Money-Makin' Mamas (14 page)

Not knowing what the fuck was up, I rushed up from my seat and told Simone that I would be back. I wasn't sure what to expect, but if that motherfucker Honey was still trying to bring drama our way, I was about to let his ass have it. I held a bottle of Moët in one hand and swooped up another empty bottle from a table that was close by the bar. When I felt this one nigga touch my ass, I snapped my head to the side to check him.

“Have some motherfuckin' respect, fool. Did I ask yo' ass to touch me?”

“No, but that big ass you got was so invitin'. I couldn't help myself.”

Wrong time, wrong place. I had to keep it moving, but any other time it wasn't going down like that.

I moved in closer to Honey and Karrine and could see him standing closely in front of her. Basically, there was little to no breathing room in between them. They both had smiles on their faces as he rubbed his finger down the middle of her breasts. She moved his hand, but he put it on her hip and squeezed. He then eased his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

In no way could I hear what they were saying, but I damn sure could see what was up. He leaned in to kiss her, and seeing them together damn near broke my heart into a thousand and one pieces when I saw my sister's lips touch his.

Why in the fuck was she tonguing the shit out of her own damn brother? Didn't she hear Mama tell us who the fuck he was? What was up with them and wasn't he the same fool in the motel room that Karrine had taken a shot at? I was confused. First Mama was playing games with this nigga Honey, now Karrine. Was he our brother for real? He sure did look like Ray, but none of this made sense to me.

The only reason I didn't have time to stay there and figure it out or question them was because I saw Reno and his friend rushing toward the table where Simone was. She was all by herself, meaning without me or Karrine. I suspected that none of those thirsty niggas at the table had her back like they said they would.

In a hurry, I bumped into a bitch who was dancing next to several of her friends and wouldn't move.

“Excuse you, tramp,” she hissed. “You didn't have to bump me like that.”

“Well, move yo' non-dancin' self out of the way or take yo' stiff ass to the dance floor then.”

She and her friends called me all kinds of names, but I saved my issues with them hoes for another day. I continued to rush toward the table with both bottles tightened in my hands and lowered by my side. By the time I reached the table, Reno was up in Simone's face, talking shit. He squeezed her cheeks with his hands and she was trying to get a grip on his neck. As expected, the other dudes had scattered. The one who was with Reno smiled at the action. With the dude's back facing me, I snuck up from behind and smashed the Moët bottle against the back of his head. I saw a wide gash appear and blood started to ooze from it. He staggered backward and slumped on a table before falling to the floor. He grabbed the back of his bloody head, and tried to call out to Reno, but he'd already seen me. I met his gaze with a slap across his face with the other glass bottle. It shattered and the whole left side of Reno's face split open. Blood sprayed my clothes and some got on Simone. More people around us started to break out running, as if someone had yelled fire.

“Fuckin' bitch,” Reno yelled and tried to come after me. He didn't get far, because Simone jumped up from the table and kicked him right between his legs. For the second time tonight, he dropped to his knees. This time, however, he needed serious medical attention. We quickly fled the club along with everyone else. It wasn't until we were outside when we were able to catch up with Karrine.

“Hoochie mama, where were you?” Simone yelled at her. “Did it take you that long to use the toilet? I thought you got hurt. Shoot!”

“Naw, I'm good. I saw Ki-Ki from the beauty shop. I stayed in there hollerin' at her for a while. I hadn't a clue what was going on, until I saw everyone running.”

Lying bitch.
I didn't say one word about what I'd seen. The truth behind all of this would come to the light. Whenever that happened, I expected much hell to break loose.

I despised bitches who always thought they could outsmart me, especially the ones who I'd given birth to. It was my blood that ran through their veins, and every single thing that they learned, they had learned it from the head bitch in charge. There wasn't a game that they could play that I hadn't already played. There wasn't a nigga they could fuck or suck who I didn't already know about. The fact that they believed I wasn't paying attention irritated the fuck out of me, and slight cold or not, I was always on top of mine.

Like always, whenever I walked into the room where they were, it fell silent. Eyes shifted around. Their heads turned in the other direction. That was always a signal that somebody had something to hide, and since they'd gone clubbing the other night, I suspected there was trouble.

I didn't bother to ask questions, only because I had some other shit that needed my immediate attention. I had to nip this shit in the bud before it got seriously out of hand. It involved Karrine. This bitch was about to be the death of me if I didn't hurry to get her in check.

Dressed in my all-white pantsuit, I was ready to go handle some business with Honey. Most of my braids were in a tight bun on my head, but a few braids dangled along the sides of my face. My jewelry was always sparkling, and whoever that bitch Ashley Stewart was, she damn sure knew how to hook up a sister with curves.

I put the strap to my silver Coach purse on my shoulder and looked directly at Karrine. The girls were watching a reality TV show in the family room. With it almost being 7:00 p.m., I figured they'd be getting ready for their gigs soon.

“Get up, Karrine, get your jacket and go with me. No need to change into anything else. Your pajamas will do just fine.”

She stood up and looked down at herself. “I can't go nowhere like this. Give me a minute to put on some clothes.”

See, this was starting to be too much for me. Nobody didn't listen to shit I said. It was like they wasn't even trying to hear me. “Let me repeat myself. No need to change into anything else. Your pajamas will do just fine.”

She stood with her lips pursed, displaying too much attitude. “Okay, but where are we goin'? I hope not too far.”

“Far enough. Now do like I told you to. I don't have much time.”

Karrine sighed and left the room. She was lucky that I didn't punch her in her face. I was steaming inside and the frown on my face showed every bit of my anger. Chyna and Simone questioned me about where we were going. I wouldn't say.

“Don't worry about it. When that bullshit y'all watching come off, be sure to clean up the kitchen. Those clothes in the laundry room need washing; and who left the empty carton of ice cream in the freezer?”

Simone pointed to Chyna and Chyna pointed to her. They both laughed, but as mad as I was, I didn't see shit funny. “Somebody go get it and throw it away. It don't make sense to leave it in there; and don't forget to take out the trash, too.”

They got into a serious argument about who left the empty ice cream container in the fridge. I was in disbelief as I stood in the kitchen with a banging headache while drinking a Diet Coke. I didn't know what was taking Karrine's ass so long.
If she comes back in here with clothes on, God help us.

As Chyna and Simone argued about who was going to remove the empty ice cream container and take out the trash, I slammed my Coke can on the counter. I walked over to the freezer and snatched the container out of it. I hurled it across the room, and unfortunately for me, it could only hit one of them. Chyna just happened to be the one.

“Tag, bitch, you're it,” I shouted. “Pick up the goddamn container and take the fucking trash outside. You moth-erfuckas are starting to work my nerves! Must everything around here turn into a battle? Damn!”

Chyna picked up the empty container and threw it in the trash. She took the trash outside. That was all she had to do in the first place.

If that incident weren't enough to work my nerves, when I heard heels clacking on the hardwood floors, I swung around. Karrine's ass was dressed like she was going to prom. I guessed she'd figured that since I was dressed up, she needed to be dressed up too. That shit didn't work for me. She saw me charging her way and started running to get away from me. I couldn't believe that I had to chase that heifer up the stairs, but when I caught her by the ankle, you best believe that she was tumbling down fast. Her ass bumped down each step. I yanked on her leg and pulled her toward me. I could barely catch my breath. Dirt from the bottom of her shoe got on my white pantsuit, leaving me pissed. So pissed that I twisted the fuck out of her ankle.

“Oooo, okay, Mama,” she whined. “Let it go, please. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to go nowhere lookin' tacky.”

“Tacky or not, get yo' ass upstairs, change back into your pajamas and put on those damn bunny slippers you always wearing around here. Meet me in the car in ten minutes or else I will pack up every piece of your shit and make you my first homeless child.”

I let go of Karrine's ankle. Even though she pouted, she limped back up the stairs and did what she was told. I refused to go any-damn-where with this dirt stain on my white pantsuit, so I went into my closet and put on a red pantsuit, brought to you by my girl, Ashley Stewart.

I returned to the kitchen and saw Chyna and Simone doing what they were told about washing the clothes. Saying nothing else, I waited in the car for Karrine. Almost nine minutes later, she came outside with her head hanging low. Her light pink pajamas were suitable for the occasion and so were her bunny slippers.

Karrine got in the car. The first thing she did was open her mouth again. “Would you please tell me where we're goin'? That's the least you can do, since you got me out here lookin' like a damn fool.”

“And the least you can do is shut the fuck up until we get to our destination. If you got questions for me then, at that time, I'll be happy to answer them for you.”

We rode in silence. Lord knows I wasn't trying to be mean to my girls; no, that wasn't me. They were just out of control. I had no one else to blame for the spoiled, ungrateful bitches I'd created. They all needed to grow the hell up, and maybe it was time for me to set them free. I wondered if they'd be able to make it without me. One of these days they would have to do it. All the lies and secrets were starting to get underneath my skin, but starting with Karrine, today she'd have to come clean and answer for her fuckups.

Karrine's eyes grew wide when she saw me park in Honey's driveway. She didn't even want to get out of the car. When she did, she moved like a turtle as she walked to the front door. I rang the doorbell. It didn't take long for Trice to open it. A smile was on her face and she reached out to give me a hug.

“Hello, Taffy,” she said. “It's so good to see you, and as usual you're always lookin' spectacular.”

I pulled away from Trice and smiled. “You know I wish I could say the same for you, but I can't. Girl, you need to leave that alcohol alone because I can smell that shit seeping through your pores.”

Trice laughed and so did I. It's how we got down with each other. I'd known her for years. I was the one who had gone to Honey and asked if he would help clean her up. She was more of a loyal friend to me than she was to anyone.

Karrine trailed behind us with an attitude, and when the double wooden doors to Honey's office came open, he was sitting behind the desk with the phone pushed up to his ear. He held up one finger, gesturing that he would be done in a minute.

“Get that swoll look off your face and sit down,” I said to Karrine. “I'm getting tired of looking at that ugly face. I just knew that when you saw Honey you'd have something to smile about.”

All Karrine did was fold her arms. She continued to sit back on the sofa with an attitude. She pretended not to be fazed by this, but I figured her mind was going a mile a minute. After all, I wasn't supposed to know about her shenanigans. I bet she was wondering how in the world did I ever find out.

Honey's fine black ass sat behind the desk looking just like Ray. He actually looked better than Ray. I loved it when his locs were pulled away from his face and into a ponytail. I understood how Karrine could find herself caught up with him, but what I didn't understand was why she thought it was okay to betray me? Her own goddamn mother who had done everything, everything that I could for my girls.

Honey ended the call and stood up. He walked around the desk and stepped forward to hug me. “What's up, Mama,” he said. “I apologize for takin' so long, but I needed to handle that.”

“No problem, sweetheart. But you do know we have a problem with something else.”

He nodded and walked over to Karrine. He leaned down to kiss her cheek, but she held up her hand. “Please back the fuck away from me before you get smacked. I don't know what the fuck you and Taffy are up to, but please tell me why I'm here.”

I cocked my head back and chuckled. “So, I'm Taffy now, huh? ‘Mama' when yo' ass needs something, but ‘Taffy' when I ain't shit. You know damn well why you're here, Karrine. Maybe you should tell me why you think you are.”

Honey leaned against his desk and folded his arms. I went over to a bar in the far corner and poured a glass of Hennessy.

“Mama, I could have gotten that for you,” Honey said. “But—”

I quickly cut him off. “But my ass, Honey. You could have gotten it, but you know how y'all ungrateful asses are.”

I swirled the glass around and looked at the brown liquid before tossing it to the back of my throat. It burned, but I poured another glass then took a seat in the chair behind Honey's desk. No one said a word until I lit a cigarette and whistled smoke into the air.

“Karrine, I'm waiting to hear your side of this story, unless you can't talk because you still got Honey's dick shoved down your throat. Or you may be thinking about all that good dick he gave you, but it don't look like you will be getting any of it today.”

She winced and rolled her eyes. “Fuck Honey. I couldn't care less about his ratchet dick. I'm more concerned about why you never told me that Ray wasn't my damn father. That me, Chyna, and Simone were only half sisters. All this other stuff don't even matter. You were the one who kept this secret for years, not realizing that I needed to know who my damn daddy was.”

“If you wanted to know, bitch, all you had to do was ask. Don't sit there and try to pretend that this was all about not knowing who your daddy was because it's not. It's about you wanting to be in control, Karrine. I assure you that that's something you will never have. It's all about you trying to be bigger than me. There is only one bitch who will run this show and that's me. Now, if you think you are big and bad enough to bring me down, go for it. I brought you here today to give you options, options that can keep you in my circle or that can lead you right out that door and into a world of the unknown. You decide, because at this point, what you decide don't matter to me one bit.”

Karrine sat silent for a minute. She looked at Honey, who was staring at her. “Why you keep lookin' at me, traitor?” she hissed.

“I'm lookin' at your bunny shoes and laughin' my ass off because I've never seen you dressed like this. And I didn't mean to put you in no situation like this, ma, but you was gettin' ahead of yourself. You needed to pull back on that noise you was talkin' about Mama. I've never been upset with her about a damn thing, only because I knew, firsthand, what kind of animal Ray was. I saw him put his hands on her for no reason. I also knew what he'd done to Chyna. Ray and I were close, no doubt, but I wasn't down with a lot of shit he did. As for me and you, Mama felt like she couldn't trust you. She was right. She felt like she couldn't trust Simone. She was right about her too. Y'all wonder why she always on Chyna's team, but Chyna the only one who be down with her no matter what. Y'all gotta learn how to fall in line too, 'cause this lady right here would lay her life down and die for all of us, ma. We need to start showin' her a little mo' respect. You feel me?”

I wasn't sure about laying my life down for no damn body, but I loved Honey, truly I did. He wasn't my biological son, but he was the closest thing I had to one. He was there to witness all that Ray had done to me. When he beat me and threw me out in the cold, I remembered Honey looking out of the window with tears flowing from his eyes. When Ray kicked me down the stairs and I lost my first child, Honey stood on the stairs and reached out his small hand to help me. Time and time again, he was there. My girls had no idea what Honey meant to me. If any of them ever got serious with a nigga, I'd want him to be just like Honey or better. The only problem was he and I were too close and his ass would never be faithful to Karrine. I doubted that any man could be faithful, but that was just me. Regardless, I feared that his involvement with Karrine would do more harm than good. With that in mind, this shit had to cease.

Shame covered Karrine's face. It had been a long time since I'd seen tears well in her eyes. I didn't raise no weak women, so I got up from my chair and stood in front of her. I lifted her chin and could tell that she was fighting back her tears.

“Keep those tears locked away. There ain't no need for them. Let this shit be a lesson and whatever you do, don't let it happen again. I'ma chalk this shit up this time. Next time, Karrine, you have my word that I won't do it. This shit is between you and me. Chyna and Simone don't need to know nothing about today. They don't need to know what's been going on between you and Honey. You can keep on fucking him if you wish, but I'm here to tell you that you need to make sure that nigga is strapped up tight, because he eats, breathes, and sleeps pussy all day long. He is capable of breaking your heart, and if he does, I'll have to kill him. You don't want me to do that, so give his ass a nice, juicy, wet kiss tonight and make your exit while you can.”