Post by Sweet Meat aka CC on Oct 10, 2007 21:08:50 GMT -5
A couple of weeks later, I was sitting around with the girls in the shop on a Tuesday afternoon. As usual we were discussing why I had not hooked up with Mario yet although he and I always talked on the phone.
"I'm through talkin' about him for now; I'm swingin' by the grocery store real quick so I won't have to do it on my way home this evenin'. I'll be back in a lil' bit," I stated as I grabbed my bag to leave.
As soon as I stepped outside to go around the back, Mario and I made eye contact while he stood on the corner chatting with LaRon as I headed over to the parking lot to get my car. The grin he laid on me could've melted me right where I stood. However, I just threw a smirk his way before climbing in my car to leave.
After picking up a few needed items from the store, I headed home to put the things away. When I stepped inside the house, I was greeted to a floor full of mail that the mailman had placed through the slot in my front door. I quickly set the three bags of groceries I was carrying down on the floor so I could sort through the pile of mail before my feet.
Walking over to my recliner as I shuffled through each envelope, a medium-sized brown envelope that I had mistaken for junk mail stood out as soon as I saw my name and address neatly written out in cursive writing although there was no return address on it. I knew exactly where it had come from. Nervously opening this particular envelope after tossing the other mail onto the coffee table, I felt a lump forming in my throat as I pulled a 5 X 7 school picture of my ten-year-old son out. He was wearing a gorgeous smile although he was the spitting image of Daddy. My eyes began to sting as the hot tears fell from them; a few of them dropped down onto my baby's picture as I stared at it non-stop.
I reached back into the envelope and pulled out a copy of his last report card for the end of his school year that had straight A's all the way across in each subject. I couldn't help from smiling through my tears as I read how he was a very bright student and how each one of his three teachers all basically said the same thing about how he had been such a joy to teach. Afterwards, I pulled out a letter from his adoptive parents thanking me for allowing them and my son that they named Alexander to be a part of my life at Alexander's request once they shared with him that he had been adopted from birth. Suddenly, the sound of my house phone ringing grabbed my attention. I jumped up from the recliner as I placed the picture on the coffee table and grabbed the phone from its base. However, it ended up being a wrong number. I proceeded to put my groceries away and left the house to head back to work.
However, when I turned the key to start my car, it wouldn't make a sound except for a loud clicking noise. I tried several more times before becoming frustrated. I shrieked while pounding my wheel with both fists. Once I calmed down, I heavily sighed as I called Brian up to see if he could come by to take me back to work and check out my car.
"Yeah," he answered after realizing that my number was showing up on his display.
"Hey. My car is givin' me trouble and I need for you to check it out after you bring me back to work."
"I can't do that today; you know I'm about to head up to Brooklyn tonight to set up for the car show there on this weekend," he snapped.
"Whateva!" I snapped back before hanging up on him.
He heavily sighed as he flipped his phone back down. After thinking it over for a minute, he asked Mario to go out and check on my car since he and Corey were about to head out in the next few minutes to leave for Brooklyn. Once Mario knew it was me that he was coming to see, he had no problem with helping me out whatsoever.
In the meantime, I called Shanitra up to let her know what was going on. It was no surprise when she told me not to worry about coming back in. I thanked her and went back in the house to take a nap while wondering what I would do about everything that seemed to be hitting me all at once.
I had been sound asleep across my bed for about thirty minutes when my doorbell began to ring. I slowly drug myself out of bed and down the hall to answer the door.
“Hey. Brian asked me to come by to see what was up with your car not startin’ since he was on his way out with Corey,” Mario stated as we stared at each other.
“Ain’t this about a bitch,” I angrily mumbled as I glanced away from him for a moment. “Listen, I’m not mad about you bein’ here, but it’s just the point that his sorry ass went on without even…,” I snapped until I was interrupted.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he smirked with a shake of his head while continuing to watch me.
I smiled at him before excusing myself to grab my car keys to give to him. Right after I passed him the keys through the door, my home phone started ringing. When I saw Brian’s number on my display, I caught a quick attitude as I answered it.
“What?” I spat as I watched Mario lifting the hood of my car.
“Don’t be fuckin’ ‘whatin’’ me. Shit,” he snapped before going on. “Look is Mario there yet?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell him when he finds out what’s wrong with your car he can head on home. I told CJ to close the shop up early today since we left earlier than planned. I should be back sometime tomorrow mornin’ before 9:00.”
“I’on’t know why you tellin’ me what time you comin’ back since you never set foot ova here half the time any damn way,” I huffed.
“You betta shut the fuck up!”
“Whateva.” I immediately hung the phone up on him and stood in silence with my back to the door. However, as soon as I heard the screen door opening I whirled around to see Mario walking in while knocking on it.
“Hey,” he faintly smiled as he proceeded to wipe his hands on a towel he brought in with him. “It looks like your timin’ belt is worn out.”
“Damn. Well I guess it coulda been worse. Is it somethin’ that takes long to fix?”
He shook his head while continuing to wipe his hands. “Nah, but it’s a part that’s gonna have to be ordered since Brian doesn’t keep a lot on hand. I think one of the guys used the last one about two weeks ago. I can go ahead and call in the order now so you can have your car up and runnin’ by next week.”
“Next week?” I sighed while placing my hand up to my forehead. “I guess I’ma have to bug Milani to take me to work.”
“Brian can’t take you?”
A look of embarrassment came across my face as I quickly glanced away from him. “Ummm…it’s not that he can’t, but he has to be to work a lot earlier than I have to, and so, well…since Milani lives closer and all…” I was saved by the sound of Mario’s phone ringing.
It was LaRon calling to see if he’d be able to hook up his car with a good cleaning in about an hour or so. When I overheard Mario telling him that he’d be back over to the shop in a few, I quickly jumped in.
“Brian told me to tell you that he told CJ to close up early since he and Corey had to leave and that you didn’t have to go back for the day.”
“Man, you think you slick don’tchu?” LaRon chuckled the moment he recognized my voice in the background.
“Whateva. I guess I’ll hook up your ride tomorrow,” Mario smirked.
“Aight, playa. I’ll holla at’cha lata.”
“Cool.” As soon as he put his phone away, he watched me while wearing a smirk.
“Somethin’ you need to share?” I proceeded to fold my arms while raising an eyebrow as I watched him.
He licked his lips before breaking out into a wide grin while lowering his head before looking away and then back at me. “I was just thinkin’.”
“About what?”
“About how an opportunity just presented itself to us.” The look he laid on me nearly made me weak in the knees.
I sucked my teeth as I looked away although I couldn’t help from smiling. “If that’s what you wanna think.”
“No, I KNOW and you know that I know too.”
“Whateva. Do you want anything to drink?” I turned around and headed for the kitchen to get myself a much needed glass of cold water.
“Yeah. What’cha got?” he asked as he followed me.
“Kool-aid, grape juice, Pepsi, water, and a couple of wine coolers.”
“I’ll take a Pepsi.” He made his way over to my sink and washed his hands.
When he was done, I handed him his can before we walked back into the living room to sit down and watch some tv. I made sure to sit in my recliner and not next to him on the sofa. However, the moment I realized that I still had my baby’s picture on the coffee table, I quickly jumped up; but it was too late.
“Is that your little brother or somethin’?” he asked after glancing down at the table to choose which magazine he wanted to read.
Without answering him, I snatched the picture and envelope up from the table. But instead of putting them away, I stood still while holding the items close to me as a new set of tears fell from my eyes.
“I’m sorry. Did I say somethin’ wrong?” he asked while giving me a puzzled look.
I shook my head before looking at him. I then stepped across his feet and sat down next to him while continuing to hold the picture close to me.
“He’s my son,” I sniffed as I lightly traced my baby’s face with my fingertips after placing the picture on my lap.
“Son?” He stared at me for several seconds before looking out in front of him.
“Yeah, it’s a really complicated situation for me to explain to anyone. That’s why nobody knows about him except Milani…and now you.” I turned to watch him as he slowly turned back to face me. He slowly moved closer to me and placed his arm around my shoulder.
“I’m listenin,” he whispered as he took a gentle hold of my hand and brought it up to his lips...
"I'm through talkin' about him for now; I'm swingin' by the grocery store real quick so I won't have to do it on my way home this evenin'. I'll be back in a lil' bit," I stated as I grabbed my bag to leave.
As soon as I stepped outside to go around the back, Mario and I made eye contact while he stood on the corner chatting with LaRon as I headed over to the parking lot to get my car. The grin he laid on me could've melted me right where I stood. However, I just threw a smirk his way before climbing in my car to leave.
After picking up a few needed items from the store, I headed home to put the things away. When I stepped inside the house, I was greeted to a floor full of mail that the mailman had placed through the slot in my front door. I quickly set the three bags of groceries I was carrying down on the floor so I could sort through the pile of mail before my feet.
Walking over to my recliner as I shuffled through each envelope, a medium-sized brown envelope that I had mistaken for junk mail stood out as soon as I saw my name and address neatly written out in cursive writing although there was no return address on it. I knew exactly where it had come from. Nervously opening this particular envelope after tossing the other mail onto the coffee table, I felt a lump forming in my throat as I pulled a 5 X 7 school picture of my ten-year-old son out. He was wearing a gorgeous smile although he was the spitting image of Daddy. My eyes began to sting as the hot tears fell from them; a few of them dropped down onto my baby's picture as I stared at it non-stop.
I reached back into the envelope and pulled out a copy of his last report card for the end of his school year that had straight A's all the way across in each subject. I couldn't help from smiling through my tears as I read how he was a very bright student and how each one of his three teachers all basically said the same thing about how he had been such a joy to teach. Afterwards, I pulled out a letter from his adoptive parents thanking me for allowing them and my son that they named Alexander to be a part of my life at Alexander's request once they shared with him that he had been adopted from birth. Suddenly, the sound of my house phone ringing grabbed my attention. I jumped up from the recliner as I placed the picture on the coffee table and grabbed the phone from its base. However, it ended up being a wrong number. I proceeded to put my groceries away and left the house to head back to work.
However, when I turned the key to start my car, it wouldn't make a sound except for a loud clicking noise. I tried several more times before becoming frustrated. I shrieked while pounding my wheel with both fists. Once I calmed down, I heavily sighed as I called Brian up to see if he could come by to take me back to work and check out my car.
"Yeah," he answered after realizing that my number was showing up on his display.
"Hey. My car is givin' me trouble and I need for you to check it out after you bring me back to work."
"I can't do that today; you know I'm about to head up to Brooklyn tonight to set up for the car show there on this weekend," he snapped.
"Whateva!" I snapped back before hanging up on him.
He heavily sighed as he flipped his phone back down. After thinking it over for a minute, he asked Mario to go out and check on my car since he and Corey were about to head out in the next few minutes to leave for Brooklyn. Once Mario knew it was me that he was coming to see, he had no problem with helping me out whatsoever.
In the meantime, I called Shanitra up to let her know what was going on. It was no surprise when she told me not to worry about coming back in. I thanked her and went back in the house to take a nap while wondering what I would do about everything that seemed to be hitting me all at once.
I had been sound asleep across my bed for about thirty minutes when my doorbell began to ring. I slowly drug myself out of bed and down the hall to answer the door.
“Hey. Brian asked me to come by to see what was up with your car not startin’ since he was on his way out with Corey,” Mario stated as we stared at each other.
“Ain’t this about a bitch,” I angrily mumbled as I glanced away from him for a moment. “Listen, I’m not mad about you bein’ here, but it’s just the point that his sorry ass went on without even…,” I snapped until I was interrupted.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he smirked with a shake of his head while continuing to watch me.
I smiled at him before excusing myself to grab my car keys to give to him. Right after I passed him the keys through the door, my home phone started ringing. When I saw Brian’s number on my display, I caught a quick attitude as I answered it.
“What?” I spat as I watched Mario lifting the hood of my car.
“Don’t be fuckin’ ‘whatin’’ me. Shit,” he snapped before going on. “Look is Mario there yet?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell him when he finds out what’s wrong with your car he can head on home. I told CJ to close the shop up early today since we left earlier than planned. I should be back sometime tomorrow mornin’ before 9:00.”
“I’on’t know why you tellin’ me what time you comin’ back since you never set foot ova here half the time any damn way,” I huffed.
“You betta shut the fuck up!”
“Whateva.” I immediately hung the phone up on him and stood in silence with my back to the door. However, as soon as I heard the screen door opening I whirled around to see Mario walking in while knocking on it.
“Hey,” he faintly smiled as he proceeded to wipe his hands on a towel he brought in with him. “It looks like your timin’ belt is worn out.”
“Damn. Well I guess it coulda been worse. Is it somethin’ that takes long to fix?”
He shook his head while continuing to wipe his hands. “Nah, but it’s a part that’s gonna have to be ordered since Brian doesn’t keep a lot on hand. I think one of the guys used the last one about two weeks ago. I can go ahead and call in the order now so you can have your car up and runnin’ by next week.”
“Next week?” I sighed while placing my hand up to my forehead. “I guess I’ma have to bug Milani to take me to work.”
“Brian can’t take you?”
A look of embarrassment came across my face as I quickly glanced away from him. “Ummm…it’s not that he can’t, but he has to be to work a lot earlier than I have to, and so, well…since Milani lives closer and all…” I was saved by the sound of Mario’s phone ringing.
It was LaRon calling to see if he’d be able to hook up his car with a good cleaning in about an hour or so. When I overheard Mario telling him that he’d be back over to the shop in a few, I quickly jumped in.
“Brian told me to tell you that he told CJ to close up early since he and Corey had to leave and that you didn’t have to go back for the day.”
“Man, you think you slick don’tchu?” LaRon chuckled the moment he recognized my voice in the background.
“Whateva. I guess I’ll hook up your ride tomorrow,” Mario smirked.
“Aight, playa. I’ll holla at’cha lata.”
“Cool.” As soon as he put his phone away, he watched me while wearing a smirk.
“Somethin’ you need to share?” I proceeded to fold my arms while raising an eyebrow as I watched him.
He licked his lips before breaking out into a wide grin while lowering his head before looking away and then back at me. “I was just thinkin’.”
“About what?”
“About how an opportunity just presented itself to us.” The look he laid on me nearly made me weak in the knees.
I sucked my teeth as I looked away although I couldn’t help from smiling. “If that’s what you wanna think.”
“No, I KNOW and you know that I know too.”
“Whateva. Do you want anything to drink?” I turned around and headed for the kitchen to get myself a much needed glass of cold water.
“Yeah. What’cha got?” he asked as he followed me.
“Kool-aid, grape juice, Pepsi, water, and a couple of wine coolers.”
“I’ll take a Pepsi.” He made his way over to my sink and washed his hands.
When he was done, I handed him his can before we walked back into the living room to sit down and watch some tv. I made sure to sit in my recliner and not next to him on the sofa. However, the moment I realized that I still had my baby’s picture on the coffee table, I quickly jumped up; but it was too late.
“Is that your little brother or somethin’?” he asked after glancing down at the table to choose which magazine he wanted to read.
Without answering him, I snatched the picture and envelope up from the table. But instead of putting them away, I stood still while holding the items close to me as a new set of tears fell from my eyes.
“I’m sorry. Did I say somethin’ wrong?” he asked while giving me a puzzled look.
I shook my head before looking at him. I then stepped across his feet and sat down next to him while continuing to hold the picture close to me.
“He’s my son,” I sniffed as I lightly traced my baby’s face with my fingertips after placing the picture on my lap.
“Son?” He stared at me for several seconds before looking out in front of him.
“Yeah, it’s a really complicated situation for me to explain to anyone. That’s why nobody knows about him except Milani…and now you.” I turned to watch him as he slowly turned back to face me. He slowly moved closer to me and placed his arm around my shoulder.
“I’m listenin,” he whispered as he took a gentle hold of my hand and brought it up to his lips...