When He Cheatin' and You Still Love Him 2 (11 page)

After closing the door, I instruct Kendrick to go and get his iPad so that he could watch a few shows on Netflix while I made a phone call. I’m glad I paid the extra hundred dollars to get the one with the cellular data because at times like this, it really comes in handy. With Kendrick busy, I locate my cell phone inside my purse and dial up the electric company. While the phone rings, I pick up a piece of the junk mail and fan myself. We’ve only been in the house for less than five minutes, and I’m sweating already. With the air conditioning not running, my house is hot and muggy, and I can’t stand it.

The automated system picks up and asks me the proper questions to obtain my identity. Once I finish entering my personal information, the soft voice of a female operator comes on the line.

“My name is Shanair Bishop, and I’m calling because for some reason my electricity is off.”

“Okay Ms. Bishop, let me pull up your account.” After asking pretty much the same questions as the automated system did minutes prior, she finally had everything in front of her. “It seems as if you called and terminated your services earlier today.”

“What? No, I did no such thing.” I explain confused as hell.

“I’m sorry ma’am. It says here that the account holder, Shanair Bishop, contacted customer service and requested that her electricity be disconnected today, because…let me see,” she pauses for a second. “It says that you informed the rep that you were moving out today, and no longer needed service at this address.”

“That’s impossible. I haven’t called you guys today, nor am I moving out of my house.”

My nerves are bad, and I’m about to ready to curse her ass out right now. Ain’t no way in hell I called and had my fucking lights cut off.
I swear if Terry is on some bullshit right now,
I think to myself.

“I’m sorry ma’am, the person who called had all of the required information. Are you sure it wasn’t you?”

“I know it’s wasn’t me!” I snap. “Now I’m not sure how they had my information because no one has my social security number, and that’s one of the questions you guys ask.”

Back and forth I pace my dining room as I try to figure out what the hell is going on.

“I’m sorry—”

“Please stop saying you’re sorry and tell me what I have to do to get my lights restored.” This bitch and her “sorry’s” aren’t helping me any.

“You can give me the password on your account.” She retorts sounding as if she now as an attitude.

“Password?!” I shriek. “I don’t have a password on my account!”

“It says here that you do ma’am.” The bitch says a little too smug for me.

“You know what—let me speak to your supervisor because you gone make me lose my cool with yo’ smart ass!”

“Hold please.” She tells me, and before I can reply the bitch puts me on hold.

While the elevator music plays, I fume as my mind tries to figure out what the hell is going on. I can’t think of anyone other than Terry that knows my personal information, and even with that said, I can’t picture him doing no gay shit like this. I know he was mad when I declined his lunch date earlier, but he would never leave Kendrick and I in the dark. Especially knowing I’m pregnant. Terry can be an asshole at times, but he wouldn’t do no shit like this.

“Hello, this is Dustin Blair, and I was told that you wanted to speak with me.” The cheery voice said.

“Yes, my name is Shanair Bishop and the rep that I was just speaking to was rude and wasn’t helping me at all.” I tell him stretching the truth a bit.

“I apologize for that. I will look into your call. What can I help you with Ms. Bishop?” I go on to tell him what I was told, and he puts me on hold for a minute before coming back to the line. “After looking at your account Ms. Bishop, the only way that we can restore your services are for you to come down with a photo ID.”

“This is crazy. I need a photo ID to cut my shit back on, but whoever got it cut off didn’t need shit.”

“Actually Ms. Bishop the caller had all of the required informat—”

“Whatever.” I cut him off. “What time do you guys close today?”

“Unfortunately we close at four on Fridays,” Dustin tells me.

My eyes travel to the clock on the wall.

“It’s already three-thirty, I will never get there in time.” This shit is getting more nerve-racking by the second.

“We open at eight a.m. on Monday, and don’t close until—”

Frustrated I hang up on Dustin’s dumb ass because I could care less about what the fuck he’s saying at this moment. What I need to do is pack me and my son some shit, so we can check into a hotel until I can get those bastards to cut back on my lights.

Terry

I just got off the phone with Shanair, and I can’t believe she would even think that I would do some corny shit like that to her. Getting somebody’s lights and shit cut off is a bitch move, and something that I would never do. One, I ain’t that type of nigga, and two, she got Kendrick and she’s pregnant as hell. After speaking to her for about an hour, neither of us was able to think of anyone who would do that dumb shit. Chalking it up as a mistake on the company’s behalf, Shanair made plans to get to the bottom of it Monday morning when she went there with her ID. Before we hung up, she told me that she and Kendrick were about to check into a hotel for a few days. I invited them stay in my room with me, but of course she declined my invitation.  

Things with Shanair have been strained since she put me out a few weeks ago. I’ve been trying damn near everything to get her take me back, but shit ain’t working like it used to. She won’t even talk about it. The ultrasound appointment was the first time that I’d seen her in weeks. As we sat in the waiting area, I couldn’t help but to stare at her. She looked so beautiful. Her skin was glowing, and the extra few pounds that she’d gained during the pregnancy looked real good on her. Seeing that small bump in her midsection made me grasp the fact that in just a few short months we would be having a baby. It also made me realize that I needed to get my shit together and get back home once and for all because with Shanair was where I wanted to be.

I admit I fucked up when I started back sleeping with Brittany. Everything was all good between Shanair and I. We were in somewhat of a happy place. There was no arguing like there was before. Other than throwing my parties, and hitting the gym, I had my ass at home. I was there so much that Shanair even began to start trusting me more. Then I went and fucked it up all up. I should have known that Brittany wasn’t as cool with my situation as she claimed to be; especially when every time we spoke on the phone, she always had something smart to say about Shanair. Going back to fuck with her was a mistake on my part; a mistake that I need to fix as soon as possible.

Other than that everything else in my life is going pretty good. My business has been doing pretty well, and I’ve been making a decent amount of money from the parties I’ve been throwing. My kids are good. Just the day before yesterday I went over to Toya’s house to see my older two and ended up staying over for dinner. That was a first for me, because any other time when I go over there, I don’t walk too far into the house. Even though Toya is my baby mother, and my kids live there, I try to respect the man of the house and not be all through their shit. I was about to do just that when my baby girl asked me to stay. I try my best not to let them down, so when Toya said it was okay, I stayed for a little while.

Things are even looking up for Katrina and I which is a shocker. The last week I picked her and Shad up and accompanied them both to his doctor’s appointment. Since he was such a big boy while getting his shots, we all went to Dairy Queen to get some ice cream. While there Katrina apologized for not only trying to break me up with Shanair but for threating to keep my son away from me as well. I accepted her apology and gave her one of my own. I let her know that I was sorry for playing with her feelings, and she only did what she did because of my actions. We ended the day on a good note, and when I dropped them off, she simply told me, ‘Thank you,’ and went into the house.

I swear I can get used to this.

*****

Four days later…

It’s a bright and shiny Tuesday afternoon. I just left the gym, and now I’m dressed and headed to the mall to meet up with Shanair and Kendrick for a day of shopping. It took some convincing, but after promising to buy our baby girl a gang of shit, Shanair finally agreed to meet me. I also think it was because she was tired of being cooped up in that hotel room. After going to the electric company and showing her identification, she was told that the earliest appointment they could give her to reconnect her services was for this upcoming Friday. Shanair was pissed that she had to spend the rest of the week at the hotel, and after flipping out on the chick behind the counter, she was escorted out with the threat of calling the police if she didn’t leave the premises. I damn near died when she told me that because she must have been talking mad shit for them to do all that.

When I arrive at the mall, I cringe when I see that the parking lot is packed. To make matters worse, the bus just pulled up and let a gang of people, including a bunch of loud ass teenagers, off of it. I shake my head in frustration because I don’t know what else I expected. This mall is always packed. Here I was thinking I was going to spend a nice day with my baby. Maybe we would talk, and I could promise her that everything will be different from now on. Turns out she probably won’t even hear my ass, because these fucking unruly ass kids will be too loud. Feeling defeated, I pull my car into one of the few available parking spaces all the way in the back. After putting it in park, I climb out and call Shanair’s phone to see where they are at.

Inside the mall, I make my way over to the food court where Shanair and Kendrick are seated. He’s munching on a taco while Shanair is picking over her container of Chinese food. After I greet the two of them, I pull up a chair and take a seat beside Kendrick. Since I ate before I went to the gym earlier, I decline Shanair’s invite to some of her food. As they continue to eat, I ask them about how their day has gone so far. Kendrick smiles as he tells me that his mom has signed him up for Karate lessons for the summer. He said that that’s where they had just come from and he couldn’t wait to get his uniform.

I laugh when he tells me that he will be a black belt in only a few weeks, and if I wanted he would show me a few of his moves when I came back home. When he asked me when it was that I was coming home, I sat shocked. Right away I look over at Shanair not sure of what to say. Meanwhile, she struggles to catch her breath after almost choking on her lemonade.

“Mommy, are you alright?” Kendrick pops up from his seat and quickly moves around the table to pat his mother on the back.

“Yeah,”
Cough
“I’m alright baby.”
Cough…Cough
“The juice just went down the wrong pipe, that’s all.” Shanair responds clearing her throat. “If you’re finished eating Kendrick, we can go.” She tells Kendrick not bothering to answer his question.

For the next two hours, we go from store to store picking up items for all of the kids. I’ve had to go out to both Shanair and my vehicles to drop off bags twice, and it’s looking like in a few I’ll be off to do it again. Walking into Children’s Place, Shanair immediately goes to the back of the store towards the infant section. There she picks up a bright purple romper and turns around with it in her hands. On her face is the biggest smile that I’ve seen in a long time. I already know that it’s her way of asking me if I like it, so I nod my head and let her know that I do. It warms my heart to see her in a cheerful mood again. We spend the next twenty minutes finding the correct sizes for lil momma in all the other colors of that exact same romper. Once Shanair grabs almost every pink and purple item in the store, it was finally time for us to cash out and leave.

“Oh my God Terry!” Shanair yells, startling me.

“What’s up?” I ask looking to see what has got her so excited.

“I’ve been looking for these shoes everywhere.” She tells me pointing to a pair of purple and black Air Max 95’s through the window of Finish Line.

Before I can say anything, she rushes into the store with Kendrick, and I close behind. Shanair continues through the store, and over to the women’s section. While she looks for the shoe, I take a seat on one of the benches close by while Kendrick walks over to where he mom is standing. With the shoe in her grasp, Shanair turns around and scans the store looking for someone to help her. It takes a while because the store is pretty busy. I figure it’s because a pair of Jordan’s came out this weekend, and all the people who were able to get them were copping them now.

“Here someone comes now,” Shanair cheered, happy to finally get some service. “Can I get these in a size six please?” She asks the worker who is blocked from my vision by the rack of t-shirts.

“Sure, I’ll go check in the back.”

As soon as I hear the voice my heart drops into the pit of my stomach.
I know the fuck that ain’t Charlotte,
I think to myself, all the while praying that I’m wrong.
Out of all the fucking shoe stores in the mall, how in the hell did we end up in this one?
I swear I totally forgot about Charlotte. If I had remembered, there is no way in hell that I would have allowed Shanair to come in the store, and if she did I damn sure wouldn’t have come in with her. A few minutes go by with me almost to the point of shaking in my boots. I’m hoping like hell that the voice I heard is someone else because I can’t afford to have any bullshit right now. I didn’t spend a lot of time with Charlotte, but I know the kind of female she is, and I’m almost positive that if she knew I was with Shanair, she would try her hardest to fuck my shit up. Especially, since I cut her off without any notice.

“Here you go.” I hear in the distance.

As soon as the voice comes close enough, I see that it is in fact, Charlotte. Not wanting to be noticed, I drop my head and pretend to play with my phone. I hope that she hands Shanair the shoes and keeps it moving. If she does, I’ll tell Shanair that I’m taking the bags to the car, and my ass won’t be back until I’m sure that she’s far away from this damn store. I peep Shanair take a seat on the other bench across from me. She grunts as she removes her sandals. Even though her stomach isn’t huge, it’s big enough to get in the way of her doing things like putting on her shoes. While I see her struggling to put on one of the Air Max’s, I continue to pretend like my phone has all of my attention because I see Charlotte’s shoes under the rack and know that she’s still close by probably waiting on Shanair to try the shoe on.

“Terry,” Shanair whines.

“Yeah,” I respond, knowing that my shit is about to blow up in my face. 

“I need your help putting this shoe on.”

Even though I ain’t trying to be caught up, I know better than to ignore Shanair and allow her to continue to struggle to put her shoe on. Slowly I stand up and walk over to where she’s sitting. Shanair holds her foot out toward me, and I bend down to help her completely slide her foot in. All the while I keep my back towards Charlotte so she can’t see my face. Shanair smiles at me as I pull the strings tighter and tie her shoe.

“How does that feel?” I ask her taking a step back.

Shanair stands up and walks a few steps before replying, “They’re cool. Not too tight.” She turns her foot to the side. “What do you think?”

“They look good to me,” I tell her honestly.

“Terry?” I hear from behind.

I don’t respond right away because I don’t plan to. My plan is to pretend like I don’t know who the hell this chick is. Unfortunately for me Shanair has already heard and is now looking from me to Charlotte as if to say, how the hell do y’all know each other. Charlotte calls my name a second time, but once again I don’t turn around.

“Terry, I know the hell you hear her calling you.” Shanair scolds.

“Oh, what’s up?” I finally say turning around.

Charlotte just stares at me with a smirk on her face.

“I guess this is the reason you couldn’t call a bitch back, huh?” She snarls. “You were too fucking busy playing daddy.”

“Girl, gone with that bullshit.” I tell her brushing her off. “I ain’t spoke to yo’ ass in months.

“Yeah, whatever Terry.” Charlotte waves her hand in my direction. “You ain’t gotta lie.”

“I know, and that’s why I ain’t.” Tired of feeding into her dumb shit, I turn back around and face Shanair. “You got everything you need.”

With a frown on her face, she looks me up and down and retorts, “Yeah…I guess.”

Shanair takes a seat back on the bench and kicks the shoe off her feet. While she tries to redo the straps of her sandals, I bend down and pick up the tennis shoe. After placing it back into the box, I attempt to assist Shanair to fastening up her sandal, but she smacks my hand away opting to do it on her own. It takes her a couple of seconds, but soon she has it, and together she, Kendrick and I head to the cash register. As we walk, Charlotte follows closely behind us. She’s still talking shit, and I’m trying my best not to make a scene in this fucking store, but this bitch is really trying me. When I hear her say that she’s pregnant with my child, I turn around and snatch her ass up by the arm. I really wanted to wrap my hands around her neck, but I didn’t want to fuck around and get locked up.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you better stop fucking playing with me,” I warn as I glance down at her flat stomach knowing damn well the bitch is lying.

“Whatever Terry,” Charlotte laughs snatching her arm out of my grasp. “I don’t want yo’ little dick ass anyway.” She blurts out before turning to walk away cracking jokes about my manhood.

Once her and her bullshit are out of sight, I allow the guy behind the counter to ring us up, and pay for the shoes. Shanair is quiet the entire time, and there is no doubt in my mind that she has an attitude. As we leave the store, she continues to give me the silent treatment, even though I try my best to spark up a conversation. I don’t mean to bug her, but I need to know just how much damage has been done. Outside at her car, I place her bags into the trunk with the rest of the bags. Making my way over to the driver side window, I stand there looking hopeless.