Page 4 of The Heart Of A Real Woman
Before I could respond, a familiar, annoying-ass voice cut through the silence.
“You need to get off my gotdamn property.” Mary’s father barked, stepping forward. “She does not want to see or talk to you, muthafucka.”
This came as no surprise. I’d been with Mary for years, but Mr. Richardson and I had only come face-to-face a few times. He had never accepted me, so I opted to keep my distance from this muthafucka even after he and Ms. Margaret divorced.
“Lowell, stop it.” Ms. Margaret interrupted. “I told you I had this.”
“No, I got it. I might not live here anymore, but this is still my property, and he needs to get his sorry ass off of it.”
“No need for the disrespect, Mr. Richardson. I planned to go after I spoke to my wife.” I tried to remain cool, even with the disrespect he tossed my way. It had always been that way. Niggas had gotten knocked out for less, but I often let him slide because he was her father at the end of the day.
“And I’m telling you she doesn’t want to be bothered. So go, before we have a repeat of the past, boy.”
I chuckled, thinking he must’ve caught amnesia in his old days. But nah, that wasn’t it. Mr. Richardson was just arrogant, and I’d learned that arrogance often made a man stupid. They could lose a thousand times and still talk like they were destined to win.
“You must’ve forgotten how that went the last time you called me that.” I eyed him, ready to dig in his shit if needed.
He chuckled as well, shaking his head. “Joke’s on you. She finally woke up and left your sorry ass.”
“Sorry? After all these years, after everything I’ve done to prove to you that I love her and I’ll do anything for her, you still disrespect me?” I found myself asking him.
“All the money in the world couldn’t make me respect your thug ass.”
“Lowell!” Ms. Margaret snapped.
“No. He needs to hear this. You a nothing ass nigga and you never deserved my daughter.”
“Is that so? ‘Cause I see shit differently. I ain’t perfect, wasn’t then, and I ain’t now. But one thing you can’t ever take from me is the fact that I’m a man. I’m far from nothing. I took a whole lot of nothing and turned it into something. Was I nothing when you lost your fuckin’ job and I dropped two hunnid bands in your wife’s account to take care of bills and save the same home you try so hard to keep me from?”
He grew quiet, but I wasn’t finished yet.
“And I always been good to your daughter, despite what you assumed about me. As much as she held me down, I had her back just the same. Everything I promised her, I did. Bust my ass putting her through college when you tossed her out over one decision you didn’t agree with. Gridin’ day and night to be ableto put the roof of that mansion over her head. So, after all these years, what’s your beef with me?”
“Just for her to end up back here.” He smirked, and it pissed me off. I lost all self-control.
“People go through shit. Ain’t no marriage perfect… ain’t nobody perfect.Not even yourself. Last I heard, your wife divorced you. Fuck you talkin’ ‘bout?”
Those last words hit a nerve because they were true. Ms. Margaret had finally had enough and divorced him a few years back over his temper and disrespectful ways. He tried stepping up onto the porch, and I was ready, shifting closer. But she jumped in between us quickly.
“No! Y’all need to stop this right now. This is madness. Ain’t no way y’all gonna do this again. Cut it out.” She turned to him. “Lowell, you said you were just stopping by to check on Mary. Now that you've seen her, it’s best you go ‘head.”
“Mary!” I called, looking past them. I was done talking to anybody but her. “Baby, I know you hear me. Come here. I just wanna talk.”
Mr. Richardson kept talking his shit, but it all faded into the background the moment my wife stepped into the doorway. Her hair was up in a bun, and she wore baggy sweatpants and a T-shirt, back to her old ways. This was the Mary I first fell for. The one who’d rather drown herself in oversized clothes than wear that tight, girly shit every other chick rocked.
She only switched it up in later years to fit into my lifestyle. And I’d told her over and over, I didn’t need her to do that. I loved her how she came, the same way she loved me how I came. But she insisted, always dressed to the nines to keep up with my drip.
Crazy how life had flipped since our teenage days. Here I was, standing in the finest suit money could buy, when back then I could barely scrape up enough for a fucking white tee.
“Baby,” I said, trying to get to her. Ten years with this woman, and she still had the power to make my heart skip a beat.
“No, Moses.” Ms. Margaret stepped into my path, and I paused in my tracks.
Her father was one thing, but I’d never disrespect her mother in any type of way.
“I don’t wanna see you, let alone talk to you. We are getting a divorce. I’ll have Trina or Pokey hit you up with a schedule so I can see Jr. until I get my place. Don’t bring your ass back here.”
Mary’s voice was shaky, her eyes swollen and red like she’d been crying nonstop. That shit broke my fucking heart, seeing her like this… hearing her say those words. It used to be us against the world.
