Thug Matrimony

by Wahida Clark

  “Nothing that I can’t handle. It’s pretty light around here since we scheduled everything after our trip.”

  Trip? Honeymoon, nigga! “Well, I’ll be in later on.”

  “Nah. No need, Ma. We on for Monday. Everyone already knows that Monday will be business as usual. Chill out. Get some rest.”

  Angel hung up. All of a sudden he’s concerned. “Punk-ass nigga.”

  Later that evening after she left Tasha and Trae she stopped at the grocery store to do some much-needed shopping. After she put the groceries away she checked her voice mail: Kaylin’s mother, Kyra, Malik, and Mrs. Smith all left messages. Malik was still at his grandmother’s, so she called there first.

  “Mama Santos, how are you?”

  “I called you earlier. How are you? Did you and my son get this mess straightened out?”

  “No, ma’am. Not yet.”

  “Well, y’all need to get it straightened out. Life is too short to be playing these games. I’ve never seen nothing like this before. Get it straightened out. I’m tired of him coming over here moping around. He doesn’t even say anything. He’s just in the way. I swear he is stubborn just like his father. It’s ridiculous.”

  “I know, ma’am. Malik called over here. Since he has learned this phone number, he sure does use it.”

  “That boy better stay off my damn phone. His bad ass is supposed to be asleep.”

  Angel let out a chuckle. “Well, tell him Red returned his call.”

  “I will. After I beat his ass for playing on my phone.”

  “Good night, Mrs. Santos.”

  “Good night and get y’all’s mess straightened out. Y’all have a baby on the way.”

  Don’t I know it? Angel disconnected her and dialed her mother.

  “Hey, Mom, I just got in. You should have dialed my cell phone. What’s going on?”

  Her mother let out a huge sigh.

  “What’s up, Mom?”

  “Your sister. That chile is too damn grown. I swear, I’m hoping she gets accepted to a college far, far away. She is getting on my damn nerves. You ain’t gonna believe this latest stunt. Carmen!” she yelled out. “Come get this phone and tell your sister what you told me.”

  Angel could hear her sister yelling in the background but couldn’t make out what she was saying.

  “You betta get this phone, chile, and tell your sister what you just told me! I swear I don’t know what made me bring your sister into this world. I was damn near forty. Look at me. I am too old for this. I should have been through after I had you and Mark.”

  “Mom, don’t talk like that.”

  “Hello,” Carmen snapped.

  “Carmen, what’s going on? Why is Mommy trippin’ like that?”

  Carmen sucked her teeth. “Because I told her that I ran into Keenan and I told him that you were getting married and stuff. He asked me where and I told him, but how was I supposed to know he was gonna crash it and shit! I—”

  “You better watch your damn mouth in my house, Carmen. You ain’t grown, goddammit!” Mrs. Smith was yelling, cutting off Carmen’s rambling.

  “You did what?” Angel gasped over her mom’s voice in the background—who was still cussing.

  “Why is Mommy screaming like that? Damn. I said I didn’t know he was gonna come. Let alone crash it.”

  Angel couldn’t believe her ears. “Where were you when you ran into him?”

  “He was at the club,” she whispered into the phone.

  “What the fuck you doin’ at a club, Carmen? You’re only seventeen!”

  “Angel, you are not my mother. Mommy knew I went,” she snapped.

  “Where does he live, Carmen?”

  “Who?”

  “Keenan. Who else?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You have his phone number?”

  “Nope.” She said it a little too quickly.

  “Put Mommy on the phone.” Angel was too rough.

  “Maaaaa,” she yelled. “Pick up the phone.”

  “I got it. Hang up, Carmen. You see that attitude, don’t you?”

  “Ma, why are you allowing her to go out to clubs?”

  “She told me she was spending the night at Charlene’s. But that’s the kind of shit she pulls. I hope I can last around here for one more year without killing her.”

  “Mom. She has Keenan’s address and phone number. She said she doesn’t. But I can tell she’s lying. Try and get it for me. What has gotten into her?”

  “I don’t know but it’s taking everything I got to not grab this frying pan and beat it the hell out of her.” Mrs. Smith was obviously exasperated.

  “And, Mom, you got to keep a closer eye on her.”

  “I’m doing the best I can, Angel.”

  “I know you are but still …” Angel let out another sigh. “This is unbelievable. I gotta get down there and talk to her. Maybe I can do it this weekend. Don’t tell her I’m coming.”

  “I won’t. But good luck. She doesn’t want to listen to anybody but them fast-ass girls she’s always running with.”

  “Mommy, I love you and I’ll talk to you later. Don’t forget to get Keenan’s address for me. I gotta go.”

  Angel was now visibly shaken. She dialed Kaylin’s cell phone but hung up as soon as the voice mail kicked in.

  She ended up sitting on the living room couch until one thirty in the morning, waiting for Kaylin, before deciding to shower and go to bed.

  “Red.” Kaylin was kissing her neck and trying to pull her nightgown up over her ass. She was disoriented but was quick to figure out that he was drunk as hell, and wanted some pussy.

  “Kay … lin.” She was trying to squirm her way from underneath him. “Stop … it.” His hands were like those of an octopus. He tried to kiss her on the mouth. “Eeeew, Kaylin, you reek! You are so fucking drunk! Get the fuck off me.” She gave him a hard shove and he rolled over onto his back.

  “I can’t get no pussy from my wife?” Kaylin slurred.

  “Wife!” she yelled incredulously. “Nigga, don’t get me started. Wife. Ain’t no ring on this finger.” She punched his arm. “And get them smelly-ass clothes off my clean comforter. Take your ass to the shower, Kaylin.”

  “C’mere, Red.” He grabbed her leg and pulled her across the bed.

  “Kaylin, stop.” She kicked him in the chest with her free foot, but he didn’t let her other ankle go. Her legs were parted and her pussy was staring him in the face. When she saw him lick his lips, she kicked him with her free foot and yanked the other one loose. He had his hand on her waist and had crawled in between her legs. “No, Kaylin … stop … You are too heavy.” She squirmed once again out from under his grip, rolled over and off the bed.

  “Red, why you doin’ me like this?”

  “Kaylin, you are drunk.” She jumped up and grabbed her robe off the chaise and put it on. She grabbed the alarm clock and pointed to the time. “Nigga, it’s after five in the morning.” She threw it at him and it hit him in the stomach. He didn’t even bother to move. “You stay out all night, don’t call, then come in here pissy drunk and wanting some of this pussy? You won’t get this until you marry me. Do you hear me? No wedding, no pussy! Comprende? Fuckin’ asshole! Now get off my clean comforter!” She was pushing him, trying to roll him over. When she got him on his stomach, she pushed some more. The next roll landed him on the floor. “Get up, Kaylin.” She got off the bed and kicked his thigh. “Go get in the shower.”

  “Red, I love you, baby. I’m sorry,” he slurred.

  “You’re damn right. You are sorry. Now get the fuck up and get in the shower.” She kicked him again. By the time she picked the pillows and comforter off the floor he was snoring.

  Angel was so mad, she jumped into the bed and cried herself to sleep.

  The next morning Angel got up, dressed, and ate breakfast while Kaylin was still asleep on the floor.

  She headed out and ran several errands, the first being a trip to the furniture st
ore, followed by the hospital to visit Tasha and Trae, and finally to Ewing, New Jersey, to see her mother and Carmen.

  Angel had helped her mother get a single-level, three-bedroom home as soon as Kaylin was released from prison. It was a foreclosure that, with her mother’s good credit and the money Angel gave her, was a smooth transaction. She had been determined to get her mother out of the projects.

  She pulled into the driveway and beeped the horn, hoping and praying that she could talk some sense into Carmen, who was too smart for her own good. It seemed as if all of a sudden Carmen had turned into this rebellious teen. Something most teens do at thirteen or fourteen, not seventeen.

  The front door was unlocked so Angel let herself in. Carmen had the phone glued to her ear, and when she looked up and saw Angel she rolled her eyes, got up off the couch, went into her bedroom, and slammed the door.

  “Ma,” Angel yelled.

  “I’m in here.” Her mother sounded like she had been crying.

  When Angel went into her mother’s bedroom her mother was going through the contents of her flipped-upside-down pocket-book. Everything was spread out across the bed.

  “Ma, what’s the matter?”

  “Girl, that demon chile in there must be smoking them crack rocks. Now, you know ain’t nobody in here but me and her. I had the envelopes for the water, gas, and light bills. The bills are all here but the money is gone.”

  “What?”

  “I swear on y’all’s daddy’s grave. She got me. I know she did.”

  “How much was it?”

  “The water bill is one hundred and nineteen dollars and the gas and electric bill was one hundred and fifty-seven.”

  Angel set her pocketbook down and stormed out of her mother’s bedroom.

  She banged on Carmen’s door several times and when she didn’t get an answer she went and picked up the kitchen phone.

  “I’m on the phone!” Carmen yelled. “Hang up the damn phone.”

  “Girrll, if you don’t get your narrow ass off this phone and unlock your bedroom door, I’ma kick the shit in. Now, Carmen!”

  “I’ll call you back in five minutes,” Carmen told whoever was on the other end.

  Carmen and Angel both slammed down the phone at the same time. Angel went back to Carmen’s bedroom. Carmen had flung open the door and was standing there with her hands on her hips.

  “Where is Mommy’s bill money?” Angel pushed her so hard she fell back onto the bed. Angel slammed the door and locked it.

  “Maaaaa,” Carmen screamed when she saw that Angel was serious.

  “Bitch, you wanna be grown? I’ll beat your ass like you a grown woman. Now, where is Mommy’s fucking money?” She grabbed her by her hair and wrapped it around her hand.

  “Maaaaaaa!” Carmen screamed. “Mommy … Owwwwwww. You’re hurting me!” She had both her hands on top of Angel’s, trying to lessen the pain being brought on by her sister’s grip. Her neck was snapped back and Carmen was literally doing the limbo, trying to lessen the pain. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

  “Where … Is … Mommy’s money?” Angel asked through gritted teeth.

  “Angel!” Mrs. Smith was banging on the door.

  “Mom, I got this.”

  “She’s hurting me, Mommy. Maaaaa!” Carmen yelled out. “Okay … okay. Wait. Wait. Owww. Pl … please.”

  Angel unraveled her hair and pushed her, causing her to slam up against the dresser.

  “Oh my God,” Carmen gasped. “My head. You crazy bitch!”

  “I’ma show your ass crazy if you don’t give me Mommy’s money.”

  “It’s under my mattress. Damn. I was gonna give it back,” she cried.

  “Get up and get it.” Angel was standing there with her hands on her hips. “Now, damn it!”

  Carmen scurried over to the mattress, slid her hand underneath it, and pulled out a wad of money. She threw it at Angel. “Here. Take it.”

  “Girl.” Angel gritted her teeth. “Are you getting high?”

  “No, I’m not getting high.”

  “Pick up that damn money, give it back to Mommy, and apologize. I’m coming back during the week to take your ass to Planned Parenthood and to get you a drug test.”

  “Why? You are not my mother,” she whined.

  “Shut the hell up. You better be here. If I have to look for you I’m putting a bald spot on top of that head. You better believe that.”

  “What day are you coming?”

  “Don’t worry about it! Just be here. And if you steal from Mommy again you might as well pack your shit. Now get up and give Mommy back her money!”

  That night Kaylin didn’t come home at all and Angel was furious. She stayed up until one thirty once again, waiting for him.

  The following evening he came in and she was sitting in front of the TV eating a plateful of chicken parmigiana, spaghetti, and a huge spinach salad.

  Without looking up at him she said, “I have my first prenatal visit on Monday morning, so make sure you are ready.”

  “What time?”

  “Nine o’clock.”

  “Okay. Can I get a plate? It smells good.”

  “I only made enough for me.” She continued to eat and watch TV as he stood there staring at her.

  “So that’s how we doin’ it now?”

  “Hell yeah, based upon your actions. You the one staying out for days at a time, creepin’ in at four and five in the morning. The way I see it, you should have eaten wherever the fuck you been resting your head. I made sure shit was lovely for you, but you ain’t got it like that no more. Your pride told you not to get married, remember? You want me to fix you a plate? But you ain’t fuckin’ with me like that no more, remember? But it’s cool. I ain’t trippin’. It don’t even have to be about us anymore. This is about our baby.”

  “Fuck this bullshit!”

  “Oh, it’s bullshit now? Our thang has been reduced to bullshit?” She shook her head in disgust. “Aiight, keep pushing me, nigga. I’ma have a surprise for that ass.” She smirked.

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  She was really getting under his skin and she knew it.

  “Figure it out. Or better yet, keep doing everything that you’re doing and you’ll find out soon enough,” she commented nonchalantly, pissing him off that much more.

  Kaylin ran his hands through his hair and started to say something but changed his mind. He headed upstairs instead. When he stepped inside the bedroom, he looked around in shock. He couldn’t even form words. He just turned around and headed back down the stairs and out the front door.

  Angel jumped up and ran to the door. “Kaylin!” He looked back at her. “Bring your ass home tonight by eleven!” She slammed the door, then picked up the phone and called him. She wanted to make sure that he heard her instructions. He answered on the first ring, knowing that it was her.

  “Kaylin, did you hear me? I said you bet—”

  “I heard you, Red. Damn. And yo, what you did to our bedroom got you that. I’ma give you that. That was real fuckin’ brilliant.” He thought he hit the END button and tossed the cell over onto the passenger seat.

  Angel started to scream on him, but when she heard the windshield wipers going she realized that he hadn’t turned the phone off.

  Kaylin tapped on the door before stepping inside. Tasha was curled up in a chair next to Trae’s bed, watching television. She stared at Kaylin but didn’t open her mouth.

  “I know, I know. I’m such an asshole. Go ahead. Say it.”

  “You already did.” She was still looking him over. “You look like shit, Kaylin. I’ma ask you to get it together. This is so not like you. Even though I’m hating you right now, you actually have me worried.”

  “I promise you. I’ma get it together.”

  “Good. Because I am too tired to curse your ass out. But I’ll eventually get with you. You got that coming.”

  She watched him as he looked Trae over. “Damn,” he
mumbled, eyes watering. There was a tube in his nose, his chest, and IVs in both arms. He didn’t like seeing him like this.

  “Trae, talk some sense to your boy because he’s losing it. I’m going to get some fresh air. I’ll be back.”

  Kaylin stood over Trae for a minute, then grabbed the chair that Tasha had been in and sat down. He bowed his head, while tapping the cell phone against his forehead.

  “Trae, nigga, it’s me. It’s time to get your black ass up outta this hospital bed. I fucked up, yo. I fucked up big time and I’m falling deeper and deeper in the hole. My pride, man. My pride. You always told me that I had way too much and that it was gonna get me hemmed up one of these days. Well, my back is pinned against the wall.

  “Aiight. I know, same ole impatient nigga. You want me to hurry and get to the point. Well, it’s Red. I’m scared that she wants that fake-ass pimp. She got my heart but I’m not sure what she’s gonna do with it. It’s fucked up. I’ve been wildin’ out. I’ve caused her to change to a whole ‘nother person. She’s a grimey bitch now! I’m serious, yo. I’m actually scared to go to sleep around her. She might kill me. I don’t know who this person is. She’s always talking all slick and shit and doin’ crazy shit. I went home to the crib before I got here and she cooked this big-ass dinner. But guess what? She only cooked for her. The other night I went to get some pussy and she fought me like I was on some rapist shit. Yeah, I was a little drunk and yeah, I hadn’t been staying at the house, but damn, I’ve been at Mommy’s trying to sort this shit out. But the pussy still belongs to me and I ain’t had none since the wedding day.

  “I know I’ve been acting like a total ass, but that ain’t all. This is the kicker! I goes upstairs in our bedroom and guess what she did? I don’t know what the fuck she did with our king-sized bed, but it was gone. She got separate his and hers beds in the fucking master bedroom! Got it set up like a hotel room and shit. When I saw that, I said, ‘I’ll be damned!’ Two full-sized beds. Now, you know I’ma tall nigga. How the fuck am I supposed to sleep in a full-sized bed?

  “Nigga, I know I just didn’t see you crack a smile. Whose side are you on? Shit, man. I’m losing this battle. I fucked up. I know it. I don’t even know how to begin to fix it, yo. Like I told you the other day, she’s my life. She’s my soul mate. I need you to wake up to tell me what to do. Because, with this nigga back on the scene, I ain’t feelin’ the whole marriage thing. I’ma rock that nigga to sleep once and for all. You better believe that. This nigga is like a cancer or some shit that won’t go away.