Page 23 of The Heart Of A Real Woman
“Fuck,” I muttered, realizing he had been waiting for this moment. How the fuck did he know?
“Did you really bring this muthafucka to my home, Marilyn? Have you lost your mind? What the fuck did I tell you?!” His voice pierced through the air, startling my son awake, and he started crying.
“Daddy—”
“No, don’t say a fucking word. I told you not to play with me. I buy you a new phone, and this is what you do? What do you think, I’m stupid? I have access to your gotdamn phone records and your iCloud. I know every call you make… every message you send now.” He turned to my car, his brows furrowing as my son's cries grew louder.
“This muthafucka got a baby?”
Mary sighed, not denying it, and he went off even more.
“How stupid can you be, Marilyn? Throwing your fucking future away over trash. Get your ass in the house, now!”
“Say, you ain’t gotta talk to her like that. And let that be your last time disrespecting me.” I said, stepping out of the car. I couldn’t just stand by. The way he spoke to her was out of line.
“You don’t tell me how to talk tomydaughter.” He shot back just as a police car rounded the corner. I knew he had called them on me.
By now, neighbors were coming out of their houses, and Mary’s mama joined the scene. Shit was turning into a full-blown circus.
“You better back your ass up before I put hands on you, boy. I let you slide once. Don’t push your luck.”
“Say what?” That ‘boy’ shit set me off. “Nah, nigga. You got shit twisted.I let you slide.”
I stepped closer to the curb he stood near, and he swung at me, causing me to spazz the fuck out even more. Before I knew it, I had laid hands and feet on that nigga, beatin’ and stompin’ his ass out in the street. Mary and her mama tried to intervene, but it didn’t help. It took the two cops to get out of their vehicle and get me off of him.
One night almost cost me everything I had worked so hard to build. Thankfully, God was watching over me again, though. Since the cops and neighbors witnessed Mr. Richardson strike me first, and I wasn’t directly on his property, they arrested him instead, allowing me to go free on the grounds of self-defense.
He stood by the back of the car in handcuffs, glaring at Mary, who stood beside me. The muthafucka was furious because he had tried to be slick and catch me on his property so they could potentially arrest me for trespassing.
“If you leave with that muthafucka tonight, you better stay with him because I’ll be done with your ass, Marilyn.” He warned her.
Mary didn’t say a word. She just looked up at me with that soft, sympathetic gaze. I could feel the hurt and confusion radiating through her silence, so I pulled her close and leaned into her ear.
“I won’t make you choose, baby. But if you do choose me, just know I got you for life.” I whispered. “Everything you ever told me you wanted. The big ass house, the G Wagon, the infinity pool… every fucking thing. I put that on my son, I’ll make it happen.”
She nodded, glanced back at her mother, told her she loved her, then opened the passenger door and slid inside, shutting it behind her. And that was the day her father washed his hands of her for years. To him, it was a betrayal. It was either him or me. She chose me.
∞∞∞
Once we got to my place, Mary strolled in and flopped down on the couch I’d just bought. I could tell by her slow movements and trembling hands that she was struggling. I planned to help her unwind, but right now, my focus had tobe on my son. He was cranky as hell. All the earlier chaos had freaked him out, and it was time for him to eat.
“Give him here,” Mary said as I unbuckled him from the car seat.
“Nah, you chill and relax. Shit was crazy tonight. I got him. He just needs to eat.”
“Moses, hand him over and go grab him a bottle. How I’m feeling doesn’t change the fact that I want to get to know him.”
I looked at her. “You know how to hold a baby, Mary?”
“Of course I do. I told you I have plenty of babies in my family. Now hand him over.”
Remembering our conversation at the beach, I passed him to her and went to get the bottle. Mary bonded with him instantly, speaking softly to him. The moment she opened her mouth, he stopped crying. I felt him on that. Her voice was soothing as fuck.
When I came back, she took the bottle and started feeding him. I sat next to her, watching them with admiration. I’d been waiting to get them in the same room for a while. I loved them both to death. They were all I had. Whatever anger I felt an hour ago faded fast.
“When’s the last time you fed him? He was starving.” She asked while burping him.
“Right before I came to get you. It ain’t been that long. His lil ass just greedy.”
