by Tiana Laveen
“I am… but who’s to say I can’t mess with you a bit first?”
“I thought you said you were tired.” He could hear the smile in her words.
“Never too tired for that.” He gently took her wrist and pulled her arm away from her face. She pretended to struggle, fight him off.
“Stop!” She chuckled as the struggle ensued. “Let me go; you’re filthy!”
“I’m a dirty, dirty boy!” He cackled before jumping up from the bed and wiping his brow of sweat and grime with the side of his arm.
“Come on.” Darting the tip of his tongue to the side of his mouth, he looked her up and down in nasty ways. “Take a shower with me, then.”
“You won’t just take a shower with me.” She slowly rose and gave him the evil eye before turning around and moving about as if she were looking for something.
“You lost?” He kept his eye on her as he bent low and removed his socks and boots. He tugged at his shirt and mud splotched jeans, then tossed them haphazardly onto the floor.
“No, but you seem to be.” She snapped. “Go on, get!” She pointed towards the bathroom door. The woman tried to sound serious, as if she meant business. He wasn’t buying it. He simply glared at her as he stood still in his forest green boxer briefs.
“Let me wash your back,” he offered with a sly grin as he flung his underwear to the ground and slowly approached her.
“Have you seen my bag from the drugstore?”
“CVS?”
“Yeah.” She turned all around once again, then dropped to her knees and lifted the comforter.
“No, I haven’t, not recently. I saw it last night after you’d gotten back. Why? Was something important in there?”
“I had some sour cherries, the little red candies.”
Aaron shook his head and placed his hands on his hips.
“All of this is over some sour cherries? I’ll give ya a sweet treat alright!” As she bent over searching in her nightstand drawer, he bum rushed her, came up from behind and gripped her around the waist.
“Aaron!” She giggled as they once again got into some rough play. He knocked his pelvis into her ass, loving the softness of her body against him. Sliding one hand upward, he gripped her breasts into his palm.
“Ouuuu! That hurts!”
He quickly released her and spun her around to face him.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry,” he stated, feeling badly about it all. He hadn’t touched her any differently than usual; it was customary for him to play rough with her from to time, especially in the throes of passion, but this was light – a gentle grope.
“It’s okay.” She swallowed as she gingerly tested the sore tissue of her chest and slumped onto the bed. He sat down beside her and took her hand in his.
“I’ll leave you be… I don’t want to, but I can take a hint.”
She smiled back at him and patted his thigh, then seemed to disappear inside of herself. Looking down at their bedroom floor first, she then cast her sights to the large bay window with rich, auburn curtains and cream sashes.
“Aaron, I… I think I might be pregnant.” She turned slowly back in his direction, a look of extreme worry on her face.
His brain was forming thoughts, making sentences and declarations, but his tongue refused to budge; the damn thing wouldn’t move!
“Aaron?” She looked him up and down, seeing him squirm inside his skin.
“I uh, wow.” He slipped his hand away from hers, closed his eyes for a brief spell, and pinched the skin between his eyes. “I assumed you were still taking your pill.”
“I had been, but remember when I changed pills because the other one was making me break out and a little moody? My new doctor here prescribed me another one… I told you about it.”
“Yeah…yeah, I remember. So you think the transition caused this?” He nodded as the recollections came to the fore and took a dip his memory pool. “You just had your period, though.”
“I know. Hell, I don’t know anything right now, actually… I mean.” She shrugged. “Something just doesn’t feel right. Maybe that’s it.” She slicked her hand across her stomach, bunching the fabric of her thin lime green shirt. “I can see that you’re angry.” Her tone turned pointy and forked like a viper’s as it tasted the air and gauged the world around it…
“No…No!” He grabbed her hand and held it tight. “I’m just surprised, Mia. That’s all! I’m not angry in the least.” He shook his head emphatically as feelings of surprise, confusion and elation burst within him. They sat there for a second or two, mingling. “You need to take a pregnancy test, right? Make a doctor’s appointment?”
She looked down at her knees that were pressed together so tightly, it looked as if she were trying to make them form into one boney knob.
“Yeah.” She nodded, still focusing on her lower limbs.
It makes sense… sensitive breasts… she’s had a bad sweet tooth lately, baking up a storm… I just thought it was all for me.
He smiled to himself.
She’s been irritable, on edge. I assumed it was just stress from the move and the new job…
He knew all women were different but he recalled Laura’s mother having similar symptoms when she realized that she was carrying his child. His face split into a smile as he grabbed her close, made her lay her head against his bare chest.
“Let’s find out for certain. Let me take a shower, like I’d planned, and I will go over to the drugstore and pick you up one, okay? I’ll be fast, I promise.”
“No.” She shook her head and let her hand explore along his chest. “I already bought one. It was in that same CVS bag. I just didn’t want to take it.”
“Why not? You know that I want children; you said you did, too. Yeah, it is happening a little sooner than we imagined, but this isn’t bad. We’ll just have to prepare a bit sooner is all.”
She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “If I am, I want this baby so badly, Aaron…you have no idea. It just threw me for a loop is all.” Finally, she smiled, too.
Gently, he moved out from beneath her and got to his feet.
“Come on, let’s look for that bag.” He sighed, a silly grin on his face. “We’ll treat it like a scavenger hunt.” He looked about the room, naked as the day he was born, and moved to and fro, lifting boxes and other items, taking a peek here and there. She soon joined him, following suit.
“Are you sure you brought it to our bedroom, Mia?”
“Yeah, oh wait! You’re right. I think I left it in the car.” She made a mad dash out of the place, leaving him standing there with a hard on he couldn’t seem to shake and the silliest of expressions on his face.
She’s pregnant. There’s no doubt in my mind now… so many signs that flew right over my head.
Soon, she returned with the bag, obvious relief written all over her face. She disappeared into the master suite bathroom, leaving him behind. After a few minutes, he slowly approached the door and gave it a soft knock.
“Everything alright in there, baby?”
“Yeah… I took it. Just gotta wait now. You’re supposed to take it with the first morning urine, but I can’t wait that long now that I’ve told you and the cat is out of the bag.”
He chuckled lightly.
“I can’t believe you thought I’d be angry. That’s just silly, honey. You know me better than that by now.”
“I didn’t think you’d be, but I misread your reaction is all. I’m just too sensitive right now, Aaron. If I’m not pregnant, then these mood swings and over-reacting are a true sign that I’m havin’ some serious problems. I need to make an appointment with Dr. Owens if this thing comes back negative.”
They both burst out laughing at that.
“I hate waiting like this! It’s taking forever.” He twisted the knob and let himself inside only to see Mia sitting on the toilet seat with her panties pooled around her ankles.
“Get out!” she screamed, turning crimson with embarrassment.
“Woman, please! You fart in your sleep sometimes. Get over yourself!”
He ducked when she tossed a hand towel in his direction. Leaning against the black and white marble double sink counter top, he crossed his arms and ankles, then took a glance at the pee stick sitting beside her foot. They both glanced at it around the same time, and though he couldn’t read it from his distance, her expression said it all. Mia’s face cracked in a grin, and then hearty laughter erupted from her core.
“I’m gonna be a mommy!!!”
“Yes!” He fist pumped the air, taken aback at how fast his excitement was growing.
My second child will be coming into the world soon… My second chance to do this right. This time, I won’t poison my seed’s mind with my own sickness. No, this time, I will nurture her or him, teach them the golden rule. This time, the child will be raised in pure love…
…Two months later
THE OLD SCARS in her flesh proved to have faded with time, but tiny bits of evidence remained. She’d been a cutter as a teenager, slicing into herself like freshly cooled pie, making the pain come to give her instantaneous relief. Placing the joint down into the ashtray, she looked dreamlessly around her living room. Her all-cried-out eyes stung with the dryness that only a mother who’d died time and again and lost her baby would understand.
She’d received a summons from the court. Aaron had done the unthinkable: he’d applied for custody of Laura. He’d called her in advance from some elaborate property that he’d kept under wraps, an estate that dreams were made of, far away in West Virginia. The fucking stingy, insane bastard had never even told her he had a house there, and part of the time they were together, the damn thing had been already in his name.
He’d confessed after relocating, letting her know that some things had popped off, but he wanted Laura to come at least one weekend once a month and for the entire summer… He’d send for her. She allowed Laura one trip up, after which, she refused, and the arguments ensued. She never believed in a million years he’d get the courts involved, he abhorred the notion, but he did, and he didn’t want a slice of the cake, he wanted the whole damn thing. But what about the money? And the house?
All of this news made her doubly curious. After a bit of an investigation, she realized that Aaron had extended his business and was making forty percent more income than he was with only the one location in Alabama. The fucker was making money hand over fist, and she needed some of that wealth… Taking care of a little girl was hard work, and besides, for all the pain he’d caused her, he owed her.
It seemed when Laura was a baby, he was only concerned about their daughter and rarely asked about her wellbeing. She’d given the man the best years of her life. She’d loved him, but because of his ways, she was never ‘perfect’ enough in his eyes.
Resentment reared its ugly head again. The least he could do was ensure she and Laura had a comfortable life. But now, everything was threatened. The black beast he’d moved into his home, then had the audacity to marry, would have the rights to everything.
Once she’d heard about the wedding, she’d fumed with fury. Why, the fucker had the gall to ask if Laura could be in it! HELL. NO. All of these torturous feelings she hid away, tucked out of sight… never wishing her current husband to see that she still cared for the son of a bitch, and secretly compared the two against one another.
Truth of the matter was, as horrible as Aaron was, she at times missed him. Aaron was funny, strong, sexy… He worked hard, was smart… powerful. He’d become her addiction and her turn-off, all at once. She tossed and turned so many nights, thinking of him in bed with the black bitch that now had his last name. A nigger, a goddamn porch monkey lived in that big, pretty house, with all that land and water, boats and fresh air. She’d heard all about it after Laura’s visit. Their daughter boasted of jumping frogs that croaked out songs in the evening, and how her bedroom looked like a damn dollhouse, pink canopy and miniature play kitchen and all. Sarah had simply had enough. If he had money to do all of that, surely he had capital he could spare.
As soon as she sent the papers for a child support increase after obtaining such information, he had her served with a request for full custodial guardianship. He stated that was the last damn straw, and proved once and for all that she didn’t care about their daughter one bit. It was all lies! She was taken aback, head over heels in hate. Surely it must’ve been some joke, but alas, it was not. Before she could blink an eye, she and Aaron were standing before a judge…
The old, withered white woman with a face the color of uncooked pig guts sat up there on her high horse, behind the big bench, condemning her for her excessive drinking and not spending enough time with her child. She had a beer every now and again – so what! Aaron had yanked the system on his side, kept them in his pocket, in his favor. Like a magic trick, he littered the place with receipts and cashed checks from the past eight years, including the ones sent by his accountant while he was in prison. He showed off fancy spreadsheets and neatly typed bank statements detailing all the money, minus the cash contributions, he’d given in care for his daughter. The sum totaled to over $62,000, on average, per year… Not including gifts and the mortgage payments he made on her behalf.
The judge declared that she should be ashamed of herself and though she stated Aaron was not exactly parent of the year either, she felt that he, of all people, was the better option. In an act of desperation to keep her daughter, she’d tossed anything she could at him, hoping it would stick. Due to her allegations, he was forced to take a drug test. The results came out squeaky clean. He’d kept on the straight and narrow ever since his release and he’d been acquitted.
What more could be said? She had nothing to accuse him of or hang her hat on. He looked like a damn martyr, and she was escorted out of the courtroom after she lunged at him, wishing nothing more than to gouge his amber eyes clean out of his skull. Everyone already knew the truth. Aaron only drank a few beers a week, or a glass of wine or two if he was feelin’ highfalutin.
He smoked cigarettes, but nothing illegal. He worked a great job; he was the owner and the boss for God’s sake, and allegedly had a wife now that was a pretty principal of a well-respected school for retard children… Never mind that the cunt was a damn monkey. No matter how many degrees she had, she still was a motherfucking baboon. She hadn’t seen her in person, but she did see a picture of her – searched it out online…
Leave it to Aaron that if he was going to get a primate for a bride, he’d get the best lookin’ one he could find.
Regardless, he looked like a gleaming star in the eyes of the court. Surely his criminal record should have sunk his ship. Instead, some pea-sized-headed fucker in a tweed suit sat his happy ass down and put the final nail in the coffin. It was a doctor from the prison. He’d come on Aaron’s behalf as a character witness… and boy did he witness alright. It was a regular ol’ church revival. Not only that, the snooty faggot presented written evidence that Aaron had gone through extensive deprogramming, and his progress—under a pseudo name—had been discussed in several college classrooms by future psychiatrists, as well as analyzed in special studies. The fucker was now in textbooks. Unbelievable. Aaron had in fact turned a new leaf.
Laura was due to arrive in his custody the following month. He’d conceded to allow her to finish a few more weeks at her current school on account of a special award she was due to receive for her grades, attendance, and being helper of the year. Her father was little to be celebrated, however.
The race traitor, 8-Miler, coon caper and chocolate dipper had broken her heart for the last goddamn time.
It wasn’t enough that you abandoned me… It wasn’t enough that you turned your back and I had to watch you date other women, flaunt them in my face after our break up! I had to deal with you calling to speak to your daughter, never askin’ about her damn mother! You told me you’d always love me… you lied! I accepted that we were over, moved on with my life, and then, you
caused problems in my marriage by bad talking my man. At least he’s here! Now this… you take our daughter away from me?! Out of the only home she’s known her entire life? My only reason for living! Laura is my everything!
“I hate you, Aaron! You twisted fuck! Rot in Hell!” she screamed out at the top of her lungs.
She stretched lazily over her laminate end table, a high, pyramid-shaped pile of used Kleenex stained with dark blue mascara from her never ceasing tears. A couple of pieces fell to the floor as she gripped her white landline phone to make a much-needed call.
“Yeah.” She sniffed, trying to keep herself together and not fall apart once more though that feat proved damn near impossible. “It’s me, Sarah…. You asked me a while back if I knew where Aaron was stayin’. I told you I didn’t; well, that isn’t true. Grab a pencil or something, you’ll want to write this down…”
Chapter Seventeen
Two days later…
“AARON, IT’S GETTING late,” Mia hollered out through the open window.
The paint fumes had been going to Aaron’s head, making him woozy and high. What was life without a tree house? Surely Laura would want a tree house; what child of his wouldn’t?
He sighed as he looked at the time and plopped the wet paintbrush, dyed in crimson, back into the bright red canister.
“Alright, Boss Lady.” He looked across the backyard and smiled at her as she waved in his direction, closed the thing and disappeared. The curtain swayed back and forth for a small period of time, then ceased to move altogether. He missed her already. Butterflies danced in his stomach as he anticipated Laura’s arrival. He’d let her get her bearings for the first few days, and then, she’d start classes at her new school. Much to his surprise, his daughter was not as upset about her leaving her mother as he’d thought she’d be. That belief had worried him so much and caused him to drag out the inevitable.
He’d spoken to her after court, and though she struggled to understand the adult nature of the situation, she seemed genuinely excited to spend time with him, as if it were a new adventure. Aaron, however, wasn’t expecting a utopia. Laura would have some growing pains for things in West Virginia were so different. Unlike her mother, he was more of a disciplinarian, but he prided himself on also having compassion. All Sarah did was ignore and yell at her, depending on her mood and the offense. Aaron still couldn’t wrap his brain around what had possibly gone wrong along the way…
