by Ted Evans
“Now, you sound like a song.”
It did sound a bit cheesy, but I was honest. That was exactly what happened, I put everything into the game after we broke up and after I had found out that she was married, I decided that I was wasting my time thinking about her when she clearly didn’t give a damn about me. She kissed me and as good as bid me farewell in a heartbeat.
“I got married because I needed to felt secure being with someone on my level."
Her eyes darted to me, and I could only conclude that she meant someone that wasn't rich.
"Ed just happened to be at the right place at the time. Or so I thought.”
I hated having this type of conversation in the car. I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking as she spoke.
“We both worked at the call center. Dated for a short while and he said all the right things, but it was clear that he didn’t want a family. As soon as we got married and rented a place, he didn’t hesitate in cheating on me. Silly me thought that maybe getting pregnant would make him see things differently.”
“Did it?”
“No, he left as soon as I told him that I was pregnant. Said to me that it was too much responsibility. I could see the signs, but I thought that I was getting old and didn't want to spend the rest of my life alone. I wanted to settle down, and he was by my side. We both came from single-parent families, and so we matched.”
I couldn’t get my head around that kind of philosophy, as I parked the car in my drive, I asked, “So, because you had the same parental upbringing, you thought hat was why you were more compatible?”
She shrugged and frowned at the same time.
“Not exactly, but when you don’t feel like the poorest person in the room when you go to barbecues or family parties, then it’s just easier that way.”
“For who?”
“It was for me. I used to feel so damn uncomfortable in your house. It was unreal.”
“But we never made you feel that way.”
She shook her head, “No, you didn’t need to make me feel that way. We would be invited to weddings, and the only thing going through my mind was how the hell would I be able to afford a dress to go to it.”
“I knew it, and I bought you dresses every time. It was never a problem for you.”
“But it’s the way that it made me feel.” She was getting upset and this conversation was getting us nowhere and brought uncomfortable memories of back then.
“And now, do you still feel that way?”
She hesitated in replying, and I answered for her.
“I can’t excuse or pretend to be upset that I have money. Sure, I can afford expensive holidays and clothes. But, I never have tried to or meant to make you feel that you don’t belong with me. Because in my mind it’s what here that counts,” I said as I put my hand on my heart.
“I know that now. But back then we were young, and I had all types of insecurities.”
I thought about her being tired, and I turned to get out of the car. Nia had lied to me back then, and I knew that she was lying right now. She was acting as if it wasn’t still an issue now. Her husband who walked out on her the moment she was pregnant. Even though they were married. The idea of it was crazy, and I felt guilty about not being there for her when she needed me.
She needed me now and as we walked through the back of the house, to the table that I had set up for her.
She smiled, “Is this for me?”
I winked, “I thought that I would do something romantic for once in my life. I didn’t make the croissants, but I did buy them.”
She laughed, “This is sweet, Hunter. You meet me at work with a rose. You set breakfast for me.”
I nodded, “And afterward you can go and lie down upstairs, and I’ll get to work and pick the kids up later.”
“A girl can get used to this,” she said as she kissed me gently on the lips.
I sure hope so, that was part of the plan. I don’t have a hidden agenda, apart from the more time I spend with her. The more I want her in my life. Not just for now, but for always.
Chapter Eleven
Nia
After Hunter had picked up the kids, I decided that I needed to go back to the apartment. It was my home and as much as I loved staying at his place. We needed to take things slowly, especially with Gia and Alex getting on so well. There was a time that I felt as if I knew everything about Hunter, but he just keeps surprising me all the time. First, the rose he brought as he picked me up from work and then breakfast in the garden. He was true to his word about taking care of me. I went to his bed and just smelling his woody scent on the sheets sent me to sleep.
Damn the man is like a dream come true!
One that I thought had been a nightmare, but in reality, he’s far from that. I hated myself for thinking that I could do without him in my life. That I wasn’t worthy when all he’s done is shown me the complete opposite.
After I picked my car from the parking lot at work. I couldn’t believe it when I saw what was waiting for me. A note from mom:
Nia,
Dom and I’ve gone to Vegas for the week, should be back next week. Hope you and Alex are well. You don’t need me around. You have Hunter. Just remember to be careful.
Carol
Great, she’d left. I shouldn’t have been surprised. That was part of the reason I started the single moms’ group so that times like this, I had a shoulder that I could rely on. Seeing as my mom was never around. She didn’t even sign it mom, but her name, Carol.
Then again, I didn’t even know what was happening with the group, Maybe I should forget about it. No one showed up last week, and the activity on the Whatsapp group has been non-existent. No one had been in touch, apart from Tiana. She wanted babysitting service from someone, anyone in the group and no one has responded. I didn't feel like responding because for the first time in a long time, I was floating on cloud nine.
But then my worst nightmare happened as my bedroom door opened. Mom wasn’t around, Alex was with Hunter. Who the fuck was in my apartment?
“I have a gun in my hand!”
It was a stupid thing to shout out because I was still holding the note from mom in my hand. Whoever it was, would realize that as soon as they came out of the dark into the light.
That was when he hit the switch and said, “Nia, darling it’s me.”
I blinked a couple of times because the man in front of me was an older version of the one that walked out on me the moment I told him that I was pregnant. I felt as if there a hurricane that was in the apartment.
“How the fuck did you get inside?”
“Your mom left and said that I should tell you…”
“What are you doing here?”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. There was a time that I had thought that he was attractive. Maybe would welcome him back with open arms, thinking that at last, he had come to his senses and that we could raise our son together. But that feeling died the moment I came home every single night and realized that he hadn’t changed his mind.
“We’ve got a child together.”
“We’re divorced,” I reminded him the moment he tried to get close to me. His once blue eyes were now dull a different shade of blue, and his hair was receding, and he was only twenty-eight. I had a feeling that something bad happened to him. Something had made him come back, and I knew damn well that it wasn’t me. Let alone his son. The one that he never wanted.
“It was a rough ride. You know me. I always had bad luck at work.”
It was called coming in late all the time and thinking that he deserved something without actually having to work for it. He was good at that, making me do double shifts to cover for him. Shit, I was weak and desperate back then. I turned a blind eye to his ways, but not anymore.
I turned and opened the curtains. The place was filled with trash. I didn’t even realize it when I first walked in because the note caught my attention.
“What the fuck is all this?”<
br />
“You never used to curse so much.”
“I started the moment you left me to care for our son. I didn’t have a choice.”
That wasn’t the truth. I rarely cursed, but the fact that this man had come back, and brought all his things after all this time just got my blood racing and made me so damn mad.
There was a knock on the door, and I didn’t wait for him to react.
“Marta, what are you doing here?”
She looked at her watch, “Meeting, have you forgotten about it?”
I shook my head and then she pushed the door wide open.
"No one turned up last week, so I thought that you guys were interested."
She laughed, "We did, but you know us. We're always late. You must have got there and then saw no one and left."
She had a point, I wasn't the most patient woman in the world, not after Ed left. I hinted that he was here by moving my head to the side so that she could see him.
“Oh, you’ve got company.”
Ed wiped his hands on his faded jeans and said, “Hi, I’m Ed. Nia’s husband.”
“Uh-huh, you mean ex-husband.”
He ignored her as he stood in the middle of the living room and I didn’t know what to do. The man had come with all his things, and it was clear that he wasn’t leaving in a hurry as I saw all the trash bags at the corner. Marta forced us into my apartment and then shut the door behind us.
“I can’t leave. You see, I’ve got things to sort out here,” I sighed as I thought about grabbing my stuff earlier and then going back to Hunter’s. Now, I was stuck at home with my ex. The one that who didn’t even know his son.
There was this awkward silence, but then there was another knock at the door.
“Tiana and Lena, what are you doing here?”
“We came to take you to the meeting girlfriend. You didn’t show up last week, and you’re not returning our calls. We’ve got twenty minutes until it starts and you need to be there.”
I shook my head thinking that I wish I could leave, but I really couldn’t.
Marta blurted out, “She has company!”
Then she pointed at Ed, who was now sitting in my living room and smoking a cigarette a dirty habit that I used to tolerate back then. I used to think that he needed a stress relief and smoking was something that he liked doing. My stress relief used to be the comfort of knowing that I was in a relationship. One, in which the man wouldn't leave me. I was wrong back then. I should have talked to Hunter properly about how I was feeling at the time. Hunter admitted that he should have done the same with me too.
“We need to get to the meeting!”
Tiana said with her hands on her hips.
I couldn’t believe that she was here and with the girls. Curiosity got the better of me, and I wondered how they managed to resolve their differences after weeks of being at each other’s throats.
“Yes, but I live here with my wife and son,” .
Marta took it out of his hand and Tiana was by his side helping him up.
“You’re her ex-husband. You can’t just come here and then move in without her permission. Nia’s a lady, and she needs to be treated as one.”
Lena was already throwing his things over the balcony and to the bottom floor. Marta turned and started to help her. I realized as Ed protested, “You can’t do this. We never officially got divorced.”
“What?”
He laughed, “I never signed the papers. I sent them to you, but mine didn’t have the witness signature. So, you can’t throw me out, because we’re still married.”
“Is…”
I needed money to make ends meet. I never worried about if we were officially divorced. It didn’t feel important to me back then. Right now, it seemed irrelevant. I hadn’t seen the man for close to five years, and he had moved in, and I hated mom for letting him.
“Well, she just found out that you could still be married and besides I've known her for years and never met you. So, until she speaks to her lawyer, you’re divorced. Now get out before I kick your skinny ass out!”
“If I were you, I would hurry. There are some people grabbing your things below.’
“Shit, my TV’s in one of them and my iPad.”
“If he can afford those things, then he must have money to find somewhere to stay,” Tiana said as she walked up to the door as Ed ran out and slammed it.
I felt all emotional as I watched a few women who I thought were my friends stick up for me. Something that had never happened to me in life.
“You okay girlfriend?” Tiana said as she came close.
“He hurt you?” Marta asked as she was concerned.
I shook my head and said, “You guys. I never knew you cared.”
Then we all got together in a group hug and then Tiana said, “You need to get it together girl. Everyone’s expecting you at the meeting. You can’t miss it two weeks in a row.”
That’s what I used to say to her and then she winked.
“How comes you guys are cool with Tiana?”
My question was directed at both Marta and Lena, but Tiana answered, “I said I was sorry and Marta said if I didn’t shape up she would kick my ass.”
That made me laugh, Marta was a lot smaller than her. I never doubted that she was tough. But the whole idea of her even attempting to kick Tiana’s ass, made me laugh. I smiled as I gave them all a big hug. They had helped me in more ways than my family had ever done. I went to the room and then I thought about the same shirt and skirt that I wore to every meeting, and I decided that this time I would go as me.
I turned around and said, “Ready!”
I wasn’t a lawyer or anything fancy, and I was fed up of dressing and acting that I was something that I never could be or ever was. This was me and for once in my life. I felt comfortable going to the meeting as the real me. Not anyone else.
“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” Lena said as she put her arm around me.
“About time you stopped wearing the same tired skirt and shirt. Just let it loose.”
“Tiana I noticed that you’re not wearing make-up. You look prettier without it.”
She shook her head, “I don’t. But thanks for saying that.”
“She left it in my car. She’ll be putting it on as soon as she gets in my car,” Marta said, and then Tiana gave her a friendly pat, and I felt happy that everything in my life was finally coming together. If I wasn't divorced, I would work a triple shift just to make sure that I would be soon. I looked over the balcony and saw Ed trying to put the rest of his things in his car. I felt good that he had been defeated, not just by me. But by my friends.
Chapter Twelve
Hunter
I was sitting impatiently and waiting for Nia to turn up. The guys had called and said that we were having a meeting this week. It seemed that a few of them had hooked up, but the rest of them were just happy to be part of a group. And I wondered if the son and dad who were sitting next to each other were the same two that the woman, Marta, and I met at the kindergarten gate?
My mind was wondering about it, trying to picture their faces. Then I decided to make small talk with them and I was just about to ask the question when Nia entered. Everyone stood up and started to clap.
“She’s here.”
“Oh-ho!”
Everyone was cheering and egging her on. She pointed at me; maybe she thought that I had something to do with it. I shrugged and shook my head. I just got the phone call. The whole thing was brought together by her, and I could tell that she was confused as I was when I got the call.
“Guys, settle down.”
Tiana said as she got on the stage.
“Nia, I know that you think we don’t appreciate what you’ve done.” I could see that tears were forming in Nia’s eyes. I felt like a fool as I thought about her antics in the past and the fact that I had dismissed them as being selfish. Foolish pride had stopped us getting together, but it wouldn’t stop us being t
ogether now. I would make sure of that, and as she wrapped her arm around me, I had a feeling that she felt the same way.
“We singles have to stick together!” Tiana yelled, and Marta shouted back, “Speak for yourself!” as she wrapped her small hands around both men's hands. I shook my head at the idea of her being with them both.
“Anyway, I know that we never got along, but I must admit if it wasn’t for you ladies. Then I wouldn’t be the person that I am today.”
She started to cry as she spoke. “My family don’t even talk to me. They don’t even want to know. I came here and made out that I was this big tough, bitch. But damn, when people share the same blood as you, and they turn their back on you; well, you put up this wall.”
“I’ll say,” Nia said as she let go of me and started to walk to the stage.
“This group isn’t just about babysitting or asking for help. It made me realize that being a single mom is damn hard.”
Lena yelled, “No it is fucking hard!”
A few people started to cheer, Tiana took a deep breath and continued, “But Nia started this group, and I thought to myself a bunch of bitches bitching about being alone. But we turned out to be more than that. Remember the time that I couldn’t pick up Dean from school and I called Nia, she had just finished her shift. She took my son, and I was a few hours late picking him up.”
Nia whispered, “More like a day late.”
Tiana took a deep breath, “She didn’t say anything to me. She asked if I was okay because she could see that I was in tears. She knew that I was stressed and you know what she did?”
Someone shouted out, “No.”
“She asked me if I wanted something to eat. I ate and then she told me that I could lie on her bed for a while. I did that, and the only thing she asked me when I woke up was if I was feeling better.”
Nia left me and started to walk towards Tiana.
“I left her house with food in my Tupperware, and my kids were happy that they were in her pokey apartment that night. It’s so small I don’t even know how they fit in there. But she welcomed me with open arms.”
