Page 8 of Simply Complicated
My brothers’ mother is a sweetheart and always has a little bit of money for me, even though I don’t need it. Ashley looks a bit like Vanessa Williams (the Miss America one, not the Soul Food one) and has the mouth of RHOA peach holder.
She was the one that taught me how to beat my face. She was the one that embraced my natural hairstyle. She was the one that taught me about sex and warned me about boys (of course my stupid ass didn’t listen but you gotta be stupid at least once in your youth, right?)
She ignored all of my daddy’s drug dealing and cleaned up his financial affairs so no feds could ever trace anything back to him. She was the Bonnie to his Clyde before Bey and Jay made it cool.
Things didn’t work out between her and my Daddy due to a variety of reasons – he wasn’t ready to settle down while she was. Daddy’s had numerous forgettable girlfriends and Ashley’s had boyfriends that never lasted long because of my brothers. But Daddy always took care of Ashley and made sure she never went without.
They’re still very close to this day. Close as in Ashley is a regular overnight visitor at my daddy’s home. Me thinks they might be getting back together sooner than they want to admit. He’s been talking about settling down and with three boys between them, I can’t see why not.
“I heard about you and Andrea,” Daddy says as he watches the Lakers game. He winces when Lonzo Ball misses a shot. “What’s your version of events?”
My mother, Andrea, has never been a mother to me. Hopping from one dick to another until she landed the grand prize of the biggest piece of human waste known as King J, she invited me to celebrate her birthday along with the other black-famous Z-list celebrities from VH1.
After telling me I should lose weight and get some of India’s finest yaki on my head, we got into it. I’m sure me telling her to fuck off didn’t help matters. “She insulted me and I didn’t put up with it.”
Daddy is silent for a long while as he watches the game. “I don’t know why they didn’t just offer Phil Jackson another contract and paid him whatever the hell he wanted. It ain’t like he’s doing anything in New York messing up that team over there.” He mutters before he addresses me again. “So what are you going to do about Andrea?”
“Ignore her and hope she doesn’t ruin my life,” I reply. Some kids wish for toys, others wish for new clothes. When I was child, I wished Andrea would come home. Have you ever felt like you weren’t wanted? That’s how I felt with Andrea.
Daddy is silent again and is watching the game. I can’t tell if he’s impressed with this version of the Lakers squad or he’s disgusted. He’s still a diehard Lakers fan, no matter what. “You tried your best. She’ll come around eventually.”
I don’t know why my daddy is so insistent that I have a relationship with Andrea. This woman left me alone when I was four with milk, corn flakes, and the TV on the Cartoon Network while she went clubbing trying to land a baller. I blame the fact Andrea had me when she and daddy were 17 so she never got all that thotting out of her system.
When my daddy found out what she did, he cursed her out six ways to Sunday and had a look on his face that signified he could’ve killed Andrea. From that moment on, I always lived with my daddy. I still believe the only reason why he didn’t kill her was because she was my mother and he’d hoped she would see the error of her ways.
That day never did come and I believe, it never will. “If you say so.”
Daddy is silent again. He’s not a man who rattles off nonsense because he wants to make conversation. Either he has something to say or he doesn’t. He’s like that uncle everyone has, always looking either entertained or annoyed, and wears that particular mask depending on the circumstances. “I drove past your Granny’s home the other night. I noticed there were three cars there – the Honda, a BMW, and a Bentley SUV.” He adjusts the frames on his nose. “You wanna tell me before the streets do?”
I didn’t want to tell Daddy about Savior until I could figure out where he was in my life. For all my Daddy is concerned, I just went out and got a BMW with no questions asked. “I’m seeing someone.”
“I’m assuming his name isn’t Jalen?” He asks and I shake my head. “So, who is this one?”
I’ve never lied to my daddy and I’m not about to start. But I don’t think he has to know exactly who I’m seeing. “A guy at my internship.”
Daddy pays more attention to the game than what I said. He’s silent for a bit more and gets up to stretch. He stops next to me and looks down at me. “Be careful, ‘Face.” He then walks away.
Daddy’s words are loud and clear. He knows I don’t have to give him details unless I really need to. I take his advice to heart.
“Is my baby girl, Keisha, here?” I hear Ashley’s excited voice and I jump up to greet her. Looking like a goddess personified, Ashley is dressed a dark green sleeveless dress with Louboutin heels. Her brown locks are up in a French roll and she’s wearing these ginormous diamond earrings my daddy got for her. She gives me kisses and the biggest and best mama bear hug ever. “How is my darling?”
“I’m doing great, Mom.” It’s weird to call Ashley mom when I should be calling my own mother that. “How are you? You look lovely!”
“I just landed a huge account. Those boys over at the plantation love my work so they’re going to pay me the big bucks to handle their money.” Ashley is one of the most respected accountants in Los Angeles.
She just also happens to be one of the few black female ones so she really gets a lot of business. She had to hustle and fight for her claim, though. She may be light-skinned but she didn’t have it easier. If anything, she had it a lot tougher because people thought she was a pushover.
“I told those fools if they want my business they need to do what I say.” Her voice is soft and breathy, kinda like Erykah Badu. “Like that song from Lil’ Kim, I don’t have time for fake ones.” I love how lowkey gangsta Ashley is. No wonder her and Daddy are a perfect fit.
She double-checks her Saint Laurent clutch and closes it. “How are you doing, ‘Face? Prince tells me you started an internship downtown! How’s it going?”
I’m currently sleeping with the boss’s son on the promise he’ll pay for my tuition to any college in the world I want to go to.“It’s going great,” I reply. I don’t think Ashley needs to know the other details.
“Good, good. You’re a bright, young woman with a beautiful future. I think you’ll do well. Now I hope your brothers can follow your lead but I digress.” My daddy approaches Ashley and they kiss. Awe, #blacklove for the win, y’all.
“Ready to go, sweet potato?” My daddy is so gushy when he comes to Ashley. He drops the hardcore drug lord for a moment when he’s around her and becomes all googly-eyed and bashful. He worships the ground she walks on and would drink her bath water if he could. It’s like he can’t help himself.
“I’m ready after you, Big Daddy.” Ashley caresses my daddy’s goatee and I sincerely hope I’m not going to get another sibling out of them. They’re both young enough where it’s still a possibility and just ew.
“Lock up everything when you leave, ‘Face.” Daddy calls out to me as they leave.
I watch a bit more of the Lakers game before I turn it off and get ready to head home. I set the alarm and leave in my BMW, thinking about the interaction between my daddy and Ashley.
My daddy lucked out finding a woman who was so ride or die. She never tried to convince him to stop dealing nor did she demean him in any way. She just told him to be smarter about it and he listened.
As I drive my car, I wonder why it took the appearance of Savior to make Jalen act like he cares.
