The Streets Keep Calling (13 page)

Seconds later the phone rang again. This time it was Maria. All fucking day Maria had been blowing me up from the cell phone I gave her when she came over. I assumed Mr. Biggs still didn't know about it. Otherwise, the phone would have definitely been cut off. I was hoping she wasn't about to start off on some baby momma drama level. You know how it usually goes: you give your baby mother a little bit of leeway and she goes psycho on you. When I gave her the phone I specifically told her the phone was so I could get in contact with my kids, but the way she was calling, it was more like the other way around. She finally texted me, saying that the kids wanted to talk to me. The first thing that came to mind was that she hadn't been letting me talk to my kids since I came out, but now, all of a sudden, I was that important. I was definitely not in the mood for playing any of her dumbass games, but I called anyway.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Do have any idea how long I have been calling trying to reach you?” Maria shouted so loud it hurt my ear.

“Yeah. Where are the kids?” I said nonchalantly.

“So that's the only reason you called back? I've been blowing you up all day, Breeze,” Maria continued to shout.

“Maria, if you have been calling me all day to argue, then I'm out. I've had a long, hard fucking day and I'm not in the mood for this shit,” I explained to her.

“No, I didn't call to argue. I have to tell you something.”

“Go ahead,” I said.

“I lied.”

“You lied about what, Maria?” I said, sounding a little annoyed.

“I lied about the house. The truth is I never sold it. I just relayed that tidbit of information to your mother because I couldn't stand her and I wanted to hurt you. Now that that's out the way, let me get to the point. I know a little bit about what's going on and I want to help you.”

“What did you hear?” I curiously asked.

“You're in danger. Biggs has a fifty thousand dollar hit on you.”

“Hmm,” I replied, trying my best to show no emotion.

“The house is yours. It's still fully furnished. No one would expect you to be there because everybody thinks I sold it. I put the key in the old post office box we set up by Indian River Road. All you have to do is pull it open gently because the door is unlocked,” she added.

“A'ight. I will take care of that. Now, let me talk to my kids,” I ordered.

“One last thing I have to say,” she insisted.

“What?” Now she was really starting to aggravate me.

“I never stopped thinking about you. Breeze, you left me and I just didn't know how to deal with it. You will always have my heart,” she said, sounding sincere. I wanted to believe Maria but I couldn't help but feel as if she had an ulterior motive. There was too much stuff that wasn't adding up, and history had already proved she was not to be trusted.

“Okay. Thanks, Maria,” was all I replied.

“That's all you have to say back, Breeze? Really?” she asked with confusion, surprise, and a little bit of hurt combined in her tone of voice.

“Are the kids coming to the phone?” I replied, ignoring her questions.

“Hold on,” was all she said, but not before sucking her teeth loud enough for me to hear.

Wow, Breeze's house should be classified as a castle
, I thought as he showed me around. It had a spacious kitchen with a full breakfast bar and an island with a customized stove top. The cabinets were made from dark cherry wood with frosted glass and silver knobs, which complemented to perfection the stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. All together, there were six bedrooms and four full bathrooms. The master bedroom had a beautiful fireplace and private balcony that overlooked an eight-foot deep pool with Jacuzzi. The house also included an attached three-car garage, with a gym, and, as if that were not enough, it also had a family room and separate playroom for the kids. Not to mention, each room had customized crown molding.

I couldn't believe Breeze had purchased that house with drug money. Call me naive, but I'd never seen drug money on such a level. Breeze was definitely reaping the fruits of his labor. I couldn't help but pray that being back in his old house wouldn't encourage him to want to stay in the game longer than planned. Breeze assured me that his house was paid for, so I figured we would be fine with my income and him establishing his own business to have on the side. I just had to sit down with him and discuss exactly what kind of business he wanted to look into. Honestly, I couldn't see Breeze working for someone else for the rest of his life. He just didn't take well to authority.

“So how do you like the house?” he asked, eagerly waiting for my answer.

“Like? Honey, I adore the house. It's exquisite,” I replied with a peck on his lips. Then we headed toward the playroom, where we found the kids busy playing a Nintendo Wii game.

“Kids, I fixed up your rooms,” Breeze called out to them. I smiled when I heard them giggling and laughing as they made their way toward us.

“Great,” they replied in unison, giving him a hug. Then, to my pleasant surprise, they turned to hug me as well. I must admit it felt a little weird to be around them. Up until today, the only time I had ever seen them was when they came in with Maria at the bank. Having them around more often was definitely something I was looking forward to.

“Um, Dad, is Ms. Tanisha going to be our new mommy like we have a new daddy?” Jaden asked Breeze.

“Actually, that's one of the things I wanted to talk about with you and your sister. Ms. Tanisha is going to be your stepmother after she and I get married. There are some things I need to explain to you two first. Now, let's start by talking about this whole daddy thing.” Breeze stooped down so that he was at eye level with the children. Then he grabbed their hands as he spoke. “Kids, I need you to understand that you only have one daddy,” Breeze began to say, but was interrupted by a strange noise. “What's that noise coming from outside?” he said to no one in particular, then quickly clicked on the surveillance camera that showed views from every angle on the outside of the house as well as inside. Breeze seemed a little on edge to me, but I didn't bother saying anything.

“Dad, it's the ice cream truck! Can we have some please, Daddy,” Kaylyn replied excitedly.

After zooming in on the front gate camera and confirming she was right, Breeze gave the kids the okay to get some ice cream. “Here's some money,” he said, handing Jaden a twenty-dollar bill.

“Thanks.” Kaylyn giggled and the kids ran off.

“Did you want anything?” Breeze asked me.

“No, I'm fine. Aren't you going to get something?” I asked in return.

“You know the only sweet I'm into is your pussy,” he whispered into my ear.

“I second that notion and the one where I'll be the proud stepmother; however, first, you need to get a divorce. According to my book of law, you can only have one wife,” I explained.

“I'm taking care of that.” Breeze assured me with a kiss.

“All right.” I nodded.

“Since the kids are outside, I have one more room to show you,” he mentioned, leading the way.

We walked through the master bedroom and he led me to the walk-in closet. Breeze hit a button on the wall and the shelves spread apart, showing a door. We opened the door and headed down some stairs. As we inched closer to this special room, I was hoping it would be a romantic room that only we would know about. To my disappointment, it looked more liked a fixed-up energy-efficient apartment equipped with a bedroom, bathroom, phone, mini kitchen, and two flat-screen televisions.

“What is this?” I asked, confused.

“It's a panic room. If any of us are ever in danger, we can come down here. It's resistant to bullets. The door is made of steel and has a lock release. Unless someone blows it up, they're not getting it open,” Breeze explained.

“Let's hope we never have to use this room,” I said, a little concerned Breeze would have need for such a room. Instantly, thoughts of Jose came into my head, causing my stomach to turn.

“I'll hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. All that matters to me is you and the kids and y'all's safety. Matter of fact, pack your bags. You're off for a few days, so I figured we could go to Atlanta to do a little shopping, and maybe while we're there we can take the kids to the zoo and the aquarium. I already spoke to Maria about taking the kids on vacation for a couple of days with me, so everything is all set to go,” Breeze directed.

 

We had a wonderful weekend, and Monday came around before I knew it. My days off flew by so fast, and I was back to my normal routine at work. I was grateful that I had scheduled myself to work the late shift that day, because I did not have the energy to go in early in the morning. Unfortunately, it had completely slipped my mind that the late shift would require me to have to deal with Maria's weekly Monday visit. I opened my office door and noticed that only Maria and the kids were here today. I found it a little unusual that Mr. Biggs wasn't with them. The kids ran up to me, and gave me hugs with sticky lollipop juice dripping all over their hands. I wondered if the kids had told Maria about me being their stepmother, or that I had been with them the entire time they were with their father over the weekend. As I looked up at her, I couldn't tell if she was upset from the expression on her face, because she always looked at me nasty.

“I've been waiting for you. Kids, go sit at the coloring table,” she ordered them.

“Hello. What can I help you with this afternoon?” I asked in my most professional voice.

“Bitch, I always knew you wanted Biggs but you went as far as fucking my husband, Breeze? Let me make something clear to you, sweetie. Both of those men belong to me. They both are mine. Breeze is just passing the time with you.” She spat at me, “Did he tell you that house you've been in all weekend is the house that we shared together? Damn, Tanisha, I didn't take you for the type to take another woman's leftovers,” she growled at me.

I could not believe this woman had the nerve to come to my job to bring personal drama. I knew this moment would happen eventually, but I would have thought she would have had the decency to at least do it somewhere else. Nonetheless, I refused to stoop to this woman's level. “Let's get one thing straight. I do not nor have I ever wanted anything to do with Mr. Biggs, and I do not intend on stealing anyone's husband. If these men ‘belong to you' as you stated earlier, then I suggest you speak with them about all of that because I refuse to stand here discussing my personal life with you. Moving on, one thing I do need to speak with you about is the fact that all of your accounts are overdrawn at this time. Now, as the bank manager I must inform you that we will be adding overdraft fees to any additional charges added to these accounts until they are brought back to a positive status. Now, if these accounts are not restored within twenty-four to fourty-eight hours, I will be forced to freeze them. Do you have any questions,
Mrs. Biggs
?” I asked with a smug look on my face. It felt so good to have the opportunity to say all this to such a snooty, high-and-mighty woman like herself.

“Bitch, I will not have you speak to me like that. Do you have any idea how much money we have invested in this bank in the past?” Maria yelled, and slapped me across the face.

The devil in me wanted to grab Maria by the hair and throw her across the room, but the Southern beauty in me stayed calm. Instead, I quickly called security. Thankfully, the kids hadn't seen the commotion. Within seconds, security kindly walked Maria out of the bank. I was so pissed that I left for the rest of the day. I didn't need this type of crap in my place of employment. Banks don't like drama. They have too much of an image to uphold.

I couldn't dial Breeze's number fast enough as I walked to my car.

“Talk to me,” Breeze answered the phone.

“Maria came to the bank and slapped me. Breeze, I have never gone through anything like this before in my life! You better get control of her, now, before I send her to jail. I'm not going to put up with this crap! Oh, and by the way, you could have told me that was the house you had with her. I don't like to be in the dark about certain things,” I said, and hung the phone up on him. I decided to go to my mother's house to cool down. Breeze quickly called back but I just turned my phone off. For one day, I just didn't want to deal with it.

My head was pounding as I kept dialing Maria's cell phone number and continued to pace the floor.
Who does this bitch think she is? When we was together at first, I cared so much about impressing her, the snobby parents, and her snotty-ass friends. The irony is Maria is just as bad as any other average ghetto bitch.

I wish she had given me her house phone number because I would have called that number too. Knowing Maria, her ass was probably laughing at me, hoping Tanisha would have left me by now. I couldn't blame Tanisha for not wanting to get into a whole bunch of drama. She was right. I should have told her about the damn house. That way, Maria wouldn't have been able to throw that shit in her face. Deep down, I knew a real woman like Tanisha didn't want to feel like as if she was taking second place. At this point, I still hadn't been able to get through to Tanisha. I tried calling, but I couldn't get a hold of her, either. Worst of all, I didn't know if Maria had told her about us having sex. I knew I couldn't put nothing past Maria's conniving ass. That bitch just couldn't stand to see me happy. What I couldn't believe was that she had actually put her hands on my woman.

“Hello?” Maria finally answered in tears.

“Now you finally want to pick up the phone,” I snapped.

“Biggs hit me again. He thinks there's somebody else because I won't sleep with him anymore,” she said between tears.

“Bitch, if I had his number I'd tell him myself that I fucked you the other night. Shit, who knows how many other niggas you been fuckin' lately. I mean, it shouldn't be that hard to figure it out. Just see what dudes are making the most money. You all about the dollars, right? Your pussy goes where the money goes. So I guess that makes you a ho. Matter of fact, tell that nigga to smack you again for me,” I shouted. I couldn't give a fuck about Maria getting smacked. She had truly crossed the line this time.

“What? Breeze, how could you talk to me like this? The only person I've slept with is you. I put that on my kids,” Maria vowed.

There was no way I could believe anything Maria said anymore. Deep inside I knew Maria wasn't the ho type, but I also knew she was all about the dollars. On the real, that was probably the only reason she even slept with me. She saw the money leaving Biggs and coming to me. I knew if a chick was that crazy about money anything was possible. I couldn't put nothing past Maria.

“Whatever, Maria, save it, please. That's not even important to me right now. I've been calling you about a more pressing issue. Now listen to me and listen to me closely. Stay the hell away from Tanisha. She ain't got shit to do with me and you,” I demanded.

“Breeze, I'm sorry. Baby, please forgive me. It's just that I've never thought about you being with anyone else. Then to find out about Tanisha, it killed me inside. I've been thinking about getting our family back together. The kids love you so much and I'm starting to fall back in love with you all over again. Please, Breeze, we can work this out,” Maria begged.

“Maria, you're wasting your breath.”

“Baby, just give me another chance to prove to you that I won't leave you ever again.”

“Maria, please,” I shouted to get her attention. Her begging was really starting to get under my skin. “You're becoming borderline pathetic. We ain't ever getting back together. I don't want you. In fact, I plan to marry Tanisha. I'll be drawing up divorce papers real soon.”

“Not so fast. We had sex, which means I get another year of convincing you to stay with your true family,” Maria stated as if she where some sort of divorce attorney. I had to wonder if she'd planned this all along.

“What judge is going to believe you slept with me? Remember, I'm the convict you deserted in prison. You been moved on now to Mr. Biggs, who definitely ain't going to go for that. I've always told your dumb ass, Maria, to think before you speak.”

“Fuck you, Breeze, you won't marry that bitch, and you won't see your kids again, either. I'm gonna make sure of that!” Maria announced, and hung up the phone.

I kept calling back, but I continued to get her voice mail. Even though I wanted to, I didn't leave a voice message or text because I didn't want her to come back and say I was harassing her. There was no telling what Maria was capable of. I wouldn't have been surprised if she tried to pin her battered bruises on me so I could go back and sit in a prison cell.