My Best Friend (12 page)

“S
top worrying about what other people think about us, because I don’t care what
people
think. All I care about is how we feel.”

She smiled
and looked into his eyes. “Y
ou’re right. I never cared what people thought before. It’s just that this time it’s different because it’s true.”

“I’ll tell you what the truth is. You’re my wife, and this is our baby. From now on, no more mention of it. The only one we have to tell the truth to is Angel. No one else.”

She leaned in and said, “I love you. I have some good news.”

“What?”

“I wanted to wait until I knew it was definite, but I’m going to be working from home two days a week. The other days I will be in
the office.” She looked up
. “That means I will have more time with Angel.”

He smiled. “How did you pull that off?

“I have my ways. I came up with a proposition, and Samantha accepted. I start to work next week so we have to get a babysitter for Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.”

“Ok,” he answered. “I’m happy one of us can be with her more.”

They enjoyed their food.

Chapter Thirteen

Jason and Kay interviewed
many
women for the babysitting position. The ladies Jason liked, Kay didn’t, and the ones Kay liked, he didn’t. At last they selected a young lady named Susan in her early twenties. She was still putting herself through college. She was tall and skinny
with blonde hair, blue eyes, very
attractive woman. Her resume was good. She’d worked at a pre-school the year before, and she’d had other nanny jobs. She gave out a good vibe.

It was time for Kay to go back to work. Jason and Kay got ready for work and waited for the
babysitter to come by. The door
bell rang, an
d Jason answered, “Good morning
Susan, come on in.”

“Good morning to you too.” She passed by him, rubbing her breast on his hand.

He thought,
is she flirting with me?
He moved away, feeling uncomfortable, and called, “Kay, Susan’s here.”

Kay came down the hallway with Angel in her arms. She told Susan, “Her bottles are already made. If you need anything, all of our numbers are on the refrigerator.” She bent down and kissed Angel.

Jason grabbed is briefcase and handed Kay hers and said goodbye to Angel. When he looked
up, Susan was staring at him,
smiling. He grabbed Kay’s hand and headed out the door. He walked her t
o her car, kissed her,
“See you tonight.”

She looked up and said, “I don’t want to leave her.”

He bent down and kissed her again. “She’ll be fine.” She started her car.

“Bye, see you later.”
He got in his car, started it and drove off.

*
**

The day seemed like it would never end for her. She had called the house about twenty times checking up on Angel. When she called Susan, she told Kay that Jason had called too. It wasn’t that
she
didn’t trust her, but it was Ange
l’s first time away from her
.
I’ll be back home with her tomorrow,
she thought. Her phone rang, and she answered. “Good afternoon, this is Mrs. Anderson. How can I help you?”

“Hi, doll eyes, I know a couple of ways you can help me,” Jason said giggling.

She was sile
nt
for a moment and started laughing
.
“You’re so crazy.”

He laughed too
.
“Sweetie, I’m just calling to let you know
,
I’ll be late tonight. I have some research to do.”

“Ok, I’m leaving a bit early. I
miss Angel.”

“I knew you
wouldn’t last long,” he said.

“Whatever. I know you’ve been ca
lling too.” They both laughed.

“S
weetie, I have to go. One of my clients just arrived, I love you.”

“
I love you too. See you tonight.”

**
*

Two weeks later, Kay got out of her car and almost ran up
to the door.
She opened the door and went in, closing the door behind her. Debbie was
there, holding Angel.
“Hi, Mrs. Anderson, what are you doing here?”

“I’m visiting my granddaughter,” she answered. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh no,” Kay answered. “I was just surprised to see you. I thought Susan would be here. Where is she?”

Debbie turned to sit on the couch, and said, “I told her to leave.” She looked at Kay. “I can take care of her, Kay. I know you don’t want to impose, but it’s something I want to do. You or Jason can bring her in the mornings and pick her up.”

“Are you sure, Mrs. Anderson? I know you have a life,” Kay said.

“You don’t have to call me Mrs. Anderson. I’m Debbie or Mom to you, and I’m sure. I’ll just take her with me to my social affairs. I’ll get to show her off. Just think about it.”

“I will,” Kay responded.

Kay sat down. Debbie started telling Kay how lonely she felt in that big house by herself. Debbie told her that Kimberly called crying, saying that she couldn’t believe he’d married Kay and asking why she’d permitted it. She said she heard
Kimberly out and hung up. T
hey talked
about how wonderful it was to be a mother and how Debbie regretted not having more kids. Kay told Debbie that she’d raised a wonderful man.

The door opened, and Jason walked in. When he saw his mom and Kay in the living room, he said, “What a surprise! My three favorite girls” and smiled. He walked over to his mom and gave her and Angel a kis
s,
sat next to Kay and kissed her neck. “So, what were you girls talking about?”

“You,” Kay answered
.

“What about me?” he asked.

“How wonderful you are and how blessed I am,” she said.

He looked at Kay. “You’re the wonderful one. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, even with your attitude.” He turned and kissed her. “Mom, where’s your car?”

“
My car is in the shop, and my friend Patty is coming to get me any minute now.” She kissed Angel on her forehead and turned to look at Jason. “Son, you were blessed the day this amazing woman walked into your life. You guys made me so happy when you gave me this little gift right here.” Her cell phone rang, and she answered it. “I’ll be right out.” She got up, handed the baby to Kay, kissed them, and said, “Bye, Kay, please think about what I told you.” She headed towards the door.

Jason walked
his mother to the door;
he turned.
“What was that about?”

“She wants to babysit Angel. I told her I would think about it.”

“What’s there to think about? She wants to take care of her granddaughter. What’s so bad about that?”

“Nothing, It’s just that...”

Before she could finish her sentence he said. “She loves you like a daughter, and we said we would never bring that subject up again.” He raised his eyebrow.

“What about Susan?”

“I’ll fire her; I didn’t
like her.”

She looked at him a little surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me that’s how you felt?”

“Because you liked her, but I felt uneasy around her. She was always staring at me and flirting. I felt like she didn’t respect you.”

“You never said anything.” She got up and put Angel in her bassinet. She was getting upset. “She was coming on to you but you didn’t feel the need to tell me?”

“Kay, I didn’t think I should tell you because it was harmless. I only have eyes for you.”

“Jason, if I’d had known she was attracted to you, I wouldn’t have hired her.” She walked into the kitchen and started serving the food his mother had cooked.

“Kay, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you that I was uncomfortable around her.”

She turned and said, “You should’ve.”

They sat
at the table and started eating,
while talking
about work and what they were going to do about Angel.

Chapter Fourteen

Jason pulled into his parents’ driveway, got out his car, walked to the front door, and knocked. His mom answered. “She’s been waiting for you.” He walked over, and she began to smile and giggle when she saw him. Angel was now nine month old. Her curly black hair was down to her shoulders, and her eyes were still hazel.

“How’s daddy’s little girl?” he said, and Angel said, “Da Da.” He picked her up and kissed her cheeks. Da da was her first word. He turned and asked his mom, “How was she today? She’s been a little fussy. We think she’s teething.”

“She was a great baby, like always.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mom.” He kissed her and walked out the door. He drove to their house, singing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to Angel while she giggled in her seat. They pulled into their driveway and got out, he got Angel and entered the house. She fell asleep, and he placed her in
her crib. He took a shower, and
went into the living room to watch some TV.

There was a knock on the door, and he got up to open it. He looked through the peephole, and it was Kimberl
y on the other side.
What now?
He opened the door and asked, “What do you want, Kimberly?”

She was wearing a low-cut shirt showing her cleavage and a tight mini skirt. She looked at him and said, “Well, since you’re no longer with that woman, I thought we could continue where we left off.” She tried to kiss him, but he stepped back before she could.

“What the hell are you talking about, Kimberly? I don’t know what games you’re playing, but I’m in love with my wife. We are not over.”

She took a few steps closer to him. “Oh, I thought you guys were through because I saw your wife at the mall kissing some black man. Sorry I’m the one who had to tell you your wife is a slut.”

Jason looked at her angrily. “Don’t ever come here again.” He moved back and slammed the door in her face.

***

Kay was on her way home. How was
she going to tell Jason what
happened at the mall without him losin
g it? During lunch, Kay went
to the mall to buy Angel new outfits for
church because she was out growing the ones she had. She went into Macy’s, Gap for Kids, Children’s Place, Carter’s, and Oshkosh. She got some outfits and shoes. She had a lot of bags in her hands. She’d wanted to get something for Jason so she entered Ralph Lauren to get him one of the polo shirts he liked. When she was about to enter, she saw Tommy and turned around, but it was too late. He saw her and was headed her way, he yelled, “Kay, hold up!” She kept walking until he grabbed her hand and stopped her.

She turned to him. “Don’t touch me.”

He looked her over from head to toe, and said, “You still look good. I’ve missed you.” He started to touch her arm with his fingers.

She pulled his hand off her. “I said, do not touch me. Move out of my way.” She went to leave, but he got in her way.

“Kay, how about you come over for old time’s sake? I’ll make you remember what you’ve been missing.” He leaned in to kiss her, and she slapped him. He looked at her with angrily but didn’t do anything because people were looking.

“Are you crazy? I don’t miss you or anything you offered. My husband satisfies me in every way possible, and it will benefit you if you don’t talk to me again.” She turned to walk away.

He yelled, “So
bitch, you think your white husband and bastard kid are better than me now?”

She turned back around. “I don’t th
ink they are; I know they are, a
nd don’t you ever call my baby a bastard. I was married when she was born, and my white husband is more of a man than you’ll ever be.” She turned her head and walked off.

He ye
lled at her, “Fuck you bitch!”

She ignore
d him, kept smiling and started
singing “Best Thing I Never Had
”
Beyoncé,
thinking to
herself
,
t
hank God he’s not my baby’s daddy.

***

She made it home. She had called Jason earlier in the day and told him she would be late. It was now seven-ten. When she got out of her car, she grabbed her bags and walked up to the house. She noticed the house was dark. She put the key in the door and pushed the door open. She placed the bags down and turned on the lights. When she turned around, Jason was sitting on the couch. She looked at him and asked, “What were you doing sitting alone in the dark?”