by Ashley Cole
The valet grabbed the ticket, barely touching the edges, hoping there wasn’t any vomit on it. “Man, hurry up, I didn’t wipe throw up on the ticket. Hurry up with my shit!”, Noah yelled agitated and immediately felt bad. Robert was a good guy. How the hell did he know Noah didn’t puke all over the damn ticket. He wouldn’t have wanted to touch it either. Unless it was for Chanel. He’d do anything for her, he thought. He’d hold her hair while she vomited if he had to.
Shaking his head, he attempted to remove her from his thoughts as Robert pulled around with his black BMW. It wasn’t the best car but it would do for now. It got him from A to B, and he promised himself he’d upgrade to a 2017 once his restaurant opened. Right now, he owned a 2005. It had a few scratches and dents but it got him to work, which was all that mattered.
Taking his keys from Robert, he apologized, “Ay man, my bad for yelling. I had some crazy shit happen to me tonight. We good?” “Yah man, no problem, you’re good. Your big ass is scary so I wasn’t gonna call you out or anything”, Robert replied laughing. “Aight man, be easy”, Noah said as he pulled out of the parking lot. He hoped his roommate was too embarrassed to have sex tonight. He was tired as hell as he headed home.
Chapter 12
Relaxing in what was once warm bath water, Scarlett reluctantly peeled her limbs out of the bathtub, feeling so much better. Drying off, she noticed Lola had fallen asleep right beside her. Maybe she wore herself out finagling her way out of that damn cage, she thought smiling. Making sure not to wake her, she stepped over her slowly while grabbing her phone and wine glass, heading towards her bedroom. As she searched for something comfortable to wear, she resorted to black lace panties, a pair of pink sweats, and a matching tank top. No need for a bra, she was in for the evening, she thought.
Checking her phone, she noticed it was blinking. She’d missed three calls and two voicemails from Naomi. Panicking, she immediately returned her call. Naomi never called more than once, back to back, unless there was an emergency. She silently prayed that Mason was okay. She knew Naomi probably left work later than usual today, meaning she probably had to ask that asshole Ethan to pick him up from daycare.
After the fourth ring, Naomi answered, “Hey girl”, she said, sounding completely drained. “Hey Hun, I’m sorry I missed your calls. I’d turned my ringer off. My mom was working my nerves when I got home and I couldn’t get any peace. Is everything okay?”, she asked. “Yah we’ll be fine but I’m sure Mason’s a little rattled. Ethan is such an ass. I asked him to pick Mason up, and of course he started bitching, but as I always do, I let it go. Finally, I’d made it over to his place to grab Mason around 6:45 and Ethan wouldn’t allow me to come into his house. It hadn’t been a problem before so it threw me off a little.”
“Oh, hell no, since when are you not allowed to enter his whore house? He should be happy to have a classy woman anywhere near him. Sorry for interrupting girl, you know I can’t stand him. So, tell me what happened after that”, Scarlett replied. “Well he told Mason I was there and to grab his things. Initially, I heard Mason walking towards the door, but then I heard a female’s voice asking him for a hug goodbye.” Angrily Scarlett yelled, “I know damn well he didn’t have one of those hoes around my nephew! I would have cursed both of their asses out. Please tell me you cursed him out Naomi.”
“Girl I was pissed, I burst his door open and pushed past him grabbing Mason and walked the hell out.” Puzzled, Scarlett replied, “That’s it? Girl I would have acted a pure donkey on his ass.” “Scarlett, I don’t have time for all that and you know Mason has seen enough already. You know damn well if my baby wasn’t there, I would have gone for the jugular, but one of us has to be the adult in the situation.” “True,” Scarlett replied not completely satisfied with Naomi’s response. “But girl let me tell you. Do you know this fool followed me to my car? I wanted to run his ass over. He does not care about acting crazy in front of Mason.”
“Girl I have plenty of bail money just give me the word, but you know you want to be the only one raising my nephew, so simmer down ma’am,” she laughed trying to lighten the mood. “I know, but how could he be so careless”, Naomi asked. “I know one thing, I better not catch him in the streets. I may end up running over him for you”, Scarlett said as they threw their heads back laughing. “But anywhooo, let me make you laugh, being that your day was obviously worse than mine. Tell me why your bestie walked into her own car in the school parking lot, trying to wave at Stephanie. Girl I was soooo embarrassed, and you know her classroom is across the hall from mine. I promise I will not be making eye contact with her anytime soon.”
Naomi was laughing so hard she had to catch her breath before responding, “Are you sure she saw you? She could have looked in your direction after you tripped.” “Girl if she didn’t see me she needs bifocals. Chile, it was bad.” Naomi continued laughing seeming if she was starting to feel better. That was all Scarlett wanted. She hated watching her friend go through drama with her ex. One thing was for sure, if she saw him anytime soon, he’d get a piece of her mind. She also made sure she confirmed they were going out Friday, no excuses. Her friend needed to have a little fun.
Chapter 13
Naomi had finally made it home and had zero energy to cook. She was highly upset with Ethan and vowed she would not be allowing Mason to visit until they discussed what transpired. He clearly had allowed his morals to slip out of the window and that was a problem he’d have to deal with on his own. Gone were the days where he could walk through life, wreaking havoc on others, not caring about the consequences.
“Mason, did you eat at daddy’s house?” she asked. “No, I don’t like daddy food,” he said. “Do you want pizza, mommy’s exhausted.” “Yay, pizza!”, he yelled excitedly. Naomi had Pizza Hut on speed dial for nights such as these. She ordered Mason’s favorite, which was a large meat lovers with cheese crust and she added a side of wings with ranch dip. “Let’s get you ready for a bath while we wait on the pizza man”, she said grabbing his things. “Okay mommy,” he said following her to his bedroom.
Grabbing a few of his superheroes, Mason met his mommy in his bathroom. It was decorated in everything Avengers. He had an Avengers trash can, soap dish, shower curtain, picture frame, tooth brush holder, and towel wrack. He even had Avengers bubble bath. While running his bath water she checked to make sure the temperature wasn’t too hot or cold. She then turned around to help Mason undress and get into the tub full of bubbles.
Naomi knew Scarlett said she’d call when she got off but she noticed she hadn’t yet. She knew she needed to vent and figured she’d call her instead. The emotions she was feeling were better out than in and she didn’t want her mood to affect Mason. Maybe they were both having a bad day and that’s why she hadn’t had a chance to call, she thought. Pulling up Scarlett’s info in her contacts, she dialed her number.
Surprisingly, it went to voicemail after ringing five times. “Hmm, she usually answers on the first ring”, she said aloud. “Who are you calling mommy?” Mason replied eavesdropping. “I’m calling auntie Scarlett”, she said stepping out of ears reach, making sure she could still see and hear him.
Mason was known for eaves dropping on adult conversations, but not in a malicious way, he was just very nosey. Naomi’s mother used to tell her she was very nosey as a child, so this was probably pay back. But once she’d found out Mason was being interrogated by Ethan every time he went to his house about what happens at mommy’s house, she made sure to be more discreet with her phone calls. Dialing Scarlett’s number two more times it continuously went to voicemail. She decided to leave a message but became worried, this wasn’t normal behavior for her.
Just as she was about to call Scarlett’s mom and ask if she’d heard from her, Scarlett returned her call. Naomi could hear and see Mason playing and making noises with his toys as she answered, “Hey girl,” she answered knowing she sounded like crap. After the night she’d had, she did not care.
After
making sure Scarlett was okay, and her asking if Mason was okay, she ended up telling her what happened when she picked Mason up. Scarlett was very protective of Mason, and she knew she’d be upset, but she had to get all of this off her chest. Her friend obviously wanted her to rip Ethan’s head off but she was tired of fighting with him. Scarlet was ranting about how she’d run Ethan over for her and they were cracking up.
Come to find out, her day hadn’t been much better than Naomi’s had. Apparently, she walked into the back of her own car, trying to wave at her crush, Stephanie. That had to be embarrassing, she thought giggling to herself. They were joking about Stephanie possibly not seeing her, but Scarlett was not trying to hear any of it. By the time they finished laughing, their bellies and faces were hurting.
“How’s your mom, you haven’t mentioned her lately, and when you didn’t answer earlier I almost called her”, Naomi asked. “Girl, I’m so glad you didn’t call her. She’s the reason you couldn’t reach me. I had turned my ringer off to avoid her calls. She was working my nerves about me needing a man for this and that”, Scarlett was unreasonably pissed.
“You may as well tell that woman your future husband is a female so she can leave you alone”, Naomi smiled. “Girl hell to the no. She’d probably end up on all kinds of meds for anxiety and depression. She’s been saying she wants grandbabies and she is not going to want hear anything about adoption. She would stroke out if people knew her precious daughter was bi-sexual.”
“Well she’s not going to drop the subject, you know how your mother is. You’ll have to tell her eventually.” “Yah I know, but not right now. Plus, I may end up with a man after all, breaking the news to her now would have her on meds for no reason.” They laughed hysterically. Naomi’s doorbell rang. “Girl you got company?”, Scarlett asked hearing her doorbell. “Girl no, and I don’t want any. It’s just the pizzaman. I was not about to cook after all that drama”, she said.
“What if he came to deliver more than pizza?”, Scarlett jokingly picked on Naomi. “Ha! Girl stop. Let me answer this door, I need to get Mason out of tub. He needs to eat get ready for bed so I can relax. I’ll text you before I pass out. Love you”, Naomi replied. “Love you too Hun, talk to you later.” “Mason, stay put mommy’s going to grab the pizza, then I’ll help you dry off.” “Okay mommy, yay pizza!”, he yelled excitedly.
Naomi tipped the pizza guy before grabbing the boxes, not realizing he was checking her out. She still had her work clothes but changed into a pair of flip flops after getting home. Not noticing his apparent interest, she said thanks as she closed the front door. Sitting the food on the counter, she helped Mason out of the tub to dry off, and got him dressed in his PJ’s. “God is grace, God is good let us thank him for our food, amen”, Mason said blessing the food. “Thank you, big boy, one or two slices?” she asked. “Two!” he yelled cheesing.
“How was your day?”, she asked inquisitively. Mason always had great stories about his adventures at daycare and she could use some cheering up. “It was okay mommy, I made a new friend. His name is Justin and he’s in my class. We played superheroes together, it was fun,” he said. “I’m glad you had a good day and made a new friend.” “Me too, I love you mommy”, he said with a mouth full of pizza. “I love you too”, she said leaning over to kiss his forehead.
Mommy are you and daddy being mean again?”, he asked catching her off guard. This was one of many reasons why she didn’t like arguing in front of him. He would remember their conversations and hold them in until later. “Daddy and mommy had a bad day and we need to calm down before we talk. Do you forgive us?” “Okay mommy, I forgive you but no more okay?”, he asked quietly. “I will try not to because I know it makes you sad and mommy doesn’t want that. But never question our love for you, we will always love you no matter what okay?” “I know mommy”, he smiled.
After eating, Naomi helped Mason brush his teeth then got him tucked in for bed. Normally she would read him a bedtime story but she was exhausted so she promised to read him one tomorrow. She was so tired she’d be the one falling asleep midway through the book. Kissing him goodnight, she took a long shower, attempting to wash off the day.
She then threw on some purple silk PJ’s. After hopping into her canopy bed, she made sure to text Scarlett before closing her heavy eyelids. “Girl I am so exhausted. Thanks for making me feel better. You always crack me up. Anyways, call me tomorrow. Goodnight,” she said hitting send on her text. Naomi decided to read a few scriptures before dozing off. She then placed her bible on her nightstand, turn off her lamp and cuddled into her silk pillow.
Chapter 14
“So, did you have a pretty good day, other than me ruining it by being late?”, Monty asked. “It was okay, I guess. This kid is always saying mean things, but I ignore her. Sometimes it hurts my feelings and I want to hit her”, Maddie replied narrowing her eyes. “What’s this little shi- kids name?” he replied refraining from cursing. He did not like anyone messing with his baby.
“Her name is Lindsey and she’s in my class. She’s always talking about my hair saying it isn’t pretty and that her hair looks better than mine.” “Well she can’t say anything negative sweetheart, you have beautiful hair. She’s probably just jealous though, kids can be cruel”, he said remembering his childhood. “I had a bully when I was around your age and I didn’t tell my parents because I was afraid, but one day I got real tired of him pushing me around and I let him have it. I still remember his name, it was Nicholas”, he said
“I’m not encouraging you to start a fight, but standing up to a bully can make a world of a difference,” he said making eye contact. “I don’t know dad, she’s pretty and she has a lot of friends. They may help her push me around if I stand up to her.” “To be honest, her friends are probably just as afraid of her as you are. Instead of standing up to her they probably just laugh so they can in. Secretly, they’re probably waiting on someone courageous like you to stand up to her.”
“I’ll let you try to handle this on your own, but if things start getting out of hand with little Ms. Lindsey, do not hesitate to let me know. Trust me, nobody wants to see Mr. Campbell marching through those double doors, because someone was picking on his princess”, he smiled. “Yah dad, I don’t think I want to see that either”, she laughed. “But you are right dad, if things get bad, I’ll let you know, deal?” Smiling Monty held out his hand to shake on it, “Deal. Now let’s get us some ice cream.”
They’d just made it to Odd Fellows Ice Cream Co. Monty jogged around to Maddie’s side of the car, opening her door. He always made sure his baby knew how a lady was supposed to be treated, so she would never settle for men who didn’t have their crap together. “Thanks dad”, she said hopping out. “My pleasure pumpkin”, he said holding out his arm to lead her into the shop.
“I bet I can guess what you’re going to get”, he said looking as if he were in deep thought. Maddie laughed, “I want two scoops of Vanilla ice cream in a medium size cup, with the rainbow sprinkles on top”, she said cheesing. “Whatever the little lady wants, the little lady gets”, he said addressing the shy teenager behind the counter.
Monty could have sworn the teenager behind the counter had just winked at him before walking off to fix Maddie’s order. She couldn’t have been any older than nineteen. Monty knew he was a tall glass of Chocolate milk, and you know what they say, milk does a body good. As a matter of fact, judging by this teenager’s response, she was parched, and clearly deprived of vitamin D. Contrary to popular belief, he was not about to quench her thirst, even though he was flattered. She be better off grabbing some H2O. Women were the last thing on his mind, after finding out Maddie’s mom, had cheated on him. Even if he wanted to start over, he’d have to work through his trust issues first.
“Sir, can I help you with your order?”, she asked while handing Madison her ice cream. “Yes, I’ll have two scoops of Butter Pecan in a cone with a little caramel on the top. Gotta watch my figure”, he joked p
oking at his abs. “Coming right up”, she said lingering a little longer than usual with googly eyes. “Ewww, daddy I think she likes you, gross”, Maddie said, not trying to hide her disgust. “Be nice, your dad tends to have that kind of effect on the ladies”, he said while popping his collar. Maddie swatted his hand then covered her ears to ignore him, yelling, “Ewwww, daddy stop it!”
“Do you want to eat your ice cream here?”, he asked. “Nope, I’ll eat in the car, I’m ready to go, she’s gross”, she laughed running before he could grab her arm. “Be nice”, he said not hiding the humor in his eyes. “I’m sure you will have a crush one day, and if he knows what’s good for him, he will make sure he’s nice and a gentleman. If he doesn’t he’ll have to answer to these”, he said flexing his muscles. Rolling her eyes Madison giggled, “Let’s go daddy.” “Alright sweetheart, hop in”, he said opening her door before walking to the driver side.
Turning into their neighborhood, Monty noticed the woman he’d almost ran off the road earlier. She happened to be walking to her mailbox. Filled with embarrassment, he decided now was the best time to apologize. “Excuse me”, he said, stopping in front of her house. The woman looked in his direction with a smirk noticing his car. “I wanted to apologize for almost plowing you off the road earlier. I don’t want to make any more enemies on this block”, he joked. “I was rushing to pick up my princess, it won’t happen again”, he said looking in Maddie’s direction. “This is my daughter Madison”, he said waiting for Maddie to say hi. Maddie waved saying hello.
Leaning forward so that she could see better, Scarlett replied, “Hi sweetie. So, you’re the reason daddy almost plowed me off the road”, she laughed. “Thank you for apologizing, I thought I was going to have to beat you up with my big muscles” she said looking in Monty’s direction. “I don’t want any problems ma’am” Monty said, holding up his hands with surrender. “Alright, I’ll let it go this time. But only because you had the cutie pie with you.
