by Ambria Davis
“I thought the same thing myself,” I said, trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood.
“Hell, yeah,” he said, joining me in laughter. He then bent over and said something to Chance that caused both of them to laugh.
“You know I lo—” I started to say, but stopped when I spotted my father walking into the den with my sister and some high yellow chick behind him. Fuck, I thought as our eyes connected with each other from across the table. For a minute, I sat there just staring at my little sister. I turned to find both Dontie and Chance looking at her as if they’d seen a celebrity or something. Their mouths were so wide open that I thought something was going to fly in.
“Close your mouth,” I said, kicking Dontie under the table.
“That’s your sister?” he asked, looking confused.
“Yes, why?” I answered, wanting to know.
“No reason. I just thought y’all kind of looked alike,” he said, turning his head to Chance, who was looking as if he was about to start drooling any minute. I was glad that I didn’t have to worry about my husband and my sister, because I’m more than sure that Chance was going to try to talk to her, being the player that he was.
Turning my attention back to Brinay as she stood talking to our grandmother, I felt some type of way. I can’t lie. Even though I haven’t seen my sister in years, she still looks as beautiful as the day she first came into this world. Just like me, everyone around the room stopped and stared at her. Even in a casual outfit, she still was a showstopper, which was one of the reasons why I hated her in the first place. It’s been like that since we were kids. Even thought I was the big sister, people would always stop and stare at Brinay, commenting on how beautiful she was and how long her jet-black hair was. She even had a pair of green eyes that drove every boy in school and around the neighborhood crazy. At first, my mother tried to convince my father that she wasn’t his, because of her eyes, but once both of them took a DNA test and the results came back and said that she was indeed his, she couldn’t say any more about it, which only made her madder and had her hating both my father and Brinay. She hated my father for cheatin’, and she hated Brinay for being a reminder of the woman my father cheated on her with. To this day, my mother and father still fought about that, and the woman was now dead and gone.
My eyes followed her the whole way over to where she was sitting, which happened to be next to me and my husband. I was sitting there stuck. I didn’t come out of my thoughts until my mother nudged me in my back. I looked back her, and she gave me a reassuring smile before moving to take her seat next to my father.
“Okay,” my father said, trying to get everyone’s attention. “Good evening, everyone. I’ve called the family here today because Skylar has an announcement, and she wanted the whole family here so we can hear it together. When she’s done, we’re going to give each person a chance to speak, announce, or say anything that they want to, and after that, we’re going to eat and spend some time together as a family.”
“You now have the floor, Skylar,” my mother added once he was done and seated. I got up from my seat and took a look around at all of the people. Once my eyes landed on my little sister, I decided to introduce Dontie as my husband, just to mess with her.
“Everyone, I’d like y’all to meet my husband. Dontie, this is my sister Brinay. Brinay, this is my husband, Dontie.”
Just like I wanted, I watched her mouth fall open. She tried to hurry and close it before anyone saw her, but it was too late, because everyone around the table saw it. I’m sure she was a bit surprised by that, but I didn’t care. I just wanted her to know that this was one man that I had that she couldn’t get or take away from me, even if she tried to. I skipped over all of the noise that I heard in the background when I introduced Dontie as my husband.
“Nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand for him to shake.
“Likewise,” he said returning the gesture. She looked at me, and I smirked before turning back to everyone else.
“I called everyone here to introduce the man in my life, who also happens to be my husband. We got married two weeks ago in Jamaica,” I said dangling my left hand so that everyone could get a good look at that big-ass rock on my finger. No one said anything. Everyone turned to my father, waiting for him to speak first. I watched as he looked at me, then back at the glass of wine in his hand, before he got up and walked over to the bar that stood on the left side of the table. He then poured two glasses of scotch, grabbed them, and walked toward us.
Once he made it over to us, he handed Dontie a glass before he raised the other one he had in his hand, smiled, and said, “Congratulations and welcome to the family.” He then threw his drink back, taking it to the head, before he encouraged Dontie to do the same. I’m sure everyone was waiting to see if he would blow up, but surprisingly, he played it cool. Once all that was out of the way, we started hearing a bunch of congratulations and welcome to the family from everyone. I sat there, happy that everything went well and not the total opposite. I took a look at my sister, who was now sitting there confused, just as I thought she would. Yeah, bitch, I got married first, and my nigga looks good. You can’t have him, though, I thought. As if she heard me, she looked at me, and I could’ve sworn that I saw a smirk sitting on her face. She then reached past her friend and talked to our cousin Keys. I knew them bitches had to be talking about me, because they never liked me, but right now, I didn’t care, because I was on cloud nine and ain’t nothing was going to knock me off of it . . . and I do mean nothing.
Chapter Fourteen
Brinay
Before I made into the dining room, something told me that some shit was about to go down and that I should just bail right then and there, but I didn’t. I knew that most of the people sitting at that table wouldn’t have expected me to show up to their “family get-together,” so I wanted to show them different. I wanted to show them that I wasn’t that same little girl anymore, that I’m not afraid of them, that they don’t intimidate me not one bit, and that they can’t do the things they used to do to me anymore. I wanted to show them the New Brinay. She’s confident, smart, and classy . . . with a mean side if someone pushed her too far. I wanted to show them that, even though they did everything to break me as a child for being the product of my father cheating on his wife, I didn’t break—that I’m still standing, and nothing was going to break me down. I was prepared for whatever the night had to bring.
“Are you okay?” my father whispered to me as we neared the room.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I said with a smile.
“Okay, then,” he responded. I was only a few seconds away from being face-to-face with everybody, and I have to admit that I was taking the shit like a G. I had my game face on, and my million-dollar smile on full display that always won people over.
Before we stepped foot in the room, there was a lot of talking going on, but the moment I came into view, all of that stopped. Just like I knew it, I was a showstopper. I made each and every last one of them stop whatever they were doing to stare at me. Got ’em, I thought. I mean, it was so quiet in there that you could hear a pin drop on the floor.
My eyes roamed over the table at all of the familiar faces, when they landed on my sister. From the way she was looking at me, I could tell that she was surprised to see me there. On the inside, I was smiling, knowing that I was fucking up her whole day, and it felt great. For a moment, we stood there, staring at each other as if we were the only two in the world. We kept eye contact until my father showed Kourtney and me to our seats.
“Umm, Nay,” Kourtney said kicking my feet under the table, trying to get my attention.
“What, Kourt?” I asked, turning to her. She opened her mouth to speak when my father’s voice boomed through the room. He started saying some shit about Sky and why she wanted us here, which instantly made me bored and caused me to turn my attention elsewhere. Just when I thought I was done hearing her name, she began speaking. She then turned my way
, saying that she had someone to introduce. That’s when I first noticed Chance sitting there at the table. I gave him a look as if to ask what the fuck he was doing here when she said something about a husband. I immediately turned back around.
Words couldn’t explain how I was feeling right now. I looked at Dontie as he looked at me, and his expression was blank, as if he were wishing that he could be somewhere else and not here at this moment. Hearing my sister, the bitch that made my life a living hell, introduce the man who held my heart and who was the father of my child, saying that he was her husband was crazy. I felt like I was in a movie or as if I was on the TV show Pranked. I thought for sure that Ashton Kutcher was about to jump out any minute now, but he didn’t.
“This is one small fucking world,” Kourtney whispered loud enough for me to hear.
I turned and looked and her like “Ya think?” and turned back to my sister’s husband.
I had a mind to call him out on his shit, but I had another thought, so instead, I played the game cool and acted as if I didn’t even know him.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, reaching my hand for him to shake.
“Likewise,” he said, returning the gesture. When our hands, touched I felt a jolt of static go through my body, so I hurried and pulled away. I looked around the table to see if anyone had caught that, but they were so tuned in to what my sister was saying that they didn’t. Soon after, everyone started getting happy, congratulating her and asking when the wedding was going to be. I didn’t get a chance to hear whatever it was she had to say or what anyone else in the family had to say, because I was so lost in my own thoughts. I felt so distant that I didn’t know if I was coming or going.
As I sat there, I started thinking about everything that Dontie and I had, all of the things we’ve been through, the many times that he said that he loved me. All of that was a lie, and it sickened me to know that. I knew the man had another woman, but for that woman to be my fucking sister is crazy. Like, where in the world do you see a man messing with two sisters? Two fucking sisters. I mean, ain’t no medal for this. This right here takes the cake, baby. I’m ’bouta have a baby by the man who’s married to my sister, so that mean my child would be my sister’s nephew or niece. Ain’t that some shit, I thought, shaking my head. I had to laugh at that. It was either do that or break down crying, and if I broke down crying, everyone would want to know why was I crying, and I was nowhere ready to deal with that. At least not right now, I wasn’t.
“Brinay, Brinay,” I heard my name being called. I turned and noticed my father standing there looking at me.
“Hu-Huh?” I asked, turning my focus to him.
“Do you have anything that you would like to say, anything that you want to share with the family?” he asked me.
“Oh no, I don’t,” I quickly replied, causing Kourtney to kick my feet once again. I gave her that bitch, kick me again and we’re going to fight look before I turned back to my father. “On second thought, I do.”
“Okay, well, it’s your turn. The floor is all yours,” he said, taking his seat.
“Okay,” I said. For a few moments I sat there quiet, but then I turned and got a glimpse of my sister and her new husband holding hands next to me, and that gave me the boost to say what I had to say, so I stood up from my seat and looked at everyone.
“Well, a few days ago, I found out that I was going to be a mother.”
“You’re pregnant?” my father asked me like I just didn’t say that a few seconds ago. By the look on his face, he appeared to be shocked, maybe.
“Yes, Daddy, I’m pregnant. I’m going to be a mother,” I said rubbing on my stomach for emphasis.
“Jesus, help me, because you girls are trying to kill me,” he said, clutching his chest as if he was about to have a heart attack. “I just found out that one of my daughters has been hiding a man and is now married. Now, I find out that my baby girl is pregnant. Is there anything else that the two of you aren’t telling me?” he asked looking to me, then to Skylar.
“Nah, I told you everything, Daddy,” she said first.
“No, that’s all,” I responded after her.
“Okay, good,” he said getting up from his chair. I thought he was going to pour himself another drink, but instead, he came walking over to me. “Congratulations,” he said, kissing me on my forehead. “I’m going to be a grandpa,” he proudly said to everyone around the table. Again, they began saying congratulations. When everyone was done, he motioned to the servant to bring in the food. Once everyone had their plates, we bowed our head to say grace. As always, my father led the prayer.
We were only a few minutes into it when somewhere around the table, I felt someone watching me. I looked up to see who it was, and I saw Dontie watching me. He mouthed the words “I’m sorry,” with the saddest pair of eyes that I’d ever seen. Normally, when he does this, I’d forgive him, but not this time. This right here was unforgivable, and for that, I never ever wanted to see his ass again. Rolling my eyes, I placed my head back down, just in time for my father to say amen.
Not a minute later, everyone began digging into their food. I wasn’t hungry, so I pushed my plate away from in front of me. Even though I tried to play hard, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. My heart was aching right now.
“Are you okay?” Kourtney asked, looking at me in sympathy.
“Ask me that when we leave here,” I said, getting up from my seat. She looked at me and tried to get up, but I stopped her. “I’m only going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
“Do you need me to come with you?” she asked.
“Nah, I’m okay. Eat your food. I’m sure it’s great.”
“Nay, where are you going?” my father asked, causing everyone to stop eating and look at me. “Are you leaving?”
“I’m going to the bathroom. My stomach is a little upset. I’ll be right back,” I said to him.
“Okay,” he said digging back into his food as everyone followed suit. I took one last look at Dontie, who was watching me like a hawk, before I hurried out of the room. I didn’t need anyone else saying something. My eyes were already getting teary. Lord, I wasn’t prepared to answer anything if these tears began falling down my face.
I made it to the bathroom, just as the dam broke and the tears started rolling down my cheeks. Who was I trying to kid? I felt mortified. I felt as if I was about to die any minute, that’s how bad my heart ached. The one man who I broke all the rules for ended up doing exactly what I was trying to prevent. He hurt me, and this wasn’t just something that I could get over with time. This was going to leave a permanent scar. This right here was probably going to make me hate men. I might even turn to the other team. Men are so selfish. They think only about themselves. I bet Dontie didn’t stop to think how this was going to affect me, how I’d feel when I found this out. He was just like any other dog-ass nigga in this world. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too, no matter what was going on or who it had affected. He did just what he wanted to.
A few minutes had gone by, and I was still sitting on the floor crying my eyes out. I felt bad, and on top of that, my head, stomach, and back started hurting me again, plus, I was beginning to get a little light-headed. I decided that it was probably best if I left and went back to the hotel room. Getting up from the floor, I walked over to the sink, turned the water on, and splashed some on my face. Once I was done, I grabbed a towel and padded the water off of my face. After making sure that I looked presentable, I opened the door and was about to leave . . . when I saw the last person that I was expecting to see.
“What do you want, Dontie?” I asked. I really didn’t feel like talking to him, nor did I want to be bothered.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, trying to enter the bathroom.
“Nah, you don’t need to do nothing but leave me alone and go attend to your wife,” I said, putting a hand up to stop him.
“Brinay, I swear I didn’t have no idea that the two of you even
knew each other, let alone were sisters,” he began to explain himself, because he knew damn well what he did was fucked up.
“Dontie, honestly, I don’t care. Whether you knew if Sky and I were sisters doesn’t matter to me. Well, it does, but that’s not the point. Just knowing that you had another woman was fucked up. You played me like I wasn’t shit, like I didn’t mean a damn thing to you. You actually stood in my face and lied about the shit, and now you come with this bullshit,” I said as unwanted tears began rolling down my face again.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I really am sorry,” he said, trying to touch me.
“Don’t touch me, Dontie, I mean it, or I will go out there and fuck everything up,” I said, which caused him to back up. “From now on, Dontie, if you see me, please don’t speak to me, don’t call or text my phone, or stop by my apartment, and don’t send Chance over there to check on me, either. I’m through with both of you. Now move.”
“Ma, it doesn’t have to be like that,” he said, blocking my way.
“It does, and it will. Just leave me the fuck alone, Tae,” I said, pushing past him.
“What about the baby then, Nay?” he asked, grabbing my arm. “What’s going to happen?”
“What about it?”
“Are you going to let me see my child? I need to be there for my child,” he said sadly.
“Hell, no, you don’t have to worry about that. I got that covered. I don’t want or need you anywhere near my baby, Dontie,” I replied.
“Ma, you can’t do that. I get that you’re mad with me, and you don’t want me around you, but please don’t keep my child away from me,” he begged.
“Your child? How do you know that it’s even your child?” I asked, taunting him.
“Be real. You know I was the only one you was messing with, so I know that baby is mine. You can go ’head with all that dumb shit you spitting right now,” he said, looking hurt.
