“Did Mitch see you leaving the house looking like the woman in black?” Jabari asked Moonie as they walked back to their cars.
They were giving her a ride back to Anna’s house to get her truck. She had taken off her hat and shades, but her outfit was still too much.
“He was asleep when I left, but I have a change clothes in my truck,” Moonie replied.
“I can’t believe how you cut up at that funeral. Especially since you swore on a stack of bibles that he tried to kill you not too long ago,” Mia said.
“He did, but I still feel bad that somebody killed him. That wasn’t a performance. I was really grieving,” Moonie replied.
“But I guess you feel better now,” Mia smirked.
“I sure do. Now I’m going home to cook for my man and my babies,” Moonie said as he hopped into Mia’s truck.
Mia and Tre dropped Moonie off to her truck and headed home to get their daughter. This was the first time that Tre and Mia had really gone anywhere since Treasure was born, but a funeral wasn’t considered an outing. Their wedding day was approaching, but they were even considering taking their baby on the seven-day cruise with them. Mia couldn’t imagine being away from her baby that long, and Tre felt the same way. They hadn’t told Von yet, but he would find out soon enough.
Chapter 29
“Y’all go ahead and have fun. And don’t be calling me every five minutes either,” Von said to Tre and Mia.
It was the last week in April, and they had a few weeks left before their wedding. Aside from tending to Treasure, Mia and Tre really didn’t have a life at all. Von agreed to give them the entire weekend to do whatever they wanted to do while he kept his granddaughter. They had gone out all day the day before, but they called home every other minute to check on the baby. Von kept telling them that Treasure was fine, but that didn’t stop them from getting on his nerves. Tre and Mia were young, but they were great parents. Von loved how they took care of their daughter, but they needed a break every now and then too.
“Okay, but I’ll be with Brandis just in case you need me. You know my phone don’t get reception in certain areas, so you can call her phone if you have to. And Tre will be with Duke if you need him. I made her some bottles, and she has a container with extra milk just in case you need more,” Mia rambled.
“Girl I got this. I know how to take care of a baby. You must have forgotten that I was the one who raised this nigga,” Von said pointing to Tre.
“Okay, well I just changed her diaper and fed her, so she should be good for a little while,” Tre replied completely ignoring what his father had just said.
Von ignored the both of them and let them continue to give him instructions. They did the same thing to him the day before, so he knew what the deal was. Treasure was their first, and that was to be expected. Mia and Tre kissed their daughter before leaving to go their separate ways. Duke picked Tre up, and they were going to shoot pool with some of their friends while Mia and Brandis went to the mall. At least that’s what Mia told Tre. She and Brandis were actually headed uptown to the second line. Tre didn’t really want her to go, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Mia and Brandis used to go all the time before she got pregnant with Treasure and she missed it.
“Girl, I hope we don’t see anybody we know out here,” Brandis said when she got into Mia’s car.
“You sound crazy Brandis. It’s a second line, we’ll probably see a lot of people that we know,” Mia replied.
“I just don’t want nobody to tell Duke that they saw me. We’re supposed to be at the mall or did you forget?”
“No, I didn’t forget, but nobody knows that we’re not supposed to be here. Why would somebody just call Duke and say that they saw you?”
“I don’t know girl, you know I be paranoid and shit,” Brandis said.
“I know,” Mia replied.
“But girl what’s been going on with Rainey?” Brandis asked.
“She’s good according to Von. He’s been going to Nicole’s house every day to see her.”
“I feel so bad for her,” Brandis commented. “I even feel bad for beating her up.”
“I do too. I really hated to hear what happened to her,” Mia said sincerely.
She and Brandis parked in a residential neighborhood and got out of the car and stood around with the crowd of people who were waiting for the parade. Mia was a huge fan of the lady buck jumpers all female second line band. She was waiting for them to come through so that she could follow right behind them. They always gave a good show and she didn’t want to miss it. She and Brandis had come right on time because they heard the bands coming about ten minutes after they pulled up.
“Here come your girls,” Brandis yelled when she saw the lady buck jumpers coming through the crowd.
“I see, let’s start walking,” Mia replied.
She and Brandis fell in line with the other party goers and followed the group all the way to the end of the second line. It was always fun when they followed, but the hardest part was when they had to walk for miles to get back to their rides. Mia was sweating like crazy, and Brandis was ready to call a cab. They were both praying that they saw a familiar face and their prayers were soon answered.
“What’s up Mia and Brandis?” Jabari’s friend RJ yelled when he saw them walking by.
“RJ, you just don’t know how happy I am to see you,” Mia huffed. “Please give us a ride to my car. I feel like I’m about to pass out.”
“Let me go run in the store right quick and I’ll take y’all,” RJ agreed before walking off.
Mia and Brandis stood up against his car and took a much needed break. They’d walked for well over three hours, and they were ready to drop. Mia was fanning her face with her hand while Brandis dabbed the sweat from her face with a paper towel.
“Y’all need something to drink, beautiful?” A man yelled to Mia from the crowd of men who RJ was standing with.
Mia never even acknowledged any of them when she and Brandis walked up. When RJ spoke to them, nobody else mattered at the moment. She knew that they were probably trying to flirt, but she was good. Still, she didn’t want to offend anyone, so she replied as nicely as she could.
“We’re good, but thanks for offering,” Mia replied never turning around to even look in the man’s face.
“I told you them hoes were stuck up,” another familiar voice said.
Mia and Brandis both turned around to the group of men to see who was being disrespectful towards them. When they saw Ricky standing there, they weren’t surprised at all.
“Boy go sit your bitter ass down. We’re two of the best hoes you know that’s for sure,” Brandis replied.
“Bitter? I hope you don’t think I’m bitter behind this bitch,” he said pointing at Mia.
”I wasn’t a bitch when you was trying to get with me, though, huh?” Mia asked. “Ole broke ass probably still living at home with your mama.”
When his boys started laughing Ricky really felt played. He knew that Mia had a slick mouth, but he was always saying something to piss her off. She was already on his shit list from when she embarrassed him at her party. He wasn’t about to let her get away with doing in front of his friends. When Ricky walked up to Mia and mushed her in the face, it was on from there. She and Brandis started swinging on him like some wild animals. He grabbed Mia by her hair, but Brandis was tearing his back up. When he turned around and grabbed Brandis by her neck, Mia swung her purse and hit him hard across the back of his head. Ricky didn’t know which way to turn because both of them were swinging at the same time.
“Nigga what the fuck is you doing?” RJ yelled as he ran out of the store and pulled Ricky away.
Mia and Brandis were still coming after him, and he had to yell for another one of his friends to help pull them away. RJ had to leave his items on the counter when he saw what was going on. He was even more pissed when he saw that nobody else tried stopping them.
“Man, those hoes jumped me,”
Ricky fumed as he looked over his shoulder at the two friends.
“I can’t believe that you’re out her putting your hands on females. And I can’t believe that none of y’all ain’t stop the shit,” RJ yelled to his friends.
“They didn’t need no help. They was fucking Ricky up,” one of the men yelled causing everybody to laugh.
“Mia and Brandis, get in the car!” RJ yelled as he hit the lock on his car.
He made sure that Ricky was calm before he pulled out his phone and called Jabari to tell him what had just happened. RJ and Ricky were cool, but Jabari was his best friend. He owed it to him to let him know what was up before anybody else said something.
“Ricky is a straight up hoe,” Brandis fumed while she and Mia sat in the back seat of RJ’s car.
“I can’t believe I was kicking it with his broke ass. If I didn’t want Tre to find out I would get Lamar and Von to handle his punk ass,” Mia fumed.
“They’re going to find out anyway. You know RJ is going to tell Jabari, and he’s going to tell Tank and Duke,” Brandis replied.
“I need to talk to RJ about keeping his mouth shut. I’m not for hearing Tre’s mouth. I’ll never hear the end of it if he finds out.”
“I wish RJ come on. I’m ready to get the hell from around here. That nigga Ricky got me heated,” Brandis yelled.
After waiting for another ten minutes, RJ finally got in the car and pulled off. Mia was about to tell him not to tell Jabari, but his next words let her know that it was too late.
“Y’all asses weren’t even supposed to be out here in the first place. Jabari said that Tank and Duke thought y’all were in the mall. That’s just how shit be happening,” RJ fussed.
Mia and Brandis looked at each other and cringed when he said that. If Jabari knew that they were supposed to be at the mall, then that meant that he had already spoken to either Tre or Duke. Mia told RJ where she was parked, and he headed in that direction. When they got to Mia’s car both women got in and rode all the way to The Court in silence. Duke sent Brandis a text telling her that he was at her house, but Mia thought that it was strange that Tre hadn’t called. That was until she pulled up to Brandis’s house. Both Duke and Tre were standing outside waiting for them to pull up. Brandis got out of the car and walked up to Duke right before Tre got in and took her spot in the front seat of Mia’s car.
“The mall huh,” Tre said when he got into the car and looked at Mia.
“Don’t start Tre,” Mia mumbled.
“Don’t tell me not to start!” He yelled making Mia flinch a little. “Anything could have happened to you while you were out there knowing that you were supposed to be somewhere else.”
“I know, I get it okay?” Mia said hoping that he would leave the situation alone.
“Get out, I’m driving,” he ordered as he and Mia traded places.
Mia knew that she was in for a long night because Tre fussed and cussed the entire ride home.
Chapter 30
“That’s our song right there Treasure,” Von smiled as he sang along to the music on his Bose surround sound system.
He’d just given Treasure her bath and fed her before he started cooking his red beans that would be dinner for the next day. Von liked his beans better the day after, so he always cooked them the night before he wanted them. He had Treasure in her swing with her rattle while he did his thing in the kitchen. Tanya called and told him that she baked him a red velvet cake, and that would go perfectly with his Monday dinner. It was Sunday so he knew that Mia and Tre would be coming home soon. Mia had school the next morning, and she wouldn’t stay out too late on a school night. Just as Von had predicted, Mia and Tre came through the door about ten minutes later. He heard them arguing before they even got all the way in the house, and he was wondering what was going on.
“Your ass lied, plain and simple,” Tre yelled right as they entered the kitchen.
“How many times are you going to say the same thing?” Mia yelled back.
Von just looked at them as they argued, but he refused to get in the middle of it. It wasn’t until their shouting match made Treasure cry that he decided to say something.
“It’s alright paw-paw baby,” Von cooed when he picked Treasure up from her swing. “Y’all can keep it moving with all that screaming and hollering. Got my baby in here crying and shit.”
Mia turned around and stormed off to the bedroom with Tre walking fast right behind her. Von could still hear them both yelling at each other over the music. He didn’t know what they were arguing about, and he didn’t care. As long as nobody swung on the other one, it was all good with him. Once Treasure calmed down, he put her back in her swing and continued to focus on his meal. About an hour later Von’s meal was finished and on the stove cooling. Von turned his music off and cleaned up the small mess that he’d made. He noticed that the baby had fallen asleep, so he picked her up and prepared to go lay her down in his bed where she would be sleeping for the night. He walked down the hall towards his bedroom and could still hear Mia and Tre going at it. He couldn’t believe that they were still arguing an hour later, but they were crazy like that. Once he had Treasure situated on the bed, Von turned on the baby monitor and was about to head to the living room to wait for Tanya. He stopped briefly when he was walking pass Tre’s bedroom when something got his attention. He heard what sounded like Mia crying and begging for Tre to stop. Von was never one to put his hands on a woman, and he would be damned if his son ever did it. He started to walk away when Mia yelled, “STOP”, for the second time.
“I know this nigga ain’t putting his hands on her,” Von said as he turned around and tried to barge into Tre’s bedroom.
When he saw that the door was locked he went to his nightstand drawer and grabbed the key to let himself in.
“Nigga….” Von started to say, but his words were stuck in his throat. As soon as he entered the room, he stopped in his tracks and covered his eyes from the shock of what he saw. Mia and Tre were as naked as the day they were born going at it. Mia was barely hanging on to the bedpost by her arms while Tre had her legs wrapped around his waist fucking her like they were porn stars. Von gasped, but he was too numb to even speak.
“Oh shit,” Tre hissed at the same time that Mia screamed when they saw him.
Von made an about face just as quickly as he came in and went back to the kitchen.
“Oh my God Tre, I can’t believe that Von just walked in on us. I thought you locked the door,” Mia said nervously.
“I did lock the door. He must have used his key. Shit, let me put some clothes on and go talk to him,” Tre replied.
“This is so damn embarrassing. I can’t even look at him after that,” Mia said as she buried her face in her hands.
“Why is it embarrassing? We have a baby, so he know what’s up.”
“That’s not the point Tre. He probably feels the same way I felt when I saw him with Tanya.”
“Whatever Mia, you just better not try to go to sleep. We’re finishing this shit as soon as I come back,” Tre winked.
He slipped on a pair of sweat pant and a t-shirt and walked out of the bedroom in search of Von. When Tre walked into the kitchen, he spotted Von sitting at the island pouring himself a glass of crown. Tre wanted to laugh because Von only drank hard liquor when his nerves were bad. Obviously seeing him and Mia in the act was nerve wrecking enough to need one, though.
“My bad about that Von,” Tre said to his father.
“No need to apologize, I know y’all are having sex. I didn’t need a visual, but it’s all good. Just please tell me that Mimi is taking her birth control,” Von said while looking at his son.
“Huh,” Tre replied.
“Huh, my ass. If you can say huh then you can hear me,” Von yelled.
“Yeah, she’s been taking her birth control,” Tre replied.
“Don’t lie to me Tank,” Von warned.
“I’m not lying to you,” Tre swore.
“You
and Mia are still young. Once y’all get married, and she graduates college, y’all can have all the babies you want to have. Just don’t bring me no more right now,” Von said.
“I got you,” Tre replied. “But what made you come busting up in there anyway?”
“I thought y’all were fighting. I kept hearing Mimi yell stop, and I thought you were hitting her.”
“Nah, she was saying don’t stop,” Tre laughed.
“Alright bruh, you can keep that to yourself,” Von cringed. “And what were y’all arguing about anyway?”
“Her and Brandis snuck and went to the Second Line and ended up getting into a fight with that nigga Ricky,” Tre replied.
“A fight!” Von yelled. “Ricky is the dude that she had over here that time right?”
“Yeah, that’s that nigga,” Tre frowned.
“And his bitch ass hit Mimi?”
“He pushed her or something, and her and Brandis jumped him. If her ass would have went to the mall like she was supposed to, none of that would have happened.”
“Where that nigga live at?” Von asked.
“I don’t even know. I tried to get Jabari to ask RJ about him, but he ain’t saying shit. We gon’ see each other again, believe that.”
“I’ll find out where he’s laying his head at and I hope I see his bitch ass before you do,” Von said angrily.
Creepin' 3: A New Orleans Love Story Page 21
