by Ivy Symone
Marshawn took his sister in his arms to console and comfort her.
Bebe didn’t know what to think. Hell, he didn’t even know what to do. That news was quite shocking. Now he really felt like shit. All this time, he had been pushing her away, afraid to love because of the loss of Miki. He never knew that during that time she had experienced her own loss, her young children, but she always made herself available to him.
Every year, when the anniversary of Miki’s death came up, she comforted him in some way. But who was comforting her when the day she lost her kids approached? She had been grieving all by herself while genuinely loving him and his children.
“Wow,” Stefani mumbled. Even she sympathized.
Bebe saw that Kennedi had never left like he told her. Instead she had walked over and was hugging Nola’s side.
Bebe had always considered Nola to be in a category of her own, but somehow this only magnified his sentiment. He didn’t care what she said, he was moving on with his plans. He felt right about it, so it had to be done.
Chapter 11
K ennedi watched in silence as Nola emptied her bedroom closet. She placed all of her hangered clothes across her bed. She had open suitcases on the bed and the floor waiting to be filled. Kennedi couldn’t believe Nola was actually leaving.
It had been two weeks since the revelation of her two deceased daughters. Everyone had given her space and didn’t broach an in-depth conversation on the matter. Bebe had kept the kids mostly at his house to give her time to think things through. She hadn’t said more than three or four words to him the entire time.
“When are you coming back?” Kennedi asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you have to go now?”
“Now is a good time as ever.”
Kennedi hated this. The upbeat tone in Nola’s voice was missing. She wasn’t happy anymore.
“But I need you, Nola. Daddy met with my mama. He wants me to meet and talk to her now. I can’t get through that without my real mama here.”
For the first time, Nola smiled. She placed the clothes she was holding down on her bed. “Lil girl, you’re not gonna guilt me or sweet talk me into staying.”
“I’m not. I really need you here for this. What if I don’t like her? Who’s gonna rescue me. Who’s gonna cuss her out?”
Nola laughed. “Your daddy. He’s good at cussing people out.”
“But you do it with so much pizzazz. Auntie Nephia taught me that word,” she giggled.
“Well there you go. You’ll have Nephia to call on.”
Kennedi shook her head emphatically. “Nope. She’s too nice.”
Yanis came toddling into the room with his pacifier stuck in his mouth. He went straight to his older sister so she could pick him up.
“Ya, you’re getting heavy,” Kennedi said.
He shook his head.
“Yes, you are.”
Nola watched as the siblings went back and forth until Yanis ended up giggling uncontrollably. Her heart smiled. Moments like this made her reconsider her move. She was being selfish, and she knew it, but she felt like she really needed to get her head together.
Hearing a door slam shut, Nola walked over to her bedroom window to peek out. Getting out of her car next door was Keyma.
“Hmm,” Nola mused. “Your daddy must’ve changed his mind that quick.”
Kennedi got up with Yanis on her little hip and looked out the window too. She turned to Nola. “Trust me, it’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?”
“I can’t tell you,” Kennedi said. She put Yanis down.
“Kennedi!” Nola called out sternly.
“I can’t tell you. If I tell you, my daddy will be angry with me forever.”
“Is he throwing another party?”
Kennedi pursed her lips tight.
“Kennedi, tell me and I won’t go to Columbia.”
That was too good of an offer to pass up. “Okay, he’s throwing you a party where he plans to ask you to marry him.”
“What?” Nola started laughing. That was absurd. “Kennedi, don’t play with me.”
“I’m serious and you can’t tell him I told you.”
“Why would he be throwing a party when I’m leaving?”
“Nola! You said you wouldn’t leave if I told you,” Kennedi whined.
“I know what I said. But I didn’t say ever. I still plan to go, but now right away. I’ll wait a lil longer.”
“That’s not fair. You can’t leave ever, Nola. I mean it.”
Nola laughed. “You sound just like your daddy sometimes. You know that?”
“Actually, people say I sound like you. Now, how you like them apples?”
“You’re so silly. What do you wanna do today?”
“Uhmmm,” Kennedi deliberated. “Let’s make homemade pizza and strawberry cheesecake cookies.”
“You would bring up food.”
Kennedi placed her hand on Nola’s belly. “Daddy, told me.”
“He did? How do you feel about it?”
“I hope it’s a girl. I’m surrounded by boys at home.”
“I feel you.”
“If you and Daddy about to have another baby, then why won’t you marry him?”
“It’s a lil more complicated than that. I love your daddy, and I know your daddy have love for me, but I don’t think he loves me the way I love him. You’re a kid, so I know you don’t get what I’m saying.”
“I guess,” Kennedi dismissed. “Can I ask another question?”
“Sure.”
“What were your daughters like?”
Nola’s heart fluttered but the innocence in Kennedi’s eyes gave her comfort. She smiled while picking Yanis up and throwing him against her hip.
“C’mon to the kitchen. I’ll tell you all about them while we cook.”
Kennedi followed her. “Did we have things in common?”
“Of course. You remind me so much of them. They were into dancing just like you. The three of you would’ve gotten along so good because they lived to help me make things too.”
“Were they older than me?”
Nola answered, “You and Ayanna were about the same age. Makayla was older.”
Kennedi spit question after question all evening. To Nola’s surprise, she enjoyed talking about her daughters. It wasn’t as painful as she anticipated. It was quite therapeutic. She even had time to retrieve an old SD card with pictures, videos, and memories of Ayanna and Makayla.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Keyma had received a letter from Cedri but she let a whole day pass by before she was even interested in it. The only reason she remembered the letter was because it struck her as odd that Cedric hadn’t called her in the past four days.
She retrieved the letter from her coffee table and opened it. There wasn’t much to read because all it said was: Guess What!!!!!!
Guess what?
Then it occurred to her. She quickly grabbed her cellphone and went to the calendar. It made sense. Cedric had to be out of prison. That was his way of telling her. But if he was out, where was he? Who had picked him up from the prison?
The first person she called to confirm her thoughts, was his mother. The way she spoke let Keyma know that Cedric was indeed out of prison, but his mother had no idea where he was. She said the last time she spoke to him was yesterday morning.
There was a knock at her apartment door. It seemed too calm to be Cedric; however, it didn’t prevent her heart from profoundly thumping in her chest.
She walked over to the door and peeked out of the peephole. Fuck!
She took in several deep breaths to calm her nerves; then she fixed the most superficial excited smile she could on her face as she opened the door.
“Baby!” she exclaimed as she threw her arms around him.
Cedric hugged her back, but it wasn’t the warmest reception.
“You get my letter?” he asked her.
“Yeah, and it
took me a minute to get it,” she said and placed a kiss on his lips.
With his arms still wrapped around her waist, he walked her backward into the apartment and shut the door behind them.
“You happy to see me?”
“Yes, of course I am,” she said. “Where have you been though?”
“Taking care of some business.”
“How have you been getting around?” she asked.
“I borrowed somebody’s car,” he answered looking around the apartment. “What made you move over here? I liked the other place you showed me.”
“You know Nashville getting so expensive now. I had to find a place outside of it just to have a decent rent.”
“Where the kids? It’s quiet.”
“They’re with my mama. I actually have to meet some people about an event.”
“Word. You really be working, huh?”
She smiled proudly. “I told you, I do.”
“When you gotta do that?”
Since she was still holding her phone, she glanced at the display for the time. “In about an hour.”
“Cool. You mind if I go with you?”
There was something off about the way he was acting. He was too calm, too easygoing. Another odd thing she noticed was, he had none of his belongings with him. However, what he was wearing seemed brand new and expensive.
She asked, “Where’s your stuff?”
“I ain’t got it obviously,” he said. He took a seat on her sofa. “You got something to drink in there?”
Something wasn’t right. She didn’t want to fly off the handle and be accusatory and create a problem. Besides, she was on her way to meet with Bebe about this event he was planning. The last thing she needed was for Cedric to act a fool in front of him. So, she was going to play it cool for now. But as soon as she got him back to the apartment, she was going in. This time around, she wasn’t going to allow his abuse to destroy her.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The venue they selected was going to be perfect for what Bebe had planned. With Bless’ and Deja’s help, he hoped he could pull this whole thing off without a hitch.
“Why didn’t you ask me to help?” Nephia said to Bebe. Everyone was at Bebe’s place having a secret meeting disguised as a Saturday evening pop up fish fry.
“I felt you were busy with your new friend or whatever,” Bebe answered honestly. His eyes shot over to Nola’s house. Since the kids had been at his house, there hadn’t been any signs of her moving about. He knew she was there because her truck was in the driveway, but then again, someone could have picked her up earlier when he was gone.
“I still would have made time. I love decorating and planning stuff,” she said.
“Yeah, I know…Have you seen her come out the house at all?” he asked in reference to Nola.
“No. Is she there?”
Bebe turned to his mother. “Mama, did anybody come to pick Nola up while you were here?”
“Not that I know of, but I dozed off earlier too,” Joyce answered. “Why don’t you go over there and check.”
It wasn’t like her to ignore a gathering even if she wasn’t invited over. Bebe walked over to the back door and to his surprise, it was locked. They didn’t keep their back doors locked. If he had his key ring on him he would just let himself in, but he didn’t so he had to knock.
After a minute, the door swung open. Nola stood there glaring at him wearing that red shirt sewn to that red floral print dress. Her hair was messy and a little flat on one side. She had sleep lines embedded on the sides of her face. She was also barefoot, with a more evident baby bump.
“Uhm…My mama fried some fish. You want any?” he asked.
“No,” she said and proceeded to shut the door.
Bebe stopped her. “Nola, you okay?”
“I don’t feel too good,” she mumbled.
“Is it the baby or something else?”
“It’s this goddamn baby,” she growled. “At first I hardly felt pregnant, and now all of a sudden the bastard wanna give me problems.”
He tried to stifle his laughter, but he couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry about that. Are you sure you don’t want any food? It might make you feel better.”
“Everything is giving me heartburn and making me sick to my stomach.”
“You try soup?”
“I had some earlier. It wasn’t too bad.”
He looked her over again. In that moment he got really apprehensive about his plans. Worry began to consume him, and he was ready to just spill the beans so he would know if he was doing the right thing or not.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
“No reason,” he said, coming to his senses. “Do you feel well enough to get yourself together and come over for a little while? The usual is over. Deja’s new boyfriend is over there too. Don’t you want to feel him out?”
She narrowed her eyes at him with suspicion. “Why are you being so nice, Bebe? And I’m not marrying you. So whatever lil secret engagement party you plan to throw for me ain’t gon work.”
He chuckled. Kennedi already informed him that she let it out just to keep Nola from leaving. Apparently, it worked. It also confirmed for him, that Nola was entertaining the idea, or she still would have left.
“She told me she told you that. You know Kennedi can lie real good when she want to,” he told her, hoping to throw her off.
“So, she lied?” Nola asked in disbelief. “I’ma get her ass. Where she at anyway?”
“Believe it or not, I let her mama come get her for a few hours today. I took your advice and talked with Sharonda. I heard her out and decided to give her a chance.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Nola scratched her head. “Well, give me a minute. I’ll be over there.”
Bebe pointed to the homemade dress. “I see you’re in your angry dress.”
“Yeah, you know how it is.”
“Are you angry?”
“I wouldn’t say angry; just bothered.”
“Are you gonna change out of it?”
She looked down at herself. “Nah, I’ll keep it on.”
Bebe was tickled as always. “Okay.”
She went to shut the door again, but Bebe stopped her again.
“What?” she asked.
He didn’t know what overcame him, but he uttered, “I love you.”
Nola stared blankly at him for what seemed like minutes passing by.
She finally nodded, and slowly closed the door.
Now he understood what his mama was trying to tell him. His love relationship with Nola felt like no other love he had experienced. She made him feel ways no woman had made him feel. She made him feel scared, giddy, embarrassed, ashamed, nervous, breathless, overwhelmed, adored, and loved. She awakened every emotion in him that whirled in so many different directions.
When he returned back to his patio, Dinky asked, “What’chu smiling for?”
Surprised, Bebe asked, “I’m smiling?”
Everyone around started laughing.
“Boy, that’s love when you’re smiling and don’t even know it,” Bless stated.
He laughed to himself. He guessed it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Night had fallen, and everyone was having a good time at Bebe’s house as always. What started as a few had multiplied into many. That’s how it always turned out. At his old house, he didn’t have much company. But this newer house had been bigger, newer. It was perfect for entertaining guests which was why everyone picked his place as the hangout spot.
“Okay,” Nola looked at her phone. “When is my baby coming back? Have you heard from her, Bebe?”
“Actually, I haven’t. Call her.”
Nola tried calling Kennedi’s personal cellphone but got no answer. “Try calling her mama.”
He did and got no answer.
“Where this bitch live?” Nola asked, ready for war.
“Calm your ass down,�
�� Bebe told her.
Dinky laughed, “Nola stay ready. Pregnant and all. She don’t care.”
“Naw, she can’t be having Kennedi and we don’t have a way to contact her. We don’t really know her like that,” Nola said.
“Right!” Deja agreed.
“Don’t egg her on, please,” Bebe said. His doorbell sounded. Relieved, he said, “That’s them now. Hopefully.”
He went to the front door only to be disappointed and surprised at the same time. “What’s up? What’s wrong?” he was immediately concerned by the look on Keyma’s face.
“I didn’t know where else to go where he couldn’t find me.”
The panic on her face, the busted lip, the bruise on her forehead, and the fear in her eyes was all too familiar. Then on top of it, she had that uncanny resemblance to Miki. He felt like he had been thrown back in time.
His first reaction was to hurry her inside. “What happened?”
They stood there in the privacy of his foyer, while she explained. “He just started acting a fool.”
“Your husband?”
“Yeah. When we got home. He just started snapping and hitting on me.”
“But I thought y’all were good. He didn’t seem like he was on that type of shit earlier. When you introduced us, he seemed like he was cool,” Bebe said.
“That was just him pretending or whatever,” she said. “As soon as we got in the car, he started accusing me and you of having something going on. He said he recognized you from one of my pictures I posted on my page.”
“But don’t he know you putting together a fucking event so I can win over another woman. We’re just friends.”
“I tried to tell him that.”
Bebe released a breath of frustration. “Where your kids?”
“At my mama’s. I told her I’d be there in the morning to get them.”
“And he knows where all of your friends and family live?”
“Yeah. But he doesn’t know where you live. It’ll be just for tonight. I’ll stay out of the way.”
Bebe looked toward his family room where the fun was still going on. What was the harm in letting her stay? There was plenty of food still left, everyone was aware of who she was, and she was his event planner.
