Page 26 of U + Me

One thing about my dad was he gave me my space and didn’t force me to do much that I didn’t want to do. Even though I had a lot on my plate with me moving into my new condo in a few days and my mind on my mom today, he knew I loved me some good seafood and steak. Joe’s Seafood had become our spot ever since he took me for my high school graduation. Once I moved back to the city, I already knew that I’d be hitting up Joe’s Seafood weekly, that’s how much I love it.

Mrs. P, my dad’s girlfriend, well he calls her his acquaintance, and Claudia, her daughter who’s like a sister to me, were going to meet up with us there. Somewhere deep in my heart I would have loved for my mom and dad to have been able to make their relationship work. I would have both of my parents in my life and my mom would more than likely still be alive today. But since they couldn’t get it right, I’d be lying if I said Mrs. P wasn’t perfect for me. My dad and Mrs. P claimed they weren’t in a relationship because they didn’t do titles. Neither one of them wanted to get married and I knew they were both seeing other people, and whatever their set up was it worked for them, and I couldn’t do anything but respect it.

I know my dad dated other women and hooked up with them he just never really brought them around me. The only female he brought around me was Mrs. P and I’d never seen Mrs. P with another man other than my daddy, but once Claudia and I became close I learned that Mrs. P too had her share of male’s that she dated in addition to my daddy. Claudia and I would always talk about our parents and how they were weird for having what we called an at our age open relationship.

I wasn’t a relationship expert, but I do know that it would take a strong person to be in an open relationship. I understood their situation because I was similar to them in the fact that I didn’t have the desire to be in a relationship. Claudia hated it because she believed in love and fairytales, but I had been hurt so much by the people I loved the most that I wasn’t pressed about being in a relationship or falling in love, so I understood where my dad and Mrs. P were coming from. The less people close to me, the less I had to worry about losing someone else was the way I looked at it.

Once my dad left my room, I got up so that I could freshen up and get ready to go out to dinner. My cell phone started ringing, and when I saw that it was Claudia, I answered before she hung up. She was very inpatient, she only let the phone ring three times then she’d hang up…just rude but I loved her anyway.

“Don’t forget to bring your afterparty bag bihhh!” Claudia sang in the phone.

“Listen, my bag been packed.” I laughed. “I can’t wait too, cause I need me a good, stiff, sexy ass?—”

“Dick!” Claudia cut me off.

“I was gon’ say drink, fool!” I laughed harder, causing Claudia to laugh too. “But depending on how the night go, you just never know. I might catch me one and give ‘em a lil taste then send them on they way.”

“Okay, nasty girl,” Claudia giggled.

“No but for real, I just want to get out and have some fun tonight. It’s been a minute since we’ve painted the town.”

“Now you speaking my language. I’m trying to findmy mantonight.”

“At a PnP…are you coo, sis?”

“Whatever, Kimmie, I can feel it in my yoni she gon’ get blessed by papi tah night. I’m meeting my soulmate; I already manifested it.”

“Yoni’s might get blessed, I’ll give you that, but Ion know about finding soulmates and locking down relationships, sis. Ain’t gon’ be too many good wholesome nigga’s present.”

Claudia and I continued to talk about the underground sex party we were going to after dinner that we call a PnP,Party and Play. It took me a little minute to warm up to Claudia and Mrs. P when I first moved with my dad, but now that I have, Claudia’s like the sister I never had. We were the same age, which was perfect and in a lot of ways we were very similar yet still very different. When my dad first introduced me to them, I felt some type of way because he had said that Claudia reminded him of me and all I could think was she had formed a relationship with my dad when I was praying to have one and that bothered me. I was on some jealous shit but quickly got over it. These past six years, Claudia and I have fought and loved hard just like sisters but now that I know her, I can see what my dad meant.

Claudia was a girl’s girl and very smart, but she loved to have fun. Her mom put a lot of expectation on Claudia so most would look at her and see a quiet, good girl, but I knew that at heart Claudia was a nasty girl in search of love. Claudia grew up in Lincoln Park and graduated from Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, one of the top high schools in the state, so she was smart as a damn whip, and very artistic. She knew about all of the hot spots in the city and going to private underground parties with a bunch of rich, entitled people was her vibe. She introduced me to a scene that I knew nothing of but had become very fond of and neither one of our parents knew anything about it. We started going to these type of parties the summer we graduated high school, not just to hook up with dudes but to have fun, get high and have a safe space to express ourselves without any judgement.

This was another reason why I couldn’t wait to move to the city. I had just purchased a new condo in the same high rise that Claudia lived. Claudia moved out of her mom’s place two years ago when she started grooming dogs because Mrs. P was having a fit about her practicing on dogs in her house. My dad had offered to purchase me my first place, but it was something that I wanted to save to do on my own, and now that the time had come, I was proud of myself because I worked hard to make the money on my own.

I wrapped up my call with Claudia then left with my dad. There was no sense in me taking my car since Claudia had her own car. The whole way there all I could think about was eating then getting a drink to calm my nerves. Tonight’s goal was to release all the grief, sadness and hurt that has been holding onto me and reset my mental because after tonight, I needed my mind clear so that I could move into my new place with a new mindset.

CLAUDIA PLANA

Later that Night…

“Y’all two be safe now,” Karl said as he gave me and Kimmie hugs.

“Have fun and be safe!” My mom, Pamela said, hugging us both next.

“Y’all have fun too and thanks for dinner, daddy.” Kimmie beamed as she grabbed her to-go bag from the backset of her dad’s Jag.

My mom left with Karl since she rode with me and Kimmie is leaving with me since she was spending the night at my house. Tonight, we were going to what I liked to call a watered-down PnP, because it wasn’t your typical type of party and play. I was introduced to these types of parties my senior year of high school and I’ve been hooked ever since.

I’m a very free-spirited person and I love self-expression and environments where you can be yourself without judgment and that’s what those parties were for me. There were plenty drugs, drinks, and people to hook up with and what I loved about it was anything done at those parties for the most part stayed at those parties.

“As much as I love them both, I couldn’t wait to leave so we can go get dressed.” I beamed, as Kimmie and I walked to get my car from the valet.

“I’m looking forward to letting my hair down and having some fun too,” Kimmie responded.

“I’m looking forward to meeting my new boo.”

“Girrrll-lah,” Kimmie dragged out girl trying to be funny, “you and this boo stuff.”

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