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I moved up in line again, leaving her behind me.
“Congratulations!” she yelled.
I didn’t budge as the words tore through my core. They were the words I’d wanted to hear from her that day back in May when I walked across the stage. The energy I promised not to give Valencia began brewing in my chest, not allowing me to remain silent. I marched toward her, not stopping until her belly brushed against my flat tummy and my face was inches away from hers.
“Congratulations? Congratulations?”
Foreign emotions brought along foreign words that were absent from my vocabulary but felt justified at the moment. Valencia didn’t deserve me in my purest form. She deserved the lesser version of me, the one she’d quickly birthed with her presence and ignorance.
“You stupid, malicious, backstabbing bitch. You don’t get to congratulate me now. Hadn’t you been sucking my man’s dick and fucking him like he was the last on earth, then you could’ve been right there, waiting for me when I got off the stage to congratulate me.
“You would’ve been at the dinner that I wanted with just the three of us because you two were all I had. But you weren’t. I left my ceremony with uncertainty and in a pair of socks with no transportation and no clue how I’d get back home. I left my graduation in so much pain that it hurt to even speak. It hurt to think. It hurt to exist. So, no, you don’t get to congratulate me, Valencia.
“I was nothing but good to you. I’ve only ever been in your corner. I loved you like you were my sister. You had no business shitting on me the way you did. You had no business breaking my heart the way you did. You had no right to do that to me. Nelson is a man. I’ve grown to expect things from those creatures. I could’ve dealt with him cheating the same way I am now—by moving on with my life.
“Breakups happen. But you, Valencia. To know that it was you he was cheating with is just… It’s foul! Again, breakups happen, but friendship breakups—that is pain on an entirely different level. I mourned us more than I mourned Nelson and me. I cried for us. I wept for us. You broke my heart way worse than that man ever could.”
I left her with those words, marching toward the line. I was pissed that I’d let her take me there and even more upset I’d lost my spot in line while tapping into the energy she evoked.
Bitch! I huffed, feeling the pain of it all resurface.
“Next!”
Finally, a second set of hands had come to the bakery to help. I retrieved the cake I’d come for and headed to U-Scan where Valencia was checking out. The blaring of her phone silenced after a few seconds. I halted at the sound of Nelson’s voice after she answered the FaceTime call.
“Where you at, baby?”
“I’m on my way. I’m leaving the grocery store. I just picked up the cake.”
“Aight. I’m headed that way, too. I could’ve stopped by the store. Shit, it’s on the way.”
“No. No stops, remember?”
The mention of Makai, though his name wasn’t stated, elevated my heart rate.
“Fuck that nigga.”
“I just sa—”
I cleared my throat, grabbing her attention. Shaking my head, I forbid her from mentioning my name because I knew it was coming. Their conversation was evidence that she was aware of everything going on. I, on the other hand, was blind.
“What you say? You cut out.”
“I was saying that I’ll just see you at the venue.” She redirected the conversation as I completed my transaction.
It wasn’t until I was on my way out of the door that I noticed she was wearing a shirt with her child’s name on it.
Naomi Reign is coming, the shirt read.
A girl, I concluded as I searched for my truck. Before starting the engine, I rested my head against the seat. My life lately felt so overwhelming, so unreal. I was ready to resume the peace I’d had before I walked into Rouge.
When the drumming of my heart subsided, I started the engine and began the journey to Berkeley Presby. It was an easy fix. Falling into my routine helped me sort my thoughts and keep my mind occupied. It was so easy to forget the world outside when I walked through those doors.
As I entered the expressway, Makai stuck to me like glue. I used the controls to log into my contacts and send a call. The few seconds of waiting were agonizing, but relief was available once his voice replaced the third ring.
“Mommas, what’s up?”
“Nothing. What are you doing?”
