by Saundra
After getting Imani safely secured in the back of my Benz CLS550, we headed over to the hair salon.
“Looky, Looky.” Pam came over and played with Imani’s big cheeks. Imani smiled, but did not make a sound. Then Rochelle appeared out the back room.
“Is that Imani?” Rochelle beamed with her focus on Imani as she stepped farther into the room. “Hi, Imani.” Rochelle came over and kissed Imani on the cheeks. “Mya, she getting so big. Walkin’ and everything now. Look at you.” Imani smiled, but still said nothing. She had decided to play the shy role.
“Yep. She been walkin’ for a minute now. When I brought her here two months ago you were off.”
“It’s a shame I don’t get to see her more,” Rochelle complained.
“Imani, you not gone talk to your Auntie Rochelle?” Imani looked at me, then Rochelle, and shook her head no. We all started laughing.
“See, I told you last time about acting brand new with me,” Rochelle joked.
“So I see we booked as usual.” I could tell because the parking lot outside was jam-packed.
“Yep, all chairs are occupied for the rest of the day. Except mine,” she confirmed.
“Where Trina at? I noticed her car was not outside when I pulled up.”
“Oh, she called earlier and said she would be in late. She should be here soon, though.” Rochelle filled me in while still playing with Imani.
“So all of her appointments are covered, right?”
“Yep. But tonight will be a late one for her. All her appointments were scheduled for late evening,” Pam replied and sat down behind the computer.
Rochelle suggested, “Let’s go back to my area. I need to clean up. My last one just left for the day, but I gotta start Trina’s second client. I did Shelia for her earlier. But after that I am done for the day.”
Once in the back, I put Imani down so that she could walk around. Rochelle handed her a cherry Blow Pop. Imani took off the wrapper and walked it over to me. Rochelle and I both smiled. She was growing up so fast. It was still hard for me to believe my baby sister was a mom. Having kids had never even crossed my mind so having Imani was a joy. I could spoil her like she was mine.
“Monica still mad at me about that bullshit.”
“For real. Girl, I thought she would be over that by now. Y’all ain’t work that out yet?”
“I guess not. I can’t believe she still upset with me, though. It’s like she likes him more than she respects my opinion.” I shook my head in disappointment.
“But you know that ain’t true. Monica respects the hell out of you. You two just gone have to sit down and talk about it, Mya. Monica loves you and you love her. She just feels like you always treatin’ her like a child.” I knew what Rochelle was saying was true. I had to be the older sister and make it right, but I would give Monica a while to cool off. ’Cause right now she was tripping.
“Hey.” Trina strolled in with a pair of sunglasses on. That was strange because the one thing Trina was proud of were her big deep-dish eyes. So there was no way she was coming inside of a building with glasses on. Something was up.
“What’s up,” Rochelle and I spoke in unison then stared at each other while Trina made her way over to Imani and picked her up. She was crazy about Imani, too. Rochelle shook her head at me. We turned our attention back to Trina, who was indulged in Imani.
“I covered Shelia for you this morning. And yes, she was happy with my service.” Rochelle was leading to something.
“Why wouldn’t she be? You one of the baddest stylists here,” Trina commented and continued to play with Imani. “And thanks. I owe you. I knew you would take good care of her.” Rochelle looked at me and twisted her lips. We both knew Trina was stalling. I hollered for Pam to come back and get Imani so that we could get to the bottom of the shades. As soon as Pam and Imani were out of the room, I went in.
“Are you okay? Rochelle told me you were coming in late today.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had some unexpected business to take care of. But everything is cool now,” Trina answered.
“Cool,” I replied, but I still wanted to know why she was wearing those sunglasses inside the building. I was already sick of beating around the bush. So fuck it. “Trina, why are you wearing sunglasses?”
Trina turned toward us with her lips curled into a smile. “Girl, can’t you see they go with my outfit.” She chuckled and I knew it was forced.
“Well, bitch, you must be blind ’cause them shades don’t match nothin’ you wearin’,” Rochelle blurted out, being her normal, opinionated, say-what-was-on-her-mind self. I almost laughed, but instead I controlled it. I grunted, clearing my throat. then gave her the shut-up look.
I focused my attention back on Trina. “Trina, why do you have on the shades?” I asked again. “And this time give me a real answer, not some bullshit.”
Still stalling, she did not answer me; she just stood glued to her spot. I could not see her eyes so I didn’t know if she was looking at me or Rochelle. The shades were so dark I couldn’t see her eyes period. A single tear slid down her left cheek and I knew that something was amiss. The shades had a meaning; slowly raising her right hand, Trina removed them. Rochelle and I both grabbed at our mouths to quiet our gasps. Trina’s right eye was black and blue and completely swollen shut. Her long eyelashes were completely invisible. She did not have to say a word; we all knew who was responsible: Teddy, her deadbeat boyfriend.
Teddy was a loser with no job who nickel-and-dimed weed sacks with a constant dream of being the next kingpin of Detroit, all while beating and controlling Trina. I had told her time and time again to leave him, and this time would be no different. I cursed under my breath and my heart broke a little bit more for Trina. I would never let some nigga beat me. I would kill him first because my daddy didn’t raise no punching bag.
Chapter 12
“Aye babe, what you got planned for the day?” Hood yelled from the bathroom. I had just finished strapping up my Alexandre Birman leather thong sandals while watching Imani lie on the floor hugging her Pillow Pet pretending to be asleep. I had to smile at her, she was too cute. And way too smart for her age.
“Well, after I get Imani dropped off, I’ma meet Rochelle at Lace to get a mani and pedi. Why, what’s up?”
“I was hoping we could catch up about five or six and grab some steaks at Outback Steakhouse and shit. We ain’t been there in a minute and I been wanting to go. A nigga mouth is watering for a T-bone.” Hood made sure he expressed T-bone with a raised eyebrow. I knew how much he loved a good steak and, now that he mentioned it, I wouldn’t mind having one myself.
“A’ight, that’s cool. I’ll meet you there instead of coming all the way back to the house.” Standing up, I walked over and started to tickle Imani. She rolled over with giggles. The doorbell rang and I knew it had to be Silk and Dontae. Hood had informed me over breakfast that they would be stopping by. They needed to discuss something important and it would only take a minute. He knew how I felt about having them at my house, but he assured me that there would be no drug activity. The only reason he had agreed to let them stop by was because they would be in the area and would be catching a plane for a quick trip right after.
“Hood, the doorbell ringing, you need to get that.” I yelled so that he could hear me over the shower water that was running. I got no answer so I yelled louder. “Hood, you need to get the door. You know it’s for you,” I added sarcastically. He knew I did not want to answer the door for his clown homies.
“I’m still in the shower,” he yelled back so that I could hear him. “Can you get it for me, babe, and tell them niggas to chill until I’m done. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Ugh,” I sighed out loud then rolled my eyes. Imani looked at me and giggled. I’m sure she thought my facial expression was funny. But I was annoyed because Hood knew I didn’t wanna let them niggas in my house. If it was up to me, they would stand outside until he was out of the shower. The more
I thought about it, that sounded like a good idea. But I knew that was mean.
I headed to the front door with Imani on my trail holding her black-and-yellow bumblebee Pillow Pet. I didn’t want to be rude so I tried to wipe the frown off my face, but there was no way I would smile. Hell no. I refused.
I swung open the front door to only find Silk standing there gawking at me. I just wanted to slam the door in his face. And where was his fake-ass friend Dontae? “Ain’t there supposed to be two of you?” I stuck my head outside the door and looked around, but there was only Silk, no sign of Dontae.
“Yeah, but Dontae running late. I’m here, though. Hood up in there?” Silk had a look on his face like I was blocking his view. I know his ass was not in a hurry to get up in my crib. I had to control myself because I almost rolled my eyes at his impatient ass.
“Come on in.” I turned around and headed down the hallway. Imani had stopped midway in the hall and was trying to look around me to see Silk. Looking up at me with her big eyes, Imani asked me in her two-year-old voice to pick her up. She held out her arms and her Pillow Pet to me.
“She really cute.” Silk’s voice broke my thoughts. For a second I had forgotten he was there. “And she looks just like you.” I watched Silk as a wide smile grew across his face.
“She’s my niece. I guess it’s genetics.” It was the only polite thing I could think of at that moment. The smile on his face was plastered there except there was another look in his eyes. He glared at me in a way that gave me the creeps. I almost shuddered. There was something about him I didn’t like. He made me feel as if I was being watched and I didn’t like it one bit.
“Well, you can have a seat in the den. Hood will be out in a minute.” I pointed toward the den area so that he could lead himself. He had been in there before so I was confident he would not get lost. I scooped Imani up and made a dash for my bedroom. Hood was sliding into a pair of navy blue and white high-top Adidas when I entered the room.
“Them niggas straight?” He glanced up at me for a second then back at the Adidas.
“Ain’t no ‘them niggas,’ Silk is alone,” I confirmed, then sat Imani on my bed. Hood briefly looked up at me again but continued to get his Adidas on.
“Silk says Dontae is running late.” I twisted up my lips as I swished into my huge walk-in closet. I grabbed my tan Michael Kors handbag. Hood was putting on his Gucci G Chrono watch when I exited the closet.
“Look, I don’t want them niggas back in here. I don’t care what it’s for. Got it?” My attitude kicked in. I wanted to make myself clear.
“A’ight.” Hood looked at me. He knew me and knew that something was bothering me. “What’s up? Why you so emotional about that shit?”
“Nothing but that nigga Silk creeps me out. I don’t like him.” I had to be honest. That nigga Silk made me feel uncomfortable in my own home.
Hood immediately stopped messing with his watch and a killer look graced his face. “That nigga say some outa line to you? Tell me now ’cause I’ll go down there and dead that nigga ASAP!” Hood barked. I knew he meant it.
“Hood, keep your voice down.” I tried to calm him.
“Fuck that shit, Mya.” Hood turned to leave the room. I ran in front of him. I knew this could turn bad quick. I didn’t mean to flip him out.
“Hood, stop, babe, it’s not like that.” I blocked the door. “All I’m saying is the guy creeps me out. He has not said anything out of line to me. Besides, you know if he did that, I would snap out on him myself,” I reminded him. He knew I could hold my own.
Hood kept his eyes glued on me. I knew he was ready to buck. Poor Silk sitting in the den had no idea how close he had just come to death. “You sure?”
“Yes, babe, now chill. Just keep them out of our house. Okay? No more business conversations here, period.” I looked him in the eyes.
“No doubt.” He stroked my face and kissed me deeply on the lips.
“Imani,” I said and Hood moved out the way. I had completely forgotten she was in the room, she was so quiet. The last thing I wanted to do was frighten her. But when I looked over, she was sleeping. That’s why she had wanted me to pick her up, she was sleepy. Smiling at her, I told Hood to pull my silver Escalade out of the garage. I would carry Imani out and strap her into her car seat. I refused to wake her from her toddler beauty sleep. And on the other hand, I had to get out in the fresh air. My day was already starting to be chaotic. Hood did not play that shit. You mess with his woman and your ass would end up in a body bag. I smiled at how hard I knew my man went when it came to me, but I didn’t want him killing niggas if I could help it.
Chapter 13
After I dropped Imani off, Rochelle called me to cancel our prior plan to meet up at Lace. Apparently Pam could not make her shift at the salon and the only other people that could cover were Rochelle or me. But since I had given Rochelle so much responsibility, she normally would take care of these situations when they arose. As much as I wanted to get my mani and pedi, I also wanted to hang out with Rochelle. So instead of heading to Lace, I took a detour and headed straight to the salon. Pulling up to the salon, I noticed that Rochelle’s Lexus was not outside, which was odd. I had just hung up with her about ten minutes before and she said she was at the salon. I pulled into my reserved parking space and I hopped out, hit the alarm, and strutted my way inside my establishment.
Once inside, I saw Rochelle sitting at the receptionist desk. She had just scheduled an appointment and was hanging up the phone.
“What’s up, chick?” Rochelle greeted me, popping her chewing gum.
“Ahh, do you know that your car ain’t outside.” I flipped my hair off my shoulder while balancing my Michael Kors bag on my right wrist.
“Yeah, I know. It’s parked at my house. I was chauffeured to work this morning.” Rochelle grinned and flashed her Colgate white teeth. I knew it was some nigga and it had nothing to do with Todd.
Without saying a word, Rochelle continued to grin at me. I was growing impatient. I shifted my weight from my left side to the right. She knew I wanted to know who had dropped her off at work. “Bitch, spill the beans. Who is it?” I could no longer wait.
“I went out with Dontae last night. I ended up spending the night with him. He was just dropping me off at home when I got the call from Pam. Long story short, I asked him if he could drop me off at work and he agreed.” She shrugged her shoulders, still holding on to that smile.
I guess that was the reason Dontae was running late meeting with Hood this morning. “Damn, can you wipe that smile off your face?” I rolled my eyes.
“See, I knew you would trip. That is why I did not tell you on the phone,” Rochelle accused me. She knew how I felt about her dating another dope boy.
Sucking my teeth, I denied it. “I ain’t trippin’ if that’s what you wanna do. That is your business.”
All of a sudden the smile on Rochelle’s face disappeared as she seemed to think about something. Before I could ask, she looked at me. “Wynita already trippin’. She called me this mornin’ when I didn’t pick up Tiny. I tried to call her last night, but she was asleep so I left her a message telling her I would pick Tiny up this morning. Girl, she couldn’t wait to call me first thing this morning talkin’ shit. Since Dontae was around, I told her I would call her back. By the time I made it here, she was calling me again. Screaming I need to get rid of Dontae because she know he ain’t nothing but bad news.”
“Well, I agree with her, but that’s just my feelings on the situation.”
“But, Mya, he a sweetie and cool as fuck. You know I like that type of shit.”
“You just looking for another Li’l Lo.” That was some truth for her ass. But I figured she would deny it. Typical.
“Hell no, he ain’t nothing like Li’l Lo. I will never find another love like him. That was my boo.” Talking about Li’l Lo was a soft spot with Rochelle, so I decided to chill on that.
“It’s all good, though. Do you.” Just a
s we were squashing that conversation, Trina came up. Her face had healed up and she was back in her happy mode. Sadly enough, she was back with Teddy. He had apologized, just as he had a million times before, and she had forgiven him and gone home. While Rochelle had cursed her out and called her stupid, I silently prayed for her because I knew that this situation would end up bad if she didn’t eventually get out. I also knew from experience that people did what they wanted to do until they had had enough. Trina’s situation was no different. Calling her stupid was not going to change that. But telling Rochelle that was a waste of time.
“So have the tickets been booked for New York? ’Cause I’m ready to bounce.” Trina smiled.
“Hell yeah, they booked. You just get packed. Shit, we gone turn up.” Rochelle was equally hyped about the trip.
I was excited about the trip, too. I knew we were going to have lots of fun, not to mention shop till we dropped. “I’m ready, too,” I admitted.
“Damn, and it’s gone be fashion week, too. We gone be poppin’ bottles like crazy.” Rochelle stood up and smacked five with Trina. We were all laughing, then all of a sudden Rochelle looked toward the door and her smile faded. I immediately turned in the direction that Rochelle’s eyes traveled and came face to face with the unexpected. Felicia. A bitch from our past, like I said before. But as of late she was popping up on Rochelle, now on me at my salon, so I guess she did not plan to keep it that way. You could always expect the unexpected from Charlene and Felicia, especially when it came to money. Because, to be honest, both of those bitches were gold diggers. Unfortunately, Felicia had not been as lucky when it came to finding a baller that was willing to settle down with her. Needless to say, in the Brewster her reputation preceded her. But lucky for her, Silk was not from Detroit. So he didn’t know about her open legs to the Detroit community. Either way, I could care less about the bitch. If I never saw her again that would be too soon. And here she was standing in my salon. What the fuck did she want?
