“I’m alone, don’t worry.” I half joked and she smiled awkwardly.
“Of course, thank you. Come in.” She stepped to the side to allow me in. “Chanel is with her doctor right now, so we can sit in the living room until they’re done. He’s running a few tests so I wanted to give them some privacy.”
“Yeah sure, aight.”
We both sat down on the large couch, and it was silent as I took the living room in. I hadn’t really paid attention to it since I usually went straight to the back, but I saw it had a lot of nice stuff. I could tell it was a family home at one point, meaning more than Chanel and her mother had lived here at some time. The pictures of family were everywhere, along with some trophies for what looked like track. One picture of Chanel in particular looked hella recent, judging by the quality of it.
“Is that Chanel’s father?” I quizzed, breaking the silence.
“Oh yes. Her condition was just too much for him to handle so he left town. I have no idea where he is. We’re divorced though.”
“I see.”
“Yes, marriage is not all that great. I mean at first it’s fun and it’s refreshing, but once you really settle into it, that’s when you see it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
“Marriage definitely takes work, and from two strong people. Y’all both have to want to be in the relationship.”
“Very true. Chanel tells me you were married before? Before the wife you have now?”
“Yeah, I was. It didn’t work out though because we just couldn’t get on the same page. When I wanted it, she didn’t, and vice versa. But everything happens for a reason. I think I have the wife God wants me to have at this point.”
“I’m not too sure about that.” Louise chuckled and made her way to this big glass shelf that held a bunch of fucking wines. “You seem very civilized and she… doesn’t.”
“She is, but she’s pretty passionate about shit, so she can go overboard.”
“You must really love her if you’re able to defend her actions. What was she going on about anyway?”
“Nothing really, just worried about Chanel,” I lied.
“Oh.” She grabbed two glasses and set them on the mini bar. “Wine?”
“No, I’m fine, but thank you.”
“Aww, come on Chaz. I barely have company. The only people I talk to outside of Chanel are her doctors. Please have a glass with me while we talk.”
“Aight, but just a little teeny bit.” I smiled and so did she. I watched her pour very little into a glass, and then damn near fill hers up. “Thanks.” I took mine.
“You’re a very good catch, Chaz. In my younger years, I would have definitely been interested. I’m much too old for love now.” She stared off, before smiling subtly and sipping her wine.
“Not too old at all. Nobody is too old for love.”
“So, what are you saying? That someone as handsome and talented as you would date an older woman like me?”
“I don’t see why not. I’m sure everything is still working, right?”
She licked her lips and then chortled seductively, which alarmed me a little bit, but I wasn’t gon’ jump to conclusions.
“Would you ever do me a favor?” She scooted closer to me on the couch and looked deeply into my eyes.
“What kind?”
“Never mind. I couldn’t ask you to do such a thing.”
“Ask.”
“Spend one night with me, just one. I swear I won’t become a crazy stalker or anything and I won’t tell your wife. Just one night and—”
“Are you out yo’ fucking mind?”
“I—”
“Mrs. Irving, I’m finished.” Some guy came from the back who I assumed was the doctor. “She’s umm…” his eyes darted from me to Louise, who’d stood up and started towards him. “She hasn’t really progressed, but we have to be hopeful.”
Why does this nigga keep looking at me?
“Aye, what the fuck are you doing man? Shouldn’t she be in a hospital? How the fuck she gettin’ worse every damn time?” I hissed.
“That’s how cancer is sometimes, Chaz. Thank you, Dr. Forrester, and I should be seeing you next week.”
“Yes, of course.” He quickly moved past me like he was afraid that I was about to upper cut his ass. Shit, I was probably going to. Nigga looked like a fucking scam artist and I didn’t trust his ass. As a matter of fact, I didn’t trust any of this shit anymore.
“Excuse me,” I said, heading back to the room Chanel was in. “Hey, beautiful,” I smiled once I saw her and she returned the gesture but weakly.
“I thought I’d never see you again.” She chuckled and then coughed a little.
“Nah, hell nah, I wouldn’t let that happen, and neither would your mama.”
“Chanel I think it’s—”
“Louise, come here for a second.” I stepped out of the bedroom. “I apologize for my reaction to your question earlier, and I wouldn’t mind taking you up on your offer.”
“Chaz, I didn’t know what I was saying I—”
“Nah, you knew.” I backed her into the wall. “You knew. And now that you asked I’m with it. So I need you to do something first.”
“Su-sure.”
“Go get me some Magnum XL’s from the store. I don’t have any on me, being a married man and all. Can you do that?”
“I can’t leave Chanel—”
“I got her. And you want me, right? I damn sure want you. Ever since I first fucking saw you I wanted you and your legs on my shoulders while stroking you deeply as fuck.”
Her lips parted slightly before she said, “Let me just get my purse.”
“Good girl.”
I stepped back since I had her hemmed up against the wall. She rushed off to go get her purse, and I slipped back into the room with Chanel.
“Is everything okay?” Chanel quizzed.
“Perfect, baby girl.”
“Okay, Chanel, I’m gonna run to the store, did you want anything?”
“No thanks, Mom.”
Louise gave me a look that made my dick soft as cotton, and then rushed out. I listened as the front door slammed, and then once I heard her car peel out, I hopped up out the chair.
“Chanel, I need you to come with me.” I started peeling the covers off of her.
“Chaz, why? And where?”
“Just trust me, okay? You trust me?”
“Yeah… yes.”
“Aight. Hold onto me.”
She draped her arm around my neck, but when I saw she was attached to the IV, I had to put her back down. I darted around her bed, helped her out on that side, and just rolled that muthafucka with me. We made it out to my car, and I laid her across the back seat, slanting the IV machine slightly so that it’d fit.
Speeding off, I made sure to be careful so that she wouldn’t fall or hurt her damn self, but I didn’t slow down until I made it to the hospital. As if God was on my side, I found a very close park, and then helped her out of the back seat and started towards the entrance.
“Is this an escaped patient?” the young Hispanic lady asked me with wide eyes.
“No, but I need to get her some medical attention. Don’t ask me what the fuck is wrong with her because I don’t know, but she’s sick as hell. Just take her to the back and I will pay for or fill out whatever the fuck I need to,” I spit out quickly.
“Yes, okay.” She picked up the phone and called for a doctor.
“Chaz, oh my gosh!” a fan ran up to me.
“Baby, not right now. As soon as I handle this I got you aight?”
“Yeah, sure, okay,” she smiled and stepped off to the side to wait.
Damn!
Finally, a doctor came from the back, and I had to explain to him the same shit I’d told that bitch nurse. Thankfully because Chanel was over eighteen, they agreed to help her out while I filled out as much paperwork as I could.
By the time I finished, Chanel’s home number was blowing me up and I
already knew why. I simply blocked it, and then turned everything in. About fifteen minutes later of me taking pictures and signing autographs for a few people, the doctor finally emerged from the back.
“Hi, Mr. Benjamin,” he addressed me as he looked at the paperwork. “Chanel explained to me that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She doesn’t have ovarian cancer or any cancer for that matter, but she does have something in her system that is making her very sick.”
“What? What the fuck you mean something in her system? How the fuck can some shit be in her system that acts like cancer?”
“Something like pills or she’s being injected. She explained that she was in her mother’s care and that she’d taken a lot of shots every morning and night, which was her medicine, or so she thought. Whatever was in those needles, I’m pretty sure is what caused her to be sick.”
“Aight, so what now?”
“We’re gonna have her system flushed, and hopefully she makes it. The stuff in her body has had a lot of time to do damage, and we don’t quite know what it is. But whomever was involved definitely has a medical school background.”
Dr. Scam Ass Forrester.
“Aight, well get to flushing and shit!” I barked and then pulled my phone from my pocket to unblock Chanel’s home phone. As soon as I did, my phone started ringing again. “Bitch, you been caught.” I gritted lowly. “I suggest you run for cover because I’m coming for yo’ ass.”
She hung up, and I just dialed my wife so she could come down here with me. I guess she was right about this shit after all.
Chapter Seven: Ishmael
My work life was the shit right now, but my fucking personal was on some bullshit. And no, Kady wasn’t no aggravating ass baby mama who wouldn’t let me see my kid. She let me be around him and spend time, but when a nigga tried to do the same with her, she’d send my ass home… aka, to a hotel. It would be easy to just propose, but I didn’t want to do that shit and then have to take it back. Kady deserved exactly what she was asking for and as badly as I wanted to be the nigga to give it to her, I didn’t know if I would.
I pulled into the driveway of my father’s house because I needed somebody to talk to. He always gave good advice and even though he left my mother lonely for 90% of their marriage, he was a good father and always differentiated right from wrong. I knew if anybody could steer me in the right direction, it would be him. Plus, I’d rather spend the night here than in that cold ass lonely hotel where I was left with my thoughts of Kady’s mean ass.
“Son, come on in,” my father pulled me into a hug and then squeezed my shoulder.
It was rare growing up that I saw my father because of his dedication to his work, but after he saw what he did to my mother, I’d noticed he’d pulled back a little. Not to say her fucking Mel Benjamin was his fault, but he was able to realize that he played a part in it, no matter how small. And that’s exactly why I was coming to him. Most niggas, including myself, would have put all the blame on my mother, and not looked in the mirror once to see what we had done.
“Beer?” he asked as I sat down on the couch.
“Nah, man. That shit will have me looking like you ‘round the midsection,” I chuckled as he groaned and waved me off.
“I ain’t had no complaints yet.”
“Yet? You’re dating?” I asked once he returned to the living room, beer in hand. “For some reason, it’d be weird if you are.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to, but when I found out your mother was, I said fuck it. If she’s gonna do it then so will I.”
“Damn, you’re still living by what mama does? You love her?”
“Of course I love her. I asked her to marry me and uh, but yeah, I love her. She just did a terrible thing and, unfortunately, we can’t get past it.”
I kind of felt bad for telling my father because it almost seemed like he wished he didn’t even know. His eyes still lit up when he mentioned my mom, and I could see that he wanted her but he just couldn’t put his pride aside. I couldn’t blame him either. She’d had him thinking I was his son for all of my damn life. But at the end of the day, he was my father because he was the one who raised, loved, and provided for me.
“I hear you.” I sighed and slouched down a little on the couch as I stared at the TV.
“You gotta bring your pretty girlfriend and my grandson back over here soon. Babies grow fast as hell, and I don’t want to miss too much like I did with you.”
“Yeah, well Kady ain’t my girlfriend no more.”
“Why?” His brows dipped and his eyes darted all over my face as he awaited my answer. I knew no matter what came out of my mouth, he wasn’t gonna be on my side.
“Because she’s tired of being my girlfriend. Simple as that. She wants us to progress, and I just ain’t ready for all of that yet.”
“You’re twenty-seven years old, Ishmael. You’ve got to grow up, man.” He shook his head as he took down some of his beer. I glared at the side of his face for a moment before scoffing.
“Why is it that I need to grow up? It’s niggas older than me who ain’t ready to get married. Why is my maturity level defined by my relationship status?” I fussed.
“Your maturity level isn’t being defined by your relationship status, it’s being defined by how you act in life. You love that girl, she gave you a beautiful son, but you don’t want to marry her, and why? Because you’re scared. Men don’t get scared.”
“Who said I was scared? Maybe I know she ain’t the one.” I was just talking out of my ass because I didn’t want him to be right. I came here for this, and now that he was giving it to me, I didn’t want it.
Laughing, he set his beer on the end table and replied, “Because for one, she’s the first woman I’ve met. I wouldn’t know that Samantha girl if she kicked me in the nuts, and you dated her for years. Plus, you came here to talk about Kady, that shows me you love her. I’m sure you and Samantha had plenty of problems but you didn’t care enough to call me or ask for my advice on them.”
“You weren’t around as much.”
“Never stopped you with anything before. You had my number, and like I said, you would have called.”
“I just can’t do it, aight?”
“Don’t look at your mother and me as an example for marriage, Ishmael. If anything, use it as a lesson. I neglected my wife because I thought the most important thing was to make sure she was taken care of. In the end, she found attention elsewhere. Was she wrong for that? Absolutely, but I can’t help but think if I had have shown her the attention that she was obviously begging for, would we still be married.”
He was definitely right; I was looking at my parents’ marriage along with many others as examples. Every time I looked up, someone was breaking up or getting cheated on. I loved Kady more than my left nut, and the thought of us building a life together just for her to not want me anymore made my heart palpitate. It was like someone was telling me to just leap off a cliff and see what happens. I felt paralyzed, not knowing which way to move.
“Don’t wait too long or she’ll move on. Right now, she’s acting up because she wants to give you the chance to make it better. But when she stops making it a big deal that means it’s over. And when a woman is done mentally, there’s nothing you can say or do to get her back,” my father added, yanking me from my thoughts.
“What if I ask and she says no?”
We both laughed in unison.
“She won’t say no. Any woman breaking up with you this quickly after giving birth is not going to say no to you. She cares a lot, and that’s something worth holding onto. Most women your age don’t care about you, and are disloyal.”
“Like Sammi, and how she slept with Shai.”
“See.” He lifted his beer before sipping it. “You didn’t care.”
“I did… a little bit.” We both chortled loudly.
“You would have killed him if you cared for her the way you care about Kady. I tell you if Mel Benjamin hadn’t skipped t
own, I definitely would have caught a case.”
Again, he was speaking the truth. I had love for Sammi, but it was nothing compared to the way I felt about Kady. Only reason I fought Mischief and made a big deal was because I was embarrassed and my ego was bruised. So I hid the truth and acted like Sammi was really my world. I thought that was better than me admitting that I felt like a dumb ass bitch. But shit, let one of my cousins slide up in Kady, I’m pulling out that AK.
And honestly, the only reason I got back with Sammi prior to that was because the pussy was good and I needed something steady on the nights I was too lazy to prey on new pussy.
“How many times have you watched Harlem Nights, Pop?” I chuckled, just as his doorbell rang.
“Not enough,” he replied, getting up. “I got it, sit down.”
I pulled a baggie from my pocket and removed the pre-rolled blunt in it. Lighting it up, I took a pull and then retrieved my phone from my pocket. I checked to see if I had any messages from Kady, but nope, only texts from my cousins, Lexus, and a few hoes I hadn’t talked to since I was with Sammi. It was like they could smell that I was a free agent again.
“Son, I’d like you to meet a good friend of mine, Althea.” My dad came back into the living room holding a woman’s hand.
When she showed her face, I damn near crawled up the couch. Her eyes were as wide as mine, and she quickly looked to my dad to see if he noticed. She was that bitch I fucked in the club parking lot after Lexus’s performance.
“Hi, Ishmael, I’ve heard so much about you,” she said, as she smiled awkwardly.
“Aye, Pops, I gotta go.” I ashed the blunt.
“No don’t leave just yet son. I want you to get to know Althea for a little bit, and then you can handle ya business.”
“Uh, honey, I have to use the restroom.” She darted towards the back as I sat there not knowing what the fuck to do.
“Dad, please tell me you’re just hitting that.”
“I don’t do what this new generation does. I’m trying to see where it goes. You know she sings and I think you guys would hit it off.”
“Dad, I really gotta go. Kady is going out tonight and I wanna catch her before she leaves,” I lied.
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