Page 22 of I Changed for You
We walked out of the shop together and to my car. We stood by my car, and I stared up at him.
“Let me get a hug.”
Melijah held out his arms for me to walk into them. I did, and his embrace felt so good. I rested my face on his chest and closed my eyes. I wanted to savor this feeling with him. When we pulled apart, I almost clung to him. We stared at each other before we said our goodbyes, and he headed his way, and I got into my car. This was a fun outing I had with him. Hopefully, we would get together again soon.
It wastime I told my friends all about Melijah and how supportive he had been about the pregnancy. He called and checked on me every morning and night before I went to bed. I didn’t know why I had been hesitant to tell my friends about him, but since we were having a lunch meeting in the conference room, I’d tell them about him.
“You know you’ve been smiling around here a lot. Does it have anything to do with your baby daddy?” Jada asked.
I dipped my head and blushed since it had everything to do with Melijah. Although we didn’t talk like that, he still showed out for me, and I was amazed.
“Yes, it has everything to do with him,” I confessed. I then gave them a rundown of how caring he had been since our first appointment.
“Aww, that’s so sweet of him. What does he do for a living? He’s sending you money without batting an eye. He must know how expensive you are,” Camila jested.
I glared at her. “Whatever. I’m not expensive. Anyway, he owns a car wash, and in the process of owning another one,” I stated proudly, which reminded me that I forgot to tell him I wanted my truck detailed. It had been a while since I’d had one done.
“A car wash!” they screeched.
“Girl, have you lost your mind?” Jada said, fuming. Her eyes were narrowed into slits. “What the hell is a man working at a car wash supposed to do for you? Hell, he probably can’t take care of himself. He damn sure couldn’t afford a woman like you.”
Before I could say anything, Camila beat me to it.
“Jada is right. What the hell does he have to offer you? You’ll be living on the streets before the baby turns a year old. Oh hell no. You got pregnant by a man who owns a car wash. Eww.”
Both of them had a look of disgust on their faces. I hadn’t expected them to react like that. I knew their standards were high, but damn. I pleaded my case.
“What’s so wrong about working at a car wash? He owns it. He doesn’t have to work if he doesn’t want to, but he has a client list. He’s making money,” I defended Melijah since he couldn’t. “I like him and his vibe. Y’all are acting like I’m in a relationship with him. And if I were in a relationship with him, what’s it to y’all? You asked what he does for a living, and I told you.”
They had hit a nerve the way they had come at him without knowing him.
“From the way you just defended him, I can tell you like him. I’m telling you now. Don’t do it. Yeah, he can be in your child’s life, but he can’t offer y’all anything,” Jada insisted.
I squinted my eyes. “You don’t know what he can do for me, Jada.”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to lash out more. They didn’t even know Melijah, yet they were talking about him. I won’t allow it.
“I never knew y’all to be such snobs. I’m telling you now that if you say anything else about him or what he does, we’ll have problems. Don’t go there again,” I warned.
They had me fucked up the way they came out of their mouth about Melijah and his job. They didn’t even know him, yet they judged him. I won’t let them do it again. I never thought my friends would be as judgmental as they are right now. Yes, we were used to dating a certain type, but there were men out there who had good jobs. What Melijah did was something he enjoyed. When he talked about his car wash, I sensed his genuine love for it. I couldn’t fault him for doing something he loved to do.
“Any word on Mr. Davies?” I asked, changing the subject. It was a way to move forward and not dwell on what they said.
Jada smiled. “Yes. He said he’ll stop by to have a conference with us. Would he let us represent him? That’s something we’ll have to find out when he gets here.”
“I hope he does. I looked him up and saw that he and his wife are not together anymore,” I disclosed.
Jada nodded. “Yes, I saw that too.”
“Could that be why he was hesitant about us being his lawyer?” Camila looked from Jada to me.
I shrugged. “That’s something I don’t even know.”
To me, that would be crazy for him to do. If he had a problem with his soon-to-be ex-wife, what did that have to do with me or my friends? We were there to help him, not her.
“When will he be stopping by to have a talk with us?” I questioned.
Jada shrugged. “I’m not even sure, but hopefully soon. It’ll give us a chance to see what we’re working with.”
