Big Girls Drama (16 page)

I looked back at my brother who stood with his mouth open. There weren't many times my brother was speechless. The puzzled look on his face was one I hadn't seen before. I was embarrassed he had to witness such ghetto antics.

Turning my attention back to my husband's lover I said, “Jeffrey no longer lives here.”

The first thing I noticed about him was his Chanel bag hanging from the crook of his arm. I knew it had to be fake, just like he was. He had on all-black, looking like he was about to rob the place, with huge silver hoops dangling from his earlobes. I don't know if he was trying to show me he was the better person for Jeffrey, but he didn't have to, because from where I stood, this man could have him.

“I'm not here for him. I'm here to speak to you.”

“About what?” I snapped.

“Look, it's chilly out here. Can you let me in so we can talk like adults?” Kyle said.

“Oh, now you want to act like adults? Where was this maturity when you were in my house sucking my husband's dick?”

Kyle chuckled as he put his hand up to his temple like he was thinking about it. Then he sucked his teeth and continued to speak.

“Are you going to allow me to speak or not?” He said this with attitude, like he was doing me a damn favor.

“Not,” and I slammed the door in his face.

I heard Kyle's gasp through the door before hearing him call me a bitch. Vic rushed to the door, but I stopped him from opening it again, knowing he was going to proceed to kicking Kyle's ass. As much as I would have loved that to go down, I didn't want to see my brother get in any trouble over someone who was not worth the time or energy. I dragged him back over to the sofa, pulling him down beside me.

“The nerve of Jeffrey to send his man whore to fight his battles for him,” Vic grumbled. “I mean, what the hell?”

“My husband is a punk.”

“You damn right he is. Kyle seems to have more spunk than he does.”

“When I looked at you earlier, you looked like you may have known him,” I said.

“What?” Vic chuckled. “I mean, I thought I may have known him too, but once he got to talking, I knew I was wrong.”

“You sure?” I asked skeptically.

“Kell, just because I'm a gay man, and he's a gay man, doesn't mean we know all gay men.”

I giggled as I reached over and cut the television off.

“Now, I'm tired. That confrontation was enough to sap all my energy away from me,” I said, standing.

“Wait a sec,” Vic said holding my hand. “If I don't say this now, I may never say it. I agree with you and think we should go pay Mom a visit.”

I jumped on my brother, causing him to fall back.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Vic.”

“No, thank you, sis. There's a reason why things are happening like they are, and I'm going to follow the path God is taking me.”

Someone was shaking me, and for a moment, I thought I was dreaming. I didn't appreciate being woke up because I was sleeping some kind of good. I prayed it wasn't already morning because I promised Monica I'd attend church today, and I didn't feel like getting up. When the person shook me again, I squinted and realized Dempsey was standing over me. He had his shirt off, and then it all came back to me how I invited him over to work my middle since it had been a little while.

“Man, what do you want?” I murmured.

“Sonya, you have company.”

I looked up at him to see if he was playing with me, but the serious look he had on his face let me know he wasn't.

“Who? And what time is it?”

“It's a few minutes after three.”

“Oh, hell no. I'm going back to sleep,” I said turning away from him. “If somebody is coming by to see me this time of morning, tell them to come at a decent time to talk to me.”

“Sonya, he says his name is Kegan.”

The mention of Kegan's name caused my heart to gallop. I sat up abruptly, pulling the covers around me as I unconsciously began to smooth down my tangled braids. I looked around Dempsey like Kegan was standing right there in the room and was relieved when I didn't see him.

“So, Kegan saw you?” I asked.

Dropping his gaze, Dempsey's brows knitted as he said, “He had to if I was the one who opened the door.”

“Who told you to open my door?”

“Damn, Sonya. I heard the knock at your door and saw you didn't budge. Thinking it could have been Meena, I answered it, not knowing another dude was going to be on the other side.”

Hearing concern in his voice and the crestfallen look he was giving me made me feel bad for coming at him like I was. The fact he thought it could have been my daughter warmed my heart. But Dempsey was the last person I wanted Kegan to see in my home this time of the morning. I know what I'd think. But why was he here anyway, and at this time? Something had to be wrong.

“He's in the living room,” Dempsey told me. “Do you want me to get rid of him?”

“No, I got it.”

“I told him it was late, and he needed to come back at a decent hour, but he insisted on speaking with you,” Dempsey explained as I got out of bed and grabbed my robe to wrap around myself. Pulling it tightly around me, I finger combed my hair, trying to make it look better than it did when I got up. I also wiped at my mouth, making sure I didn't have residual slop present. I tended to do that when I slept extra hard.

Looking at Dempsey, his hardened demeanor let me know he was not happy Kegan was here. I'm pretty sure he was none too happy also to see me making sure I was together before I went to go speak with him. Ignoring his look of annoyance, I walked out of the room to see what Kegan wanted.

He was sitting on my couch when I entered the living room, and the pure presence of him caused my adrenaline to spike. He sensed my presence and stood when he saw me. He was more handsome than I remembered. Did he mean to show up looking this damn good? He was dressed in a black tux looking very dapper. His formal attire threw me off for a minute. Here I was looking a hot ass mess, smelling like sex, and he was looking like he'd just come from a gala event. If I didn't think it would look so obvious, I would have told him to wait a bit while I showered, changed, and made myself more presentable, but I didn't want him to think he was that important to me anymore . . . even though he was. I wished this was under better circumstances, but he was the one in my home at this late hour. There had to be a good reason why, and I couldn't wait to hear what that was.

“Hey, Sonya. I'm sorry to interrupt,” he said nervously.

“It's okay,” I answered leisurely, walking over to the love seat. He watched with intensity as I lowered myself, and I gestured for him to sit back down.

“So, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” I asked nonchalantly.

I was trying to act like his presence really didn't mess me up. I was feeling all types of emotions right now. I was feeling love, hate, rage, anxiety, fear, compassion, and even lust, even though I'd not too long ago slept with Dempsey.

“I meant to come over earlier, but it didn't quite work out like I planned,” he said, looking down at his formal attire.

“You look nice.”

“Yes, it was the boss's annual birthday bash.”

“Oh, that's right. Mr. Chamberlin's birthday was Wednesday,” I said, remembering when we'd attended this same event together last year. “How's he doing?”

“He's still kicking. I swear that man is going to outlive all of us,” he chuckled.

“How old did he turn? Is it seventy-two?” I asked.

“That's right. You have a good memory.”

“Mr. Chamberlin is a great man. When you see him, tell him I asked about him.”

“I will,” he said as he dropped his gaze.

For a moment nothing was said as Kegan looked down at the floor. That was, until the invitation on the coffee table caught his eye. He reached over and pulled it out from under the other mail that covered it. He stared at it before looking at me.

“Who sent this to you?”

“You did.”

He shook his head saying, “I didn't send you this.”

“You didn't?” I asked in surprise.

Then like a lightbulb went off for both of us, I said, “Imani must've been the one to send that to me.”

It all made sense now, how she came at me yesterday in Macys. She purposely made it a point for me to see her ring, so why wouldn't she be trifling enough to send me an invite to their upcoming nuptials? What was more surprising to me was Kegan's reaction. He didn't seem pleased that I had it.

“I can't believe she did this.”

“Why not? She was the side chick who broke us up,” I said, and as soon as I said those words, I wished I hadn't because it showed how bitter I still was about what she did to our relationship.

“Sonya, I didn't come over here to discuss Imani,” he said looking at me with compassion.

“So, why are you here?” I questioned.

“I came by because I heard about what Meena did.”

“Your little whore couldn't wait to run back and tell you that. What? Did she tell you Meena was the ringleader?”

“As a matter of fac—”

I cut him off, bolting up out of the chair.

“If you are going to believe that bitch—”

“Sonya, calm down. That's why I'm here, to find out exactly what happened,” he said, looking up at me.

“Why now, Kegan?”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly that. Why now? Why are you worried about Meena's well-being now?”

“I've always cared about her well-being. You know I love that girl,” he acknowledged.

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“You told her us breaking up was not going to affect you being here for her, but she hasn't seen you since you left, Kegan.”

Jaws clenching, he began to fumble with his hands as his shameful eyes gazed at me.

“I know, and I'm sorry about that, Sonya. I didn't keep my word.”

“I don't want your apologies. You need to save them for Meena,” I admonished.

Kegan stood, looking as sincere as he could.

“Sonya—”

“Six years you played a major role in my daughter's life. You were the father she never had, and she loved you, Kegan,” I said, getting choked up. “Do you know how many nights that girl has cried for you? Do you know how many times she's waited on your call? But you never came by. You never called. You even missed her birthday.”

“I said I was worry.”

“The only thing I've ever asked of you was to not break my daughter's heart, and you couldn't even manage to do that. You crushed my baby, Kegan,” I told him as tears formed.

“I can't even argue with you because you are right,” he agreed.

“Why haven't you come before now? Did it have to take that bitch to tell you what happened for you to darken our doorstep?” I asked angrily.

“No . . . Look . . . I don't know,” he floundered.

“You know, Kegan. Man up and admit it. Imani doesn't want you playing daddy to a child that's not yours biologically, right? Not my child anyway, but I guarantee you she has you playing daddy of the year with hers.”

“Sonya, please.”

This was my opportunity to get everything off my chest. The fact he showed up now acting all concerned once he found out about Meena being involved in shoplifting pissed me off. He had ample time to see what was going on with her. Hell, maybe if he hadn't up and left my daughter like he did, she wouldn't be doing the things she was.

“You let a bitch come between you and your relationship with Meena,” I said, looking at him with disdain. “You know Imani is petty as hell because she automatically blamed Meena for what happened all because she's my child. She's petty because she kept you from my daughter. She's petty because she took you from me. And she is petty because she sent me an invite to your wedding to rub in my face how you chose to marry her and not me.”

Now I was visibly crying. Kegan looked at me for a long moment before lowering himself back down on my sofa, like his legs had weakened beneath him. Something was going on with him, but I couldn't put my finger on it. As mad as I was with him, I could see there was something else he was not telling me. Being with this man for over six years helped me understand him.

“Sonya, please sit down,” he pleaded.

I wanted to yell no, get the hell out my house and never bring your black ass back over here, but I did as he asked and lowered myself back down on the love seat.

With his hands clasped in front of him, he looked heartbroken.

“Kegan, what's going on with you? Why are you really here?” I asked earnestly.

Rubbing his hands together he said, “I really did come over here to see about Meena. I really did. Why did I come at this time, I don't know.”

“Does Imani know where you are?” I asked.

“No. We had a fight.”

Smiling slightly, I said nothing, waiting for him to continue to tell me the reason he was here. I had to admit I was inwardly happy about their squabble, but I wasn't going to say that to him.

“I knew Meena was not responsible for what happened, not like Imani was trying to make it seem.”

“Is that what your argument was over? Meena?”

“Yes. I just lost it on Imani. She had no right talking about Meena the way she was. And when she threw in my face how I shouldn't care about her because I had a new family, I thought how I hadn't seen her since the two of us broke up. I literally racked my mind trying to convince myself I couldn't have failed her like that . . . only to realize I had.”

It felt good hearing Kegan say this. Who knew Meena getting caught for shoplifting would be the pivotal moment Kegan needed to realize how he'd left her without looking back.

“And now you are here to see her.”

“Yes,” he said looking at me with that look that melted my heart. “I tried to have fun at this party tonight, but all I kept thinking about was how desperately I needed to see Meena and tell her how sorry I am.”

I shifted uncomfortably as I clutched my robe tighter around me.

“Kegan, Meena is not here.”

Frowning, he asked, “Where is she?”

“She's at Kellie's house. Kellie wanted to spend some time with Meena and talk to her about what's been going on with her. As much as I wanted to ground her behind this shoplifting incident, I thought talking with Kellie was what she needed. You know Meena doesn't talk to me like that. If anything, she'd come to you.”

He nodded with a chuckle before saying, “I remember. We had a lot of conversations you still don't know about.”

“It used to tick me off, because I felt like my daughter should be able to come to me about everything, but now I realize I'm not as approachable as I should be. Having you here with me made it easier to deal with Meena because when she felt like she couldn't come to me, you were that rock she leaned on when she needed a listening ear.”

“Well, I'm glad Kellie can be there for you. But I'm not going to lie . . . I was quick to believe you let her go with Kellie so you could have some alone time with old boy.”

Damn, this man knew me as well as I knew him. His knowing gaze unnerved me, but I would never admit it to him. What type of mother would I be?

“Please, leave old boy out of our conversation. Remember,
you
left
me
.”

Again he nodded.

“Is it too late to tell you I made a mistake?”