Page 49 of Wifey
The rest of the patrons have left, but I wonder if they knew something was happening and wanted to get out before it was too late. I feel Lexus’s eyes on me as I try to enjoy my ice cream. I pay him no mind because I don’t want to bring more attention to what’s happening. Cameron continues to eat his ice cream like nothing is going on. I take his cue and do that as well.
After we’re done, Cameron stands up and helps me out of the booth. He puts my coat around me and we begin to walk out hearing the various snickers and comments from the EAC. “Thank you, gentlemen, for accompanying us this evening. It was great.”
“You’re welcome.” Lexus replies. “I’m glad you and your bitch had a great time.”
Cameron sighs and shakes his head. “You never learn, do you?” His voice is quiet, yet calm. I’ve learned this is when he’s at his most deadly. “You just never learn. I don’t do disrespect to my woman or any woman.”
“And what are you gon’ do about it, white boy?” Lexus snickers amongst chuckles. “We have guns and you don’t. I’m not alone and you are.”
Cameron considers for a moment and backs off. “You’re absolutely right.” He turns around and escorts me out of the building. We walk in a normal fashion back to his car where he lets me in first before he gets in the driver’s seat. We then pull out in a calm fashion and head down the street.
I look over at Cameron and wonder what the hell just happened? We were surrounded by a gang with guns. They let us walk out in peace and Cameron didn’t threaten them. I wanted Cameron to leave the game, but I also didn’t want him to become soft before he left.
Before I could ask Cameron any questions, he dials someone and they pick up on the first ring. “Now?” The voice answers.
“Now.” Cameron hangs up. He turns on the stereo and scrolls through his playlists. “What would like to listen to? Al B. Sure? Ready for the World?”
I turn to Cameron and I just feel my eyes popping out of my sockets. “Are we going to downplay what just happened back there? Guys pulled guns on us, Cam! They threatened us and you just walked away!”
“I did.” He keeps scrolling. “Cameo? Earth, Wind, and Fire? Gap Band?”
“Fuck the music!” I turn off the stereo and Cameron sighs in frustration and restraint. “You did nothing! They let us walk away and you did nothing!”
“You wanted me to walk away from the game and now you want me to be a full participant in it,” he looks over at me, “pick a struggle.”
I bit my lip and looked away. “You can walk away and people will still know not to mess with you. On our first date, you politely threatened those men and not only did they stop messing with us, they even left the park! Where didthatCameron go? You walking away like that means they can do whatever they want and they wouldn’t hesitate to come after you over and over until they finally kill you.” I remember what Senator Edwards told me. He was guaranteeing my safety, but not Cameron’s. Even he knew Cameron could be a wild card. “I just don’t understand it.”
Cameron pulls over and stops the car. He turns it off and gets out of the vehicle, walking around it. He’s clearly pissed and I probably did not to diffuse the situation. I get out of the car and walk up to him. “I’m not dropping this, Cam.”
“You need to,” his voice is cold and I naturally step back. “It’s not for you to understand. I told you that from the jump, I didn’t want you involved. You involved yourself. I told you I didn’t want you to have any part of this and you insisted. Now you’re telling me how I should kill people and isn’t that the damn definition of irony.”
He looks at me square in the eyes. “I’ve been in these streets a long time, baby girl. I know how they operate. I know what moves to make; I know when to pull back. I’ve been the target of multiple attempts. I’ve been shot at, I’ve been threatened with knives, I’ve gotten into street fights where I either got my butt whupped or I did the whipping. I know how these men operate. Those men were not going to shoot us because a few of them still had the damn safety on their guns! They wanted to scare us and they were half-correct in that assessment. I’m walking away because we’re at war – something you know absolutely nothing about.
“Lamont’s shop was targeted foryearsand low-key, he knew about it. Did he cower? No. Did he move? No. What did he do instead? Made sure it was the most-famous coffee shop in all of Atlanta. He went on a promotional spree and bought advertising everywhere he could. He had pop-ups every weekend so people could sample it. He constantly gave back to the community.
“Rappers, YouTubers, singers, celebrities, and politicians stopped by his coffee shop and take photos with him. He knew what he was doing because he knew how to play the game.” Cameron’s eyes turn icy. “You don’t.”
Cameron showed more anger towards me in just a few minutes than he showed those men back at the ice cream parlor. It seems I’m the only one who gets the brunt of his anger while everyone gets a pass. “My father played the game and guess what, Cameron? He was still murdered! You don’t know if you want me to shut up or you want me to keep meek and mild. I don’t tell anyone we’re dating, and you get mad. I ask you what you’re doing, and you get mad. I ask you to show those men you aren’t some damn punk-ass bitch, and you tell me to shut the hell up. I don’t know if I need to speak my mind or walk on some damn eggsh—”
Before I could finish my sentence, there was a loud explosion.
Twenty-One
Cameron looks down at me and studies my eyes. “Are you okay, baby girl?”
When the explosion happened, Cameron immediately jumped on me to protect me. He covered my head with his arms and we waited until everything was over. We saw some falling debris and heard a few windows broke, but we were okay.
“Yeah,” I look up at him. His light eyes were full of concern, yet playful at the same time. “What the hell was that?”
Cameron gets up and helps me stand up. We dust off our clothing and Cameron removes some debris from my curls. “An unfortunate gas leak at an ice cream parlor.” He studies my hair and removes more debris. “You’ll hear about it tomorrow morning.”
I gasp as I hear sirens race to the parlor. There are so many, I can’t even keep track of how many I’ve heard. I feel silly about accusing Cameron of being weak when he always operated silently. I need to take notes and stop looking so dumb. “Death?”
“Possibly.” He answers as he looks me over. “The building is completely gone, though.”
Cameron is more lethal than he leads on and I’m still trying to stomach it. I accused him of being soft when he’s really harder than the most insane criminal. “How do you know if only the people in the parlor, like the bad guys, are the only ones injured or killed?” I ask. “I don’t want to hear about an innocent family dying, Cam.”
“You won’t,” he assures, “but we can’t go back there anymore.”
