Page 26 of Terrez and Shalene
“I’m messing with you, Ma. That nigga is cool as long as you’re happy.”
My dad had been gone for twenty-five years now. Over the years, my mom had been on dates here and there, but nothing truly serious. Outside of Andrew, there was only one other man I met. My mother never told me exactly why they didn’t work out, but dude was cool. Andrew’s ass worked in IT and the nigga made bank. I wouldn’t consider him flashy, but he reminded me of myself with the way he moved. He drove luxury cars and wore designer threads without the label. Whenever I came to check on my mom, there was always a fresh vase of flowers on her table and he always bought her gifts. He had a son from his previous marriage that was a few years younger than me, but that was all I knew about him.
“I’ll get to know him more when you tell me he’s your forever,” I stated as I washed my hands in the kitchen sink.
“I swear you act just like your father. But it’s my turn to give your ass a hard time. You haven’t been by here in weeks. I know you’re a busy man, but I’m feeling like all this time away is because of a woman?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because I know my damn son. Your current occupation, or lack thereof, has never been so busy that it keeps you away for so long. So what’s her name?”
While I ate my food, I filled my mother in on Shalene. There was no doubt in my mind that they’d get along, but I was waiting until I saw my mother in person to have this conversation.
“I’d like to meet her and the little one. Invite them over for dinner next Saturday night. Let me know what type of food she likes to eat and I’ll figure it out from there.”
“That’s cool. I’ll see how she feels about it. We haven’t been at it long, but I feel like she’s my person. Shit feels complete with her,” I admitted.
“I told you when you were a teenager, you’d know right away if you wanted to take a woman seriously. Love is a risk. It can look promising in the beginning and fail or it can start off shaky but last a lifetime. But if you use your discernment, you’ll be okay. Even if you and this young lady only last a year, she was an experience you were supposed to have. Sometimes, you can’t look at relationships as a failure. You just have to realize the season has ended.”
As my mother and I continued to talk, she gave me advice on how to be there for a woman like Shalene. She also shared more memories of my father. I remembered him, but the memories had started to become choppier the older I got. Had I not had so many pictures of the two of us, I’d probably remember little to nothing. If I were being honest, the most I remembered about my dad was his death. I remembered how I felt at his funeral then learning death was final at a young age. His death impacted me in so many ways. Outside of the street pharmaceutical game, I was proud of the man I was transitioning into. My path may not have looked ideal, but I was strong.
By the time I left my mother’s house, the sun was setting. Heading in the direction of my busiest spot, I went down mymental list of things I had to do tonight. Drops and deliveries were made today, so I wanted to make sure the numbers were adding up. I trusted D-Man to keep me updated on everything, but that was my shit. When I pulled on the block, my soldiers were all in place. Everything seemed to be intact and that’s what I liked to see. Keep the shit flowing and stay out the way was how I trained my people.
All that noise wasn’t how I got down and it made the operation look sloppy. If a leader couldn’t keep his people in line, he may not be the man for the job. I wasn’t walking around like my name was King Kong, but there was a level of respect my people had for me and vice versa.
“What’s up, Terrez?” D-Man greeted when he was done counting the stack of money.
Normally there was total silence in the middle of money counts, so after acknowledging him, I sat at the other end of the table and started doing the same. A couple of hours had passed by the time the money was counted and the shipment was ready for distribution.
“What you up to for the rest of the night?”
“Shit. I need to check on my girl, then whatever she wanna do.” I shrugged.
“Yo’ girl? Nigga, when you get a lady? Or you talkin’ about Amber’s ass?”
“You know better than to think I wifed Amber’s clout chasin’ ass. I don’t fuck with shorty no more.”
“Word?”
“Word. She was sayin’ slick shit about my girl and I don’t fuck with all that. You and Little will meet her soon enough. She ain’t fuckin’ with the lifestyle, and rightfully so, but I already told her she’s on my arm from now on,” I admitted.
Outside of Little, D-Man was the only man who could get this deep in my personal business. I wasn’t a secretive person, butI was private. There’d been times when my people saw me out with women, but there was never any conversation about it. I did me and gave them the same respect.
“I know that’s real. I done had to cut a few hoes off for thinkin’ they could speak on my lady.”
“Yo’ young ass still out here hoein’? Chloe gon’ leave yo’ ass if you keep playin’.”
“Now why you put that bad juju in the air?”
“Bad juju, my ass. I’m tellin’ you from my experience and damn near every other nigga’s experience. That cheating shit don’t end well for no one involved. I know you love Chloe, but if you don’t want her to be the one who got away, start doin’ right. You young, but nigga you still a grown ass man. If you wanna keep the hoes, let Chloe be with someone that will take her seriously and protect her heart. You cheatin’ ain’t doin’ shit but setting the stage for that to happen anyway.”
I could tell my words didn’t sit right with him, but that’s exactly what I wanted. I’d been in his shoes before and this shit wasn’t fun when a woman you truly loved chose to walk away. He and Chloe had been together for a few years and she was a good woman. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d one day find the strength to leave his ass if he kept fucking off. He was a grown man at the end of the day, but at least I gave him something to think about.
After wrapping up my business there, I stopped by my last spot and repeated the same process. It was after eleven-thirty when I pulled into traffic to head home. When a call from Little came in, I answered, but planned to keep it short. I had only been able to text Shalene every now and again throughout the day and was ready to hear her voice and see how her day went. Thankfully, it was Friday and she was off on weekends.
“Yoo.”
“What’s good, bruh?”
