Still Wifey Material (16 page)

“OK,” I said, even though I felt uneasy about it.

I knew right away that Carmen would want me to set Neeko up, and I wasn’t up for that. Setting niggas up to get murdered was not cool and I didn’t want any part of it. I couldn’t have his blood on my hands. Now all I had to do was stay the hell away from him. He was bad news!

Carmen and I ended our conversation with her promising that she wouldn’t divulge any of the information I had just discussed with her about me being in that shootout with Neeko. She vowed not to say a word, mentioning the fact that she hadn’t spoken to Kira since she left the shop, so I had nothing to worry about.

“I’m closer to you than her, so why would I talk to her about your business? I mean, Kira and I are cool, but we ain’t cool like you and I are.”

“Yeah, a’ight,” I said and then we both laughed and a planned a lunch date for the next day.

After we hung up, I couldn’t help but wonder if in fact Neeko did have something to do with the robbery. If he did, he’d better watch his back because if he knew like I knew, his life was about to end. Yeah, he escaped death not too long ago and that didn’t happen too often. So he’d better pay up on his insurance policy and update his will because he was definitely on his way with a one-way ticket to see his maker. And I wasn’t talking about the man above either. The way this nigga carried on, I knew he had made a deal with the devil, and he was about to pay up.

N
ot too long after I got off the phone with Carmen, I called Fatu. He said he was at the club so he was kind of busy, but I got him to stay on the phone long enough to ask him about his engagement to my cousin. “I saw the ring,” I didn’t hesitate to say.

“She showed it to you?”

“I couldn’t help but see it. It was almost bigger than her knuckle.”

Fatu chuckled. “It is beautiful, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s nice. But what I want to know is, are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, I am more than sure. I love her.” His accent was stronger than ever.

“You don’t really mean that! And besides, she doesn’t deserve you.”

“I need her in my life to balance the issues I’m currently dealing with.”

“But what about me? I told you that you and I would have been good together.”

“I know, I know, but I’m dealing with some major shit right now, and I believe she can help bring the good out of me.”

“Trust me, she can’t bring the good out of no one.” I hoped my comment would open up his mind to the possibility that she might be the wrong one for him.

“Listen, Nikki, you are a beautiful woman, but this is something I must do.”

It was becoming evident that this nigga wasn’t trying to hear me, so I snapped and let the cat out of the bag. “Look, I can’t take this shit any longer. You are about to make the biggest mistake of your life. She isn’t going to make you happy! I’m the one for you. I would do anything for you. She is going to use you and then toss you aside as soon as the next man comes along.”

“Calm down, Nikki,”

“Calm down for what? You’re not listening to me. I’m trying to tell you some real stuff!”

“Listen, sweetie, you’re getting yourself worked up for nothing. Remember we have a bond that no one can break. Now come on down to the club so we can have a drink and talk some more. Believe me, everything will be OK. I will make sure of that.”

I sighed. “All right.”

T
oday was Carmen’s wedding day, and since Fatu elected not to go, Nikki and I got dressed and headed over to the church. Everything was so elegant and beautiful. There had to be at least 150 guests in attendance. The church was filled with a multitude of lavender and white roses and tall, glowing candles, and the wooden pews were decorated with clusters of ivy and white bows. Carmen walked down the aisle in a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes and a platinum, fitted Yves St. Laurent bridal gown made of satin and tulle, generously dusted with Swarovski crystals. She wore her hair in an upsweep with a diamond tiara fastened to a lengthy chiffon veil. Believe me, the chick looked like a fucking princess.

Xavier stood beside the pastor, ready to greet his bride, wearing a three-piece ivory Armani suit, complete with white tails and a white top hat. You could tell he was nervous, but he managed to keep his cool.

After the two came face to face, they recited their heartfelt vows and took turns slipping on their diamond wedding bands. Moments later they lit a unity candle.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the pastor said. “You may kiss the bride.”

Xavier and Carmen embraced one another and kissed passionately. Then they paid homage to their African-American heritage by jumping the broom. The ceremony was so beautiful that Nikki and I both cried.

“I want my wedding to be just like this one,” I commented.

“Yeah, it was nice, huh?”

“It sure was,” I said as we watched Carmen and Xavier leave the church.

Outside, a 2008 Maybach 57 waited to escort them to their reception. They were doing it real big, if you asked me. The reception was held in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The chairs, tables, and walls were draped in varying of shades of lavender and white silk fabric. Bouquets of roses in the same color scheme were held aloft by candelabra centerpieces. The entire wedding, from start to finish, was perfectly put together.

During the reception, the food was set up buffet style, and Nikki and I dug into steak, shrimp in lobster sauce, scallops wrapped in bacon, and the sautéed green beans. We also sipped on a couple glasses of Cristal. Later we enjoyed chocolate truffles by Sweeties Candy Drops before we nibbled on a piece of white, four-tiered wedding cake embellished with lavender sugar roses. The food was off the charts. The whole event was really festive and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Before I retired for the night, I greeted the newlyweds and wished them the best.

“Thanks so much for inviting me,” I said to the happy couple.

“Thanks for coming,” they both replied with wide smiles.

“So, where do y’all go from here?”

“We’re gonna stay here for the night because we have a room upstairs in the Presidential Suite. But we’re leaving early in the morning for Turks and Caicos,” Carmen stated.

“Oh, I bet that’s gonna be nice! How long are y’all staying?”

“Six nights and seven days.”

“Oh my goodness! Y’all are going to have some fun!” I smiled. “Don’t come back pregnant now,” I teased.

“Oh, it’s too late for that. We gon’ start working on that tonight,” Xavier interjected with a chuckle.

I smiled back. “Good luck!”

I wished them much happiness and gave them a little advice about keeping people out of their business. They took everything in and thanked me once again for coming. On my way out, I saw Nikki smiling in this guy’s face, so I walked over to her and told her that I was about to leave, since she and I both rode together.

“How you doing? I’m Nikki’s cousin, Kira,” I said to the guy, extending my hand.

“I’m doing fine.” He shook my hand. “I’m Nate.”

“Nice to meet you, Nate.” I turned to Nikki, who had her face all screwed up because I’d just introduced myself to her new friend. I didn’t know what she thought, but I wasn’t going to make moves on him, so she could’ve kept that expression to herself. “Are you leaving with me? Because I’m ready to go.”

“Can you wait five minutes, please?” Her tone reflected her irritation.

I didn’t feed into her drama. “I’ll be in the car.”

A few minutes later she got into the car. We didn’t say a word to one another the entire drive home. This whole thing with her attitude was really getting on my fucking nerves. She acted like she really couldn’t stand me. I mean, damn, was it that bad?

Immediately after we got back to the house, Nikki went her way and I went mine. I walked into the house, took off my clothes, flopped down on the sofa, turned on the TV and reminisced on how beautiful Carmen’s wedding was. I could only imagine that my wedding to Fatu would be more glamorous than Carmen’s. I mean, he and I both had more money than her and Xavier, so our expensive taste would be way over the top. While I was dreaming of my fairytale wedding, my cell phone rang. I didn’t bother to look at the CallerID.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello, beautiful,” Fatu said.

I smiled. “Hello to you too, handsome. And how was your day?”

“It was fine. How was the wedding?”

“Oh my God, Fatu, it was so beautiful. I wished you could have been there so you could get an idea of what I want our wedding to be like.”

“There’s no need to fret, baby. Everything is going to be all right. I’ve already got you scheduled to meet with a couple of wedding planners this coming week, so everything will be absolutely perfect.”

“What day?”

“I’m sure it’s Thursday. But, I’m gonna have to check my book to make sure.”

“So, what are you doing later?”

“Why? Do you want to see me?” he asked.

“You know I do.”

“Okay, well give me a couple of hours to take care of a few things around here at the club and then I’ll call you so we can meet up at my place and have a quiet night alone.”

“All right. Sounds like a plan,” I told him and then we blew each other a kiss and hung up.

After we ended our call, I hopped up off the sofa and slipped on a pair of my running sneakers. Since I had absolutely nothing to do, I headed down to the salon so I could straighten up a few things around there. When I pulled up curbside it was a little after eight pm and I noticed Sophie and another Nigerian chick coming out of her shop. I turned off my ignition, got out of the car, and walked straight to my front door. I tried avoiding eye contact with them, but Sophie and the other chick stood there and waited for the right opportunity to get my attention. “I met your fiancé the other day while he was leaving your salon, and I must say that he’s a very nice guy.”

“Thank you.” I smiled.

“So, when is the big day?” she continued.

“We haven’t set a date yet,” I lied, hoping she’d take the hint and carry her nosey ass. Shit, we weren’t cool like that for her to be asking me a whole lot of damn questions.

“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s not going work,” she replied, placing her hand on her hip.

As hard as it was, I kept the smile on my face and said, “Well, thanks for the heads up,” and then I put the key in the door to unlock it.

“You and your fucking cousin are nothing but whores. Y’all need to stay away from our men. Stay with your own kind and leave our men alone,” she roared.

Listening to this ignorant-ass bitch rant and rave about me and Nikki being whores and that my marriage to Fatu wasn’t going to work made my skin crawl. I honestly tried my best to avoid this bitch, but she pressed my buttons this time, so I let her ugly ass have it. “Listen, bitch, don’t you have some fucking monkeys to run down behind?

“Excuse me!”

“No bitch! Excuse me,” I snapped back. “You are always walking around here starting shit with me. Stop worrying about what the fuck is going on over here and worry about who your husband is sticking his little-ass dick in. And for your information, there are no whores over here. We are nothing but women with class who wouldn’t tolerate a man we are fucking to have two and three wives. See, that shit only happens in Africa, not here. So, the next time you come at me with some bullshit, make sure you come correct because I ain’t gonna be so nice.” I opened my door and closed behind me before she could utter another word.

I did, however, look through my mini-blinds to see if she was going to walk her dusty ass on over, but she didn’t. Instead, she said a few words in her native language and got the hell on in her car. I, on the other hand, took a seat in the back office and exhaled. All I could think about was those two big bitches whooping my little ass. Thank God for all that space we had between us because I believe if she’d been just a little bit closer to me, then she probably would have knocked my ass out. And I would not have been ready for that. So, from that day forward I vowed to keep my ass at least ten feet away from her. I was too old and too pretty to be getting fucked up in this day and time. And that’s some real shit!

A
fter Kira and I left Carmen’s reception, I got dropped off at my car. I didn’t say thank you or anything. I just wanted to get the hell away from her as quickly as possible. I ended up dipping up to the club to hang out with Fatu, but he wasn’t there. Bintu wasn’t there either, so I sat around and had a few drinks. Meanwhile, this chick comes up to the bar and asks me if she could buy me a drink. I looked at her like she was fucking crazy. I mean, what kind of pickup line was that? Did I look like I needed somebody to buy me a drink? So I said, “No, I’m fine.” But this ho was persistent.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

Now don’t get me wrong, she was beautiful as hell. She was very tall and lean like a model. Her hair was cut short in a tapered style, and it was really pretty because her hair was naturally curly. She was dressed in an expensive Carolina Herrera dress like she had a lot of zeros at the bottom of her bank statement. But I wasn’t impressed by that bullshit. I had money too, so I let her know it.

“Yes, I’m sure. Believe me, I have a black card in my purse that’ll pretty much take care of anything I need,” I lied.

She smiled. “Sounds like American Express. We have something in common.”

I ignored her and took another sip of my drink.

“Are you here alone?” she wanted to know.

“Yes.”

“Me too. But hopefully I won’t be for long.”

“There are plenty of eligible men in here, so take your pick.”

“I’m more of a connoisseur. I like both sexes.”

I almost choked on my drink after this bitch told me she was bisexual. I honestly did not know how to respond to that. I mean, I’d always thought about the possibility of having a threesome, but I never thought I would have a chick approach me with so much aggression. She was making me nervous as hell. Thank God Fatu came over from out of nowhere.