If You're Willing

by Ivy Symone

  Grace giggled. “I won’t. Lulu just sensitive to speed. She’ll be a’ight.”

  Lovely kissed her daughter bye then held onto Lu’s arm as he escorted her out the family room.

  Grace said, “I’ma drive like a bat out of hell. Lulu gon’ shit sweet and sour chicken and finally quit.”

  Jazmin laughed. “You’re terrible.”

  Cassie inhaled a deep breath. “Well, I’m going in here to see him.”

  Grace told her the room number. She didn’t hurry, as a matter of fact she walked slow. The curtains were drawn on his room, but the doors were opened. She stepped around the curtains. Lulu looked up at her when she entered. Eli turned his head to see who she was looking at.

  He said in a drugged stupor, “Get this oriental out of my room.”

  “I no oriental,” Lulu said in a playful angry tone.

  “But your ass is flat as an oriental rug,” Eli told her.

  “You high. You high on drugs. But you no sleep. Why?”

  “Lulu, I need some of that shit you be smoking. I know your ass be hitting that bong. I seent you.”

  Lulu laughed. “Oh hush Fruitcake.”

  “Lulu…Lulu,” he said pointing to Cassie. “That’s my new babymama. Her name Cassandra. Cassie, this is the oriental that won’t go away.”

  “Oh. You Cassie,” Lulu grinned. “He been asking for you. Where Cassie, where Cassie! Glad you here; now he shut up.”

  Cassie giggled. She watched as Lulu kissed Eli’s forehead and ruffled his hair. She said, “Get better Fruitcake.”

  “Don’t touch my hair,” he mumbled. “You be playing with fish heads and shit.”

  Lulu could do nothing but shake her head.

  Cassie waited for Lulu to exit before getting closer to his bed. Her eyes roamed over him as if she was examining him. His once vibrant honey toasted complexion was dull and his eyes looked tired. The laziness of his eyes were a clear sign he was feeling the effects of the drugs pumping through him. He had tubes coming from under his blanket.

  She could feel him staring at her. She finally made eye contact with him. And like he usually done, he gave her one of those stoic looks of his.

  “Where you been?” he finally asked.

  “With my daddy,” she answered.

  “Daddy?”

  She nodded. “I went and saw him today.”

  “How that go?”

  “It was good actually. We talked. I think I like him.”

  “That’s why you didn’t go to work?”

  “How you know I didn’t go to work?”

  “Cause they said you didn’t show up today.”

  “Oh. Well, I got ready to go and was about to head out the door until Rock came out of my mama’s room,” she said.

  His eyes opened up. “What?”

  She sighed. “Yeah. I fought both of them and put—”

  “Fought?” he questioned. His brow furrowed in a frown. “Don’t be fighting nobody with my baby in there.”

  She gave him a guilty smile. “Okay, that’ll be the only time. But I put them out, and needless to say, I didn’t really feel like working or being bothered with anybody. Then I got mad at you for not calling me, but I feel so bad now because you were laid up in the hospital.”

  “That’s okay. You get a pass after that shit,” he said. “He wasn’t shit nor was your mama. Speaking of not shit; did you see Sarah out there?”

  Cassie nodded. “I think she was about to leave though. Lu, his wife, and Lovely just left.”

  “I think Lovely getting blinder,” he said. “She bumping into all kinds of shit. I told them take her ass home ‘fore she fuck up that baby.”

  Cassie tried not to laugh. She asked, “Eli, why aren’t you sleeping?”

  He shrugged. He said, “Hey, you know this the second time a bitch stabbed me.”

  Cassie laughed. “Yeah, you told me about the first time.”

  “When I tell you that?”

  “A few weeks ago,” she said.

  “Oh,” he murmured.

  “What’s gonna happen to Kris?”

  “I don’t know but she better come get her lil boy. I ain’t taking care of his ass after this shit.”

  Cassie started laughing. “I can’t stand you.”

  “Brother Yosef—somebody better come get that raggedy head boy…But she turned herself in. Depending on how I feel…I don’t know…Even if I don’t press charges, the state will. And I ain’t got shit to do with it after that.”

  “That’s really crazy,” Cassie said in disbelief. She tried her best not to give in to the laughter she was fighting. She couldn’t help it though “Eli! Why you call that boy raggedy head?”

  Eli chuckled goofily. “Cause he is...hell...you seen him. They needa throw some dreads up in his head...real quick. Nappy hair look better in dreads...Maybe that’s what you should do too.”

  “Ooh I can’t stand you!” she laughed.

  He smiled as his eyes got heavier. “I’m just kidding…Ain’t nothing wrong with my baby’s hair...long as you take care of them edges.”

  “Eli!”

  “Okay, okay...I quit.” He stared at her for a second before he asked, “So what we gon’ do Princess?”

  Curious, Cassie asked, “Why do you call me Princess?”

  His eyes started getting heavier. “Cassandra…was the Princess of Troy…She tried to tell them niggas bout them other niggas in the Trojan horse but they ain’t believe her…That’s cause Apollo spit in her mouth and cursed her or some shit so nobody would believe shit she said…And some more stuff.”

  “How you know all of that?”

  “Cause I’m not stupid…I may act like I’m stupid…but I remember some shit I learned in school…” he said. His eyes fluttered open. “You haven’t answered me.”

  “About what we’re gonna do? I don’t know. What do you wanna do?”

  “I wanna fuck you but I got this damn tube up my dick.”

  Cassie chuckled. “I really can’t stand you.”

  A slow, lazy smile spread across his lips. “Give me a kiss so I can finally go to sleep…Don’t stick your tongue in my mouth though…My breff a lil tart.”

  Cassie shook her head. She leaned over and placed a soft kiss against his lips. She pulled back to look at him. He was drifting to sleep. She whispered, “I love you.”

  Without opening his eyes, he mumbled, “I love you too.”

  Cassie stared at him as he slept. She smiled as an overwhelming presence of something she couldn’t quite name filled her. She didn’t know if it was happiness and joy, or just knowing that things would be okay. And she also knew that the man lying before her really loved her. They were a pair no one would have imagined putting together on purpose. She didn’t know what would become of them, but she was willing if he was willing to give it a try, and see what becomes of them.

  *** The End…but not the end of them…

  …an update to come later…***