Page 80 of A Taste of Grace

Madeline and the girls eyed each other but remained silent. Fortunately, the girls were occupied with a box of toys, art supplies, and a fully charged tablet Grace convinced me to keep for them in my office. Madeline and I spoke softly so the girls won’t overhear our conversation.

“Why are you here?” I wasn’t going to coddle Madeline after she showed out so publicly.

“To tell you I’m clean and to be in my girl’s life. I want them to know me.”

“We’ll have to go through legal stuff for all that. As you can see, they’re content with my new wife and me.”

Madeline laughed.

“What wife?” She scanned the room with her hands in the air. “You mean that mammy you pushed out of your office? What kind of marriage do y’all have? Is she your beard? Or your whore?”

I sucked in my breath, taking in Madeline’s words. I wanted to slap the shit out of her. Her mean-spirited words always pushed me into a dark place I thought I’d been delivered from.

Although her words were vile, she was right about my disrespect to Grace. How could I be so dumb? I barely spoke two words to her and didn’t introduce her properly. I sent her away and kept Madeline, sending the wrong message to everyone. Although everything in me wanted to rush home to Grace, I needed to finish what I had started with Madeline.

“I just want them to know I’m their real mama, and I’m alive. Your mammy will never take my place in their eyes.”

“Grace is the one who takes care of my girls, so she will always have a place in their lives too.”

“She’s their mammy, not their mother. They’re my flesh and blood, not hers.”

“She doesn’t need to be connected to them by blood to be their mother.”

Madeline tapped her long fingernails on her Birkin bag.

“Look. I’m not here to fight. My friend Roxanne told me that she tried to take my place when I left, but you rejected her. I heard you got married, and I wanted the girls to know me. I’ll leave my address and keep it moving,” she said.

Roxanne and Madeline’s evil tails were in cahoots all this time? If my ex could be that conniving, what were her intentions with our kids?

“Y’all are foul. But to be clear, you’re not asking for custody?”

She turned and looked at the girls as they played dress up with their Barbies. She blew out a raspberry when she faced me again.

“Hell no. I don’t want them kids. That’s why I had a hysterectomy. Ain’t no nigga eva nuttin’ up in me and making my ass fat again.”

For the first time since she arrived, Madeline’s hood rat nature showed up. It was cute when I was in the world, but now that I had a pure woman in my life, I couldn’t stand that ratchet behavior.

“Good to know.”

When Madeline stared me down, I cocked my head, annoyed.

“Don’t pop up like this again.” I pushed my chair back and pointed to the door.

“Don’t worry. I got what I needed.” She chuckled and examined her nail bed.

“You’re still petty, Madeline.”

“And you’re still a jackass.”

Madeline eased from her chair and waved to the girls.

“Bye, girls.”

“Bye.” They waved their hands and watched Madeline waltz out of my office.

I had so much explaining to do.

On the way home, I called Grace, but she didn’t answer her phone. When I got to a red light, I texted her.

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