the balcony. I looked up at the sky and silently prayed for a baby. Shortly after, Jaylin came out on the balcony with me. He stood with his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky as well.
“I guess that’s all we can do is pray, huh? If it’s meant to be, then I guess it’ll happen,” he said.
“I hope it will. I know how much you want a baby, and I feel so bad that for whatever reason, I can’t give you one.”
“Don’t stress yourself about it, okay? Believe it or not, I’m more concerned about you putting your ring back on. Seems like ever since you took it off, we’ve had a streak of bad luck in our relationship. Why don’t you put it back on and let’s try to start this all over.”
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist. I laid my head against his chest and rubbed it. “Go get my ring so I can proudly wear it. This time, I promise you, no more lies, no more secrets, no more anything. I want this to work out between us, and I’m not going to give up on us having a baby.”
Jaylin and I went back into the bedroom. He pulled the ring out of a drawer and placed it back on my finger. I vowed that things would get better between us, and so did he.
That promise was short-lived because the next day, things started to get heated. Mackenzie was at school and Jaylin had taken Nanny B to get to know Delores and Ursula. I was offended because he hadn’t even offered to take me, but I got tired of griping about every single thing. Not saying that my gripes weren’t legitimate, but I knew Jaylin would figure out a way to make my concerns invalid. Either way, Nanny B was just the nanny, so why was it so important for her to get to know his family better? I wasn’t trying to hate, but it seemed that my competition was right in this house.
I felt foolish for comparing myself to an old woman like Nanny B, but it was hard not to. She had control over him; he listened to her, and he rarely ever raised his voice at her. He showed her more love than he did anyone. I didn’t like it one bit, but again, it was something I just had to live with.
Instead of having a pity party, I decided to whip up dinner for everyone. I didn’t have any classes, so I thought about helping Nanny B out so she didn’t have to cook. I put on her apron, and opened the fridge to see what was inside. I pulled out some pork chops and placed them on the counter. Then I opened the cabinet and saw some macaroni. I went back to the fridge to see if we had some cheese. We did, so I removed the cheese from the fridge, along with some collard greens and crescent dinner rolls.
As soon as I put the macaroni on the stove to boil, the doorbell rang. I saw Stephon on the porch, and immediately opened the do
or.
“Hey, Stephon,” I said. He spoke back and walked in without being invited. He wore a blue striped shirt that was unbuttoned and showed his white T-shirt underneath. It was neatly tucked into his well-pressed jeans that fit his muscular body well. His hazelnut eyes searched the room.
“Is Jaylin here?” he asked.
“No, but he should be back soon,” I said, moseying back into the kitchen. He followed.
I sat at the table, picking the collard greens. While watching me, Stephon leaned against the kitchen’s doorway and lightly rubbed his bald head.
“Do you know where he is?” he asked.
“Him, Nanny B, and Mackenzie went over to his sister’s place.”
“You say soon, but how soon will they be coming back?”
I shrugged. “Maybe by four o’clock. You can wait if you’d like.”
Stephon pulled back a chair and sat at the table with me. We really didn’t have much to talk about, and I was uncomfortable again with the way he lustfully looked at me.
“Can I get you anything to eat or drink while you wait?” I asked.
“I’d like something to eat, but, uh, if there are any sodas in the fridge, I’ll take one.”
I got up to get Stephon a Pepsi and set it on the table in front of him. Knowing that he never had a problem going into the fridge to get it himself, I reminded him that this house was just like his house.
“I know, and Jaylin has always made it clear that what’s his is mine. I just wanted to check out a li’l something from behind,” he said, grinning.
I swallowed the huge lump in my throat. I could tell where this conversation was going. Still, I wanted to know where Stephon was coming from. It was always good to know when I had to watch my back. “Check out something like what?” I inquired.
He leaned back in the chair and placed his hand over the hump in his pants. “Something like . . . do you mind if I tell you how your body turns me the fuck on?”
“I’m really sorry that it does, because there’s nothing I can do about it. From now on, please keep your comments to yourself. Maybe Jaylin doesn’t mind, but I do.”
“You’re right, because he doesn’t mind. He told me to have at it any time I wanted to.”
“Well, I don’t care what he said. I’m not going to be put on display by him or anybody else. Now, if you don’t mind, either you can change the subject, or I’ll have to ask you to leave. “
Stephon defensively held out his hands. “Hey, subject changed. In the meantime, I was wondering how things were going with you and Nokea.”
My tone was dry. Stephon had definitely pissed me off. “Everything is fine with Nokea and me. Why do you ask?”
“I mean, are you still cool with Jaylin having sex with her? They’ve been tight for a real long time, and I wasn’t sure if—”
I huffed and laid the greens on the table. “Stephon, why don’t you leave? I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re trying to cause, but your lies will get you nowhere with me.”
“Lies? Who says I’m lying? You can ask Jaylin for yourself. He won’t lie to you because he’s not the kind of man who would lie. And if he does, which you know is rare, you’d instantly know it. He’ll cock his head back and say, what? And pretend that he doesn’t hear you.”
I rolled my eyes, ready for Stephon to leave. “Thanks for your advice. Now, is there anything else? I’d like to have dinner ready before he comes home.”
“Yes, there’s one more thing.” He stood up and placed his hand on the side of my face. “For the record, Jaylin still loves Nokea. I, on the other hand, am digging the shit out of you. I keep visualizing myself fucking the shit out of you, and you, pretty lady, are settling for less when you don’t give me the opportunity. If you ever need me, and I do mean ever, you know where to find me.”
I moved his hand away from my face and stood up. “Not interested—at all.”
He winked and walked out of the kitchen. When I heard the front door close, I took a deep breath and dropped back in the chair. Stephon knew better than to come to me like that. I didn’t care what anybody said; that brotha had it out for my baby. Every time I’d mention to Jaylin that I didn’t like Stephon’s comments, he’d tell me Stephon was just playing. When I reminded him about Nokea, then Jaylin would say, “Stephon knows better and would never cross the line again.” To me, it didn’t seem as if he knew better. Had I dropped my panties, he would have torn into me. Still, I didn’t want to stir up any trouble between them, so I decided not to tell Jaylin. Besides, he’d blow it off anyway. He was so happy about his “new family” and I didn’t want to do anything to disrupt the wonderful behavior he’d been displaying lately.
When Mackenzie came rushing through the kitchen door with her backpack on, I was putting the finishing touches on dinner. She picked up Barbie and reached for a dinner roll on the table.
“Go wash your hands first,” I yelled. She put the roll in her mouth and ran out of the kitchen. Nanny B and Jaylin came in, talking loudly about his folks. When they saw dinner on the table, both of them quickly shushed. Nanny B walked around the table and smiled as she looked at the food. Jaylin stood, rubbing his goatee with an unsure look on his face.
“Can I get a thank you?” I said.
“We–well, it looks good,” Nanny B stuttered. “It looks to me as if you did a remarkable job.”
“Thank you,” I said, and then turned to look at Jaylin. “So, are you going to just stand there or what?”
“It ain’t gon’ jump out at me if I sit down, is it?” he said.
“Let’s hope not,” I said.
We all sat down, and when Mackenzie came back, Nanny B blessed the food and we got busy. Everything tasted fine to me, but when I looked up, I saw that after biting into a pork chop, everybody’s eyes were roaming. When Jaylin bit into one, he closed his eyes; Mackenzie frowned at the food, and Nanny B cleared her throat. Jaylin scooped up a spoonful of macaroni and cheese, and after taking one scoop, I guess that was enough for him. He spat it into a napkin, wiped his mouth, and stood up.
“That’s it for me. I’m going to White Castle. Anybody else want something?”
“Baby, quit playing. It is not that bad,” I said.
“Like hell! I’m sorry, baby, but this shit will kill us. What did you do?”
I looked at Nanny B. “Is it that bad, Nanny B? Please be honest.”
“Well, chile,” she said, beating around the bush. “It’s kind of got a little—”
“It’s horrible and too salty,” Mackenzie said. She lowered her plate. When Barbie ran up to it, Jaylin yelled.
“Mackenzie! Don’t you give Barbie that food. She’ll be laid out if you do.”
They all laughed. Finding nothing funny, I sat with my arms folded.
“Come on, y’all,” I said. “I can’t believe my cooking is that bad. Now, I admit, it doesn’t taste like Nanny B’s cooking, but it ain’t as bad as y’all say it is either.”
Jaylin ignored me. “Like I said before, does anybody want some White Castle?”
“Why get White Castle when I cooked this food?” I stood up, walked over to the refrigerator, and took out the German chocolate cake I’d baked. “I even baked a cake. I know this is the bomb, so y’all better at least eat this.”
Mackenzie got all hyped up, but before she could dive into it, Jaylin stopped her.
“Please let me be the brave one here. I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” he said to Mackenzie. He took a fork and cut into it. When he put it into his mouth, he closed his eyes and chewed. Seconds later, he slowly opened them. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Please get me a glass of water before I choke on this.”
“But—”
“But my ass!” he yelled with the cake in his mouth. He gagged. “Get me some water!”
Nanny B rushed to get him some water, and after he spat the cake in the trashcan, he wiped his mouth, eyeballing me. “Are you trying to kill us or something?”
“Jaylin
, there is nothing wrong with this cake.” I took a bite, and after I spat it in the trashcan, I smiled. “Okay, so I messed up the cake.”
“You messed up the whole damn dinner.” He laughed. “But the thought was sweet of you.”
“Really, it was,” Nanny B said. “Next time, though, you and I can do it together so I can figure out what you’re doing wrong.”
“Hopefully there won’t be no next time,” Jaylin said. “Scorpio should be banned from the kitchen cooking like that.”
“More like thrown in jail,” Nanny B said, adding her two cents. We all laughed, and when Jaylin suggested going to pick up dinner at Sweetie Pie’s on West Florissant Avenue, I offered to go with him. Nanny B stayed and cleaned up the kitchen with Mackenzie’s help.
I changed clothes, Jaylin grabbed the keys to his Navigator, and we jetted. No sooner than we got inside, he was all over me about an empty 7-Up can I left in the cup holder.
“All I’m saying is throw the damn can away once you’re finished with it. What purpose does it serve in the holder if it’s empty?”
“None. But is it going to kill you by being there?”
“Yes. And so are those scuff marks from your shoes all on the edge over there. I spent too much money on this truck for it to be messed up.”
“Damn, Jaylin! How is an empty can and one little black scuff mark going to mess up this truck?”
“One soda can could turn into two or three cans. One mark can turn into more marks. If you gon’ drive my shit, just take care of it, all right? The only thing that needs to be in here is your ass in that seat. That’s it.”
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