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“Yea, I was gon wear those silver red bottoms since you were wearing the Rene’s.”
“Dang, can I wear all my own stuff first?”
“Oh girl, please. It was six pairs of heels and you couldn’t wear them all. Y’all acts some cheeky.”
“Ma, you the cheeky one. You just assumed you’d wear my heels without asking.”
“Well it don’t matter now since your brother is giving all the shoes back. Now we both gotta find some new heels.”
“Mama, kill the drama,” Aneesah rolled her eyes. “Bubby already went and bought me the same exact heels.”
“You did what?” Her eyes slowly turned to Armias who had sat on the bed next to me.
“Neese already told you what I did.”
“I’m trying to see why though. You went and spent thousands on some shoes that you already got for free. If anything you should have just sweet talked Naz and she would have let you keep the heels you already had. Shit, really the heels are already in our possession so you could have kept ignoring her.”
I’d been staying quiet thus far. Not because I didn’t have an opinion on the situation, I just didn’t think it was necessary for me to voice it right then. Rahesha was obviously still a weirdo but I wasn’t surprised. I’d been waiting for the real her to resurface. I appreciated her efforts to do better, but you could only hold a bird down for so long. Her chirping wasn’t bothering me until she insisted that my man could sweet talk another bitch. It was time for me to say something.
“It was gon’ have to be the second option because he wasn’t about to sweet talk no bitch to keep something he can afford twenty times over.”
“We know he can afford it, but it’s a waste of money and he’s already being stretched then as is.”
“Then how about you get a job, Rahesha,” he snapped.
“What?” She was astonished like he told her to jump off a bridge or play in traffic.
“Yea, if you so worried about me spending unnecessary money then you can get a job to fund your own household. That’ll take a lot off my back and I won’t be stretched thin.”
“You always get so defensive when I try to advise you to make better decisions. Money don’t grow on trees, so you shouldn’t be trying to take care of everybody and they mama.”
I don’t know if she thought the shade was subtle, but it was evident what her real issue was. Armias only ever took care of his family. He wasn’t out here passing out money to everybody and they mama as she so eloquently put it. Additionally, I’d never witnessed her voice any concern about how he was spending his money before. Prior to me getting pregnant I’d seen Armias cash out on his siblings birthdays, he spared no expenses for Aspen’s senior year of high school, and he always footed the bill anytime they went out to eat or did any other activity as a family. All of that was on top of paying Rahesha’s bills and giving her a weekly allowance. She never showed concern or remorse when something was being done for her or her kids, so this new energy she was giving definitely had something to do with me.
“Mama, who else does he take care of except us?” Aneesah asked the question anybody would have asked.
“Lourdes and my baby,” he answered. “I sure hope that’s not the problem.”
She smacked her teeth. “Now why would I have a problem with that?”
“I don’t know, but these speeches about my spending didn’t start until I bought a house with my baby in mind.”
“I just don’t think you need all that house with one kid,” she said before glancing at me. “But trust, it has nothing to do with you Lourdes. Don’t let him start no stuff between us.”
“He’s not starting anything,” I replied nonchalantly. “I've got my own house and my own money, so I’m not worried about Armias and what’s going on in his bank account.” I was admittedly popping my shit on Rahesha’s bum ass and based on the way her face fell it definitely struck a nerve.
“Alright, but if you was worried about it just know none of my accounts are running low. I had a conversation with you about finances a long time ago, Lourdes, so you know you can depend on me. You know money is no issue,” Armias asserted. I guess I had struck a nerve with him, too.
“Hmmp, I thought you’d appreciate her flexing that she has her own since you suggested that I get a job,” Rahesha snarled.
“You’re not her. She’s carrying my baby, so I don’t want her working or worrying about money when I got it. And I want her to sit down for a few months after she has my baby. That don’t got shit to do with you getting off your ass and working, mama.”
“Oh, so all of a sudden I gotta work?”
“You the one who keeps worrying about my money running low and how I may be doing too much. You’re the only thing on my list of responsibilities that I would consider doing too much.”
She glanced over at Aneesah. “You hear that? Your brother feels like we’re a burden to him.”
“I didn’t hear him say anything about me,” Aneesah laughed.
