Page 34 of Going for Three

Her eyes rolled over to us from where she was watching some Tyler Perry movie on the TV.

“I don’t need to go outside to see that child is pregnant.” She placed her cigarette between her lips and pulled until the end was flaming red. With a dark chuckle, she shook her head. “Just like your damn daddy.”

She sat up, flinging her ashes all over the seat.

“Y’all love those inflatable looking girls that love flaunting their body all over social media.”

Charm tensed at the same time I did. Straightening my posture, I stood slightly in front of my girl. I didn’t even want my mama to look at her in that way.

“You letting your bitterness speak for you. Don’t insult my girl because you’re insecure about the way Pops leaves you hanging for those types. My fiancée is nothing like that.”

A full-blown laugh exploded out of her. “You asked her to marry you? Yeah, she about to take you for everything you’ve got. Don’t come crying to me when she ruins you, and you end up back in the hood like your father did.”

I grunted with a jerk of my head. “If I go back, you’ll be right there eating bologna sandwiches and oodles and noodles with me. Don’t forget thatIput you up in this fucking house, not your husband.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Potato, po-tah-to. Y’all just the same. Girl, run while you can. Those Kinga men are only good for ruining good women. The best thing you can do for yourself is to abort that muthafuckin’ baby and get the fuck on. He ain’t gon’ last in the league much longer. Hope you got some money saved up from showing your ass.”

Hearing my mother talk so ill rubbed me the wrong way. I knew I should’ve trusted my instinct and left when I had the chance. Now, she’d not only insulted me but my girl too. I glanced down at Charm to see her face set into a frown. I knew she was about to go off.

“Um… Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re going through, but you need to tighten up. You don’t have to be happy for us right now because you’re blinded by your own pain, and I get that, but at the end of the day, Kianis is still your son, a son who tries his very best to show the world who he really is. He can’t ’cause you and everyone else is so focused on who his father is and what he’s done.

“He’s his own man, and I’m thankful to be starting a family with him, to shower him with the love and support he deserves because he goes hard every time his feet hit that court. I hate that this is the thanks he gets when he’s got y’all living lavishly on hisdime. And every chance you get, you bash him, disrespect him, and neglect him.Fuck that and you!You won’t get close to our baby with that negative ass mindset and nasty ass attitude. Have a good fucking day. We’re leaving.”

For the first time since we arrived, my mama was speechless. I shook my head as I allowed Charm to pull me away. This hadn’t gone remotely close to the way I wanted it to, but at least what I knew about Charm was proven. That girl was not playing about me.

I sighed in relief when we made it out front. Charm spun around toward me.

“I’m so sorry, babe.”

She wrapped her arms around my waist. I smiled, feeling her stomach poking me.

“Thank you for having my back. I promise I don’t regret anything about us, and I’m not that nigga.”

She took my hand in hers and smiled. “I know, baby. I don’t think that for one moment. Her words are just that and they come from a broken place. It doesn’t make it the truth. I wish she had a better reaction, but we have each other. That’s all we need.”

I reached for her neck and pulled her toward me. I placed a kiss on her forehead and sighed. “You’re right. We gon’ be aight.”

Tossing my arm over her shoulder, I decided to leave the weight of this conversation right on their doorsteps. It had no place where I was going. I refused to allow their dark clouds to have it storming over where we laid our heads.

Charm abruptly stopped walking.

Glancing down at her, I asked, “You good, baby?”

She nodded. “Let’s get married,” she suggested, shocking me.

“We’re already getting married…” I removed my arm from her shoulders to face her.

“No. I mean, like, why wait? Let’s elope and officially start our lives together. Neither of us really like the spotlight, so we don’t need some big, fancy wedding.”

She stepped close enough that her pebbled nipples pressed into my chest. She was looking up at me with eyes that could convince me to blow up the planet if it meant having her.

“We only need me, you, and the love we have for each other.”

I was letting her talk just because I wanted a little more time to admire her beauty, to express my gratitude for God’s grace. I didn’t need any convincing. I’d decided a long time ago that I wanted to marry Charm. I was simply waiting for her to be ready.

“Then let’s get married.”

A ray of sunlight beamed over us as if it had the ability to transport us right to the altar. I was sure about this woman. Just as sure as I was that the sun would come out again tomorrow. Life with Charm and our son was more than I deserved, and I would be a fool to fuck it up or run from this. Love could be overwhelming, but it was also fulfilling and able to fill in all the empty places in a person’s soul.

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