by Lucinda John
“Are you girls ready?” I asked Maliah and Mariah, who were both dressed in a Burberry shirt and shorts set with the matching sandals on their feet. They both had their little crossbody bag and shades on, looking too cute.
“Yes, we’re ready,” they both replied.
“I think we need to go to the salon first. These ponytails ain’t what’s popping,” I giggled.
“Why you hating on my work?” Mayhem asked, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“I’m just saying, bae. You got Mariah’s ponytail all loose and Maliah’s ponytail looks like you ain’t use no type of brush.” I pointed out.
“I tried tho’,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. “Didn’t Daddy do a good job?” he asked the girls.
“Tiny does it better,” Mariah replied.
“Sell out.” He playfully stuck his tongue out at them.
“Ma, where y’all going?” Elijah asked, walking over to us with Mace on his trail.
“The salon. You wanna come? You could use a wash and some fresh braids.”
“Nah, my lil nigga ain’t about to be around a bunch of females. He about to get his butt kicked in 2K,” Mayhem answered.
“Ma, tell Pops I’m a beast,” Elijah replied.
“Leave my baby alone, he a beast.” I smiled.
I absolutely loved the bond Mayhem and Elijah had. Since his real father wasn’t in his life, it felt good to have him around a positive male role model. I was shocked when Elijah took to him; he even started calling Mayhem Pops and requesting that Mayhem take him to basketball practice after school.
“Ok, girls, let’s go,” I said, kissing the boys before grabbing the girls by their hands and walking out the door.
Since I felt like riding in style, I decided to take Mayhem’s car.
“Can we listen to Lemonade? I love that album,” Maliah said.
“What you know about that Lemonade?” I asked her.
“Mama listens to it all the time. My favorite song is ‘Hold up’,” she replied.
“Ok.” I shook my head as I programmed the Bluetooth to play music from my phone.
When we arrived at Kiddy Town, which is a salon that specializes in kids’ hair, I was happy that there wasn’t a long wait. I found Misty, the lady that usually did their hair when I was too lazy to do it, and walked over to her station.
“Hey, girls,” Misty cooed.
“Hey, Ms. Misty,” they both replied.
“What are you girls getting today?” she asked.
“I want my hair different from Maliah this time,” Mariah said.
“You do? Why?” Misty asked.
“I don’t know.” she shrugged her shoulders.
“Ok, what do you want?” Misty asked.
“I want zigzag braids in the front and a bun in the back,” Mariah replied.
“What about you, Maliah?”
“I want zigzag braids too, but I want it in a mohawk,” she replied.
“I got it. Do they need their hair washed?” Misty asked me.
“No, girl. Their daddy washed it last night,” I replied.
“Girl, you got you one of the few good ones left,” Misty said.
“You ain’t never lied,” I said before making my way to the waiting area.
While the girls got their hair done, I caught up on a few assignments I had to do. I planned on chilling all weekend and the only way I was going to do that was by completing all of my homework. Just as I placed the last period on my paper I was finishing up, the girls were running over to me, displaying their new do.
“You girls look real pretty.” I smiled, fishing in my bag for my money.
“Thank you, girl,” Misty said, as I handed her the one-hundred-dollar bill. “You need change?” she asked.
“You know that’s your tip.” I winked.
“That’s why y’all my favorite customers,” she smiled.
“See you in a few weeks.” I waved.
“Later, Ms. Misty,” the girls sang, as we walked out of the shop, hand in hand.
The next stop was the nail salon, where we all sat in chairs and got mani and pedis. Thanks to the vitamins I’ve been taking, my nails have been growing long and strong, so now all I was rocking was gel polish. Just as I was scrolling through the color wheel, deciding on my next color, I heard the most annoying voice ever. I didn’t have to look up to know that Neesha’s bird brain ass had entered the building.
“I’m going to get 274, Blush,” I said to the nail tech.
“Tiny, can I get yellow?” Maliah asked.
“Daddy only wants you girls to get soft colors. Cotton Candy looks like a pretty color,” I replied, pointing the color out to them.
“I want Cotton Candy too,” Mariah said.
“You both can get it,” I said, diverting my attention to the text message thread between Emma and me.
“Long time no see.” Neesha smiled, walking over to me.
I wanted to kick her ass again for trying me and taking my money, but I was with the girls and most importantly, I was pregnant. Ignoring her ass, I kept my focus on the text message I was sending.
“You went from not wanting to be a mom to becoming a step mommy; that couldn’t be me,” she said, causing the birds she was with to laugh.
Pulling out Mayhem’s black card, I made sure she read his name before handing it to the nail tech. I then pulled out the massive knot of money Mayhem gave me and peeled off a few twenties, tipping the nail techs. I wasn’t going to stoop down to Neesha’s level, but I was petty enough to show that hoe I was good on my end, without having to shake my ass.
“Chy, ain’t nobody stunting you.” Neesha sucked her teeth.
Still ignoring her, I waited until the nail tech was done painting the girls’ nails so we could leave. My silence must have pissed her off because she started getting flip out the mouth.
“A bitch done got upgraded like that hoe from Pretty Woman and now she thinks she the shit,” Neesha nastily said.
“At least I ain’t have to pop it in vain. I’m riding in foreign cars and you still popping it for money to buy a bus pass. I get why you mad, but it shouldn’t be with me,” I said, putting her ass in her place.
“Gia, here, upgrade her from regular polish to gel,” I said, handing the nail tech a crisp hundred.
When the girls were done, we made our way to the mall that was only a few blocks away. I took the girls to Justice so they could shop as they pleased. I was noticing that although they were twins, they both had their own personal style and no longer wanted to dress the same. Once they were done going crazy, I swiped Mayhem’s card, then went to Kids Footlocker to get Mayhem and Elijah the new Jordans they kept talking about.
I took the girls to Burger King so we could have a quick lunch before dinner.
“Daddy said you aren’t supposed to eat this,” Maliah said, as she bit into her fries.
“I know, but I’m really hungry.” I frowned.
“Daddy said we have to protect the baby by making sure you drink a lot of water and eat healthy food,” Mariah chimed in.
“My burger has lettuce and tomatoes in it, see?” I replied, showing them the veggies. “Plus, the meat is protein, so this meal is really healthy.”
“If you put it that way then I guess it’s ok,” Maliah said.
“Let’s just keep this between us. If you girls can do that, then I’ll take you two to Baskin Robins.” I smiled.
“Ok,” they both said, finishing off their food.
After ice cream and a quick stop at the grocery store for items for dinner, we were finally on our way home. I could tell that the girls were growing tired because they no longer sang the whole Lemonade album as they did earlier. I, myself, needed a quick power nap. Being on my feet all day was really exhausting.
“Tiny, did Daddy forget his noodle packet in the car?” Maliah said, as I grabbed the bags out of the trunk.
“What do you mean, noodle packet?” I asked.
“This,” she
said, handing me a Magnum.
“Where did you get this from?” I asked, trying to keep my cool.
“I reached under the seat to get my other shoe and I found it,” she replied.
“Thank you, baby. I’ll talk to Daddy about being so messy,” I said, as I stuffed the Magnum in my pocket.
“You need help, Ma?” Elijah asked, rushing over to me to grab the bags out of my hands.
“Thanks, baby. There’s more bags in the car. Where’s Mayhem?” I asked.
“He’s in the back putting Mace down for a nap,” Elijah replied, as he ran out to the car to grab the rest of the bags.
“Girls, you can go lay down and take a nap,” I said to a very exhausted Maliah and Mariah.
“Ok, Tiny. We had fun with you today. We always have fun with you,” Maliah said.
“Yes, we had a lot of fun. My mommy used to be fun like you, but she’s not anymore,” Mariah added, causing me to cringe.
Regardless of me not being Elijah’s primary parent, I always made it my business to show him that he was loved. I spent a lot of time with him and even took him out on mini dates. The fact that Macy wasn’t showing her daughters attention pissed me off.
“I will always be here to have fun with my two favorite girls,” I assured them, as they made their way upstairs for a nap.
“Ma, I got everything,” Elijah said, bringing the last of the bags inside.
“Thank you, baby. Look in those Footlocker bags over there,” I said.
I watched with a smile on my face as he ran over to the bags and grabbed them.
“Ma, you are the best!” he beamed, as he ran to his room with his bag of sneakers in tow.
Elijah had a collection of sneakers on the wall that Mayhem had built for him. For him to be so young, he always kept his shoes cleaned. When he was done wearing a pair, he would clean them off and return them to the shelves, where he had them organized by color.
Making my way upstairs, I headed to the room, prepared to chew Mayhem’s head off for this condom I found in his car. Mayhem and I were past the condom wearing stage; therefore, there was no reason for him to have them. As I sat on the bed, waiting for him to enter the room, his phone started beeping.
Mindy: I cannot thank you enough for the car, I love it! You are the best boss I ever had (kissing face emoji)
“No this nigga did not buy this hoe a car,” I said to myself, as I read the text through the message screen over and over again.
I knew there was a reason I didn’t like her when I first saw her. Mindy looked like one of those bitches that knew a man was taken but didn’t give a fuck. The way she wore those tight clothes with her titties sitting up and her ass all out wasn’t fooling me. I could easily spot a thot. Whether she was wearing a business suit or a G-string I could point them out.
“Why you going through my phone and shit?” Mayhem asked, causing me to jump and shit.
“The question is, why the fuck is there a condom in your car?” I said, throwing the condom at him. “Matter fact, what the fuck is this hoe talking about, thanking you for a car and shit? I know you ain’t buy this hoe a fucking car!” I yelled in his face.
“The fuck are you talking about?” he asked, looking down at the condom. “Where the fuck you get that shit?”
“Your daughter found your ‘noodle packet’ under your seat. Explain that shit!” I said, getting in his face.
“Get out my face with all that extra shit, Tiny. For real, man,” he said, trying his best to keep distance between us.
“I hear you talking, but you ain’t saying shit about what I asked you!” I screamed, mushing his ass.
“I’mma need for your ass to keep your hands to yourself and calm down all that screaming. My fucking kids are sleep!” he roared at me, causing me to jump a little.
“Fuck you, nigga! Explain this shit,” I spat.
“I don’t know where that condom came from,” he said, pissing me off.
WHAP!
I smacked him hard across the face for lying to me.
“Fuck, Tiny, man!” he yelled, holding my hands firmly by my side. “Dawg, I swear if you wasn’t pregnant I’d fuck you up!”
“Don’t fucking lie to me then!” I said, trying to squirm out of his tight grip.
“Tiny, if you put your hands on me again I will be forced to fuck your ass up. Carrying my baby or not!”
“I found a condom in your car and you mad at me.”
“I told your ass that condom don’t belong to me. I don’t even get down like that, ma. Have I ever given you a reason to think I would cheat?” I asked.
“I mean, you were still married when you started fucking with me,” I shot at him.
“Nah, Tiny, that was a fucking low blow,” he replied, looking hurt.
“Why did you buy that bitch a new car, Mayhem?”
“I didn’t buy her a car, I allowed her to trade in her old car for a new one. She still making her monthly payments like every other motherfucker that comes to the dealership and purchases a car,” he replied.
“Nah, you fucked the bitch and bought her a car in return,” I snarled.
“I ain’t never had to trick for pussy; that shit come a dime a dozen,” he shot back at me.
“I knew your dog ass was like the rest.” I sucked my teeth. “Too bad I fucked around and got pregnant for your ass,” I spat out of anger.
“That’s how you feel?” he asked, looking down at me.
“I said it, didn’t I?” I sucked my teeth.
“Iight, say no more,” he said, walking away from me.
Before he could make it out the room, I grabbed a decorative vase that I had on the dresser and threw it at him, hitting him in the head.
“You going to stop putting your fucking hands on me,” he snapped, snatching my ass up.
“Let me go, Mayhem,” I said, throwing my fist and clocking him upside the face a few times.
“Thank my baby, because if it wasn’t for my unborn, your ass would have been laid out right now,” he said, pushing me on the bed and walking away.
I sat on the bed with so many emotions running through my head. Grabbing my body pillow, I held on to it as I cried. I wasn’t sure if Mayhem cheated on me; I wouldn’t be able to take it if he did. I wanted to believe he didn’t, but where else would that condom have come from? I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt when it came to his club manager, but I couldn’t get over the fact that chick was bad.
I heard Mayhem gathering the kids so he could take them to his mom’s house. I wanted to stop him, but it was as if I was frozen. I wanted to sit down and have a rational conversation about what happened—get to the bottom of things—but my past experiences with men kept clouding my judgment. I felt stupid for thinking a man like Mayhem would take a nobody like me serious.
Mayhem
“What happened to your head?” my mother asked, as I walked in her house with the kids in tow.
“Girls, take Mace to the playroom and let me talk to Grandma,” I said to the twins.
Once they were out of sight, I reached in the refrigerator for a Corona and gulped it down.
“Are you going to tell me why you got dried up blood behind your head?” she quizzed.
“Tiny’s little ass did this shit,” I replied, grabbing another beer.
“Why would she do that?” my mother asked.
“Because her pregnant ass is delusional.”
“You didn’t hit her, did you?”
“I was close, but I didn’t. The way she was putting hands on me kept provoking me tho’,” I truthfully replied.
“Good, because I taught you boys how to walk away, not hit women,” my mother said.
“Yeah, but that crazy girl had me ready to jack her little ass up. She lucky she carrying my baby.”
“Well, why would she bust you up like this?” my mother asked, reaching for her first aid kit.
The gash I had in the back of my head wasn’t that serious, but leave it to Ma Duk
es to want to take care of a nigga.
