“That’s one instance, and lowkey, you gotta blame yourself. When it comes to you I don’t think straight. I just be doing shit, baby,” I admitted honestly.
“Honestly same, but I didn’t light your front room on fire. I just bug up on you. I be wanting to pull up at the club, but I feel like I’ll end up acting up so I don’t set myself or you up for the bullshit.”
I laughed hard as hell because I believed her. “Promise yeen gonna have to do none of that. Baby, I don’t need you getting out of character on my behalf. I’m on you, sweetheart, you only.”
“And I believe you. Thing is, I don’t trust those bitches. That’s a different story.”
“Course it is.”
Chapter 15
Caya
Days later
At Rennix’s insistence I had taken a few days off to work more on the business side of what I wanted rather than the scalp. I had been doing hair since I was sixteen and worked in many shops. Some I quit because bitches were bitches and others I moved on from because it was time. The thing was, now it was time for me to transition just a little. I still wanted to do hair, but ever since that conversation I had with Rennix a few months back, I had been working little by little toward my shop. What’s funny was I remembered when I lived really far west. I was young as hell and worked with this lady named Empress. What school didn’t teach me, she did. Empress was a beast when it came to doing hair and had no problem sharing what she knew. She was a true girls’ girl. I worked at her shop up until I had Adonis and went through postpartum. I couldn’t work or anything, so I ended up moving home with my mama for that first year of Adonis’s life.
“I know you don’t wanna talk about it because you overthink everything, but I just wanna let you know I’m so proud of you.”
I laughed. “Proud of what, Harlem? I’ve not only ghosted my therapist, but I’m taking a gazillion leaps of faith.”
She laughed. “First of all, you ghosted her because she wasn’t serving you anymore. What you went to her for, you now find in the man you lay next to every night. Two those leaps of faith are necessary. Remember when you told me you felt stagnant, like life was passing you by because you had spent so much time trying to maintain. Now you don’t have to.”
I just looked at her, because everything she said was true.
“Now that’s out of the way… I see that you’re living in a different place and have more space; I was wondering if you wanted to take on another do?—”
“Nope. You know I’m not taking another dog, Harlem. It broke Adonis’s heart when his dog died, then it broke mine too. Hell naw. I don’t want that pain anymore, plus he doesn’t take care of anything and I don’t feel like hearing Rennix’s mouth about it.” I shook my head.
“Rennix’s mouth about what? You in here dissing?” Rennix entered the kitchen holding Brooklyn. At this point I needed to hurry up and give this nigga a baby because he was literally always holding a baby. The other night we had dinner at his brother’s place and he held his nephew the entire fucking time.
“The dog y’all are gonna board for me.” Harlem smiled.
“Nah. We straight. Can’t even do it, sis. I’m tryna make a baby, not adopt a puppy.” He shook his head quickly. “Why won’t you keep it?”
“Because if I do I fear my husband might leave me.” She laughed hard, not serious at all.
“That nutty ass nigga ain’t going nowhere.” Rennix waved her off then sat Brooklyn on the counter and started sharing a string cheese with her. Some men were meant to be fathers just by the way they reacted to babies and children. This man was damn sure meant.
“She knows that shit, but she also knows we can’t keep no more dogs. We’re already outnumbered and it costs more to feed them motherfuckers than it do to feed us.”
We laughed while Harlem mugged Kinga. “But I don’t want to give him to just anybody.”
“I got you. Hold up. Jade was just bitching about wanting a dog.” Rennix had his phone out to call his sister.
“So I’m gonna be an auntie/godmother again, huh?” Harlem stirred the mashed potatoes, peering up at me. She thought the men weren’t paying attention, but knowing Rennix, he was.
“Yes.” A small smile filled my features watching Brooklyn play with Rennix’s gold chain.
“Te-Te, can I stay tonight? My daddy is on the pho?—”
“Why yeen ask me? What you asking Harlem for like I don’t run this house?” Kinga asked, looking from his niece to his wife.
“’Cause you don’t. Now put my sister on the phone,” a voice bellowed through the phone’s speaker.
Kinga chuckled and didn’t respond at first. His attention was on Harlem before he pulled his phone from his pocket. “You better be lucky my niece over here with the puppy dog eyes, ’cause on my life I would’ve hung up on you.”
Harlem took the phone from Aja and put it to her ear after taking it off speaker. “Hey, Oden, yeah she’s fine. She’s always fine.” She was off the phone in seconds, handing Aja her phone. She put it back to her face, smiling. The little cutie exited the kitchen, skipping toward her room less than fifteen seconds later.
