Page 6 of I Heard It All Before

Nora wanted to tell him that she called Asha’s phone several times to talk to him, but she never got an answer. She didn’t want them arguing, so she just left it alone. She knew how Asha felt about her, but she never entertained her foolishness. She remained cordial with her for the sake of her son.

“Yeah, I got a new number to give you,” Cam replied as he let go of Asha’s hand and grabbed his mother into a bear hug.

Nora squealed when her over six-foot-tall baby boy lifted her off her feet and spun her around. She ignored the sour look on Asha’s face because that was nothing new. Asha hated Cam’s ex-girlfriend. She especially hated when Courtney was at Nora’s house, but that was her problem. Nora tried to explain it all to her son’s girlfriend a few times before, but she was too stubborn to listen.

Courtney was more than just Camden’s ex. She was the only child of Nora’s deceased best friend. Courtney’s mother, Sandra, and Nora met over twenty years ago, when they both were admitted into the hospital giving birth to their kids. They became fast friends soon after and they had a lot in common. Just like Nora, Sandra was alone, since Courtney’s father decided that keeping his wife happy was more important than acknowledging their daughter. Nora had financial help from the Blaire family, but Sandra wasn’t as fortunate. She worked two, sometimes three jobs to make ends meet and Nora always helped by babysitting.

None of them anticipated their kids hooking up when they were teenagers and starting a relationship. They shared the same birthday, so they always celebrated together. When Asha came into the picture, she quickly put a stop to that. Courtney was always a good girl and she tried to keep Cam on track. He was always strong willed, so her attempts were in vain. He was in and out of jail too much, and she got sick of it. They remained friends but decided that a relationship wasn’t going to work. When Courtney’s mother died of breast cancer four years prior, she still came around and kept in contact with Nora and Cam, the same as she’d always done. She respected Cam’s relationship, but Asha always thought that they were still messing around behind her back. Nora didn’t know if they did or not, and she refused to get in the middle of it. Courtney had a good husband at home and she would be a fool to risk her marriage for Cam. Nora made sure to always tell her that too.

“Hey stranger,” Courtney said as she stood off to the side and smiled while playing with her braids.

Their last sexual encounter at the club had her blushing and licking her lips, like it had just happened. She didn’t care about her husband at home or his girl who was standing there. Courtney wanted Cam in the worse way.

“What are you doing with the police in here?” Cam joked with his mother, as he eyed Courtney in her navy and powder blue police uniform.

He knew that Asha was fuming mad when he gave Courtney a friendly one-armed hug, but he didn’t care. He’d known Courtney all his life and they were always going to be friends, with or without the added benefits. He was guilty of dealing with them both at the same time, but that was over a year ago. Asha was doing a lot of assuming, but she didn’t have any solid proof.

“Hey Asha. How are you?” Nora said while smiling at her son’s girlfriend.

“Hey,” Asha said dryly with a forced smiled.

She grabbed Cam’s arm, letting Courtney know what was up. Asha was ready to go, but she sat on the sofa with her man while he played catch up with his mother and his ex bitch, who was drooling over him like he was a steak. Nora was so happy to see her baby and she couldn’t stop smiling. Cam was all smiles too, until the conversation shifted to his father.

“Man, I don’t want to talk about that dude, Ma. You’ve been my mama and my daddy for as long as I can remember and I’m good with that,” Cam said, waving her off.

“He just wants to see you, Camden. I’m only passing the messages that were given to me. A lot has changed over the years. You really need to talk to him,” Nora replied.

“I don’t hate him or nothing, but I’m good on that,” Cam said with finality.

“Forgiveness is not always something that we do for other people Cam. Sometimes, you have to do it for yourself, in order to move on,” Nora lectured.

“I understand, but my feelings haven’t changed,” Cam acknowledged.

“Okay, I just wanted to keep my promise to him and tell you what he said. Now, come on to the back and see all these new clothes and stuff that we got for you,” Nora said as she jumped up and walked down the hall to one of the bedrooms.

“Who is we?” Cam asked as he and Asha followed her.

“Don’t ask who, just be thankful,” Nora replied.

Cam’s eyes bulged when she opened the door and he saw all the bags that covered the bed, floor, and dresser. Everything came from Saks, so he already knew that his mother had no parts of it. Every shoe and article of clothing had a price tag attached that was way out of her budget.

“Tell him that I said thanks. I appreciate it,” Cam replied, referring to his father, who he knew was responsible for his expensive new wardrobe.

He was trying his best not to be difficult all the time. After all, his father was the reason why he wasn’t spending his entire life behind bars. He was grateful for that, if nothing else.

“He’ll be happy to hear that. Here, this is yours too,” Nora said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a knot of money.

“Nah Ma, the clothes and stuff is more than enough,” Cam said, shaking his head. He felt like a kid all over again, with his father trying to purchase his love. He was a grown man now, so that wasn’t going to work. Asha was ready to snap on him for being so stupid and not taking the money. It took everything in her not to reach for it and stick it in her designer bag.

“He wanted you to have it Cam. Put it in the bank or something,” Nora said while still trying to give him the money.

“Whatever happened to that cruise that you and your sisters were supposed to be going on?” Cam asked her, changing the subject.

Every time his mother wrote him a letter, her cruise was all that she talked about. She had never been and she was looking forward to her seven days in the Bahamas.

“Three more months and I’m out of here. I’m all paid up and ready to go,” Nora beamed.

“Cool, well, you got some spending money now. Keep it and have fun. You deserve it,” Cam said while kissing her cheek.

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