Page 14 of Desperate Measures
jahsir
. . .
Ever since wegot back from Monaco, things had been different. Crimson was different. She was still her loving self, enjoyed her food, and gave her all to Scarlett. But there was a shift in her interactions with me. Each morning, she kissed me, then disappeared into her day. Conversation between us thinned out without either of us saying why.
She doesn’t mention our time in Monaco. She doesn’t mention Venus or her aunt. Just home, boutique, and Scarlett. I learned a while ago not to push Crim. I don’t want her to shut down more than she already has, so I’ll let her ride out whatever this is. When she’s ready to talk, she will.
Now, Rashad and I sat on the couch waiting for her. The nigga was nervous. I knew they'd texted a few times, but this was the first real face-to-face since the robbery and his house arrest. I was curious as to what their interaction would be like as well. Like clockwork, Crimson walked in at about 5:30, holding a babbling Scarlett. I met them at the door.
“Hey, my lil mama.” I greeted them as they entered our home. I retrieved Scarlett from Crimson’s arms and kissed her cheeks. Next, I placed a kiss on Crimson's lips. We held each other's gaze for a moment, then she greeted Rashad.
“What are you doing here, big head?” Crimson asked, stretching her arms to Rashad for a hug. He reciprocated, and they held each other for a moment.
“Well, a nigga a free man now. Shit, I’m tryna hit a move, but you then domesticated my boy. He ain’t tryna fuck with me,” he joked.
“Yeah, yeah. Jah knows he can go outside if he wants to. I’m not stopping him.” She smiled. “Let’s talk about the real reason you not in these streets—Venus.”
“Shhh!” he urged. “Please don’t speak her up. I have a hard enough time sneaking away as it is now.”
“That's the monster you created, cousin.” Crimson shrugged him off.
“True. But look, you’ve been through a lot. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here, you know I would have if I could. You know I’mma fi-.”
Behind Crimson, I motioned for Rashad to cut what he was saying short. I didn’t want him to bring up anything that could upset her. I also didn’t need her to be privy to what we were doing behind the scenes.
“But anyway, are you good?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“You wanna talk about the tension between us?” He asked.
“It's no tension, cousin. While I don’t agree with how you handled things, I can do nothing but respect it.”
“True. But I owe you an apology. I never step out of big cousin mode. I’m always looking at the quickest and surest way to keep you safe. I could have handled all of that better. And at the least, I could have reached out while I was locked up. I fucked up, my bad.”
“Yeah, you did, punk! Don’t you let that girl come between us no more, or anybody else.”
“Never. Y'all friendship done for good though?”
“I’m pretty sure it is.” She confidently stated. “I have to be able to trust the people in my life, and I just don’t trust her. Matter of fact, I’m done talking about her. It makes my flesh crawl.”
“I hear you. And while I’m apologizing, I got the invitation for your grand opening. Shit’s dope! But I got a business meeting, so I can't make it.”
“Dannng, Rashad! It's my big day!”
“Yeah, I know, but my good bro got you as always.” He turned to dap me up, but instead, he reached his hands out for Scarlett, who turned her head. Babygirl was coming with her own personality and preference for people. I thought it was cute.
“That's okay, Scarlett. You gon grow to love me just like your mama.” He tickled her belly. “Aight, Bro. I’mma holla at you.” Rashad and I dapped up, and he left our place.
The minute he left, Crim went back to silence. More recently, I found myself being the one to start conversations, now was no different.
“How's the shop coming along?” I asked. “Anything I can help with? Do you need more bread?”
“No. And speaking of money, I tried to make a payment today for Scarlett’s daycare.” I adjusted Scarlett on my hip. “Ms. Warren said it’s been paid up for the next year?”
“Yeah.”
“Was that you?”
