by Nikki Brown
“You think I would have done that to you?”
“Back then yes I do.” I stood by that revelation. Kayson was hell on wheels and he wasn’t trying to slow down for anybody.
“You couldn’t at least have a conversation?” He looked hurt and that was tearing me apart.
“I should have and for that I’m sorry, but I knew you would have tried to stop me.”
“You damn right I would have.” He slammed his hands down on the counter. “That was selfish as fuck.”
“It wasn’t the right time Kayson, I’m sorry.” I broke down again and he walked out of the doctor’s office. I knew that the conversation wouldn’t go well, but I at least wished that he would have understood where I was coming from.
The doctor walked back in and we talked about all the different things I could and couldn’t do and eat. We talked about my caloric intake and how much weight I should gain with twins. We set my next appointment and I walked out to the lobby expecting to see Kayson but instead Zemia was standing there with a sympathetic smile on her face.
“He hates me.”
“Girl that man loves you, he just hates what you did, give him a minute to grasp it and he will get it together.”
“I hope so.” I sniffed.
We walked out the door headed to Zemia’s car. I was on my phone texting Kayson cussing his ass out; just so happen to look up and there was Roger and his baby mama getting out of the car going in the same office I just left from. I hurried and got in Zemia’s car trying to make sure that he didn’t see me. I looked in the rearview mirror and he was just standing there staring at the car with a fucked-up grin on his face. This was not the Roger that I thought I knew, and I was going to make sure that I stayed away from his ass.
Chapter Forty-Four
Uncle Ray
I called Kayson and told him to stop by so that me and him could have little man to man talk. I could tell when I talked to him that he wasn’t feeling it, but I didn’t give a damn about what he was feeling. We needed to talk about this, and we were going to.
“Ray, you hear anything I said, man?” Tate’s voice boomed through the phone speakers.
“My bad, nigga. Just chill I don’t know much about ya daughter outside of the work she does for us, but if she’s anything like you she’s smart and the nigga about something.” I gave him advice about meeting his daughter’s boyfriend.
Tate’s daughter was our lawyer, a damn good lawyer at that. I knew that Jaako had a sweet spot for her, but I also knew she shut him down on more than one occasion. She always said that she would never date a client. Even though Jaako was a good man, he was also a drug dealer and that was bad for her business, so I knew it wasn’t him that she was seeing. Whoever it is I hope he does good by her, she was a good girl.
“You know I’ll be conducting my research.” He laughed and so did I because I knew he was telling the truth. “I’ll hit you later, man.”
“Aight Tate, and don’t piss my lawyer off.”
“She better not piss me off.”
We chatted for a minute or two longer and then hung up. I felt for him, there is no way that I would be able to do the whole daughter thing. I swear I would’ve been done killed somebody. With my nephews, I let them live their lives. I didn’t get involved unless they asked for my advice. They never introduced me to girls unless it was serious, and I was good with that.
I sat back and chilled, hitting a few female friends back; you know sold a few dreams and then waited on Kayson to get here. I had prepared myself mentally for this conversation because I knew it could get ugly. I raised him to not trust words but actions, and my actions were foul in a way. I just hoped that we could talk this out. About an hour later, he came strolling in the house like he owned it. The more I looked at him and how he acted; I don’t see how people didn’t know that he was my son.
“What up, Unc?” He walked over and dapped me up and sat down on the love seat across from me. “What’s good?”
“What the hell wrong with you?”
“Jenacia man.” He ran his hands through his dreads and slumped in the seat. “So, we found out that she’s pregnant with twins.” He smiled slightly.
“Congrats, man.”
“Thanks.” Then his smile disappeared. “Then I also found out that she killed one of my seeds.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah I know, then gave me that, well I did what was best for me bullshit and I wasn’t ready. That shit ain’t no excuse. The least she could have done was tell me about it.” He was upset, and to be honest I knew that I didn’t have a right to speak on the matter seeing as to why I called him over here.
“You ain’t been home?”
“Nah, I got me a room at the Ritz for a few nights.”
“Nigga take yo’ ass home, regardless of what’s going on she still pregnant with your kids, what if something happens to her?”
“I know but—”
“Nah nigga no buts, that girl loves you. She even took you back after you fucked up all those years ago. Had yo’ ass crying and shit everyday talking about how much you love her and how she needed to forgive you.”
“I wasn’t fucking crying.” He mugged me.
“Hell, you might as well been.” I shrugged. “Listen, people mess up and they make rash decisions when they are scared. I’m not saying what she did was right; because that should have been a decision made by the both of you, but she did what she thought was best for you. I mean look at the situation we in now,” I looked at him as he thought about what I was saying. “Would you want your child to go through this? What if she would have had the baby, given it up for adoption, and not even told you and the baby going with a fucked-up family? You gotta think about it from all angles.”
“Still don’t make that shit right.”
“Didn’t I just fucking say that? Look I somewhat understand where she was coming from. I didn’t do shit the right way with you, but that was a decision that I made and that was a decision that she made. If you love her you wouldn’t be punishing her for it, you would be there for her. Did you even ask her how she felt about the shit?” I waited, and he just looked at me. “I’ll answer it for you…No, cause yo’ ass stubborn as fuck.”
“Look who’s talking.”
“Yeah, but we ain’t talking about me, now are we?”
“Man, you right.” Was all he said. Things got quiet and awkward as fuck.
“Look, I called you over here to tell you that ain’t shit got to change. I’ve always been that father figure for you, I helped raise you and made sure you had shit. I’ve always been all y'all daddy but my title was just Unc and I’m good with that if you are?”
“Shit would feel weird as fuck calling yo’ ass pops.” I laughed and so did he.
“But them my grandbabies.” I pointed at my chest, so he would know I meant that.
“Ain’t that shit gonna be weird cause you know Ann Barnes ain’t about to give up her Grandma title.” We both laughed.
“That’s true we will work all that shit out later, just know them gonna be some bad ass, spoiled ass kids.” I smiled.
“I already know.” Silence fell again and I didn’t like the shit.
“We good?”
“Yeah, we good, I trust you and Ma with my life, and I know that everything y’all did for me was for my own good, there were no ill intentions.” I nodded my head.
“I don’t want none of that weird shit.” I raised a brow.
“Fuck you, nigga.” He smiled.
“My nigga.” I stood to dap him up. “So, what business looking like?”
“Man, I been wanting to talk to you about that shit for a while now, but so much shit was happening I kept forgetting.” I sat up in my seat to give him my full attention. “Shit been weird as fuck at the warehouse. Inventory been off for the last couple months.”
“Fuck you mean?”
“Meaning product count been off, but the money been right, like somebody selling shit out f
rom under us.”
“I don’t like that shit at all, that’s how muthafuckas get caught the fuck up.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Yeah I got people checking some shit out too.”
“You know I got at Ortiz’s parents for fucking shooting O, right?”
“Nah I didn’t know that shit, but good move, I hate fucking with the families but when a nigga touch mines he makes his expendable.”
“My thoughts exactly. Nigga moving like a fucking ghost, can’t find him anywhere. He didn’t even show up at his parents’ funeral. Can’t track that ass for shit.”
“I’m sure he will flush out soon, we might need to use that little bitch, D fucking with.”
“I was thinking about that too, I need to see where his head at, you know how his ass is.”
“Right, I ain’t really talked to him but he knows I ain’t for his shit, so he doesn’t call me like that.” I laughed because it was the truth. Those two stayed into it.
“Aight Unc, let me get the fuck up out of here and go holla at Jenacia, her pregnant ass about to give me hell.”
“You better know it.”
We hugged and he left. I sat back down on the couch and flipped through the channels on TV and ended up stopping on SportsCenter as usual. I was chilling until my phone rang, I looked down and I didn’t really care for the person that was on the other line. I debated on hanging up the phone but then I answered.
“Hello?”
“We need to talk.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Krista
“I don’t think this is a good idea Krista, it’s been years since I saw Raymond.” My mom pouted from the other side of the table.
“This is not about you, it’s about me. All these years I could have been living the life, but you wanted to hold on to this little secret. I deserve to know him.” I rolled my eyes.
I had been begging my mother for days to allow me to reach out to Raymond to let him know that he had more than just his precious nephews in the world, he had a daughter too. And I deserved all that he gives them and then some. I called him earlier today to see if he would meet me and when he said that he would, I was happy. He didn’t want to, but I told him it was something about Jaako. When I said that, he said he would be here in an hour.
“I don’t think you understand, you don’t know Raymond. This is not going to go the way you think it will go.”
“Well I guess we will have to see then, huh? If you will excuse me I need to get this.” I held up my phone that was going off. It was Perry.
I got up from the table and walked outside the restaurant. I wanted to have total privacy when I talked to him.
“Yes, Perry.”
“I’ve been calling you for like an hour.”
“I’m sorry, I’ve been caught up with my mother.”
“I want to see you.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea seeing as though you are about to do what you’re about to do?”
“I don’t care; I’m doing this for you so if I can’t see you then I don’t need to do it, right.”
I rolled my eyes in the back of my head because I knew sooner or later the bitch was gonna come out of him. I swear men would do just about anything for some pussy. Especially mine and that’s why I did half the shit that I did.
“Awww you miss me?” I said in a sweet voice.
“Yeah I do, so I’m in on my way to Charlotte later and I gotta pick up from Denari tonight, so I’m just gonna see you then.”
“Okay, just tell me where.”
“Your house.” I was hesitant to have him at my house just in case Jaako decides to pop up, which I doubt or Denari’s dumb ass pops up.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Well that’s the only choice you have, so I’ll see you later. Oh, be naked.”
Perry was starting to get on my fucking nerves something serious, but I needed him right now, so I was going to have to deal with it. I put my phone in the back pocket of my jeans and turned to go back in the restaurant and noticed that Jaako’s car was pulling into the parking lot. I wondered what the fuck he was doing here. I strutted over to his car to see why he was here, but I didn’t need him to be fucking up my meeting with Raymond.
“Jaako?” I asked like I didn’t already know that it was him. He sighed deeply like he didn’t want to see me. He looked down at his watch and then looked around the parking lot.
“What, Krista?”
“I thought that was you. Look, I really think we need to have a sit down and discuss some things.”
“Like I told you before, there is nothing that you can say that will change how I feel.” He shrugged.
“Can you just have a conversation with me or not?”
“Not.” He said and then walked to the back seat of his car. “Can you please go?”
“I’m having lunch here.”
“Damn it okay well let me call Yameka and tell her to choose another restaurant.”
“What you scared to have your precious lady around me?”
He laughed, “No, not at all because she knows what she is in my life. It’s been months Krista, why don’t you just move the hell on I’m just saying.”
“Because I was here first, Jaako.”
“And she’ll be here last.” His phone rang, and he answered it like I wasn’t even standing there. “Hey baby, yeah I’m here but we have an issue.”
“So, I’m an issue now?”
“Yes, you hear that,” he laughed at something she said on the phone. It was like I was butt end of the joke or something. “You sure baby, okay fine, I’m on my way.” She must have said something because he smiled hard as hell. “I love you too, Yameka.” He hung up the phone and reached for his door handle.
I slammed my hands down on the top of his car. The look in his eyes told me to run, but I wasn’t fast enough. By the time I stepped with my left foot, I was being dangled from the air by my collar that he had in a tight fist.
“Let me go, Jaako.”
“Look bitch, I tried to be nice but you just keep on with your shit, so I tell you what, this is your last fucking warning. I will not hesitate to put a fucking bullet in your head. You don’t want to piss me off; it’s in your best interest to stop fucking with me.” He looked me in the eye and I wanted to piss on myself. I had never been so scared in all my life.
“GET YOU HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER.” My mom came up and swung on Jaako and he pushed her back and dropped me from the hold he had on me.
“I’m telling you now if you say anything to me or Yameka when we get back, I swear you will regret it.” He pointed at the both of us and we were both terrified.
He got in his car and backed out of the parking space not even caring that he came inches from running me over. I stared at him as he drove off, and I had fucked up with him beyond repair. I guess my next move is gonna be trying to get close to my father.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, are you?”
“Yeah let’s go in, I’m sure he’ll be here in a minute.”
Me and my mom walked in the restaurant and ordered our drinks and food. I was still a little shaken up, but I was trying to relax. Things didn’t get any better when Ray walked in the building and over to our table. He had the look of death on his face.
“What’s this about?” Hsaid without even saying hey.
“Well hello to you too.” I told his rude ass. My mother didn’t say anything she just sat there and dropped her head.
“You said you needed to tell me something important concerning my nephew. I ain’t here for no bullshit, so tell me what you need to tell me, so I can fucking go, I got shit to do.”
“That was the only way to get you here,” I rolled my eyes.
“Fuck this, I’m out.”
“I’m your daughter.” I blurted out and he stopped in his tracks, he turned around slowly and glared at m
y mother who had yet to lift her head.
“Chelsey, tell her to stop fucking lying.”
“Why would I lie about something like that?”
“Shut the fuck up I’m not speaking to you, Chelsey.” He said a little louder and it made the both of us jump.
“Yeah Raymond, she’s yours.” He laughed.
“You sure you wanna do this with me?”
“Raymond, I’m positive she’s yours, I was already pregnant when I got with Roman.” Again, he laughed.
“I’m positive that she’s not, after I had my son, I had my shit clipped. I knew I didn’t want kids and I made sure that I wouldn’t have any more.”
My eyes got big and I looked over at my mom and she was just as surprised. “I don’t believe you.”
“You ain’t got to, but I know for a fact you ain’t got my blood running through ya veins. You need to go back to her rolodex of niggas she was fucking at the time to find out who ya daddy is.” He shrugged. “Do you think if I thought you were my daughter that I would have let you fuck my nephew? I knew you were a hoe the minute I found out who your mother was.” He shook his head. “Y’all have a nice day.”
He turned to walk out of the restaurant and I turned to look at my mother. She had some explaining to do.
Chapter Forty-Six
Jaako
Every time I saw or talked to Krista I got pissed off. I don’t know why she thought I owed her a fucking explanation or anything for that matter. In her twisted little mind, what she did was justified because I was with Yameka and that’s not how this shit goes. I was frustrated but I needed to get that shit out of my head because I wanted everything to go smooth with Yameka’s parents.
“Hey baby, I’m sorry about that, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with my car. It was working just fine earlier.”
“It’s cool, I called my guy on the way over here and he’s gonna pick it up and take it to his shop and see what’s wrong with it.”
“Thank you, baby.” She leaned over and kissed me. “What’s wrong?” It was like she could sense when anything was bothering me, and I loved that about her.
