Single Ladies 2

by Blake Karrington

  Twenty minutes after parking, she was finally opening up her apartment door.

  “Lamar, I’m back. Sorry, I got caught up with work,” Kim called out when she walked into the apartment.

  It was so quiet, she thought that Lamar might have been asleep, but a quick sweep of the apartment revealed that he wasn’t there, and neither was his luggage. She walked back into the living room and was about to call his phone, but an envelope on the coffee table in the living room caught her eye. She picked it up and opened it, taking a seat on the couch. A white gold diamond ring fell out of it when she pulled the piece of paper from the envelope.

  Her heart started to beat fast, thinking that Lamar was trying to propose to her. She looked around the room, waiting for him to pop up out of nowhere, but he didn’t. Kim put the ring on the table, then started to read the letter.

  Dear Kim,

  Truthfully, I really don’t know where to begin, or even if my words matter to you at this point. Before I get into the reason why I left, let me first start off by saying that I love you. I know that somewhere in your heart you know this. I know that in the past, I fucked up big time, but when you came back to Charlotte, I thought that I had another chance to make things right. Believe me, I was going to do everything in my power to fix my wrong. I wanted to make sure that every day, for the rest of your life, I would make you happy. I swear on my son’s life I was going to do right by you. I’m not going to lie, I noticed something about you the last time I looked into your eyes. I could see that somebody else had ya attention, and it was more serious than what you told me. To a certain extent, I can see why you didn’t want to tell me the truth, but I really wish you would have, so I wouldn’t have gotten my hopes high, thinking that we could make it work. It took me traveling all the way to Philadelphia to realize that it wasn’t me who you was in love with.

  It was evident that you wasn’t expecting me to show up, and you rushed out of here before you got a chance to clean up. His clothes are still here. You got pictures of you and him hanging up everywhere, and he even has an X-Box One here with Call of Duty at the ready . . . lol. Leaving his X-Box here was like a dog that pissed on a tree to mark his territory. You might not understand because it’s a guy thing. In any event, this is his territory, so I left. I want you to know that I’m not mad at you. A little disappointed and hurt, but not mad at all. I still got love for you, and I wish the best for you and your new relationship. As far as the ring, you can keep it or throw it away. Either one is fine by me. If you didn’t do anything else, you sure did earn that much from me. Well, look, I think I said enough. I’m taking my country black ass home. Take care of yourself, and don’t be afraid to come to the city every now and again.

  Much love,

  Lamar

  Kim sat back on the couch reading bits and parts of the letter over again. It sounded like Lamar was letting go for good this time, which touched Kim in a way that she didn’t expect. It sort of felt like she was losing Lamar, not only as a lover, but also as a friend. She felt like she had betrayed him in more than one way, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. It was officially over, but Kim didn’t want it to end like this. On the flip side of the coin, she was also a little relieved. She didn’t have to juggle two relationships in separate states, and she didn’t have to worry about two men playing tug-of-war with her heart. Kim was free to try something new, and this time, she was more confident than ever that Brian was the one for her. The risk was worth it.

  As mean as it seems, losing Lamar may have been the best thing to happen to her. The heart was only made to be in love with one person, and anything more than that could prove to be a chaotic situation.

  * * *

  After a fun-filled day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the sun had finally set and the night had taken over the sky. The day was not nearly over, but Naomi and Lisa wanted it to be, considering that they had been on their feet all day.

  “So, where are we now?” Lisa asked, looking around at the large crowd of people in the outdoor arena that seemed to be set up for a show.

  “Mommy, I’m sleepy,” Naomi said, wiping her eyes.

  Lisa lifted Naomi onto her lap and looked over at Nate. “We should be getting back to the hotel. I’m tired too,” she said.

  “A’ight, just give me one minute,” he said, knowing that the show, Fantasmic, was about to start.

  As soon as the music began and Mickey Mouse emerged on the stage in a cloud of smoke, Naomi woke right up and watched the dazzling light and water display. People oooohed and ahhhhed in astonishment as Mickey directed the pyrotechnics in his famous wizard hat and robe. Naomi’s eyes were glued to the show, and it was a perfect time for Nate to do his thing.

  Nate wrapped his arm around Lisa as she held Naomi on her lap. He nudged Lisa, causing her to look down. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Nate had a ring in the center of his hand. Lisa looked up at him in confusion. The music changed, and Belle and the Beast danced across the stage. It was the perfect backdrop for such a romantic gesture.

  “What are you doing?” Lisa asked, almost in a panic.

  “I’m doing what any man in his right mind would do if he was in my situation,” Nate said, grabbing Lisa’s left hand.

  Her heart raced, and at one point, she even found it hard to breathe. Her thoughts were everywhere. Why is he doing this? What’s he thinking? Does he not see Naomi on my lap? It’s too soon!

  “I can’t marry you, Nate,” she said before he could get the ring on her finger.

  Nate’s heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach, and he felt like he wanted to shed a tear or two. He immediately put the ring back into his pocket in an attempt to save face.

  Lisa couldn’t believe him. It was way too early in their relationship for him to pull a stunt like this. Moments like these made her reconsider being in a serious relationship with anyone.

  “I apologize. Let’s just pretend that none of this ever happened,” he suggested.

  Things were already awkward, and neither Lisa nor Nate felt that the rest of this vacation was going to be much fun with this hanging over their heads. The only thing Lisa wanted to do at that point was take Naomi home. Embarrassed and feeling like a fool, Nate also felt the need to get out of there. After tonight, the Disney vacation was officially over, and it was back to Charlotte for everyone.

  * * *

  Falisha’s initial appearance in court was only a couple of days away, and though it was only the beginning of the process, things weren’t looking too good. The public defender she had in South Carolina was bogus and didn’t know jack squat about being a lawyer. Today was the first time he had read the police report. If he stayed on the case, Falisha was going away for sure. The only person that could help her was Kim. She hated to have to call on her after all the beefing they had been doing, but Falisha really didn’t have any other choice. Kim was the only person she could trust with her freedom.

  Putting her pride and ego to the side, she pulled out her phone and dialed Kim’s number, hoping that her once best friend would help her.

  * * *

  Tammy damn near ran Chris’s car off the road when she saw him on Hudson Street. He swerved right in the nick of time, avoiding driver-side impact. Traffic was almost at a standstill except for a few cars that had enough sense to go around the two stopped cars.

  “Roll ya fuckin’ window down!” Tammy screamed while banging on the window with her fist.

  “What do you want, Tammy?” Chris asked in a calm voice as he slowly rolled down the window.

  Tammy started swinging and cussing him out at the same time.

  “You fuckin’ my girl? Really, nigga, you fucking Falisha?” she snapped, trying her best to connect one of her punches to his face.

  Chris slipped every attempt and began to roll his window back up.

  “My arm!” Tammy screamed when she couldn’t get it out in time.

  Before she broke the glass, Chris let the window down slightly to release
her arm.

  “Get outta the fuckin’ car,” she yelled as she kicked his door.

  Chris wasn’t trying to entertain Tammy; he had already had enough of her foolishness. But he knew this was going to have to go down at some point, so today seemed like it was going to be it. He jumped out of the car, slipped the two punches Tammy threw, then gripped her up by the neck and slammed her against the vehicle. She squeezed her cheeks together like she was about to spit on him, but he squeezed her neck even tighter, almost making her choke on her own spit.

  “I swear on my kids, I will break ya fuckin’ jaw if you spit on me,” Chris threatened in a serious tone.

  Confident that she knew for sure that he wasn’t playing, he let her neck go.

  “Fuck is yo’ problem?”

  “I saw you and Falisha on Instagram, nigga. Are you fucking her? And don’t lie to me either.”

  Chris took a step back, glancing over at the traffic going around his car.

  “You know you got some fuckin’ nerve questioning me about who I’m fucking. Bitch, you left me while I was in jail, then you go and get married when I came home. Who da fuck do you think you are? I can fuck whoever I want.”

  “My fuckin’ girlfriend, tho?” Tammy shot back.

  “You got me fucked up, Tammy. You lost yo’ rights the minute ya nut ass walked down the aisle. I’m doing me now.”

  “Oh yeah? By fuckin’ wit’ my friend?”

  “Yeah, and I’m not just fuckin’ Falisha. That’s my bitch now.”

  Tammy couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. She looked around, and right when she was about to tee off on Chris again, Darious’s car came to a stop behind both of their cars.

  He jumped out, pissed, wondering what his wife was doing out in the middle of the street arguing with Chris.

  “What’s the problem?” Darious asked, walking up on them.

  Chris gave him a stern look, then turned to Tammy.

  “Yeah, what’s the problem?” he asked Tammy, trying to put her on the spot.

  Darious looked at her, searching her eyes for an answer, but Tammy stood there with the mean mug on. She wasn’t about to expose her hand the way Chris wanted her to, but she definitely wasn’t going to leave without saying something.

  “Fuck you, Chris,” she said, then walked off toward her car.

  “Yeah, that part of our relationship is over,” Chris said and laughed. “Oh, and a news flash . . . Falisha ain’t yo’ friend anymore,” Chris concluded before jumping back into his car and pulling off in traffic.

  Darious stood there confused as shit, unsure of how he was supposed to take what little he’d just heard. He wasn’t going to cause a scene, but when he got home, he was going to get an understanding about what was going on. All that trust shit was now out the door.

  * * *

  “I have to go back to Charlotte for a few days,” Kim told Brian as they lay in bed.

  Brian acted like he didn’t even hear what she said.

  “I know you heard me and don’t lie there and act like you didn’t,” she said, biting down on his side.

  “Ah shit,” he yelled, pulling away from her hold. “I heard you.”

  She went on and explained the whole situation with Falisha and the case that she caught. They weren’t on the best of terms right now, but that was still Kim’s friend, and she wasn’t going to leave her hanging out to dry.

  “You should come with me,” Kim suggested. “You can meet all of my people, and I can show you some of that Southern hospitality.” She smiled and rubbed the bite mark with her thumb.

  “Even if I wanted to go, my parole officer wouldn’t let me, especially on this short of a notice. Go ahead down there and take care of ya business. I’m not trippin’, tho,” Brian told her.

  Initially his heart was against it, knowing that she would more than likely be around Lamar, but then Brian came to his senses and realized that he had nothing to worry about. Not only was he confident that Kim wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their relationship, he trusted her to be loyal and faithful during her trip. He had put too much work in with her for it to go any other way. There was nothing for him to be insecure about.

  “You know I love you, right?” Kim said, seeing the concern leaving his face.

  Brian looked over at her and smiled. “Yeah, I know,” he said, then went right back to looking at the TV with no worries at all.

  Little things like this made Kim love Brian even more. She couldn’t conceive of the thought of doing something stupid. Nothing or nobody was worth it.

  * * *

  “Ms. D, I don’t think Sunday dinner will be possible,” Lisa said into the phone.

  Ms. D wasn’t trying to hear it. This was a dinner she’d insisted on having, especially since she was about to check into the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Arizona. Not knowing how long she would be gone or whether she would be coming back at all, Ms. D wanted to have dinner with everyone she loved before she went away. After explaining all of this, Lisa assured her that she would do everything in her power to get everybody to come. It was a task, because the crew was scattered about doing their own thing, but just as she promised, Lisa was going to make something happen.

  * * *

  “Damn, bitch, you been MIA,” Carol yelled from across the street when Falisha came out of her mom’s house with Jordan in her arms.

  “And I heard about you and Chris all hugged up on Instagram,” Ernie chimed in when Falisha made it across the street. “You bold as shit. You know Tammy gon’ kill both of y’all asses,” he continued as he put the weed out because of the baby.

  “Hating never looked good on you, Ernie,” Falisha shot back.

  “Hating? I know you didn’t just say that I was hating. We all supposed to be friends, Falisha, and friends don’t sleep with other friends’ baby daddies.”

  Carol looked off, thinking about the encounter she and Lamar had when he was trying to get information out of her.

  Falisha looked at Ernie like he was crazy.

  “Friends, Ernie?” she said, shifting Jordan into her other arm. “I sure as hell didn’t see you coming to my aid when I was sitting in a jail cell. Don’t talk no shit about friendship, and don’t think that I don’t know about you fuckin’ with my baby daddy,” Falisha said, rolling her eyes over at Carol.

  Falisha was just getting started, but before she could burn Ernie’s ass up with a vicious tongue-lashing, Fox’s F-Type Jaguar turned down the block, making Falisha even more frustrated than she already was.

  “I’ll deal wit’ y’all in a second,” she told them, then turned around to see what Fox wanted.

  He stopped and slowly exited the car. The nigga even had the nerve to look like he was mad.

  “What do you want, Fox?”

  “I just came to check up on you. I know you got a court date in a couple of days,” he said, leaning against the car.

  Falisha knew Fox all too well and knew that this wasn’t a regular checkup.

  “Why don’t you just ask me what you wanna ask me?” she shot back.

  Fox took her up on the offer. “Did you tell them anything about me?” he asked, analyzing her body language.

  “I’m not no fuckin’ rat. Next,” she said, popping her neck.

  “Are you sure about that? ’Cause I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you,” he casually threatened.

  He didn’t scare Falisha one bit. She knew too much about him.

  “You might wanna consider the fact that I know everything about you. I know where you live, security passcodes to your house, what times you go out, and when you come home. Hell, I even know what side of the bed you like to sleep on. You know, little important shit like that can go a long way. And let’s not forget who I’m in bed with right now. I can text him and have you dead before you get home,” Falisha promised. “Now carry ya tired ass on. I’m done wit’ you.”

  Fox looked at Falisha and cracked a crooked smile before getting back into his car. H
e had underestimated her and what she was truly capable of doing to him. Having Chris and his crazy-ass brother on her team was a deterrent to any violence. The best thing he could have done when he pulled off was forget about it altogether and keep it moving.

  * * *

  The scent of Ed Hardy rushed Lisa’s nose, causing her to wake up from her sleep. This particular fragrance was significant to her because it was Ralphy’s favorite cologne. She opened her eyes—and froze when she saw Ralphy sitting in a chair by the foot of the bed.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” he said, causing Lisa to cry. She knew this had to be a dream, but she sat up in the bed and cleared her eyes anyway.

  “It’s time for you to move on. I know that you wanna hold on, but you can’t. You gotta live ya life . . .”

  “I miss you so much,” Lisa cried. “I don’t wanna move on. It’s too hard,” she continued, letting the tears fall freely.

  “You can’t be that way, baby. You can’t do this to yourself. You can’t do this to Naomi. Just trust me, Lisa, you gon’ be all right. I love you and our daughter,” Ralphy said before getting out of the chair.

  As he walked away, Lisa tried to get up and follow him. When she got off the bed, it was as if she had stepped off a cliff and was falling through the sky. Right when she was about to smack into the ground, she woke up.

  * * *

  “What da fuck was all that about?” Darious snapped when he walked into the house. “Oh, you quiet now?” he asked, walking over to Tammy as she sat on the couch.

  Darious had caught the tail end of the confrontation, but when he pulled up, things looked real heated.

  “I’ma ask you one more time. What da fuck is going on?” he said again.

  Tammy threw back the shot of Patrón she had in her glass, then set it on the coffee table.

  “I just found out that my kids’ father is messing around with one of my best friends. I saw him in traffic, confronted him about it, and that was it,” Tammy responded like it was no big deal.

  After sitting there with a confused look on his face, trying to let her words register, Darious spoke on it. “Why does him messing around with one of your friends bother you so much? Are you still fucking that nigga?”