Unveiled

by Shataya Simms

  “Some earrings for Arden. I’ll be able to get her ears pierced soon.”

  “Well, we have one more stop and…”

  “No Pree. I’m done for the day.”

  “Aneesah,” she huffs. “I want to go over decorations and color schemes.”

  “Pree, enough. I have babies to feed. I’m done,” I say annoyed.

  “Fine,” she mumbles as she plants juicy kisses on my son’s face.

  When I return home, I feed the babies, thankful that they didn’t give me a hard time during the car ride and lie down to take a much-needed nap. I shut my eyes exhausted from all the running around that I was doing earlier and just as I’m in between reality and that dream like state of mind, Ja begins to cry.

  “Ugh. I just want a nap,” I whine, hoping that he eventually cries himself to sleep. When he stops abruptly, I smile, shutting my eyes but my mother intuition kicks in, telling me to get up and check on him anyway. When I open the door to the nursery, Jada is sitting in the rocking chair, talking to him softly. I smile and check on Arden as she sleeps peacefully, sucking on her pink pacifier.

  “Didn’t know that you were in town,” I whisper.

  “Yeah. Need to stop by Pree’s so she can taste the cake. There is a piece for you to try in the kitchen too. Red velvet; your favorite,” she smiles.

  “Buttercream icing?” I ask.

  “Of course,” she laughs.

  “You got this? I need a nap,” I tell her yawning.

  “Yeah, I got them.”

  “Thanks J,” I yawn again, walking out the room to lie down.

  When I wake up, there is a bouquet of red roses lying on the pillow next to me with a note reading;

  Hey Beautiful. I didn’t want to wake you. Keep resting and the twins are with me. I love you.

  I smile and proceed over to the sitting area of my bedroom to relax and watch TV. My phone buzzes.

  TRON: Can u talk

  ME: Sure

  “Thank you for the gift,” I reply when I answer his call. Tron has bought Tiffany rattles for the babies.

  “You’re welcome. How are you?”

  “I’m okay. Adjusting to motherhood.”

  “That’s good.”

  Silence.

  “You okay, Tarron?” I ask.

  “You should run away with me,” he laughs. I giggle.

  “Like I said, that niggah will kill you and then kill me for taking his kids.”

  “And you’re not scared of him?”

  “No. He’s not all like that.”

  “I miss you and our friendship.”

  “I miss you too,” I smile.

  “Do you still love me?”

  “I will always have love for you.”

  “Do you think we can hang out and be friends like we use to?” He asks.

  “Of course,” I lie. A piece of my heart will always belong to Tron and if I were to ever accidently cheat on Nyce, I know that Tron would be the one who I would cheat with. Forget Nas. Nas was sexy as fuck but it was a straight physical attraction and the impulses were easy to ignore but with Tron? Tron has me both mentally and physically and that is dangerous territory.

  I look over at the portrait of me and Nyce holding our babies and smile. I wouldn’t jeopardize them for the world.

  “Liar,” he laughs. “Well, if the niggah ever fucks up, you know how to reach me,” he chuckles.

  “I have your number on speed dial,” I smile.

  “Take care of yourself Aneesah.”

  “You too and stop fuckin’ people I know,” I laugh.

  “Shiiitt. If they look good, I’m fuckin’.”

  “Bye, boy,” I giggle, hanging up.

  Around 7:30, I hear the front door open. I jump up and run downstairs to see my babies. I missed their little asses.

  “Nyce, why in the hell is my son wearing his sister’s dress?” I ask confused.

  “Listen, I almost threw the little niggah in the trash. He shitted everywhere. I mean, brown and green shit all up his back and he did it twice,” he snaps, holding up two fingers as I laugh and pick up Jasir. “He messed up both of his outfits. I almost came back to the crib with only one kid like fuck it. We had a good run,” he laughs.

  “What daddy do to you?” I kiss my baby as he smiles in my face. He starts to babble his baby gibberish.

  “Look, he’s telling on you,” I giggle.

  “Come on man. How you gonna do me like that?” Nyce laughs holding Arden as we walk up the stairs.

  “I think I want to write my memoire,” I tell Nyce as he is playing with the babies on the floor. “I’ve been writing my journey for years. I think I want to do it.”

  “I think your son shitted again. It’s your turn to change him,” he says, holding Arden up in the air. I walk over to them and pluck Ja off the floor.

  “Are you listening to me, Nyce?”

  “I’m listening to you. I…aww baby girl. Why you gotta do me like that?” He states as I laugh hysterically. Arden done threw up all in that niggah’s face. “I can’t win today with you two,” he laughs, placing her gently in her playpen before walking into the bathroom. I place Jasir next to his sister and follow behind Nyce.

  “Nyce?”

  “Baby, I hear you,” he says washing his face. “Why now though?”

  “Because I’m human and far from perfect and if I can help somebody, anybody through my testimony then why not? I promise I won’t say anything incriminating towards you or Knuck or nothing like that.”

  He’s quiet for a moment, drying his face.

  “You should do it; I support you,” he finally responds. “But if you’re going to talk about your drug use, I think you should tell the family first. Don’t let them find that shit out in a book,” he says grabbing me and kissing me softly.

  “I know, and I will. I was thinking about confessing everything to them after the holidays. I don’t feel like hearing Rita blame herself and Pree getting petty and calling herself giving me the silent treatment for not comin to her. I think after the holidays would be best.”

  “Understood. I agree. What are you going to call it?”

  “I was thinking Living Anonymous,” I beam.

  “Wouldn’t it be called Living Anonymously?”

  “Technically, yeah, but I don’t like how that sounds.”

  “But how do you expect people to take you seriously if the title is fucked up?” He laughs.

  “It’s art and art has no rules. I’m drawing outside the lines; always have. It’s how words like bootylicious and YOLO become part of the dictionary.”

  “You’re nuts,” he chuckles. “But I think it’s a great idea and I support you one-hundred percent,” he confirms while kissing me softly on my forehead.

  The following week, we get the babies christened with Knuck and Pree taking the oath of committing to being their godparents. I finally got my baby girl’s ears pierced, looking all pretty. As the weeks fly by, Nyce works me out as promised and I lose the rest of the baby weight by mid-October. I have my pre-baby body back, taking plenty of before and after photos and posting them on Instagram along with videos of the work outs that Nyce has me do. We had to do mad retakes because a lot of the videos somehow ended up being sexually explicit but the ones we do post gets Nyce three new clients. All three of his new clients are women of course with beach blonde hair and plastic boobs. I already foresee a problem but keep my mouth shut. His female clientele picks up and with the help from Vic, so does his male. He is up to twelve clients so far.

  I’m in the kitchen cooking dinner when Nyce comes strolling in.

  “How was your day, babe?” I ask as he gives me a kiss.

  “Yo. I had to give my client Janice her money back.”

  “Which one is she?”

  “Blonde with big boobs and a fake ass.”

  “You’re not saying much,” I giggle.

  “The one that had the mole above her lip,” he replies.

  “What happened?”
r />   “She tried to fuckin’ seduce me,” he laughs.

  “Are you behaving?” I ask, knife in hand.

  “You can’t be serious. Come on, this was your idea.”

  “I know, I just…”

  “You have nothing to worry about,” he tells me, pulling me into his arms.

  “We’ve been doing so well and now we have these babies and…”

  “And I’m in love with you more than ever,” he tells me, kissing my nose. The ringing of my phone interrupts our moment.

  “Hello,” I answer for Diana.

  “Hey sweetie. How are you?”

  “I’m well. Thank you for the clothes you bought the twins.”

  “No worries. I’ll be there tomorrow morning to see my babies.”

  “Cool.”

  “I am calling everyone to let them know that Thanksgiving will be spent in New Orleans this year,” she sings into the phone.

  “New Orleans? Why? It’s cold. Can’t we go somewhere tropical?”

  “Aneesah, don’t argue with me. You and my babies better be in New Orleans for Thanksgiving or else. I rented a place and everyone is invited. I am making the calls now. James and his parents along with Rita and her husband can fly down with you.”

  “Fine if James’ parents agree to it. They have their own holiday traditions.”

  “Well they better bring them along to New Orleans because that’s where we will be,” she says hanging up.

  “Did you hear that?” I ask looking at Nyce who is checking on the roast I have in the oven.

  “Yeah. It shouldn’t be a problem though. I’ll talk to my mom.”

  “She’s driving me fuckin’ crazy,” I snap, reading Pree’s message. Nyce laughs.

  “What now?”

  “Flowers. Gotta pick out fuckin’ flowers.”

  “Tell her no then.”

  “Not that simple. Have you met Pree?” I giggle. “Sometimes I wish I were a dude.”

  “Nah because if you were a dude, you wouldn’t have access to all of this,” he smiles, grabbing his manhood.

  “Whatever,” I laugh, throwing a carrot at him.

  The day before Thanksgiving, we fly to New Orleans for this grand holiday that Diana throws together. I’m not gonna lie, I was against it at first but when I see everyone, both family and friends, I am filled with happiness and joy watching all the kids run around, niggahs talking shit between watching football, smoking and drinking, and the women in the kitchen complaining and cooking.

  “How’s motherhood treating you?” Sabrina asks as we are sitting at the kitchen table shelling peas.

  “Exhausting but so worth it,” I smile wondering where my babies are.

  “Such a bittersweet adventure, isn’t it? I wish they could stay little forever,” she gushes.

  “Fuck that. I’m glad they grow and become self-sufficient,” Pree chimes in with a glass of wine in her hand.

  “You feel me?” Gia says, giving Pree a high-five.

  “You don’t miss them being babies?” Sabrina asks.

  “Fuck that. We say we want these little assholes to stay babies forever, but don’t nobody really want that. Part of appreciating our kids is watching them grow up. Come on, think about it. Do you really want to be carrying around a baby, dealing with a toddler, that annoying ‘Mom can I…Mom can you…Mom can we stage and then having a hormonal teenager forever? I’ll be glad when they asses leave the nest,” Pree laughs as we join in, seeing her point.

  “What about the teen mom or the mom who got married a little too early. We will never admit that we may have possibly ruined our lives, forgetting about our own dreams and aspirations being snatched away by the first man that whispered, “I love you” in ya ear,” Diana says, taking a seat at the table, a glass of wine in her hand as well.

  “I’ll drink to that,” Miss Annette chimes in, holding up her glass as me, Pree, Viola, and Morgan’s mouths drop forming O’s.

  “So, you regret me and Trey?” Pree asks shocked.

  “And me and Jimmy?” Vi asks Miss Annette.

  “Of course not. You guys are my life. I’m just saying that at 22 I thought I had all the answers, the keys to life but I clearly did not. I don’t regret you guys, but I do wish that I would have waited and taken my time to grow up.”

  “What she said,” Miss Annette smiles, kissing Vi and Morgan on the cheek.

  We stay up all night having girl talk and cooking with Jada being a control freak in the kitchen, getting on everyone’s nerves. I step out of the kitchen to check on my babies, walking into the living room, stepping over kids who are sleeping in the middle of the floor, bundled up in their sleeping bags and blankets. I find Arden sleeping peacefully on her dad’s chest as he is passed out in the recliner, beer in hand. I take my camera phone out to capture the moment before spotting Mr. Leonard, Nyce’s father in the same exact position, with Jasir sleeping on his chest. If this isn’t some adorable shit right here, I think, snapping photos. I look at all the sleeping men. Mr. J is holding Anaya with Kenya and Maya by his feet. Trey is passed out in the corner cuddled up with Maliah, Black is under a sleeping bag with his kids and even Mookie is in father mode with a protective arm over his son Jaheim. I record and snap pictures of it all before quietly cleaning up the mess the men and kids made.

  “A pretty cool sight, huh?” Pree whispers, showing me her phone of a picture of Knuck and Tajee passed out in the bed, side by side, on their stomachs with their arm over their faces.

  “At least they had enough common sense to find a bedroom to pass out in,” I laugh.

  “I know right because whose kid is sleeping on the damn pool table?” She laughs, pointing at Jeremiah, Black and Sabrina’s son. I giggle.

  “I am so happy that Diana did this,” I smile.

  “Yeah. I thought she was trippin’ myself when she suggested it. We gotta keep this goin’. New tradition.”

  “Agreed. Help me get my babies and put them in their bassinets please,” I ask Pree.

  “Yup,” she says as we tiptoe, stepping over people to get the babies. She gently plucks Jasir off Mr. Leonard’s chest while I grab Arden.

  “I got her,” Nyce whispers with his eyes closed.

  “You sure? Pree’s taking Ja upstairs now.”

  “Yeah,” he says, eyes still closed as he puckers his lips. “Gimme some sugar,” he cracks a smile. I bend over and kiss his lips before kissing Arden. “I’ll meet you upstairs. What time you coming to bed?” He asks. I look over at the clock. It’s almost two in the morning.

  “In a minute, I suppose. We are almost done cooking and prepping for the night.”

  “Food better be good too. Y’all been in that damn kitchen all night.”

  “Shut-up boy,” I tell him, nudging his head.

  “Tell them you need your rest. You have a 5 am feeding,” he says sitting up carefully as he holds onto Arden.

  “I’ll be up in a minute babe,” I assure, walking back into the kitchen.

  We finish prepping dinner and I finally make it to bed around 3:30. I walk into the room, check on the babies before crawling in the bed next to Nyce.

  “About time,” he exhales, cozying up to me. It doesn’t take long for me to pass out.

  The following morning, Nyce gets the babies ready allowing me to sleep in a little. Thank God I pumped enough milk so I am able to sleep through the 5:00 am feeding as Nyce takes on daddy duties. Around 10am, I drag myself out of bed, quickly shower and meet everyone downstairs so we can head to the parade.

  After the parade, we sight-see and enjoy New Orleans before heading back to the house with everyone being famished. It’s a little after two and all the adults are starving, eagerly waiting for the feast that is about to be served. When 3 o’clock rolls around, Jada makes the announcement that we all are impatiently waiting for and we rush into the dining room, grabbing plates at the buffet style setup. After dinner, we scatter about the house, trying to digest the food we just devoured.

  “H
ey. Did you pump?” Nyce asks me as I’m relaxing in a chair.

  “Why you reminding me to pump, niggah? I got this?” I laugh.

  “Because I’m tryin’ to get you drunk tonight so pump yo’ damn titties girl.”

  “Shut-up,” I giggle.

  “Make enough bottles in case we sneak out tonight.”

  “Yeah…yeah…yeah,” I yawn.

  Around 10 o’clock that evening, I am passed out in my room, babies lying next to me sleeping when I feel a tickle on my nose.

  “Wakey, wakey,” Pree whispers in my ear.

  “Stop. What?”

  “Get dressed. We goin’ out.”

  “I don’t wanna,” I whine, turning over.

  “Get yo’ ass up,” she says slapping my ass hard.

  “Asshole,” I snap.

  “If you don’t get up, I’m just gonna fuck wit’ you all night. Neither one of us is getting any sleep. Come on. The guys left already,” she says, pulling on my leg. I suck my teeth and roll my eyes. Hopping out of bed, I grab my towel and walk down the hall into the bathroom. When I’m done, I walk back into the bedroom and Pree is sitting on the bed wearing a sexy black dress.

  “Here. I picked this out for you,” she says holding up a winter white romper.

  “I don’t feel like wearing that.”

  “Put the shit on,” she snaps with a smile.

  “Fuck. You’re getting on my damn nerves. Where are my babies?” I ask while applying lotion to my body.

  “With your mom. Hurry up. We’re waiting,” she states, walking out the room. I quickly dress and join the girls by the front door. We load up into the party buses that we rented for the week.

  “Cheer up. We are about to have fun,” Viola says as I yawn.

  “I’d rather be home with my babies,” I mumble.

  “I know what will get her in the mood,” Jalena smiles, hooking up her phone to the wireless connection. Vanity 6’s “Nasty Girl” blasts out the speakers.

  “Come on. You know you wanna,” Jalena smirks as I try to display some sort of self-control. She knows that this is my song but when the chorus hits I…

  “Cuz tonight, I’m livin’ in a fantasy, my own little nasty world,” I sing, jumping out of my seat as Pree passes me a shot. Yeah, this is the song that gets me going. I sing at the top of my lungs, slinging shots back as we make our way to Bourbon Street.