Page 40 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

“Uh huh.”

For so long I struggled with my purpose and what I wanted to do with my life. It was a struggle before my mother passed away, then became an even bigger struggle once she was gone. I didn’t know what my purpose was, and I was floating around the world trying to figure out what’s next for me.

When was the change supposed to happen for me? Menace needed a wife for whatever reason, and maybe my purpose was to be the best damn fake wife in the history of fake wives. Living in this home and being taken care of by him wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

I satin the main living room with the huge TV displaying my favorite movie. ‘Grown ups’ was my favorite movie, and I had watched it so many times I could put on a one woman show. It was dark throughout the house with the small spotlights that illuminated the floors.

Greene left for the night, so I ate dinner and went upstairs to shower before bringing my blankets and pillow downstairs and making myself comfortable on the couch. Lupita looked at me like I had called her mother a bitch when she saw me stretching out on the massive couches. Either way, she excused herself for the night. I put on my favorite movie and enjoyed the snacks I had accumulated on the coffee table in front of me.

I recited one of my favorite parts and laughed as if I hadn’t watched this movie a million times. When my mother passed away, I slept on the couch and kept this movie on a loop for weeks. There was no one there to stop me, aside for Alex, and even he couldn’t get me to shower or leave the house.

His wife tried her best and then decided it was best to allow me to have my process while grieving. As long as I promised her to eat and shower, and unlock the door when she came, she allowed the process.

The movie was so nostalgic for me. You ever listen to a song, smell a fragrance, or watch a movie and you feel the exact moment when you first heard, smell, or watched it in your chest? You could envision the memory so vividly that it almost hurt to reminisce?

That was how I felt about this movie. Me and my mother loved Adam Sandler movies, and we would have movie marathons when we were burned out from life. She would take a Friday off, order our favorite Chinese food and watch movies all day.

Although we had seen the movie a million times, we laughed like we hadn’t. Every time I watched this movie, it hurt for a bit, then I smiled because I could hear her laugh, feel the little shove she did when something wastoofunny to her, and see her smile.

God, I missed her smile more than anything.

For a while she lost her smile because of life and having to raise a child alone. My father got to keep his smile while hersslowly faded because she had to step up and do whatneededto be done. She had to raise me, and I can admit I wasn’t the easiest child to raise. I remember I joked once that I wasn’t the easiest to love, and she sat me down and told me to never say those words. That I was her biggest blessing and raising me was her absolute honor.

Even as I sat here wiping the tears from my eyes, I remember seeing her face. Some people you could tell that they were lying.

Not her.

I could see the pride, honor, and love exude from her face down toward mine. I used the blanket and dabbed my eyes as I watched one of our favorite scenes in the movie.

“Why are you crying, Wonder?”

I jumped and slowly turned to see Menace standing there. “Christ, were you there the entire time?”

“You’ll never know… answer my question.”

I wiped my face and looked at him real good. He was dressed down in a pair of sweats, white T-shirt that was too crisps for someone who just got off a long flight, and sneakers.

“Do you ever wear anything aside from sweats? Jeans, perhaps?”

“Don’t like ‘em.”

“So, sweats and suits.”

His hands were clasped in front of him. “Only when I have to wear suits, I wear ‘em.”

“What’s so wrong with jeans?”

He looked at me. “What’s wrong with a bra?”

“Makes me feel constricted.”

“Same.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “You wear bras?”

He laughed, and I noticed he had only one gold cap today. “Wonder, why the fuck were you crying?”

“Personal.”

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