Page 122 of The Last Man on Earth
“I was mad.”
“Yeah, and you coulda just told me that instead of throwing a tantrum like a goddamn toddler. You act worse than JR.”
“Fuck you,” she spits. “Cuz last time I checked, you be right there with me actin’ a fool.”
“You right. But maybe I’m over that shit.”
“Nigga, you ain’t overshit. And the fact that we fight like this, that we get so passionate, that just means we love each other real bad.”
I take a deep breath, turning that over in my head. “Or maybe it means we piss each other off.”
“Whatever. Same difference. You don’t get mad when you don’t give a fuck. So that goes back to my original point.”
“Funny you say that. You notice I ain’t yellin’ and cussin’ you out? You notice how I went to a hotel and didn’t say shit to yo ass for two days?”
She’s quiet.
“I’m tired, Mari.” I blow out a heavy sigh. “I been through a lotta shit, and life’s too fuckin’ short to not be happy. I wanna be happy, and I don’t think I can be that with you. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t give a fuck about me,” she spits. “You never did. That’s why you could cheat so easily.”
“I do care about you, Mari. You deserve to be happy, too. You just ain’t gon’ find that with me.”
“But—“
“Think about what you missin’ out on by stayin’ with me for the money. It’s some nigga out there that’ll really love yo ass, that’ll really fuck with you on a deep level, but you ain’t with him cuz you with me. You sellin’ your own self short.”
Still nothing from her side of the phone.
Because she knows I’m right.
“You’ll always be the mother of my son, Mari. You’ll always be special to me for that. And I’m sorry for cheating. I felt like I could rationalize that shit, but if you feel like I cheated, then I must have cheated. So I’m sorry.”
“What happens now?”
“You can keep the house. And the car. And the ring. And we can share custody. I’ll have my lawyer write that shit up, you sign, and boom, we good. Cool?”
“Yeah.”
I sit back against the headboard. “Cool. I wanted to do that first so I wouldn’t make no decisions outta anger.”
“What do you mean?”
“What happens now is you ‘bout to tell me exactly what you did. Tell me in detail how you got Ari’s number, how many times you called her, and exactly what the fuck you said. And don’t leave nothin’ out, cuz if I find out you held back, it’s a whole lotta other shit my lawyer can do. Go.”
I can hear her swallow on the other end of the phone.
“Her whole name is on the blogs. I googled it and got her number from one of those people search sites. I only called her once. She picked right up, and I told her you were mine.”
“Say it to me exactly how you said it to her.”
She sighs. “I just said, ‘stay in your lane, bitch. He’s mine. You just the side bitch. You need to know your role.’”
“And what did she say?”
“Nothing. Bitch is weak.”
My jaws tightens. “Let that be the last fuckin' time, Mari. Ever. I mean that shit.”
