Page 80 of All The Smoke
“She did. It was fifty thousand dollars and…” My sentence trailed off when he hopped up off of the bed, grabbing his keys from the dresser on the way out. “Solomon!” I called after him but he kept going. “Solomon, wait!”
“Go back inside, baby.”
“No, where are you going?”
“I got a move to make.”
“I’m going with you,” I said, heading for the passenger side.
“No you not, Kaori.” He frowned. “Go back inside ’til I get back.”
“Nope.” I responded, popping the P.
“Kaori, I’m deadass serious right now.”
“Me too.”
“Bruh,” he sighed in frustration.
“Are you getting irritated with me?”
“A little,” he replied. “You don’t listen.”
I shrugged. “I’m not a lil baby that’s gon’ listen.”
“Bro.” He chuckled, rounding the car to my side where he pressed me against the car and kissed me. “You work my nerves.”
Circling my arms around his waist, I hugged him closer with my face pressed into his chest, inhaling the woodsy scent of his cologne.
“Then I’m doing my job.”
“What all she say to you?”
I gave him the full rundown on how our conversation went, even the part about me calling her a hoe because she pissed me off. I apologized to him for disrespecting her though because although she started it, I didn’t have to stoop to her level. He wasn’t bothered by it though. His concern was more about her asking me to terminate my pregnancy. According to him, she never asked his first baby mama to do that, so I didn’t understand why she didn’t want my child. That was weird to me.
Even though I pleaded for him not to, we still ended up going to his parents’ place. It was not the ideal way I wanted to formally meet them for the first time, well at least formally meeting his dad, but his mother had no one to blame but herself.
Solomon didn’t bother to knock when we got to his parents’ place. He walked straight in, ignoring the greeting from the gardener cutting flowers right by the front porch.
“Ma!” he shouted as he stalked through the residence, holding my hand tightly. “Ma!”
“Solomon, why are you in here—wh-what is she doing here?” she asked as she rounded the corner.
“Where’s Solo?”
“He’s sleeping right now and?—”
He cut her off. “Good. You told my girl to abort my kid?”
“What? Of course not,” she lied. “I don’t even know this woman.”
“I didn’t say who the woman was.”
“Well, I assumed because she was with you…”
“Ma.”
“Fine, I did.” She rolled her eyes, but at me, not Solomon. “But it’s only because I don’t want you ruining your life or going through any kind of unnecessary drama with her.”
