Since getting my new job and my new house, I realized that it's been a good three weeks since I have spoken to my mother or my siblings. With everything moving so fast in my life, college classes, work, hanging out with Santos, and going to Yaya's doctor's appointments, I felt like I really haven't had time to sit down and take a breather or think for that matter. I realized this when my mom texted me during my work hours, I looked at it when I got on break, and it was an address. I started to text her back but my break was over and I had to get back to the counter.
Glad, I didn't have to close the bank tonight. I walk to my car and wave bye to some co-workers then get in and crank it. Before I put it reverse and get outta here, I sit back and pull out my phone and look at the text from my mother. It really is an address, but to where. I figured there was only one way to find out, I put the address in Maps and it routes me to it. Putting my car in reverse and backing out, then putting it in drive and following the route to the address. It's a good twenty minutes from my job.
The house is a nice one story house with a wrap-around porch, I get out my car and close the door. Staring at the house, I am not too sure about going, but for some reason my mom sent me this address. I amble up to the door and ring the bell, a nice tone echos throughout the house. I wait for five minutes and the door opens, my eyes glare at my mother.
"Mama?" I question.
"Yes." She smiles. "Come on in, honey." She ushers me in and I hesitantly step into the house. The aroma of fresh coffee fills my nose as I inhale and looks around the matching furniture set in the living room with a few unpacked boxes.
"I know the place is still a mess, but I am working on it. How are you? Did you just get off work? Would you like some coffee or tea?" She walks into the kitchen and I follow behind her examining my surroundings.
"I am fine, mama. I did get off work. And sure, tea would be nice." I take a seat at the kitchen table as she fixes the tea. I still look around, craning my neck to get a better look down the hallway.
She puts the steaming teacup in front of me, I inhale the Honey Bush scented tea. How did she get this? I sip it and sigh lovingly. My mom then joins me with her cup of Chocolate Nightmare coffee or that's what it smells like.
"How is your new job going?"
"It's going well. I like it so far." I wrap my fingers around the cup to take in the warmth that rises from the cup. "Who are you house sitting for, mama?" I take a sip of the tea and sigh with relief.
"Oh, baby. I'm not house sitting for anyone." She smiles then sips her coffee. "I live here now."
My mouth gapes open, "are you serious? You left Leo?"
She slightly nods, "I did."
On the inside, I am sighing with relief. "What prompted this sudden change?" I sip the tea.
My mom sighs and leans back in her chair, "I realized how he has been treating me." She rolls her eyes and scoffs, "I know 40 something years and I am just now figuring this out. But, I needed to get out of there."
I can understand that. "Well, this is a nice place."
She looks around and smiles, "that it is. I just wanted my own since I have been with your father...er....Leo since I was twenty years old. I never knew anything else, but him and his demeaning ways. I didn't even see that it was demeaning until you pointed it out. I just thought he was being overly protective and thought he didn't want anyone else to she my beauty." She shakes her head now knowing the truth, " You pointed it out so many times over the years and I didn't wanna hear about it. I didn't wanna see that the man I loved was being nasty and mean."
I nod and sip the tea. I do want to say I told her so but I don't because she seems defeated enough.
She leans forward, "I don't know, Azaireyah." She shakes her head and looks up, "I guess I was blind to it all. That or I just felt like I had nowhere else to go. Or I didn't know what to do." She pushes her half empty cup away. "Would you like some more?"
"Can I try what you had?"
"Sure," she gets up and makes another pot of Chocolate Nightmare. She leans against the counter facing me.
"Can I ask you something mama? Something personal?" I rub the cup's sides.
"Sure," she turns and checks on the pot of coffee.
"First, why did you keep my real daddy a secret?"
The corners of my mother's mouth slowly turns downward, "I wasn't allowed to tell you. I wasn't allowed to speak his name or even mention to you who he was. No matter what age you were or are. It was one of his rules in order for me to keep you."
"Second and you might have already answered this," she brings me a fresh cup of the chocolate nightmare and sets it in front of me. I take a sip and feels the warmth course through my body. "Why did you cheat? Why didn't you just leave?"
I watch her stare into my eyes, she turn to another cabinet and produces two wine glasses. She opens the frig and reaches in the very back and grabs a chilled bottle of Château Canon-La Gaffelière St.-Emilion aka the good stuff. She slides my coffee cup to the side, places the wine glasses in the middle of the table and pours them half way. She then takes the yeast rolls out of the oven, I assume she was keeping them warm for this occasion. She sets the bottle down along with the yeast rolls. She takes a sip of her wine sighing.
"I don't know if you ate or not. But, before you drink that," she points to the glass of wine, "make sure you eat."
She leans back and plays with the rim of her glass, "your second questions. I cheated because at one point, I could no longer take the abuse. You kids think it started when y'all got here." She shakes her head, "no, it started when we started dating, back in high school. I was a junior just wanting a good time and he was a senior always thinking about the future."
She pours herself another glass, swirls it around then sips it and continues, "after he left high school, he made me his girlfriend and went to the army. When he came back, his attitude changed. He was very loving at first."
She looks up at the ceiling and closes one eye, "for the first few years, he was great. But then the beatings started. The beatings stopped when I got pregnant with Justinian 'Justin' and for a whole year and a half." She looks into her wine cup which causes me to do the same, I had yet to even try it.
I am so engrossed in what she is telling me. I take a small sip of the wine and goosebumps race up my arms and down my spine. I look into the cup and nod. She then goes on to tell me the reason she cheated, it seem legit enough. The reason being was to get away from Leo's beatings and abusive ways, she sought solace in Warren through a mutual friend while on a girl's trip to Atlanta. She met Warren at a nightclub and they hit it off extremely well. For the week they were in Atlanta, he always showed her a good time and bought her pretty things. Before her and her girls left Atlanta, mama and Warren slept together. And a few weeks later went in for a normal check up and found out she was pregnant with me.
"How come you didn't stay with him? With Warren?" I put my glass down and sit back in the chair.
She sighs, "I told your father that I wanted to stay in Atlanta, but I didn't tell him about Warren. He made so many promises of doing right by me, that I figured he was being honest about those promises. But, I quickly learned that everything Leo said, wasn't always the truth."
Ain't that the truth. "I have one more question, mom. Then, I gotta go. It's getting dark and I have to open tomorrow."
She leans forward, "Shoot."
"How were you able to afford this house?"
She chuckles, "Ahh, I figured that was coming. I had a work from home job that Leo had no clue about. Along with that, I also had a bank account that he knows nothing about. I would like to keep it that way." She points her finger at me.
I nod.
"Good. I worked from home for some company. When I had to go into the office, I took a bus and walked a few miles. I would pick up what I needed and came back home." She smiles, "I told Leo I was out with friends or some kind of lie. He believed me, but didn't think I was racking up to leave him."
I shake my head. Yeah, that's her. I always wondered as a child how we always got what we wanted during Christmases and birthdays. Now, it is all clear to me.
ns 18.68.41.179da2
