AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Accepting it, I turned and left him there with faceless women ogling his undeniable virility.
The car pulled up to the gorgeousLake Sha’Ronestate, and I could see soft touches of the welcoming winterized entrance adorned with artificial lavender and silver bulbs in potted plants with big green leaves aligning the walkway and front doors. Consuela had been doing a great job at keeping up with the place. The lavish homes in this subdivision were not mansion-size or even as vast as my childhood home. However, the property sizes were substantial, and the suburban designs were wonderfully palatial.
The other thing I noticed was the whiteAudi A7parked just at the end of the horseshoe driveway. There was only one person I knew with that color and model. She’d gotten it brand spanking new two years ago. When the car stopped, curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to deviate from my plans.
“Could you take the bags to the door for me?” I asked the driver prior to opening my door and before he could make his way out.
I trekked down the driveway, tightening my coat around my frame. It was hardly forty degrees out. The exhaust fumes from the waiting vehicle created clouds of smoke on my approach. I knocked on the window, observing Jos-Renee’s head toward the steering wheel. The poor woman leaped in her seat so hard the car shifted a bit. Immediately, I regretted my attempt at getting her attention.
Her face was wet, and eyes reddened with sadness when she rolled down the window, but Jos-Renee’s voice was kind. “Girl, you scared the shit out of me!” She tried chuckling.
“I’m so sorry. I noticed your car and thought it was strange you were sitting idle. Are you okay?”
She rolled her eyes, wiping her glossy cheek. “Guuuuuurl, I’m on my last fucking nerve with this man!”
“Who?” My face wrinkled.
“Juggy! Who else?”
“Oh!” My brows shot up. “I’m sorry. I know you’re married now and didn’t… Well, I know how relationships—” I shook my head, rolling my own damn eyes. “I’m sorry.” I offered again.
“No. No need to be sorry!” she exclaimed passionately. “That’s the damn problem. I’m married. I’m trying to move on, but the man is sick, and I don’t want to leave him hanging when he’s down like this.”
Panic struck in my chest. “Did something else happen? Is Juggy okay?”
“The way he just cussed me out lets me know he’s still the same S.O.B. he’s always been. I came over today to drop off more cases ofEnsureand the socks my grandmother suggested he wears to maintain his body temperature. I even bought him those heating socks. I’m trying, Shi-Shi. I don’t want to abandon him. The man’s disappearing before our eyes,” she croaked in tears again.
“Every month, it seems like something new is popping up,” she continued. “He doesn’t want to go to the doctor, using urgent care facilities and the emergency room as his primary care. And today, this nigga wants to argue withmebecause I didn’t take off my coat! I have to get back to work. I’m over here on my forty-minute lunch because I’m tired of Rakim complaining about me bending over backward for my ex-boyfriend. I’m married now! But I’m over here trying to take care of him, and because my time is limited, he tells me to get the fuck out.” Both our eyes blossomed wide. “It’s just too much, Shi-Shi!”
Rakim was Jos-Renee’s new husband. They’d been married for a little over two years now. The announcement surprised Juggy and those of us connected to him. But I soon learned Jos-Renee had been friends with Rakim for years. She said she refused anything more because of her complicated relationship with Juggy. But ironically, months after I gave birth, she eventually realized she was risking her happiness and decided to up and marry him that same year.
Juggy, on the other hand, had been sick for close to a year now. His symptoms varied, changing month by month. It started with fatigue and then moved on to weight loss. Then he went through a phase of shortness of breath. He was thought to have HIV but had been testing negative for that for months now. Then one of the doctors at an urgent care facility suggested he be tested for tuberculosis. That concerned me because if he had TB, we’d all had been exposed to it. But those tests came back negative, too. The doctors had been just as clueless as we all had, but all agreed whatever was going on with Juggy was systematic. There was a new symptom affecting a different area of his body every other month, it seemed. It had been hard on us all and for varying reasons. For me, Juggy’s gregarious personality was an energy I couldn’t go back to not knowing.
“I’m sorry, Jos-Renee. I know Juggy’s stressed, but he has no right to take it out on you.” I shook my head regrettably. “Is there anything I can do?”
“I keep telling Jas and them: convince him to get to a primary care doctor. He needs someone to run a battery of tests and follow up with him…connect some dots, maybe. It’s called continuity care.”
Nodding, I offered, “I’m on it. I’ll be sure to talk to him before I leave.”
“I didn’t even know you were in town.” Jos-Renee tried to smile. “It’s good seeing you. My brother-in-law is crazy about you. He stays on yourTikTokandIGpages, girl!” She sniffled while giggling. “He was like, ‘Jos, hook me up. She single, and I’m single.’ I was like, boy, you got three kids to look after. You ain’t got time to keep up with Shi-Shi!” Jos-Renee laughed. “Then the fool had the nerve to say, ‘She got a kid, too. I can babysit all the kids during the day and tend to Shi-Shi at night.’” The muscles in her face drastically dropped as fast as the heart in my chest. “I told him, nigga, don’t you bring that child in this. Trust me, you don’t know nothing about Harlem niggas, and you don’t want to. If you don’t believe me, convince Shi-Shi of your plans.” She rolled her eyes away, convicted by her warning.
Jos-Renee and I had many conversations over the past few years over Black romance books and more. Before she and Juggy broke up, she’d be over here at Jas’ a lot when I’d bring the baby over to use the pool or drop her off. Jos and I would sit, talk, and drink often. She was really sweet and smart as all get out. I enjoyed her energy. When getting to know her, I learned she’d known Juggy, Jas, and Man for over fifteen years. She made it clear to me that the Jas I knew was not the Sin I’d recognize before his prison stint. She said Jas had always been the reticent leader of the group, but he was also no-nonsense and unpredictable. Once while tipsy in the pool, Jos-Renee mentioned Jas had his collection of bones. She made it clear to take it in the literal sense. It reminded me of the storm I’d seen deep in his eyes over the years. It was exactly what I’d seen onRed’s Islandnearly four years ago when he’d almost killed a man because of me.
“Girl, tell your brother-in-law I’ll keep him in mind when I’m ready, but he’s got to leave my baby out of it if it’s going to work. I need a live man, not a dead one.”
Jos-Renee cracked the hell up. “Listen! ‘Cause, baybey! I’m trying to keep my husband out of the jaws of these Harlem fools!”
A wry smile lifted from my lips and I shook my head understanding how limited both our private lives were after intersecting with pseudo-former thugs from Harlem. Jos-Renee, on paper, was free to move on. She was a married woman now. Yet, she was still here, seeing about an ill Juggy. And so was I: here because half of my life was in this home. Jas’ home.
“It was good catching up with you,” I told her, needing to escape the brisk air. “You have my number. Don’t hesitate to call me if I can be of help to you. I hate that this is putting a strain on your marriage.”
“Yeah.” She shook her head desolately, gazing blindly ahead. “But I’mma figure it out, girl. Juggy and I always do.”
I blew her a kiss before trekking backward for the house.
“Bye, Shi-Shi! I hope to see you when the next tour you’re a part of comes to the Tri-state area!” Jos-Renee shouted my way.
“Just let me know, and I’ll get you tickets. First come, first serve,” I warned, knowing my best friends and cousins had already been begging me for concert passes.
