Page 44 of Search My Soul
“What’s wrong with that? I think that’s a great idea. It’s not like you don’t have a space for them. As for the bracelet, it’ll match perfectly with the diamond teardrop necklace I bought her. Romi isn’t your average little girl, Patience. She has a bunch of rich ass uncles in her life. We aren’t buying any cheap jewelry or fake toys over here.” I shrugged, grabbing another tray of food. Duke followed suit and grabbed one as well.
“She’s still a little girl though. What happens if she breaks or loses those expensive pieces?” she argued.
“Then we buy her new ones,” Duke answered, taking the words right out of my mouth. Instead of replying, Patience groaned and focused her attention back on her food. After a dozen trips to the kitchen, we finally had all the food set up. Since Patience was busy, I went ahead and lit the burners for her.
“Now that we aren’t around your sister, are you gonna tell me what’s been going on? I normally stay out of your way, but it’s not like you to go missing like this.” Duke stood in front of me with his hands and his pockets.
“I promise it’s not that deep. I was entertaining someone, that’s why I didn’t answer.”
“I checked your location and it said you were at home. You never bring women to your house. Who the hell is she?”
“Now you’re starting to sound like a bitter baby mama. What’s with all the questions?”
“Naw, I’m just not used to you being sneaky that’s all.”
“Why are you all in my business?”
“Yeah, she must be special because you don’t hide shit from me. If you’re letting her in your space, I’m gonna assume that you trust her.” Duke continued to probe.
“What’s up with you and Mariah? I saw she posted on the Gram that she was pregnant. You never told me I was about to become a godfather again.” I slipped the question in to change the subject because I wasn’t ready to talk about what was going on with me.
“Man, I don’t even want to talk about her stupid ass. She made that post, and then when I checked her about it, she went off on me. You know I don’t fuck without a rubber unless I’m in deep with a bitch, so I told her that I wasn’t claiming shit until we got a DNA test. Now she is online throwing shots about deadbeat daddies and shit. I don’t give a fuck how she feels about the situation. I’m not about to be like some of these other fools claiming a baby that doesn’t belong to me.” Duke vented. I could tell the situation was getting under his skin because of the way his fists clenched.
“You ain’t ever lied. I know a few suckas who have gotten caught up like that. I think DNA tests should be mandatory before you even leave the hospital. Especially before you start signing paperwork and shit like that.”
“Hell yeah. I don’t have a problem taking care of my responsibilities, but I’m not about to let her play with me. She already has four kids with three baby daddies. Clearly, her ass is fertile as fuck, so there’s no telling who the father is. One baby momma is enough as it is. I really don’t want to have to co-parent with another miserable bitch.”
“Damn, Taysha still giving you the clues about seeing Talia?”
“Hell yeah. First, she was upset because she said she didn’t want her around other women. I told her multiple times that I never have my daughter around anyone who isn’t family.She was tripping because I took Romi and Lia to the zoo and Patience was in the picture.”
“Why would she have an issue with my sister? We’ve been your family long before she even came into the picture.”
“She claims that we were taking pictures like a family. Romi and Lia go to the same school and they’re friends. She wasn’t tryna hear shit I had to say so I stopped arguing with her. I don’t want to get the courts involved but I’m not about to keep going through this shit.”
“Damn, that’s tough. Have you still been able to talk to baby girl?”
“Yeah, but Taysha’s crazy ass tried to block me from her phone a few weeks ago. I went over there to drop off some clothes for my baby and she answered the door with no clothes on. I already knew what she was on, but I wasn’t tryna be on that type of time with her. After I turned her down, she started throwing punches, so I got the fuck out of there. The next thing I know is my calls to my daughter aren’t going through. I had to go over there and show my natural ass. I’m trying not to go through the courts because I don’t want the laws in my business, but she ain’t making this easy for me at all.”
“I get where you’re coming from, but you’ve got to do whatever it takes to make sure you can see your little girl.”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t regret my child at all, but I swear I wish I had driven that hoe right to the clinic the moment she told me she was pregnant. Dealing with her makes my ass itch.” He fumed.
“Don’t say that. Baby girl is a blessing even though her momma ain’t shit.”
“You’re right. So about the woman in your life. Are you planning on making her your baby momma? It’s about time you started having some kids too.”
“I don’t want any baby mommas. When and if I decide to have kids, it has to be with my wife. I’m not doing any custody battles or child support. The person who carries my child will be the only woman who carries them.” To be honest, I hadn’t even considered children, but lately I’ve been thinking about what life would look like with a couple of mini me’s running around. Duke slapped his rough ass hand on my forehead, making me smack him in the back of the head.
“Ow. What did you hit me like that for?”
“Why the fuck would you put your dick beaters on my face like that?” I grumbled.
“My bad, bro. I was making sure you weren’t coming down with something because I’ve never heard you talk about getting married. Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” I chuckled in response to his question.
“I can’t really say. I mean, we’re not getting any younger. The last thing I want to do is wait too late to start a family. I’m not tryna be at my son’s kindergarten graduation and have his friends asking if I’m his grandfather. I’m not saying it’s something I plan to do right now, but it’s something I’ve been considering.”
“Yeah, all right, mothafucka. I’ll leave it alone for now, but I’mma get to the bottom of this,” Duke muttered before downing the rest of his beer. I got a message from Juicy, so I opened it up to see what she had going on. We were supposed to link up later on, but I told her I would be with my family for most of the day. The more time I spent with her, the more I grew attached to her. I found myself craving her presence whenever we weren’t together, which was new for me.
