Page 17 of When It’s All Said And Done

“Cousssiiiinnnnnnnn!” Chanel yelled from upstairs. “It’s time for our tea party!”

“She doesn’t play ‘bout her tea parties,” Chance chuckled. “Better gone up there before she comes down here with the ruler.”

“Oh, she runs a strict program,” I laughed. “I’ma go play real quick then I’ma dip out.”

As I secured the last button on my shirt, I looked myself over in the mirror. Even with money, I had no desire to rock high end designer clothes. Give me a fresh pair of Levi jeans, some Jay’s and a shirt then I was straight. I understood the value of a dollar and value of time. So, the only time I planned to spend over the top money was when the memories would be worth it. After I sprayed myself with some cologne, I grabbed my wallet and keys before heading out.

I gave Fernando the night off, but I doubt he took it because he worked for Nina and he was her eyes and ears on me. It felt weird to talk about her because growing up I felt like I’d been abandoned by her and Javier. To know that it wasn’t true, it made me wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self that had so much built-up anger towards them. Since I couldn’t change anything in my past, I decided to better my future. This shit I was doing right now wasn’t something I saw in my future. To be headed over to my baby mama’s house for me to have dinner with her, our child and her damn boyfriend.

“Daddy, daddy!” Nyla beamed as she opened the door for me.

“Hey, pretty girl,” I picked her up before embracing her. “Where’s yo’ mama at?”

“She’s in the kitchen finishin’ the food.”

“What did she cook?”

“I just asked her that, and she said ask ya’ daddy when he get here. So, what is Mommy cooking?”

“If I had to guess I’d say ribs, mac and cheese, and cornbread because that’s ya dad’s favorite.”

“That sounds yummy.”

“It does. Let’s go see how much longer it has.”

I adjusted Nyla so she was on my back as I carried her into the kitchen. The aroma of the food filled my nose causing my stomach to rumble. I’d only drunk a protein shake that morning, so my stomach felt like it was touching my back with how hungry I was. The door to the refrigerator closed, and my eyes landed on Nessa. She rolled her eyes before making her way back over to the oven. When she pulled out the pan of cornbread, I smirked to myself because she really did remember my favorite meal.

“You remembered,” I chuckled.

“I mean how could I forget when I was cookin’ that at least once a week back in the day,” she huffed.

“I hope you can still throw down like you used too.”

“Boy, trust me I remember everything Mama Eva taught me so don’t even play.”

“Yeah, cause yo’ momma couldn’t boil water to save her life.”

“Aye, watch it,” she giggled as she pointed her finger at me. “But you ain’t never lied.”

“Right, so don’t get mad ‘cause I’m tellin’ the truth.”

“Uh huh. The ribs got ‘bout twenty more minutes. How ‘bout you go spend some time with yo’ child? Matter of fact, Nyla tell yo’ daddy what happened today at daycare.”

“You talkin’ like my baby did somethin’, but I know that ain’t the case ‘cause she could do no wrong.”

“Ah, fuck no. You know what, both y’all get on up outta my face.”

While Nessa finished the meal, me and Nyla hung out in the living room. As she told me about the little dispute with her friend, I had to put her on game about not getting caught when you retaliate. I couldn’t help but notice how small the duplex was compared to the house that I’d purchased for her. With everything almost finalized, I couldn’t wait to tell her about it. The fact that her nigga wasn’t here either was hard not to notice.

I refused to let some nigga come and squeeze in the space they created for the two of them. The pictures of Nessa and Nyla throughout the home showed me that Nessa took pride in being a mother. I just hated that I missed so much but couldn’t wait to take new pictures of us to put on the wall along with theirs. After finishing in the bathroom, I made my way towards the kitchen when I noticed a picture of Nyla and Nessa in the hospital. As I stood there staring at it, I noticed how much she looked like me out the womb.

“You good?” Nessa inquired as she made her way towards me.

“Damn, she really looked like me fresh out, huh?” I countered.

“Yep. I still ended up waking up to you every day for the last four years.”

“Why you ain’t tell me Nessa?”