Page 46 of Mahogany 2
Because I understood why he wanted to change the subject, I didn’t press. Wouldn’t have pressed if he hadn’t. I wasn’t trying to impose or convince him otherwise. I was going to mention a significant other. Try to get information about that. But the conversation flipped and I left it alone.
“Grass walls are okay. Not for Euphoria. Would be best at The House.”
“The House?” He questioned.
“Of Nova Ray,” I said with a little laugh.
He tossed his head back a little. “Ohhh. Alright. Gotchu.”
With that, we kept the conversation professional. He did too. Didn’t let his eyes linger on mine for too long. Wasn’t as ‘Crescenty’as he usually is. Just… chilled. And while that was okay—sort of preferred—it was alarming too. I’d triggered him. His mood was somber. And I didn’t like it. From that point on, I decided never to mention having kids to him again.
11
DUKE
I shiftedmy truck in park and looked up at the house, dragging my hands down my face. With a sigh, I grabbed my phone and checked the time. 4:44PM. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I got out of the car, grabbed a couple of bags from the backseat, and headed up towards Rochelle’s house. I was supposed to be at Scooter’s, getting ready for the card game I told NeNe I was going to, but I had to make a detour first.
It had been about three weeks since picking Diary up from the hospital and I’d stopped by every other day since to sit with her. Not because I had to but because Ihadto. Missing out on two years of her life fucked with me. However, now that I knew about her, I was committed to building a bond with her. The same bond I had with my other children. Her being an outside baby didn’t make her anoutsidebaby. She was mine and one day, I would love her the same as I loved my other four. It would just take a minute. A minute and dedication.
After climbing the stairs, I rang the doorbell and waited. Tossing my head back a little, I looked towards the roof of the porch and asked God to give me strength and guidance. Lord knows I needed it. Through this whole situation, I’d been tryingmy damnedest to do the right thing. Which was all I could do. I was stuck. This was my reality. What else was I supposed to do? Keep running from it? Keep denying it? Turn a blind eye? I couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t do that. So, I was doing what I had to do. And because I was doing the right thing, I believed in my heart that God would make the outcome, the best outcome. I hoped He would. He rarely ever moved in my favor, but I hoped like hell that in this situation He would.
I needed my wife.
I couldn’t live without her. He knew that. And because He knew that I couldn’t see Him allowing this to rip us apart. I couldn’t see Him allowinganythingto rip us a part, for real.
With a sigh, I got ready to hit the doorbell again just as Ms. Rochelle opened up.
“Hey son. Sorry it took me a minute,” She apologized, holding the screen door opened for me.
Every time I came over, Ms. Rochelle looked more tired and drained than she did before. Today, I planned on asking her how she was doing.Seriouslydoing. I cared. Over the past couple of weeks, we’d grown close. She had become somewhat of a grandmother figure to me, treating me good, taking care of my daughter. She’d done nothing but shown me love since we met. Of course I cared.
“It’s cool, Ms. Rochelle. How you doin?” I asked, as I gave her a one-armed hug.
“As good as an old woman can be,” she said with a laugh. “What you don’ brought over here?” She asked, referring to the Walmart bags.
I held them up. “Just a couple of things for Diary.” Looking away, I searched the living room for her.
“Oh lawd,” She said with a laugh. “That little ol’ bedroom can’t handle much more.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t get much. Just a couple Barbie dolls and a few outfits.”
“You got the right size?” She asked with a cocked brow.
I nodded. “Yep.”
Of course I did. I had three daughters already. She didn’t know that though. I still hadn’t told Ms. Rochelle about my family. Not because I was ashamed or denying them but because the time hadn’t presented itself yet. Telling her about my family would… I don’t know… it fucked with me. She was religious and I was ashamed of my actions. She was the only support I had in the situation, and I didn’t want that to flip.
“Alright na. Let me see,” she said, giving me the side eye with a coy smile.
I grabbed the clothes from the bag and handed them to her.
“Hm! Good job. 2T,” she said, checking the tags as soon as the clothes hit her hands.
Smiling, I nodded. “Uh huh. Where she at?”
“In the back, on that dang pad,” she said, waving me off. “You already know.”
I laughed. “Yeah. I know all about it.”
