by Jahquel J
A
Woman’s Worth
Jahquel J.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
© 2014 Royalty Publishing House. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
Chapter One
Tiffany
I’m sitting here in my beautiful kitchen, thinking if I should just pack my daughter and myself up and leave Reshawn. Reshawn and I’ve been together for six years and I’ve grown tired of his constant cheating and abusive ways.
My name is Tiffany Mitchell and I met Reshawn Ellis six years ago at Champs, a sneaker store in Times Square, where I was working at the time. He walked in. My panties got wet. Standing 6’6”, weighing no more than 230 pounds of all muscle, dark chocolate skin with a killer smile, and long black dreads that hung past his shoulders he could easily be mistaken for the rapper, Future.
I tapped my best friend, Tyrisha, and told her he would be mine. I was just that confident in myself. I applied some Mac lip gloss and ran my fingers through my loose curls, which were all mine, courtesy of my Spanish roots.
I stood 5’3” with a caramel complexion, thick thighs, and a flat stomach, which I took pride in. I constantly tried to work off my big butt in the gym.
Everybody said I looked like the singer and actress Adrienne Baillon from the old group 3LW. I had a set of pearly whites, but had a chipped tooth from a fight in the 7th grade. I was slightly insecure about it, but it never took from my beauty. I had dark brown eyes and a beauty mark under my lip on the right side. I knew I was bad, despite my crooked smile.
I walked over to him with the sexiest strut I could muster.
“Hello, welcome to Champs, how may I help you?” I said smiling.
“Yo, do you have them new Jordans that came out last week in a size 12?” he asked with a deep voice that said he was the man in charge.
“I think we do. Let me go check and I’ll be right back in a second,” I said, walking away.
Out the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at my ass, so I made sure to throw an extra pep in my step.
I brought back the sneakers, unlaced them for him, and handed them to him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
I pointed to my name tag. “My name is Tiffany. What’s yours?”
“Reshawn. You got a man occupying your time?”
“Not at the moment,” I said, twirling my curls with a smile.
“Well, give me your number and I’ll give you a call later,” he said, handing me his phone. I took it, entered my number, and saved my name as ‘Your Future’. I handed him his phone back, walking off to ring up his total.
“Your total is $195.78.”
As I waited for the cash, I watched him pull out a huge knot of money. I couldn’t help but think that it could be mine. I could shop whenever I wanted without having to work.
He handed me the money and I gave him back the change and the receipt.
“Ms. Tiffany, expect a call from me,” he smiled and walked away.
Ever since that day we had been inseparable.
***
Thinking about all the things we’ve been through the last couple of years, from the countless women calling my phone, the two kids he had out of our relationship, to the countless lies I’ve been told over and over again, and not coming home at night, I was tired and mentally drained. I thought our a daughter, Madison, would change him into a man that came home to his family, but boy, was I wrong. He was hustling more and more.
Life was good. I had countless handbags and more red bottoms than I could wear in a year. I lived in a gorgeous five bedroom home in Great Neck Long Island, away from Reshawn’s business he had established in Brooklyn, Harlem, and the Bronx. He was slowly trying to take over Queens. His famous motto was: Don’t shit where you sleep. So, I spent my time taking care of our daughter and keeping the house clean for a man who never stayed home for more than an hour.
I was constantly reminded that the life I had was good. I shouldn’t have been complaining because plenty of bitches would love to be in my spot. There were plenty of niggas wanting his spot.
I wanted more for my daughter and myself. I went to school for Cosmetology before I met Reshawn. I always asked Reshawn to let me work part-time in a salon and put Madison in daycare. Money wasn’t a problem. I just wanted to showcase my skills, open my own business, and have my own money for my daughter and our future. Asking Reshawn for money was like pulling teeth out a shark while in the water.
I had four hundred thousand dollars saved from pulling money out his stash in the guestroom’s bathroom closet over the years we’ve been together. All I needed was to put my plan in place and move on to start planning my future. Hustling doesn’t have a retirement plan.
Breastfeeding Madison was becoming a constant drag. She was now seven months and took up my whole lap when I tried feeding her. I fed her baby food, but she would just throw the food around our kitchen and I couldn’t have that. Breastfeeding or trying to feed her the food I ate was the only way to feed her.
She was taking a toll on my body. Everyone kept telling me to breastfeed because it was healthiest and it helped women lose the baby weight fast. I lost the baby weight three months after I had Madison. Now that she was hooked, she wouldn’t take the formula. My once perky sets of 36 C’s were now only perky in my bra.
It didn’t help that Reshawn didn’t find me attractive anymore. He was becoming sloppy with his cheating. His new girl was Melissa and she called my phone a few times, just so I could hear the love of my life fucking her when he was supposed to be home with me and his daughter.
When I confronted him, he didn’t deny it, but he would say I came first to them other hoes. This only made me feel like I wasn’t woman enough to keep my man at home and not in another woman’s bed.
I only gained sixty pounds in my pregnancy, but I lost fifty of the pounds. The other ten went to my hips and butt. I thought it looked good on me. I was going to get my breasts done as soon as Madison turned a year old. I was going to do the whole mommy make over.
Believe it or not, this was going to be my first and last kid. The stress I endured during my pregnancy, and the relationship I had with my baby father, made me just want me to raise my daughter and be a good mother; leaving the whole relationship part out the equation.
***
I was the fool again, sitting at my kitchen table with dinner. I baked macaroni and cheese, corn bread, string beans, and baked chicken for my man. I made chicken salad with no dressing for myself. There was no man here to enjoy what I just slaved in the kitchen for.
It was typical for Reshawn to never be home. For once in his life, I hoped he would be. At that moment, I wanted to grab my stuff, my baby, and leave. Why I was trying for something obviously he didn’t care or want?
I heard his car pull into the driveway. I decided to walk into the foyer to greet what I thought would just be my man, but I was blindly surprised with Reshawn, Melissa, and Eddie, Reshawn’s lieutenant.
“Oh hell fucking no! I know you didn’t just bring this bitch into my house where my daughter lays her head. You really lost your damn mind this time, Shawn!” I screamed with my hands balled up ready to pounce on that bitch.
She had the nerve to be dressed in a Versace strapless dress with the pumps to match. She was rocking the hell out of it with her flat stomach and toned thighs. With her olive complexion, she looked like a wannabe Kim Kardashian.
“She’s with Eddie, so calm the fuck down with all that.” He snapped, with his eyes
damn near closed.
Through the little slits of his eyeballs, I could see his eyes were bloodshot red; so I knew he was high.
“You must really expect me to believe that dumb shit spilling out your mouth. This is the same bitch who calls my phone, so I can hear y’all fuckin’, dumbass!”
I knew I crossed the line calling him dumb ass. Everybody knew the one word you couldn’t call Reshawn was a dumbass and I had just crossed that line. Looking into his eyes, I knew it was about to go down. Before I could turn around, he grabbed me by my throat and slammed me against the wall, choking the tears out my eyes.
“Watch what the fuck comes out your mouth, you crooked tooth bitch,” he said, releasing me like I was a deflated balloon.
Melissa and Eddie stood by, looking without taking an eye off the confrontation. I was embarrassed and hurt. He humiliated me, the mother of his child, in front of his hoe. I ran up the stairs, two at a time, to look at my neck. It was red and I could still see his handprint. I looked in the mirror and just stared at myself.
I was only a housewife with no ring or the man. I didn’t leave the house unless it was to get Madison some diapers or food. All of my red bottoms, in my closet, were getting dusty, as well as my clothes. Sweats were the only thing I would wear.
Wet and wavy was the way I went with my hair when it wasn’t in a ponytail. I wasn’t the fly girl from Manhattan I once was. I was a twenty-five year old single mom and house maid/wife. I was loyal to an abusive undeserving man.
I felt like it was time to live my life.
“We out. Don’t wait up for me!” he yelled from downstairs.
“I won’t.” I yelled back, knowing I wouldn’t be there in the morning.
I grabbed my phone, dialed Tyrisha, and laid across my king-sized bed, looking at the ceiling.
“Hey, Tee, what you up too?” I sighed in the phone.
“What happened?” She asked, knowing something was wrong.
“Tonight was the last straw. He brought that bitch in my house, then got mad, and choked my ass while she watched with a smirk on her face.”
“You say the same shit, over and over again, and yet your ass is still in Long Island.” I knew what she was saying was true.
Tyrisha was tired of paying an expensive rent while living in a rat and roach infested projects, so both her and Tone had jumped in their jeep and headed to Miami, Florida and never looked back.
Tyrisha was into fashion and became a popular stylist in Miami. She had a long list of clients, with celebrities too. She had been begging me to come down there and get away from Reshawn, so she could expand her styling business. The women and men in Florida would pay ten times more for a fly outfit and banging hairstyle. She knew I was the perfect person to do it.
Tone was running the most lucrative real estate businesses courtesy of his drug money. He had turned his dirty money clean and opened a business. He still dabbled in the drug world occasionally, stepping in when he needed to, but he never got his hands dirty. Mainly, his focus was on starting a family with the woman he loved, Tyrisha.
“I know… I know… but, I’m coming. I'm booking a flight for tonight and should be coming in late.”
“So, you’re serious about this, huh?” she quizzed.
“As a heart attack. I got to go. I have to pack, book my flight, and be outta here.”
“Kiss my niece and be careful, Tiff. I love you,” she said and ended the call.
***
I grabbed my entire Louis Vuitton luggage and some of Reshawn’s. I packed clothes, panties, half my shoes, and some of my summer wardrobe. I needed some good clothes. I was going to Miami and had to look good. I ran into Madison’s room, packed her entire closet, shoes, and a few toys.
I stopped suddenly and looked at my peaceful child sleeping without a care in the world. She looked so much like me and Reshawn that it was scary. She had my button nose and his chinky brown eyes. Her mocha skin was the perfect blend between my light skin and her father’s dark skin. She was perfect to me and I couldn’t understand why Reshawn wouldn’t want to give up the streets to help me raise her.
I looked at my phone. It was text message from Reshawn.
Heading upstate to visit moms tomorrow.
Be ready at 10 am with Maddie.
I looked at the phone and a smile crept on my face. Too bad we would be in Florida tomorrow at 10 am. I finished getting our stuff together, ran in the kitchen, packed plenty of Madison’s milk, with a cooler to keep it cool, and snacks for the plane.
I showered quickly, slipped on a PINK sweat suit with white Airforce Ones, put gel in my hair, and grabbed my laptop. I went on Expedia and found a flight that was leaving in two hours. I knew that we would land at twelve in the morning so I booked a hotel suite so I didn’t have to wake Tyrisha when I landed.
I put the last of our bags in the trunk of the cab and put Madison in the back seat. We pulled out the driveway with our destination to LaGuardia airport. I looked in the rearview mirror at what used to be my life and smiled about the new memories for me and my baby girl. Nothing was gonna hold me back. Reshawn had hit me for the last time.
Chapter Two
Tiffany
I woke up in sunny Miami, Florida with the sun shining and the wind so cool and breezy. I threw my robe on and looked out the window with Madison on my hip. She was smiling and I could tell she was going to love our new life.
My first order of business for the day was to get a new phone contract of my own. Reshawn had been blowing up my phone all night and day. Apparently, he must’ve come home to an empty home and immediately thought we were kidnapped. He called my phone, over and over, leaving countless voicemails.
I answered one his calls and told him Madison and I were moving on to bigger things in our lives and if he wanted to see Madison he would have to wait a while until I was settled. Then, we could establish a routine where he could see her. Until then, he was not to contact us point blank period. He cursed me out, calling me an ungrateful bitch. I hung up and turned my phone off.
I decided to stop by Tyrisha’s house for the day. I hadn’t seen her since my baby shower and I missed her so much. I couldn’t wait to catch up. I texted her when we arrived at the hotel. She told me to leave the hotel and come stay with her, but I was used to having my own space.
Besides, this hotel was top of the line. I had a two bedroom suite with a kitchen, washer and dryer, and a wraparound balcony. It didn’t hurt that they charged me by the month, so I was good. This would be home until I found a better place.
I got Maddie dressed in a cute pink and gold D & G summer dress with her gold gladiator sandals. She sat in her playpen, trying to take her sandals off while I got dressed.
I put on a cute white BCBG maxi dress, a pair of black Valentino studded flip flops and paired it with my black and white tote bag. I applied a little bit of makeup, put a few loose curls in my hair and sprayed myself with Marc Jacobs’ Daisy. I grabbed Madison and the keys to the 2013 Bentley I was renting for the week. I looked and felt good. I knew me and my Maddie-boo was killing it.
***
I pulled up to the security booth of Tyrisha’s gated community of La Gorce Island in Miami Beach. I was stunned that she moved down there three years before and I didn’t get a chance to go down to visit her — not once. I thought my mini-mansion in Great Neck was nice, but these houses in La Gorce Island made Great Neck look like the pink houses in the Brooklyn projects.
A big Spanish man, whose name tag said Frances, opened the window.
“May I help you?” he asked cheerfully.
“Yes, I’m here to see Tyrisha and Antonio,” I said.
“Name, please, and ID? “
“My name is Tiffany Mitchell,” I said, handing him my ID.
“A New Yorker… You’re a long way from home.”
“Yes, but I’m hoping to become a Floridian soon.” I giggled.
“Enjoy your stay. Pull up and I will buzz the gates open.”
/> “Thank you.” I smiled, pulling up to the gates.
He opened the gates and I thought the outside of the entrance was pretty, but the houses were beautiful mansions with manicured lawns and high price trucks and cars. I continued driving, looking for Tyrisha’s address. When I found it, I yelled, damn near startling Madison, who had fallen asleep.
The house was a huge Spanish style villa mansion. It was tan with a brown stucco roof and big brown door with a square big enough to stick your hand out for a peep hole. I grabbed Madison and walked passed a Mercedes SLC Coupe in a candy apple red.
“Damn, auntie is doing well for herself,” I said to Madison.
Madison laughed, making spit bubbles, entertaining herself, and wetting her bib.
I knocked on the door and waited a while. Finally, a tall skinny black man opened the door.
“How may I help you, ma’am?” he asked, smiling.
“By first not calling me ma’am. Tyrisha is expecting me.” I laughed.
“Tiffany, is that right?”
“That’s me and this is Madison.” I said, bouncing Madison on my hip.
“Okay. Walk down the hall, have a seat in the family room, and I will go get Ms. Tyrisha,” he said, walking up the circular stairs in the foyer.
I walked down the hallway. This mansion was something out of the movie Baps. It was beautiful from the décor to the furniture, to all the pictures of Tyrisha and Tone. They were living — traveling to places like Italy, Rome, Puerto Rico, and Bahamas. They were enjoying life while I missed out because I was home being a faithful to a man who didn’t deserve it.
I sat down and placed Madison on my lap. She started tugging at my shirt which meant it was time to eat. I satisfied her by giving her a treat I had bought while at the airport. She loved them. I made a mental note to find them online and order her some more.
“Yasss, you’re finally here, boo,” Tyrisha said, walking in the family room.
She was carrying a lil’ something extra—a baby bump.
Tyrisha was 5’7” with big breast and small waist. She had chocolate skin with hazel almond shaped eyes. Tone always said the reason he got with her was because she looked so much like Kelly Rowland. She was stunning and glowing with a maxi dress accentuating her protruding belly. She had on the latest Chanel sandals.
