by Shontaiye
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Later that day Noah pulled up to the very nice, two story colonial stone home of his former friend Hakim. He had stopped by to check on Nikka and the kids to make sure they were doing okay and to ensure that they wanted for nothing.
“Uncle Noahhhh,” Hakim’s youngest child Xavier called to him in a songlike manner. Xavier was five years old and was cute with a chocolatey complexion like his dad. He had on an Iron Man shirt and his black Jordan’s were on the wrong feet. Noah laughed and quickly got out of the car. He scooped Xavier up and hugged his nephew. When Hakim passed, he vowed to remain a permanent fixture and positive male figure in the boy’s lives.
“Hey little man! How you been?” Noah asked, swinging him around before putting him down.
“I’m good Uncle Noah, where’ve you been, and I thought you said you were going to take me to see the “mouse man.” Noah had told the boys he was going to take them to Chuckie Cheese but it had innocently slipped his mind.
“Awww, my fault buddy, I forgot. How about you get your brother and if it’s okay with your mom, I’ll take you both now.” Noah didn’t mind. It was Sunday and it wasn’t like he had anything to do.
“But Xavier, you gotta do one thing for me before we leave,” Noah said with a serious face, while leaning down to lower himself to the child’s level.
“What?” he asked with his eyes wide, excited that he was about to go to the kiddie arcade with his favorite uncle.
“You gotta put them shoes on the right feet! Swag 101, girls don’t like boys with mismatch clumsy feet,” he whispered before laughing. Xavier giggled and ran back into the house to get his older brother Hakim Jr. who was busy playing on his Xbox.
“Nikka!” Noah yelled, while walking into the house. As usual the place was impeccably clean and warm, while pleasant smells emanated from the kitchen.
“Hey Noah,” Nikka smiled, wiping her wet hands on a towel to dry them. She looked very pretty with her hair up in a knotted bun and a Chinese bang covering her eyes. “I just finished making the boys some lasagna. You want some?”
“Hell yeah. I ain’t had a home-cooked meal since—” He stopped himself.
Nikka looked at him and felt a bit sorry for him. She knew he loved Shaleea and she knew that she still hadn’t come back. She and Shaleea had become a bit closer after Hakim passed since Shaleea consistently reached out to check on her and the kids.
“How are you?” she asked, seriously. “I know you come by here to check and make sure I’m good but how are you holding up?” she asked. He knew what she was asking, and it wasn’t in regards to Hakim.
“I’ve been better,” he admitted. “I’m just empty you know,” he said before taking a seat at the built in kitchen bar. “From everything. Losing Hakim. Losing Shaleea…I try to fill my life with people I love. You, the kids, but I’m missing her and Heaven. She don’t see it but I love her a lot. She’s my world. I don’t want to lose her. I don’t want to lose anyone else,” he said with sincerity. If he was a bitch nigga he would cry, he thought. But he was a G and he refused to let tears escape his eyes.
“I’ll talk to her,” Nikka said. “I know we aren’t the closest but she’ll value a female opinion. You just gotta wake up. Look what Hakim lost. You may not lose in the same way, but ultimately you will still lose. Is she worth losing?” she questioned.
“Not at all,” he answered.
“Well show her,” Nikka said, ending the conversation by sliding Noah a plate of lasagna with some garlic bread and a glass of tea. “Eat up you gon need your energy to keep up with them bad ass boys. They told me you taking them to Chuckie Cheese.”
“Yeah soon as I finish eating and Xavier figure out which shoe go on which foot,” he laughed.
Shaleea
Although she had her knee length pea coat wrapped around her body tightly for added warmth, the crisp air felt refreshing against Shaleea’s face as she made her way up the manicured walkway of her home.
It had been several months since Shaleea had been to the home her and Noah shared, and the warm feeling it brought to her confirmed that she truly missed being there. After speaking with Nikka the night before, she decided to go and talk with Noah. Nikka had reached out to Shaleea after Noah had taken the boys to Chuckie Cheese. Although she knew Nikka’s opinion about cheating would be biased because Nikka had willingly endured it so long, she decided to listen to someone who knew and loved Noah like she did.
She didn’t know how the conversation with Noah would go, but she did know that eventually a decision would need to be made; she had been gone for several months. She reasoned with herself that she would either work on reparation with Noah, or make peace with the life they had and move on. She did know that no one was perfect and she was all too familiar with how it felt to have to live with a mistake. To her however, sleeping with Mann was a mistake, but Noah’s constant cheating was a choice. Because of Noah’s past actions she didn’t feel bad about what she had done, since she had only done what she’d done because of his actions. What worried her most was that while she could control what she did, she couldn’t control Mann.
Shaleea used her key to let herself in and was shocked at what she saw. Empty bottles of Hennessey were scattered throughout the living room floor, while several empty pizza boxes accompanied them. The house was downright filthy. She walked into the kitchen and saw dishes filling the sink and nets quietly buzzing around them. Shaleea made her way to the bedroom and prayed Noah was alone. She hoped he hadn’t stooped to the ultimate level of disrespect by bringing another bitch into the home that carried both their names on the deed.
“Noah,” she called after pushing the door open. She breathed a sigh of relief once she saw he was alone. However her heart instantly ached when she saw him passed out sleep on the floor. He hadn’t even made it to the bed. A small trashcan that contained vomit stood beside him. She knew he had at some point been in a drunken stupor.
Shaleea got out her phone and called Merry Maids, a cleaning franchise that she used several times a year for her heavy duty cleaning. She had quickly decided that several months of filth was not going to be cleaned up by her. After arranging for them to come out in the morning, Shaleea once again tried to wake up Noah.
“Noah,” she quietly called again. This time he opened his eyes and abruptly turned over. He was happy to see her but knew he looked like shit. He definitely felt like it.
“Hey bae,” he looked up and whispered hoarsely, before gently lying his head back down on the floor.
“Noah, you gotta get up and get yourself together. I have the cleaning company on the way… and we need to talk.”
Noah slowly pushed himself up to his feet. He had been waiting months to sit down with her and he felt a glimmer of hope fill his chest. He was ready to put all the bullshit behind him and change. Even though he had been with Eve several nights before, he was ready to put a stop to everything if she came home. If he could get her back he wouldn’t lose her again. He would make her happy.
THREE
Eve
Eve dialed Noah’s number again and listened to the message that was playing to make sure she heard it correctly. “The number you have called is not in service. Please check the number and try your call again.”
She slammed her phone down in anger before lying back on the faded hotel comforter. It had been over a month since she saw Noah and now his phone was disconnected. She was livid. She wasn’t too worried though. His laundromat locations were public and she would eventually run into him sooner or later. Truthfully she didn’t have the energy to chase Noah down; figuratively speaking and literally. She had been throwing up all morning and hadn’t been able to keep much down except some ginger ale and crackers. She knew her pregnancy wasn’t going to be in easy one. She couldn’t wait to share the news with Noah. She already knew how he was going to take it.
He’ll hate me for a while, but eventually he’ll learn to love me, she thought. The baby would eventually bring
them together; just like she had planned.
Shaleea
Shaleea walked into the small soul food café on Cheltenham Avenue and quickly looked around. She smiled when she saw her sister Shameka sitting at a small table in a corner by the window.
“Hey Meek,” she said, as she approached the table and sat down.
“Hey girl. Bout time you got here, I’m hungry as shit and you was taking forever,” she complained.
“Whatever. Ain’t nobody tell you to bring ya ass early,” Shaleea responded. “I told you 12 o clock, and it’s 12:05,” she stated, placing emphasis on the times.
“We waiting on Naomi anyway. She’ll be here shortly.”
“I’m not waiting on her ass. You are. I’m bout to order something to eat,” Shameka responded bluntly before picking her menu back up off the table.
Shaleea laughed in amusement at her sister. Shameka was very forward and outspoken just like her other sister Shanita. The only thing was Shameka had even less patience and was quick to—as she put it, put her paws on a bitch.
Shameka was a cute, plump, but very curvy chick. She always had a head full of wavy curls and kept a pair of four inch heels on. However, she was quick to kick them off and go in the trunk of her Dodge Durango and pull out her Air Force One’s if she had to check a bitch.
“There Naomi go now,” Shaleea stated, looking over to the door. She was glad as well, she too was hungry.
Shameka didn’t bother to look up and continued to mull over the menu. She wasn’t a huge fan of Naomi but she still tried to be polite to her sisters’ friend. To her she was bourgeois and unauthentic.
“Hey boo!” Naomi said, greeting Shaleea. “Hey Shameka!”
“Hey girl,” Shaleea responded to her friend while quietly shaking her head at her sister who hadn’t bothered to respond. Naomi took off her coat and took a seat.
“So how you been, I haven’t seen you in forever.” Naomi didn’t seem to mind the blatant disregard from Shameka. She was used to it.
“I been busy with home and class. The businesses have been hectic also. A pipe burst a week ago and it was water everywhere. We had to close down for a few days. It cost a grip to fix.”
“Damnnn. That’s crazy. It has been cold as fuck tho. I know that shit was hectic.”
“Definitely. Noah cried like a baby when they told him how much it was going to be to fix it,” Shaleea laughed.
“Noah so goddamn cheap,” Shameka chimed in. She liked Noah and knew of his notorious penny-pinching ways.
“Yesssss honey. But will spend hundreds of dollars per month on his smoke. He kills me with that shit. But that’s my boo tho.”
“Yeah now…He wasn’t a month ago,” Shameka laughed.
“Whatever hoe, mind ya business,” Shaleea replied. It had only been a month since her and Noah had gotten back together, but she was for the most part happy.
“So what’s up with ya boy Mann. I tried to call him but he don’t even be responding,” Naomi asked.
Shaleea grew uncomfortable at the mere mention of Mann. She hadn’t seen Mann in almost a month. She didn’t want to flat out tell Noah that she didn’t want him at the house since he would question her about why. They conducted business and Mann was his friend so Noah wouldn’t understand her reasoning if she stated such. Instead she told him she wanted them to work on getting their house back to a home and preferred to stay private for a while. Noah still brought him by once but she stayed in the room and pretended to be sleep.
“Girl that’s Noah’s boy, not mine,” she said with clarity. “And I don’t know what’s up with him…Mann is weird sometimes.” She knew why he wasn’t answering his phone, he was too busy sporadically calling her instead. He made it very clear with his voicemails and text messages that he was interested in Shaleea.
“Yeah he does act odd,” Naomi agreed. “I think he likes you,” she said bluntly, surprising Shaleea. She looked to Shaleea and waited for a response to her “out of the blue” statement.
“What?” Shaleea said with a cough. The Pepsi she was drinking caused her to choke a little when Naomi made the statement.
“Naaa, I don’t think so…What happened to the dude you was talking to that you told me you met in Jollies?” Shaleea asked, referring to a popular bar in North Philly. She wanted to change the subject. She figured now wasn’t the time but she would eventually have to tell Naomi that Mann did in fact like her. She wasn’t quite sure when that would be though.
“Girl nothing. He was mess, a straight user…A lot of these dudes are. Times have changed and a lot of these niggas be trying to live off females. The shit is sad.”
“They definitely do, but it depends on how you carry yaself that determines what type of men you attract,” Shameka said, butting in again. The statement seemed kind of rude to Shaleea and she wanted to get off the subject of men completely.
Shameka always thought Naomi was a weak bitch that faked her confidence so she wouldn’t be transparent enough for people to see through. Naomi just seemed thirsty to her. Not only thirsty, but desperate and shady. Surprisingly, she was extremely pretty but she was overweight. Although she seemed to carry it well, Shameka was sure it still posed as a problem as well as an insecurity for Naomi when it came to meeting men. She was surprised Shaleea couldn’t pick up on it. In all actuality Shaleea did but would never speak on it. She would let Naomi talk about it when she felt comfortable to do so.
“There’s our food,” Shaleea stated. She was glad they could eat and put an end to the conversation.
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Shaleea and Shameka walked through Michael’s Arts and Craft Store looking for decorations for Gina’s upcoming birthday party. It was the middle of January and her birthday was in a few weeks.
“These are cute. We can make some nice glass centerpieces,” Shameka said, picking up a nice but affordable “do it yourself” set.
“Yeah they are nice, get nine of them. The room we renting has ten tables. The main table, the one Mommy’s going to be at is going to be set up differently.”
“Ok. Let me ask you a question Leea.” Shameka said inquisitively.
“Why you look like that when Naomi started talking about Noah’s friend?”
“Who Mann?” Shaleea asked, playing dumb.
“Bitch you know who I’m talking about?” she laughed.
“I ain’t look no type of way…Naomi likes him but honestly he’s not interested in her like that. Naomi is kind of aggressive with guys though and I don’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her she needs to tone it down a little,” Shaleea confessed.
“Which one is Mann anyway….I remember Hakim, the one that passed away. I don’t think I met Mann.”
“Umm, he got a bald head, kind of dark skinned. Hood ass nigga that got a black Dodge Charger.”
“Ohhhh ok. I met him at the house. He was outside talking to Noah when I dropped off Heaven…He fine as hell.”
“Yeah he aight,” Shaleea said, once again wanting to end the conversation. She wasn’t sure why Shameka brought him up.
“Does he really like you like Naomi said?”
Shaleea laughed. Her nosey ass sister was so persistent. “Yeah he do…But—”she began, before Shameka cut her off.
“Uh huh. I knew you looked like that for a reason. He is fine as shit, I’d piss all on that bald head if he asked,” she laughed.
“Would you shut the fuck upppp!” Shaleea said, laughing hysterically. “You say anything.”
“I say what a bitch want to say, but won’t. Let me find out you want to give Mann some cookies and milk…or have already…” she suggested, staring at Shaleea with her eyebrow raised.
“Girl bye! I’m going to the car. You paying.”
“Yeah alright bitch. Those tables will be bald as Mann’s head,” she joked, before the two walked up to the sales counter to pay for their items.
FOUR
Noah
Noah fumbled with his keys as he struggled to get his fron
t door open. It was bitterly cold and Mann was standing behind him blowing onto his hands, while rubbing them together vigorously for warmth.
Once entering the house they hung up their coats and took a seat in the den. Shaleea suddenly appeared from the back room ready to greet Noah but stopped abruptly when she saw he wasn’t alone.
“Shit,” she said aloud, when she saw Mann staring at her. She hated when Noah just popped up at the house with company. And she had already told him she preferred some alone time around the house.
“Yoooo, go put some fuckin clothes on, we got company,” Noah said once Shaleea came out. He walked out of the room to follow her, attempting to block what she had on display. Mann had already saw her and made no attempt to redirect his gaze when she came out. Noah didn’t see it but Shaleea definitely did.
“I don’t know what you snapping for. I told ya ass I didn’t want a whole bunch of company. I can’t walk around my own damn house cuz you got his bald headed ass here,” she said.
Noah laughed lightly. “We got some business to handle, and besides it’s three in the afternoon and you got ya whole fucking big black ass hanging out, Besides, I thought you was cool with Mann,” he asked jokingly.
She had on some boy shorts that clung to the middle of her ass. The rest of her backside was exposed. She threw some sweatpants over the shorts and didn’t bother to change her half-shirt.
“How long yall gon be?” she asked, irritated and ignoring the question he asked. She didn’t want Mann’s wierdo ass hanging around all day. It was awkward and he wasn’t making it any better staring at her.
“I don’t know. We got some shit to handle,” he responded.
“Well wrap it up Noah, I want it to just be us, and I want to be able to walk around—with my ass hanging out, especially since my name is on the damn deed,” she reminded him.
