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“I ain’t a jail sentence. You’ve had that a few times, too, and that’s all you gone get again, messin’ ’round with me.”
“I missed the hell out of yo’ mean ass!” He grinned. “I can’t get over how you look, baby! So good. Damn!” He looked her up and down, paying close attention to her cleavage. “All that pretty hair still intact, too. You ain’t like some of these otha women out here that wear all of this fuckin’ weave, wigs ’nd shit. Hair hat hooligans. Your shit was always long and natural. Just like God intended.” He reached out to touch it, and she pulled back.
“Did God intend for you to slap that gold all over your teeth? Is that natural? Were you born with gold teefus in yo’ mouth? Did God tell you to stick yo’ penis in other women while you was married? And for the record, I wear weave sometime, too. I do what the hell I want to do because it’s my head and my hair.” She put her hand on her hip as she glared at him. “I don’t want to dye my hair, so if one day I want it purple or red or pink, then I’mma get some weave or a wig. Simple. How is it that somebody you ain’t even dealin’ with romantically make it any of their business what you doin’ wit’ your own damn hair? I think men who are worried about what a woman is wearin’ as far makeup and hairstyles is strange.” She rolled her eyes. “Worried about some damn hair on another mothafucka’s head that ain’t even yours to worry about! You need to be worried about that hairline of yours that’s been runnin’ away from yo’ face for the past few years. You could use a lace-front your damn self. Got you out here lookin’ like a broke Don Cheadle. Worry aboutthat. That’s what youneedto do.”
“See?” He pointed his finger and cackled. “You mean as hell, little woman. So, you seein’ anybody?”
One thing Bennet always was: persistent, delusional, believing he was God’s gift to women, and not easily deterred.
Noticing a wedding band on his left hand, she smirked and shook her head.
“Yes, I am. I wonder how your new wife would feel knowin’ you over here tellin’ me how good I look, talking about my nether regions and how amazing I was in the sack, instead of being with her?”
“She’s just fine. So, who is this guy you seein’? I want to make sure he deserves you.” She burst out laughing.This man is a whole joke…“I’m serious. I still want to see you happy, baby. I want to see you win.”
“I’m winning. I’m winning big.”
“That ain’t what I heard. You raisin’ Ayanna now, Lily’s ho ass done totally sold out, and you barely makin’ ends meet, workin’ as a cashier, broke as a joke, and livin’ in the projects.”
“Broke as a joke?” She snorted. “You going to give me that money of mine back, the cash you spent up courtin’ other women? That would be a start to making a wrong go right, since you’re suddenly so concerned about my finances.”
“Look, now, jokes aside, let’s talk. Iris, I made some mistakes. I ain’t seen you in years. I’m tryna bridge the gap. I just wanted to be friendly is all.” He tossed up his hands, as if he were doing the right thing, and she was being unreasonable.
“I needed you to be friendly to me in our marriage. It’s too late for friendliness now, baby. I don’t need it. I don’t want it.”
“You know why I swallowed my pride and came on over here?”
“’Cause you a low-down good for nothin’ scoundrel that—”
“Hold up, girl. Let me explain somethin’ to you.” He put up a finger to stop her, his eyes narrowed.
“The only thing you need to ’splain to me, baby, is where they sellin’ this much audacity at, ’cause honey, you got so much of it, it’s oozing out of your pores.”
“Iris, I’m in the middle of a separation.”Big damn surprise. Another divorce is on the horizon.“Me and my wife ain’t workin’ out. So, don’t worry about this ring.” He waved his big hand around. “I didn’t expect to see you here tonight, seein’ as how you moved away from Memphis to Nashville, and been gone a few years now.”
“You never once said you were sorry, Bennet.”
“Shit, sorry ain’t gone change nothin’, Iris. It’s done now. What the hell you want me to say? That was a long time ago.” He shrugged. “You know I don’t feel good about it.”
“I don’t feel good about burnin’ dinner a few months ago. I don’t feel good about tellin’ some poor old woman that was drivin’ too slow to please get up outta my way. You doing me how you did was on a whole ’nother level, way past not feelin’ good about it. I just wanted to see if you’d matured, Bennet. That’s all. I was making an internal bet. Not for my sake, but yours.”
“Oh, so this is you bein’ judgmental again, huh?” He sneered. “I see I ain’t the only one who supposedly ain’t changed.” He shifted about uncomfortably. “Well? Do you think I’ve matured? I know you gonna have somethin’ evil to say, but I know I’ve grown. You seem to be the one stuck in the past.”
“First of all, no, Bennet, I’m not stuck in the past. I’m not missin’ you, pining over you. Memories of you ain’t keepin’ me up at night, and as you stand here, I feel no type of way. Our historyishistory. I was minding my business. You the one that brought yo’ ass over here. To me.” She pointed at her chest. “Lastly, I also don’t need to share my conclusions wit’ the likes of you. Thank you. I have my answer, and you ain’t dumb enough to not know what it is.”
She looked out at all the people dancing, partying the night away. The birthday sheet cake lay half-eaten, the candles toppled over. She could faintly taste the pink icing all over again. The sweetness assailed her senses, reminding her of where she’d been, and how far she’d come. Beautiful brown people of every shade under the earthy tone rainbow strutted about, having fun. Thoughts of Jude entered her mind, and she smiled.
“Puttin’ all the petty shit aside, you were a good woman for the most part.” He sighed, no doubt making a final pitch. “You were a little bossy and negative, not submissive like you should have been, too mouthy at times, too, but good all the same.”
“Bennet, I don’t need you, of all people, handing me a score card. That’s like a dusty ass roach tryna tell a beautiful black swan how to be graceful.” His eyes flashed dark as he laughed, shook his head and turned away, clutching his drink and maybe swallowing a few nasty curse words that vied to come out his mouth. He knew better. Couldn’t nobody play the dozens better than she. “Know who you are and stay in your lane. You ain’t sorry? You just don’t feel good about it?” She laughed mirthlessly. “So glad my new man ain’t sorry, either, if you know what I mean.”
She looked him up and down, sneering. “And Idamnsure feel good about it.” She cast him a wink, took another sip of her drink, and left the empty glass on the table. “You have a good night, Bennet. When you find that bridge to gap, jump off it.”
She blew him a kiss, then began to sashay while mouthing the lyrics of WizKid’s, ‘Essence.’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
He Understood the Assignment
