The Dirty Divorce Part 2

by Miss KP

  “Ma, where you at?” Juan yelled out.

  “I’m upstairs in my room.” I could hear him running up the stairs as his diamond chains clinked together. “Well, don’t you look like a rapper?” I teased.

  “And don’t you look like you got a hot date. What’s all this about?”

  “Nunya.”

  “Yeah, that’s how you going on me? We keep secrets now?”

  I sucked my teeth. “Okay Juan, but you have to promise not to get upset.”

  “Spill it.”

  “I’m going on a date with Cornell.”

  “What? Man, didn’t I ask you not to talk to him? That’s my man, and he is only twenty-eight. With everything that’s going on, you’re going on a date with him?”

  “Yes, I am. Besides, he’ll be twenty-nine in January. So technically I’m only 9 ½ years older than him, and he seems like a really nice guy. Don’t try and make me feel bad for going out, Juan. You were the main one wanting me to get past the Carlos situation. I need a moment and something to get my mind off of things.”

  “Ma, I understand that you’re trying to get your mind off some things. You’re stressed and I understand why, but he’s my boy. We hang out together. We mess with chicks together. It’s just not gonna work and I don’t want anything coming in between our friendship.”

  “Juan, we’re both grown. Damn, you act like I’m trying to marry him tomorrow. It’s just a date.”

  “Man, wait ‘til I talk to that nigga. He didn’t tell me he was taking you out.”

  “That’s because I asked him not to.”

  He shook his head. “Well, don’t come crying to me if he hurts you. Remember y’all grown.” Leaving out of the room, Juan went back downstairs before I could respond.

  My son had never seen me with anyone besides Rich and was obviously having a hard time dealing with it. I was trying really hard to get over Carlos and I knew Cornell would be a good person for the job. Moments later,p heiont door slammed. I knew Juan was upset, but I had to do this, just to see if this was what I needed.

  Just as I started to re-apply my lip gloss, my phone rang.

  “Hey, I’m outside,” Cornell said. “I think I just saw Juan peelin’ off down the street.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that was him. Let me grab my coat. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  As I walked downstairs, butterflies filled my stomach. A part of me was excited while another part was nervous. Turning on the alarm and locking the door, I made my way down the driveway to his black on black Bentley coupe. With my nerves all over the place, I prayed that I didn’t slip and fall. Embarrassment wasn’t an option right now.

  Unexpectedly, Cornell got out of the car and helped me down the rest of the driveway. He looked great with his black leather jacket, Gucci skull cap and black Gucci boots. As he opened his car door for me, all I could think to myself was, if Rich could see me now he would die. Once Cornell got in the car, he grabbed my hand and kissed it.

  “Hey beautiful, you look damn good.”

  “Well, aren’t you the charmer, thanks. Do you always open the door for your women, or just on the first date?”

  He smiled. “I don’t have women. I have friends I’m cool with. And I do give respect to women. I have a mother and a sister that I want to be respected, so I make sure I treat women as I would want the women in my life to be treated. Anyway, your aura demands respect.”

  “Oh really. Why do you say that?” I questioned as I thought about how I’d never been respected by a man.

  “Well, you just seem like the type of woman who demands respect from a man. It’s how you carry yourself.”

  “You’re still not answering my question.”

  “I mean, it’s hard to explain, but you make me want to treat you right. How is that for an answer?”

  “It’s good as long as you mean what you’re saying and be a man of your word. I don’t have time for games right now.”

  “I will. I’ma make you love me, watch.”

  “Whatever!” I said as we both laughed.

  He had game, but I was determined I wasn’t going to be played with by another man. As Juan crossed my mind, I wondered if he was just being overprotective or if he was genuinely concerned because Cornell wasn’t good for me. I liked Cornell so far, but I just had to make sure I held my head and stayed in control.

  We drove for fifteen minutes making small talk and listening to Trey Songz. When we finally made our way into downtown Silver Spring and pulled up in front of Chipotle, my mouth dropped. I thought to myself, is this nigga serious. I was dressed for a romantic evening, not for an after school snack. All I could think was how the fuck is thi nigga gonna say he’s taking me out to make me feel better and now we’re at a fucking Mexican fast food restaurant. I hoped liked hell he was testing me.

  “So, Miss Lady, do you like Chipotle?”

  “Actually, I love it,” I replied with a huge smile. “Their salads are the best.”

  “Are you alright if we have dinner here?”

  I had to play it off. “Of course, but are they open?” I asked, looking through the window. “I don’t see anyone else in there. Plus it looks a little dark.”

  “Yeah, they are open.”

  When Cornell parked, we walked hand in hand to the front door. All I could think of was the girl on the blog saying how cheap he was. Maybe her ass was telling the truth, I thought as Cornell opened the door.

  “Hello, Mr. Willis, we were expecting you. Is this your lovely date?” a short white man with a burrito t-shirt asked.

  “Yes, this is Lisa.”

  “Hi, Ms. Lisa, welcome to Chipotle.”

  “Thank you,” I replied with a confused expression.

  “Follow me,” the man stated.

  Once we made it further inside, there was a candle lit table for two. There were no other customers, just two Chipotle employees and us. At that point, I was so impressed with Cornell’s efforts, it didn’t matter where we were eating. All that mattered to me was the fact that I felt special again; a feeling that I hadn’t experienced in a long time. The date had just started and I didn’t want it to end.

  After we ordered our food, I listened to him talk about his family. He told me that his mom was a single mother and raised him and his sister on her own. His father had left to go to the store to get milk when he was only six months old and never returned. Neither him or his sister who was two years old at the time had memories of him. He’d just recently met his father three years ago, but didn’t trust him since he felt he was back in his life due to his status. The more Cornell spoke about his absent father, the more he became upset, so he decided to shift the conversation and inquire about my upbringing. I was usually a private person, but being married to Rich you got used to dodging questions when people tried to pry. After Cornell poured his heart out to me, there was no way I could be secretive about my family with him.

  “I can’t believe I let you in like that on the first date,” Cornell said, as he held my hand. It appeared as if he was starting to trust me already.

  “Well, I’m sure we’ll be sharing many stories in the future,” I replied with a slight grin.

  “I have a better idea. Share with me right now. Were you raised in a two parent home?”

  “Actually, I was. I’m a preacher’s daughter.”

  “Oh yeah, you know what they say about those sweet preacher’s daughters,” he joked.

  “Whatever, Cornell. Anyway, I had my son when I was young and my parents forbid me to see Rich, Juan’s father. I was young and was determined to keep my baby and be with the one I loved. Rich was my life and you see I chose my son, so my father threw me out of his house. I had to depend on Rich to take care of me and my son. Skip to a few years later, Rich started to change, which I saw but was in denial like most women. He started spending more and more time with other women, his uncle, cousin…well brother, but that’s another story in itself.”

  “What was the crime in that?”

/>   “Because he got caught up in the streets. He almost died in a car accident and severely injured his knee which threw away all of our dreams of him one day being in the league. All of his scholarships and dreams went out of the window and that’s when our lives changed.”

  “Damn. So, how did it change?”

  “He got knee deep in the game and the rest is history. I really didn’t have a relationship with my dad after that, and my mother and I never got along, so Rich was all I had.”

  I noticed I was starting to talk too much. The number one way to turn a man off. But I felt so at ease talking to him that everything just started to roll off of my tongue. He made me feel like I could trust him for some reason.

  “So, I guess I’ll call you Ginger, huh. Like in the movie, Casino.”

  “You’re not funny. That life is all behind me now.” As soon as I started to spill again my phone rang. It was Juan. I didn’t want to argue with him so I sent him to voicemail three times.

  “I see you a busy lady, somebody lookin’ for you. Am I holdin’ you from your man?”

  “That’s Juan…smart-ass. I don’t feel like hearing his mouth. You know he has a problem with me seeing you.”

  “He’ll be alright. I’ll take good care of his mother,” Cornell replied.

  Before I could reply, Juan sent me a text. You need to get home now! Rich is tripping about Uncle Renzo.

  My nerves all of a sudden went crazy. I didn’t know what to do, so I panicked. All I could think about was, maybe Uncle Renzo found out what happened.

  “Oh my gosh. Cornell you have to take me home. I have a family emergency!” I yelled abruptly.

  “Is Juan alright?”

  “Yeah, we just need to go.”

  “Okay, no problem.”

  I texted Juan back to let him know that I was on my way home. Even though we never got a chance to eat, Cornell took care of the waiter and we headed back to my house. It was a very quiet but fast drive back. I didn’t know what to expect at home and I gues Cornell got the picture because the questions instantly stopped. Once we pulled up in the driveway, Cornell parked and hopped out to open my door. When he proceeded to walk toward the house with me, I stopped him.

  “No, I’ll be okay. You don’t have to walk me inside. Thanks for a great evening.”

  “You’re welcome and I am walking you inside. That’s what gentleman do,” Cornell insisted.

  Not wanting to debate, I allowed him to follow me. As soon as I opened the door, I dropped my purse in the foyer and ran straight to the living room. “What’s up, Juan? What happened?” I asked.

  “Man, you alright? You had your mom worried,” Cornell added.

  “What the fuck is this about? Y’all a couple now? You come in here all concerned like y’all have known each other for years. This is a family matter and…”

  Cornell must not have closed the door all the way, because before Juan could finish, Rich came in like a mad man.

  “Who’s hot-ass Bentley is in my driveway and why the fuck y’all got the door opened like that?” Rich yelled as he walked through the door.

  Obviously Juan and Rich were both in a rage, and I didn’t know how to get Cornell out of the line of fire.

  “Man, like I was saying, you need to roll out,” Juan said as he gave Cornell a stern look.

  “Cool,” Cornell said then turned to me.

  “I’ll call you later,” I said to assure him that I had his back. Moments later, he gave me a kiss on the cheek and left.

  Rich was pissed off and in shock. I knew that I’d hit a nerve. When he walked toward me, Juan quickly blocked his path.

  “Don’t even think about putting your hands on my mother.”

  “You goldiggin’-ass whore! Damn, you fuckin’ your son’s friends now? You that desperate for a come up, bitch?”

  “Why? Are you mad because he got more money than your broke-ass!” I shot back. I was tired of Rich and didn’t care anymore.

  “Both of y’all stop! Can we discuss the reason why we’re here,” Juan spat.

  “Juan, if you asked me to come home from my date to lecture me again about how I need to act if Uncle Renzo or Marisol asks me something then…”

  “Ma, I don’t give a fuck about your date. We need to discuss the importance of when we go to the funeral, memorial or whatever Marisol is planning that we’re all on the same page. That’s the reason I called you to come home,” Juan replied.

  “Oh my God, Juan do you think they know? I don’t want to be wrapped up in this shit!” I yelled in a hysterical rage. I ran to the couch, sat down then buried my face in my hands.

  ze="3"> “I should’ve killed this dumb bitch on BW Parkway,” Rich said, annoyed with my reaction.

  “Rich, we have to act like a family now. I’m not trying to die because of y’all fuck ups. Ma, be easy. Uncle Renzo is probably gonna try to break you, but you gotta be strong if you want to see another day.”

  I was quiet for a few seconds. “Okay. I’ll be strong.”

  As soon as Juan got up to go to the bathroom, Rich came over to me and slapped me so hard I saw stars.

  “Bitch, this is all your fuckin’ fault,” he said as he left out the door.

  Chapter Twelve

  JUAN

  As Cornell called my phone for the third time in less than an hour, I hit the ignore button once again. I just wasn’t in the mood to talk. I’d been avoiding him since he’d taken my mother out two days ago, so hopefully at some point he would get the message. I just wasn’t ready to deal with that shit especially since I was trying to be there for my mother. Even though she wouldn’t tell me, I knew something had happened between her and Rich that night.

  When I walked back into the living room, she seemed to be in a daze. Not to mention, the red mark on her face showed signs of an assault. No matter how many times I begged her to tell me, she just kept giving me some dumb-ass excuse about the red mark only being makeup. I knew she was covering for that nigga, and wished I could’ve caught his ass in the act. Already dealing with the Carlos situation, it was important to me that I got my mother through this hard time. More importantly, I just didn’t want her to slip back into a place where she would turn to drugs to cope.

  As I got dressed for Carlos’ memorial service, I was beyond ready for all of this shit to be over with. Looking through my closet, I decided on my Rock and Republic Jeans with my D&G striped sweater. Since the service was at their house, I didn’t really feel like dressing up. My Prada loafers and fur bomber would be as dressy as I got.

  Sitting on the edge of my bed as I put my last shoe on, I thought about how I could make my way into Uncle Renzo’s organization without Rich. I wanted to keep my plans for Rich separate so it wouldn’t interfere with me getting money. If everything worked out, I had plans to leave town and start over in Atlanta. I knew that Uncle Renzo was a hard one to convince, but I had a plan to make him trust me. With him and Rich at odds, and Carlos gone, I knew that I could stick it to Rich if I got Uncle Renzo to allow me to take over Carlos’ part of the business. This would definitely put me in position to get some real money and leave this game all together, so both of my sisters and r would be in a better place.

  I thought about Denie a lot and always hoped that she was doing okay. For the past couple of weeks I tried calling her, but she hadn’t answered any of my calls. Hoping she would eventually come around, I figured I’d give her the space she needed. I commended her for leaving and taking that nigga Rich’s money. He deserved everything that he had coming to him.

  My Rick Ross CD was on blast as I got ready. Checking myself out in the mirror, I picked a small piece of lint off my sweater right before my mother stormed through the door.

  “Why the hell do you have that music turned up so loud?” she asked.

  “Damn, what’s up with you? Coming in here with all that attitude,” I said, turning the music down.

  “I’m sorry. I had a rough morning trying to feed Carlie at the hospital. I ha
d a moment thinking about Carlos and how I’m gonna have to raise her alone. I know Rich isn’t gonna stand up, especially with that stunt he pulled in court demanding a paternity test.”

  She sat next to me on the edge of my bed and looked down. It always hurt me to see my mother in pain. Since I was a teenager, I protected her and did what I could not to make her feel alone. It really upset me when whatever I tried to do to make her happy wasn’t enough.

  “Ma, I asked you this before but maybe I need to ask again. Do you trust me?”

  “Of course, Juan.”

  “Well, why is it that no matter what risks I take and what I do to make you happy is never enough?”

  She looked up. “No, I appreciate you so much. I’m sorry that I make you feel like that. I love you more than anything in this world.”

  “Then just trust me that Rich won’t be an issue for long. It’s just a matter of time and we will be free of his bullshit.”

  “Why do you keep saying that? He’s like some type of fucking villain in a scary movie. He just never goes away. Just when you think he’s gone on with his life, he finds a way to come back and make my life hell.”

  “Well, know that I’m doing all I can to make that nightmare go away and give you happiness.”

  “He doesn’t even want me to have this house. What will I do for money? After a while I know this will all go away and I won’t have anything. I’ve never had a real job, no skills. I just don’t know what to do. Rich was all I’ve known, all my life, and just when I began falling for Carlos, Rich ruined everything.”

  “Ma, we have less than an hour before the service so let’s continue this conversation in the car. Besides, I have some questions I need answers to.”