“Okay,” I told her with finality. “If you really want me to take it back, I will. But I made my last truck payment on Friday.” She studied my face.
“You’re serious? The truck’s paid off?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded while she studied my face.
“Well, shit! In that case, gimme them keys!” She gave me a quick peck on the lips, snatched the keys out of my hand, and ran for the van. “Come on y’all, let’s go for a ride.” Now, that was the Stephanie I knew and loved. Guess I wasn’t the only one with a flair for the dramatic.
“Look at her. She sure loves that car.” Big Momma eased her rather large backside into a wicker chair on the porch while the rest of the adults followed Stephanie and piled into the van.
“I sure hope so, Big Momma.” I strolled over to the chair next to her and sat down. “How come you’re not over there with the rest of them? It looks like they’re about to go for a ride.”
“I know, but my feet been botherin’ me a bit lately. So I’ma sit right up here on the porch with you for a while, Travis. Besides, I’m gonna have my fair share of rides in that van. Trust me.” Big Momma gave me a smile of certainty.
“I know that’s right.”
“Travis, keep an eye on Maleka and the rest of the kids. We’re goin’ for a ride,” Stephanie yelled out the window of the van, where she’d quickly settled in the driver’s seat.
“Ah’lght, baby.” I leaned back and smiled proudly. Big Momma and I waved as she pulled out of the driveway.
“Travis?” Big Momma leaned toward me as she cleared her throat. “I heard what you said to Stephanie, but you sure you can afford this house? And them cars? You know, if money’s tight you can always come to me.”
“I appreciate that, Big Momma, but we can handle it. I only had to put three percent down with my VA loan. And with the interest rates being so low, my mortgage is only twelve hundred a month. With my housing allowance from the army and all the money I’ve been saving over the years living on base, we’ve got more than enough to get by. Just don’t tell Stephanie. She might not wanna go back to work.”
“I ain’t tellin’ her nothin’.” Big Momma grinned. “But now that y‘all got a new house and two fancy cars, when y’all plannin’ on settin’ a date for this weddin’? I’m not gettin’ any younger, you know.” This woman sure didn’t waste no time when she had something on her mind. Luckily, I had an answer for her.
“Stephanie didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“We set the date last week. Fourth of July. We wanted to have it Memorial Day weekend, but Stephanie’s lawyer said it was gonna take at least six months for my adoption of Maleka to go through.”
“You adopting Maleka?” Big Momma was grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, Stephanie hadn’t told her a thing, but I was glad to see she approved.
“Yes, ma’am. I love that little girl and I want her to have my name.” Hell, I was the only father Maleka knew, and I know she loved me as much as I loved her.
“You know, Travis, I’ll be eighty-five on June tenth, so I’m not sure how much longer the Lord has for me in this world.” She hesitated, patting my knee. “But I’m glad I met you. You’re a good man. I pray my granddaughter’s smart enough to realize what she’s got.” We shared a smile, though I was a little surprised to hear the lack of confidence she had in Stephanie. I guess judging from Steph’s track record with roughnecks and hoods, Big Momma had reason to wonder. Not me. I knew that with all the love I was showering on her, there was no way she’d even think about steppin’ out on me.
“Thanks, Big Momma. Coming from you that means a lot And I want you to know I love Stephanie more than anything in this world.”
“Believe me. I can see that ...” The rest of her sentence was swallowed by the blaring rap music coming from a souped-up Honda Civic that passed by. The bass made the floorboards of the porch rumble. “Lord, these young people act like they ain’t got no sense!” Big Momma shouted.
“And no eardrums neither,” I shouted back as I watched the car pull into my neighbor’s driveway. My eyebrows rose as it backed out and pulled in front of my house.
“Somebody you know, Travis?” Big Momma asked.
“No, ma’am.” I shook my head. “Nobody I know.” I stood, wondering who the hell would be dropping by unannounced on Christmas Day playing their music so damn loud. About a minute later I got my answer when a tall, thuggish-looking brother with an almond complexion stepped out of the car. Big Momma almost fell outta her chair when she saw him.
“Lord have mercy! What’s he doin’ here?”
I’d never seen the brother before, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out who he was. He was Maleka’s biological father, there was no doubt about that. He looked like he could’ve spit her out.
“Travis?” Big Momma was struggling to get out of her seat. “Don’t you step off this porch. You hear me? Travis!” I didn’t answer her because I was already halfway down the walkway, headed for Maleka’s father. In less than a month we were supposed to go to court to have his parental rights rescinded so I could start adoption proceedings for Maleka. This guy had been missing in action for the better part of Maleka’s life, and now he decides to show up at my door? Wasn’t no way I was gonna let him mess up my little family. Not without a fight.
“Can I help you?” I stopped about two feet in front of him, flexing my arms. I wanted to be sure he got the message from the start. He was not welcome.
“I’m lookin’ for my baby’s mom. Stephanie. She live here?” He spoke with that street thug cockiness. I guess he was trying to intimidate me.
I stepped in a little closer, put a little more bass in my voice, and gave him the same attitude right back, army-style.
“Yeah, she lives here. What you want her for?”
“That ain’t none of yo’ business unless your name’s Stephanie. And I can’t remember fuckin’ anyone as ugly as you.” He leaned to the side, checking out the house.
“I’m gonna ask you one more time, man. What you want with Stephanie?” I moved closer to block his view of the front porch.
He stepped back, eyeing me from head to toe with a devilish grin. “Oh, I get it. You must be her new man.”
“No, I’ve been around for quite a while. Playin’ daddy to your daughter,” I smirked, hoping to piss him off, but he had a few comebacks of his own.
“Well you can stop playin’ now, dawg, ’cause her real daddy’s here. And I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon.”
“Her real daddy, huh? Why don’t you ask her who her real daddy is?” I scoffed. Malek clenched his fists like he was about to take a swing at me, and believe me I was ready for whatever he was about to bring. But Big Momma’s interruption put us both in our place.
“Malek Robinson! What are you doin’ here?” Big Momma huffed angrily, glaring from Malek to me and back to him. She was out of breath after running from the porch. “Both of you! Put them damn hands down, now!”
I don’t know if Big Momma was worried about what I would do or not, but she must have known Malek well enough to know she might have to break somethin’ up. ’Cause it wasn’t every day you saw Big Momma moving her large frame so fast. A few more seconds and we would have come to blows, but Malek’s hands dropped instantly when he heard her voice. It always amazed me how easily she could command respect, even from a punk like Malek. His hard-ass tone became choirboy-gentle when he spoke to her.
“It’s Christmas, Mrs. Washington. I just came by to see my daughter. I’m not here for no trouble. I swear. I just wanna see my daughter.” He lifted the shopping bag he’d been carrying. I could tell Big Momma was not impressed.
“What daughter? You ain’t got no daughter around here.” She nudged me to the side and pointed her finger right in Malek’s face. “It takes a man to raise a child, not some fool who ain’t been around in four years. So don’t be comin’ ‘round here talkin’ ’bout your daughter, ‘cause you gave up that privilege when you walked out on her years ago. Now get your sorry ass outta here ’fore I call the police.” Malek’s expression changed. I guess not even Big Momma was allowed to disrespect him like that, ’cause he lost his passive stance and started demanding.
“I ain’t leavin’ here till I see my daughter, Mrs. Washington. So you might as well point me to her or call the police.” Malek turned toward the children playing on the swing set.
“What you mean point you to her? You don’t even know which one she is, do you?”
Damn!
From the embarrassment on Malek’s face, it was obvious Big Momma was right. She just threw her hands in the air. “Lawwwd, the boy done come over here talkin’ ’bout his daughter and don’t even know which child she is!”
Big Momma started in on him with a litany of insults about what kind of sorry excuse for a father he was. What surprised me was that he actually stood there and took it for a few seconds, which I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing. Just when he looked like he was ready to interrupt her, Stephanie pulled the van into the driveway. I turned in her direction, anxious to see how she was going to handle this. From everything Stephanie had ever told me about her ex, I was sure they wouldn’t be exchanging pleasant holiday greetings. And if he wanted to act stupid I’d be right there by my girl’s side to act stupid with him.
9
Stephanie
“Oh, God! Momma? Is that who I think it is? Is that Malek?” I almost drove into the mailbox when I saw him standing in the walkway. Big Momma was huffin’and puffin’ next to him, her arms waving all up in his face. I had no idea what Malek was doing there or how he even found my new house, but one thing was for sure: his presence meant trouble. Big trouble.
“Cirl, it sure looks like that fool. What’s he doin’ here? You tryin’ to mess things up with Travis?” My mother’s tone was accusatory, like I had something to do with all this shit. God, I could feel a migraine coming on with a vengeance. Not only was my mother already jumping in my shit about him, but Travis would no doubt have plenty to say about it, too. He was already glaring at me with his arms crossed. Made me wanna put the van in reverse and back out of the driveway.
“Stephanie, I think you better get out there and do something,” my mother urged as if she’d read my mind and knew I was close to fleeing.
“I ain’t goin’ out there, Momma. Big Momma looks like she’s got everything under control.” I tried to sound like it was a joke, but I would have driven away in a hot second if she had even smiled at me in response.
“She looks like she’s about to slap that boy silly.” Momma shook her head. “Now get out there and get rid of that fool before he ruins what’s left of the holiday. We ain’t even opened the presents yet.”
“How am I supposed to do that? You know Malek ain’t got good sense.” I just wanted to crawl under the dashboard.
“You the one who had a baby with him, so don’t be complainin’ now.” She gave me a light shove. “Now get out there and handle your business.”
I sighed in protest but knew she was right. Malek wasn’t going anywhere until I talked to him. If there was one thing that boy had always been, it was persistent. He could stand there and face Big Momma’s berating all day if he set his mind to it. And from the look on his face, he was ready to do just that. I reluctantly opened my door and stepped out, gathering my strength as I marched toward the group.
“Malek! What the hell are you doing here?” I pushed my way past Travis and Big Momma and got right in his face.
“What’s up, Shorty? You lookin’ mighty fine.” I swear it took everything I had not to smack the shit outta him when he eyed me from head to toe with that arrogant grin.
“Don’t ‘what’s up?’ me, Malek. And my name is Stephanie. Not Shorty.” I glared at him. “What the hell are you doing here? And how did you find out where I live?” I added that last part for Travis’s benefit, who had yet to speak, though he was standing by, watching every move I made. I wanted to make it completely clear I had nothing to do with Malek’s arrival. Unfortunately, Malek also decided it was time to invite Travis into our little discussion.
“Yep, that’s my Shorty. She sure got a lot of spunk, don’t she?” he smirked at Travis. “You know, that’s why I started messing with her in the first place, because she had a lot of spunk. That and a
phat ass.
” He grabbed my arm and spun me, his eyes traveling down my backside. “Mmm-mmm, she always did have a nice ass.”
“You better back the fuck up ’fore I put my foot in your ass!” Travis roared, taking a step toward Malek. He looked like he was about to hit him.
“Oh, my God. Travis, no!” I grabbed tight onto his arm to keep him by my side.
“Come on and bring it, big boy. You don’t know who you fucking with. I will fuck your big ass up!”
“That supposed to be a threat, punk?” Travis lifted his fists, grinning. “C’mon, let’s see what you got.”
“Travis! Please don’t! Malek’s sorry ass ain’t worth it. He’s still trying to prove he’s a man.”
“Shut up, Shorty,” Malek growled. I ignored him as I looked into Travis’s eyes.
“Baby, you got me and the kids. Don’t stoop down to his level.” I kept my hand on Travis’s shoulder, though he had relaxed enough that I knew there wouldn’t be a fight. “I asked you a question, Malek. What are you doing here?”