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“Anyway, she lied to me about the pregnancy. She had found out about you and threatened to abort my child if I continued to see you. And I believed her. I wanted to be a father, so I sacrificed our relationship for fatherhood,” he proclaimed.
Chanel took a deep breath. She didn’t know what to think. She wanted to believe him.
Mateo added, “I wanted to have a baby, and since you were new in my life, I felt that it was best to let you go. But, Chanel, believe me when I say that I thought about you every day. And it hurt me to cut you off so suddenly over a lie that I wanted to believe. Nikki was never pregnant. She said that to keep me in her life and to get rid of you. I realized the mistake I made in December and her lie nearly tore me apart. It took me weeks to get myself together . . . to move out and move on.”
She looked at him and asked, “So she’s no longer in your life?”
His expression was reassuring, and he said, “She’s gone from my life, I promise you that—and everyone else. I only want to be with you, Chanel. I want to give this thing we have a chance.”
Chanel wanted to pout and frown. She wanted to stay upset with him, but she couldn’t. Hearing the explanation about his long absence, and then hearing his pledge to be with her and only her to give their relationship a try, she smiled.
“So, what do you say? You want this? Because I do,” he said.
“Yes. I want this, Mateo. I always wanted this.”
At the next red light, the two leaned closer to each other and kissed passionately. It was a kiss that could melt the ice outside and turn the cold into summer.
“Damn, I missed you,” he said.
“I missed you too.”
They kissed again. Chanel didn’t want to let him go. She wanted to kiss him forever, hoping that the red light never turned green again. She was happy again.
“You still hungry?” he asked.
She chuckled. “I am. You have a lot of making up to do, and that starts with feeding me.”
He laughed too. “A’ight. Your wish is my command.”
***
With Mateo back in her life, and the two forming a relationship that seemed like a fairytale, Chanel started to blossom a lot sooner than the flowers and leaves did in the spring. It seemed like nothing could separate her and Mateo. Mateo treated Chanel like his queen and made sure she didn’t want for anything. They constantly went out on dates, talked, held hands, and went for long, romantic walks around the city. Mateo paraded his young beauty around town like she was a new car, washed and shined and looking spectacular.
On Valentine’s Day, Mateo ordered two dozen roses, several teddy bears, and chocolate to be delivered to her home. Chanel was blown away by the surprises delivered to her front door, and so were Bacardi and her sisters. It was clear to everyone that Mateo was there to stay.
In March, Mateo took her to see The Lion King on Broadway in Times Square. The Lion King was one of her favorite Disney movies growing up, and Chanel was excited to see it in live action on stage. Mateo had gotten them the perfect seats up front, and she could feel herself on the stage because they were so close. She got to experience the African savannah come to life on stage with Simba, Rafiki, and an unforgettable cast of characters as they journeyed from Pride Rock to the jungle and back again.
In April, they took trips to Coney Island, frequented museums in the city, toured the Empire State Building, and enjoyed horse and carriage rides through Central Park, something that was becoming a favorite for Chanel. Though she was a native of the city, Mateo had her feeling like a tourist. A day with him was always breathtaking and busy.
Bacardi and Butch started to treat their youngest like she was their world. Suddenly, Chanel could do no wrong. Chanel would wake up to Bacardi cooking breakfast for her—her favorite, French toast, omelets, and bacon. Her parents were starting to spoil her with kindness. If Chanel had a dispute with her sisters about anything, Bacardi right away took Chanel’s side and fussed at Charlie or Claire.
It felt like she was living in a parallel universe.
Because of her relationship with Mateo, Chanel was now able to buy groceries, pay the rent, and hit Bacardi off with money and gifts, turning the other cheek and proving that she was the bigger woman by forgiving them for how they treated her before Mateo came into her life.
Now, to Bacardi, Claire was the cheater in the family, the fraud and exposed loser, who was dumb and was going in and out of depression for months now. Then there was Charlie, her oldest daughter who had fallen from grace and couldn’t bail her man out of jail because she didn’t have the money.
When Mateo would come to the apartment, Bacardi would roll out the red carpet for him and pull out the good china. Mateo became her favorite person in the world. She started to call him her son and treated him like he was.
“Look at how handsome my son is,” she would say.
Mateo took her flattery and compliments in stride. He wasn’t too fond of Chanel’s parents. He remembered the stories Chanel would tell him about how they would constantly mistreat her and abuse her. The only reason he was nice to them was because of Chanel.
Even with all the gifts and the kindness Mateo showed her, Chanel remained as sweet as ever. She didn’t allow his money to go to her head. He tried to push a lot of really nice things on her, but Chanel would only take what her family needed and nothing more.
Chapter Nineteen
Mateo’s alarm clock rang at seven in the morning. Lying next to him was a naked young woman who had given him the time of his life last night. But it was only sex. He looked at her and frowned. She was just pussy, nobody special.
