As Baylynn got dressed to go home, her cell phone began to vibrate on the bed table. She figured it was Amelia calling her because she had been alone with Brandi for the past two days but when she looked at her phone, she wasn't expecting to see that the incoming call was from her mom. The two of them hadn’t spoken to each other since they went shopping at the Cherry Hill Mall months ago. Baylynn didn't mind the distance between her and Fateema but the fact that her mother was calling at the moment had her curious. Before the phone stopped ringing, Baylynn answered.
“Wassup Ma?”
“What the fuck did you do?” Fateema’s voice boomed through the phone.
“Huh?”
“Huh my ass.”
“Ma, I don't know what you’re talkin’ about?”
“So, you mean to tell me that you don't know shit about Ramsey bein’ arrested?”
“Ma, I haven't talked to Ramsey in months. I’m sure you know that he broke up with me.”
“I did hear that y’all weren’t together. That’s why I asked you that question. I know ya sneaky ass had somethin’ to do with it.”
“Look Fateema, I told you I don't know what you’re talkin’ about. Now, if you didn't call me for anythin’ important then we have nothin’ else to talk about.”
The phone went silent before the call ended. Baylynn was calm on the outside but she was panicking on the inside. She couldn't figure out how anyone could’ve known about Ramsey being arrested that quickly. Baylynn cussed herself as she finished getting dressed. The doctor came into her room with her discharge papers and after he gave her the instructions on how to get well, she snatched up her belongings and left the hospital as quickly as she could.
Baylynn disabled the locks to her car with the remote and hopped inside. She brought the car to life, backed out of the parking spot and drove out of the parking lot. She drove in silence as she thought what she did. Baylynn could care less that Ramsey was in jail. She figured if he was away from his family long enough that he wouldn't have a family to return to when he was released. Baylynn wondered who could’ve mentioned her name and how the news reached her mother so quickly because if her mother knew, then that meant his family knew as well. The good thing about this was that no one knew where she lived and she planned to keep it that way.
Pulling up to her house an hour and a half later, Baylynn parked her car in the driveway, killed the engine and got out. Before she could unlock the front door, it swung open and was saw an angry Amelia.
“Bitch, you got some nerve leavin’ me with ya cryin’ ass daughter.”
“Hello to you to Amelia.” Baylynn walked passed her and flopped down on the couch.
“So, do you wanna tell me why you were gone for two days?” Amelia closed the door.
“I had some business to take care of then I went to the hospital to get treated for my broken wrist.” She held up her wrist.
“What happened to you, Baylynn?”
“Amelia, your questions are startin’ to get on my nerves.” Baylynn jumped up from the couch and dashed over to the coat closet.
Baylynn unzipped the duffle bag full of money, took out a handful of hundreds before she closed the closet door and handed the money to her friend.
“You got ya money. Now, go.” Baylynn left Amelia standing there while she walked upstairs.
When Baylynn heard the front door close, she walked into Brandi’s room to check on her and she was sleep. She left out of her daughters’ room, walked into the bathroom and ran the water for her tub. She didn't feel any type of way about how she treated Amelia. She was tired of her questions and wanted to be alone. When the tub was full, Baylynn climbed in and soaked her current problems away.
31
Ramsey laid on a bench in the holding cell with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling. When he first arrived, he was interrogated for hours by two detectives. They asked him questions about Baylynn and the drugs and when Ramsey told him that he was being set up, the detectives didn't believe him. After they told him his charges which was assault to an officer, drug possession and domestic abuse, Ramsey knew he was fucked and it didn't matter to the police that this was Ramsey’s first offense.
They allowed Ramsey to make a phone call and he called his mom letting her know what he was being charged with and when he was going to see the judge. When the call ended, he was escorted to the holding cell where he had been for the past day and a half. The cell was full of niggas waiting to see the judge but Ramsey paid them no mind and whenever someone tried to have a conversation with him, he just ignored them.
The following morning, an officer called Ramsey by his last name as he unlocked the cell. Ramsey slowly got up and walked over to where the officer was standing. The officer placed the cuffs on him and escorted him out of the precinct to the prison bus where three other dudes were seated. After he was seated, Ramsey gazed out the window. When the last person was on the bus, two officers took their seats up front before the driver pulled off. Ramsey had many thoughts on his mind but his main thought was Cashmere and the promise he asked her to make. He didn't think that it would have to go into play that soon.
The bus pulled up to the Montgomery County Court Administration building thirty minutes later. Ramsey was the last one off the bus and when the officer informed him that he was first for his hearing, he took a deep breath as they walked inside. Once the officer checked in, they walked to the rear entrance of the courtroom where Ramsey’s court hearing was taking place. When he walked through the door, he locked eyes with his family and was happy to see Cashmere at the court hearing. Ramsey wasn't aware of who his lawyer was but he figured that he was hired by his family so he had a to be a good one. Ramsey stood until the judge asked him how does he plea and his response was not guilty to all the charges. The murmurs he heard from his family almost mad him laugh but he kept his composer. Being as though that two of the charges against him were felonies, the judge denied him bail. He set a date for Ramey’s preliminary hearing for February and it was at the end of November. Until his hearing date, the judge ruled that Ramsey wait in prison at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and banged his gavel. The officer that escorted him in came over to escort him out and all he could hear was his family and Cashmere yelling that they were there for him and they loved him.
Ramsey walked out of the courtroom unphased by the judge’s decision. Although the odds were stacked against him, he was confident that his family would do whatever it took to get him out of jail. All that was on his mind was if Cashmere would keep her promise and ride for him through this trying time.
32
Cashmere was upset when her and the family filed out of the courtroom. When they got outside, they walked in the middle of the block to where their cars were. Before anyone could speak about what took place, Cashmere spoke out.
“So, his hearing is in three months. What are we going to do to make sure he doesn’t have to do any jail time?” she challenged, looking around at everyone.
“The only thing we can do. We have to find Baylynn and keep her from talking. She’s the only person who can put Rams away. Well, her and the cops he assaulted.” Ryan shook her head.
“Y’all just leave that to me. The lawyer I hired is highly respected in the field and he has a way of digging up dirt on people. All cops don’t abide by their own laws. Plus, Ramsey have legit businesses in his name and this is his first offense. Nothing ties him to being a drug dealer so he should be good,” Randall reassured them. “As far as Baylynn goes, the cops that she gave the report to are gonna want her to testify. If she doesn’t show up, then they don’t have a case. So, let’s stay positive.”
“It seems like y’all got everythin’ handled with helpin’ the lawyer build a strong case in Ramsey’s defense and that’s half of the battle. If you need us to do anythin’ else, just let us know, Randall.”
He nodded his head in agreement.
“Aight. Well, I gotta go. I’ll keep in touch with y’
all.” Renee hugged everyone before getting into her car.
Cashmere hugged Ryan and Randall before she got in her car and drove off. Cashmere didn't feel like opening the store so, she decided to go back home where Tamia was watching Cassi. Driving down the expressway to West Chester, T. I.’s I Got Ya Back featuring Keri Hilson came through the speakers of her car. As she listened to the lyrics, the tears rolled down her cheeks. When Cashmere promised Ramsey that she would hold him down no matter how long his bid was, she didn't think that he would ever go to jail. Although he wasn’t sentenced yet, the fact that he had to wait in jail until his hearing date was just as bad. Despite her doubts, Cashmere’s love for Ramsey was strong enough to get them through the trying time at hand.
Cashmere pulled in the parking lot of her apartment complex and killed the engine. She hopped out of the car with her purse on her wrist and keys in her hand. Before she could open the door, her cell phone began to ring in her purse but she ignored it. Cashmere walked into the apartment and saw Tamia and Cassi sitting on the couch watching TV.
“Hey sis,” Tamia greeted. “What happened at the arraignment?”
“Ramsey pleaded not guilty, the judge denied him bail and his hearing date is in February. He’s going to be at Montgomery County Correctional Facility until then.” Cash sat down on the couch with them.
“Three months ain’t bad. Sometimes they make them wait longer than that.” Tamia shook her head. “Did you know what he was into?”
“Yeah but Ramsey was set up. He would never do something stupid like have drugs at his house and he’s not the type to put his hands on a woman. He ain’t no lame ass nigga, Mia,” Cash stated confidently.
“Set up? By who?”
“We think it was his ex-girlfriend. She’s bitter because he broke up with her.”
“Damn. That’s fucked up.”
“Tell me about it but we’re going to do whatever is needed to get my baby out of there.”
There was silence between them for a moment before Tamia started the conversation again.
“Cash, don't you know that talk that we didn't want to have the first day we met?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“I think it’s about time that we have that talk.”
Cashmere looked at her sister and by the expression on Tamia’s face, she knew that Tamia was serious.
“Okay. Where do you want to start this conversation?”
“I guess at the beginning. I’ll start.”
Cashmere listened attentively to her sister as Tamia talked about her wonderful childhood and the family trips they used to take. Tamia expressed that when she was a teenager, that’s when she noticed the change in her parent’s marriage. The constant arguing that went on between them, their dad’s unhealthy drinking habit and her mother’s overuse of Percocet’s almost destroyed their family but over the past five years, which was when their father walked out of Cash’s life, her parents’ marriage has been better than ever.
“My mother called me before you came home and asked me where I was and when I told her I was at my sister’s house, she was angry for a minute. I explained to her that I was grown and if I wanted to have a relationship with my sister than I could. She asked me which sister was I with and before I could say anything else, my mother hung up.”
“Wait a minute, so you mean to tell me that we got another sister out here somewhere?” Cashmere asked in shock.
“It seems like it, Cash.” Tamia shook her head.
“Papa was a rolling stone for real.”
“So, what do remember about Dad? What was he like with you?” Tamia picked Cassi up and sat her on her lap.
“Dad only came around on the weekends but he called during the week sometimes. What I remember the most were our Daddy- daughter dates he took me on.” Cash smiled. “He took me wherever I wanted to go and brought me any and everything I wanted. When I became a teenager, Dad had the talk with me about boys. It wasn't much of a talk though. He just told me to stay away from them. He was there for all of my birthdays and graduations. Except for my last one and he always told me he loved me.” Her eyes began to water.
“Cashmere, I’m sorry Dad walked out on you like that. I’m sure he will be happy with the woman you became.” Tamia tried to cheer her sister up.
“Thanks Mia. I know you’re not at fault.” Cash smiled. “Now, about this sister. Do we try to find her or just let it be?
“I guess we should try and search for her and if she doesn’t want a relationship, we’ll leave it at that.”
“That’s cool with me. So, where do we start?”
“With the source. Our parents.”
Cashmere didn't mind reaching out to her grandmother for anything because she knew her grandmother had the tea on everybody in the family. Even though she still had her grandmother, Cashmere knew that she was going to have to reach out to her mother as well. She hadn’t spoken to her mother since her first year of college and she really didn't have any words for her mother but if reaching out to her would help with the search of their unknown sister, then so be it.
33
Since being discharged from the hospital, Baylynn had spent most of her time in the house. She would take trips to the supermarket or the closet convenient store but that was about it. Even though Baylynn was living in Delaware and no one knew where she resided but Amelia, whenever she did leave the house, she was constantly looking over her shoulder. When she came up with her plan to set Ramsey up, she didn’t think about the consequences or the risk she was taking with her own life but she couldn’t change what was already done. All she could do was move forward and hoped that her best friend kept her new residence a secret.
After snorting cocaine for the first time, Baylynn found herself doing it more often then she should have. The reason behind her first use of the white substance was to numb her from the pain of the abuse she inflicted on herself. She had heard stories how it would numb your nose after snorting it but she wasn’t expecting to like the high that it sent her on. Every morning for the past week and a half, she snorted a couple of lines each morning to help her make it through the day because when she wasn’t high, the reality of being alone, a single mother with a baby father that’s in jail was too much to bear. Not to mention that she was living in fear because she put her ex-boyfriend in jail and his family might kill her. The constant thoughts that Baylynn had about how she fucked things up with Ramsey plagued her mind but when she was high, all she could think about was the good times they shared together throughout the years.
Baylynn woke up to use the bathroom and when she was finished, she walked down the hall back to her room. Before she could get comfortable again, she realized that Brandi wasn’t in her crib where she left her. Her heart began to race as she jumped up from the bed and rushed downstairs where she saw Amelia playing on the floor with Brandi. Baylynn’s heart rate went back to normal as she watched her daughter stand up and walk over to her friend. Baylynn took a seat on the floor a few feet away from Amelia and held her arms so Brandi could walk to her and she did. Baylynn hugged her daughter tightly before she released her.
“When did you get here, Amelia? Better question is how did you get in?” she inquired.
“Well, since you haven’t answered my calls in the past week, I figured I’d come over here and check you. I heard Brandi screamin’ to the top of her lungs from outside. The door was unlocked so I let myself in. I’ve been here since eight this morning,” Amelia answered.
“Since eight? What time is it now?”
“12:15.”
“Damn. I didn’t know it was that late.”
“Well maybe if you weren’t snortin’ that bullshit up ya nose, you might have been able to hear ya daughter crying. Maybe you would’ve been woke already.”
They locked eyes with each other and Amelia rolled her eyes at her friend.
“When did you start carin’ so much about my daughter?”
“I don’t know but I think i
t’s a shame that this child is about to have a coke head for a mother.”
“Look, I’m not addicted to it, okay. I use it when I’m feelin’ depressed and want to escape from reality for a while. I can stop when I’m ready.” Baylynn flagged her friend. “Anyway, what did you come by here for?
“I came by to ask you if you had anythin’ to do with Ramsey goin’ to jail. The streets are talkin’ and I heard that you got a price on ya head. Randall and Nick got niggas searchin’ high and low for you, Bay. What the fuck did you do?”
“I didn’t do anythin’. Everyone knew he was drug dealer. That nigga fucked up by havin’ drugs in his house. That was his mistake.”
“Now you know drug dealers don’t keep drugs in their house no more. That’s a rookie mistake and Ramsey been in the game too long to fuck up like that. Anyway, how did you know that he had drugs in house?” Amelia quizzed.
“Uh…I don’t. Just a guess.” Baylynn smiled weakly.
“Right. So, when are you gonna enroll Brandi in daycare. She needs to around other kids like her.”
“I was supposed to do that today. I’ll do it tomorrow. I got more than enough money to pay for it. My baby daddy takes care of me.” Baylynn smiled.
“Hold up. I thought Ramsey was her father?”
“Naw. Some nigga I used to talk to named Manny is Brandi’s father. He’s in jail though. We’ve been talkin’ since Ramsey broke up with me and kicked me out the house. When we got back from Aruba, he told me that the chick that he went there with was his other baby mama and that they were together for three years and how he wanted to be with her. That’s when I told him the truth about Brandi not bein’ his daughter.”
“Damn! I wanted to ask you why you moved all the way to Delaware. I had no clue all this popped off. There was a rumor goin’ around about that but I thought it was some bullshit. You really are still the same old Baylynn, huh?” Amelia chuckled.
My Other Baby Mama Box Set Page 14
