Page 5 of Giving Him Something He Can Feel

He gripped my arm trying to pull me into him. Then he began to shake my shoulders like that of a mad man.

“Let me go!” I tried to pull away sending my MacBook crashing into the pavement. “Are you fucking serious, Linny?”

I snatched from his grip and started swinging my purse wildly. “You are out of your fucking mind.” I landed two good hits before his lanky frame fell against the pavement. “You’re lucky I don’t call Fari.”

With that I reached down to pick up my computer which I knew was completely destroyed. This shit right here was why I didn’t deal with him or Eva. They had this uncanny ability to have you acting out of character in a crowded ass parking lot. I glanced around the parking lot feeling like I was being watched. Then he and I locked eyes.

He nodded his head, as if to ask me if I was okay and for some reason I felt compelled to nod back. It was all in the eye contact and the way he seemed to be ready to exit his vehicle. I had to be losing my mind, because I didn’t know this man from a can of paint, he was probably just casing my fucking restaurant for Linny’s sheisty ass. As bad as I wanted to tell Fari, I wouldn’t because if I did Linny would be in a body bag rather than on the ground.

I picked my baby up from the sitter and went home. I needed to calm down, to breathe, and to check out my laptop. It hit the ground pretty hard. Shit at this point I wasn’t even sure I still had a laptop.

I wokeup the next morning physically drained and ready to stay in bed, but the knock at my front door made that impossible. I wasn’t expecting anybody, so who the hell could it have been. Then I heard the door jiggle and somebody stuffing akey into it. I knew who it was in that moment.

“Ma, I thought we said you’d call before you came barging in.” I stood in my kitchen making coffee as she walked in the door.

“Who is Peach?” she disregarded my question as she walked in holding an apple bag and a card.

“Huh? What are you tal?—”

“You had a card at your door and a bag from apple. The card said, Don’t sweat the small shit, Peach.” Then she held the card out for me to grab, before sitting the bag down on the island. I must’ve looked over the card a million times, before I finally looked at what she pulled out of the bag. It was the box of a brand new MacBook.

“I don’t know.” I stared from the card to the computer a few times drawing blanks.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Somebody doesn’t just spend a thousand bucks on you, and you just don’t know. Whomever it was didn’t leave a signature or anything, so you must know, babygirl.” My mom shook her head, before sitting down on the computer. “I didn’t know you needed a new computer. What happened to the one you just bought?”

“Linny happened.”

Her expression showed her confusion, so I gave her the entire rundown of last night. By the time I was done speaking she was just looking at me flabbergasted and I was left nodding my head.

“You said you dropped your computer too, right? Did anyone see you drop it?”

“I mean the guy he brought to my restaurant probably, but I doubt a complete stranger would send me a computer. He doesn’t even know my name, let alone my address, Mom.”

She nodded. “Sure. Have you talked to your brother? Told him about Linny’s antics?”

“I told him some of it, but not all of it, i.e., the parking lot situation.”

“Good. Other than all of that,how are you?”

“Well, but you don’t think so, because you came out here.” I peered at my mother because I knew her like the back of my hand.

She giggled. “You’re right. I just worry about you in this city all alone and away from us…away from me.” Amelia would always be more of a mother than Eva could ever be. When Eva first found out I moved into the city she called me acting like she wanted to check in on me, but she didn’t. She just wanted to borrow forty dollars. I regretted giving it to her that day, because best believe she kept coming back until I told her ass I wasn’t a fountain.

“I’m fine, Mom. It’s been months. Business is good and life i?—”

“Boring. You only work and take care of my grand baby. That’s about it. With that being said, I’m taking her back with me and I want you to live a little. Shoot, do something other than punch your own clock.”

I was about to disagree and tell her no, but she put her hand up as if to tell me that her words were final. “Have you even seen your friends? Hung out even?”

I shook my head no. She was right. I was a determined workaholic and I’d admit that. My best friend, Jovie, had stopped by a few times, but every time she wanted to go out I always had an excuse. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hang, I just didn’t know how anymore. Ever since Adorie’s dad, and his bullshit I had become somewhat of a zombie with nothing but planned out time.

“Right. Call your girls and enjoy some time out. My baby will be with me for the next few days. I’ll return her when I feel like you’ve let your hair down.” Then she went toward Adorie’s room like she owned the place.

I cackled. “Mama, you can’t just kidnap my child for however long and say you’ll return her whe?—”

“I can and I will. As a matter of fact I’ll be doing this more often. She could stand some time with me and her grandfather, while you do something other than work your life away.” By nowshe had opened my baby’s closet and she was fixing to pack a bag. This lady was crazy, but she was right. Nothing from her lips was a lie though. I fell in love with Adorie’s dad, Don, in my senior year of college. I liked to think he loved me too, until I found out about his wife and two kids. Nigga expected me to play theI’ll leave her for yougamewith him, but I didn’t love him that much. I didn’t love him enough to lay my morals and values by the wayside. Long story short that didn’t work out, so he decided not to be in her life. At first I was broken up about it, but I wasn’t up for making him be a father or anybody for that matter. Now, three years later my baby was going on four and I hadn’t heard from him since the day he asked me if I was sure. He didn’t sign the birth certificate or acknowledge that he had a child outside of his marriage and I didn’t require him to. At first I was bitter, real bitter but then I had her. Adorie made what was supposed to be the hardest part of my life somewhat the easiest. She was my heart and some.

After my mother kidnapped my child, I actually picked up the phone and called my extroverted other half/best friend whom I had been neglecting.

---