TLWM: The Hate Experience

\XXIX/ Sitting In A Tree

For that, she loosened her hold to move back to my pillow to get a good view of me. "What do you mean? You were at Raven's house all night?"

"It was an accident, baby."

Letty was frowning at my grinning. And I was trying to find traces of tears in the harsh light, trying to catch her in a lie for once, but I wasn't getting anything.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"We just talked about this the other night."

"I know."

"Boundaries?"

"I know."

"You're the one who said she's still trying to get with you so distance was best. Why give her a field to play in? If she can't come here, you shouldn't be going to her place either. I didn't know I had to spell that out for you."

"Ha-ha," I said, cursing my honesty. "It won't happen again. Promise." And I wasn't about to mention where I fell asleep. "I just wanted to wait with him because he had a little meltdown."

"Don't blame Ace."

"I'm not!" I laughed. "I'm just... What is this music you put in my stereo?"

She said it was some new band called Radiohead. "There's a song on the album named Creep. I think you'd like it."

"I think I heard it while you were sleeping."

"And you liked it?"

"Uh... It was alright."

"Just alright? You didn't like the guitar? And melody?" It was cute when she wanted me to break down songs with her, eyes growing attentive and bright as she waited for my opinion. "What would you have done different?" It was some kind of turn on for her.

"I'll have to listen to it again," I said pinching her nose.

"Stop." She slapped my hand away. "When do you have to leave?"

"When Duane comes knocking on that door," I said nodding past her.

All was quiet in the house, so I kept on talking like I had nowhere to be.

Letty asked about the movie Aladdin and what I thought about the music. Then she started rambling excitedly about a dinosaur movie coming out called Jurassic Park. "Ace is going to flip out." She read the book so she was already telling me the movie. I had to stop her.

Soon, we somehow transitioned into childhood and she was telling me about her first fight in the elementary school gym. "Her name was Brianna Forrest." She said she was a tomboy and actually her friend. But Brianna got frustrated when Letty was playing around too much during a game of basketball one day. "I was yelling at her to calm down and then she called me Wizzo-the-weirdo and I called her Bri-the-tree because being that tall in the 5th grade wasn't cool, and then she had the nerve to throw the basketball at me. So I pushed her to the floor and she kicked me down and we were rolling from there, until Mr. Bell stopped it." And Letty said Ms. Grandma Jackee was mad-mad. "That was the first time I saw my mother so enraged. Not at me but the tree for touching her daughter and breaking my new glasses. But Bri and I were friends the next day like it never happened."

"I was in elementary school too," I said, thinking back to Skipper's first duel. "Probably 4th or 5th grade. Tommy Jenkins."

"Ooh. What Tommy done did?"

"He was messing with my little sister."

"Aww," Letty laughed. "Tyka's her name, right?"

"Yeah. She told me so when I saw him after school, I ran up behind him and knocked his baseball cap off. Like, I was standing right on the top step because he was kind of tall too so I had the height to do it. And he was just all talk, 'What's your problem, Nelson?'"

Letty was cracking up at my impression of the little tall doofus.

"And I knocked him right in the knee so he could bend over and I could get him in his nose. I guess that's not really a fight though because he never hit back. He started crying and I was just standing there with my chest out like 'don't be messing with my sister, Tyka, punk.' Then Principal Healey came and suspended me."

"Wow. Badass."

"But everyone from that point knew not to mess with Tyka Nelson."

"And I bet you went on yourself to be a little troublemaker, huh?"

"Yeah. I had a tiny temper."

Letty reminded me that that tiny temper was now fully matured. "You know, I'm now realizing we were around each other a few times back in the day."

"When and where?"

"You were in a band with Andre, right?" Her memory pulled up a scene at the local community center. "I used to watch you guys perform at The Way. I was around 9 or 10 I think."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." She said thinking towards the ceiling. "I was hanging with my older cousin and she had a huge crush on Andre and would always try talking to him. I know you and I had to have been around each other more than once back then but I don't remember anything of it. I always heard about you though, and was always impressed with your ambition, how you just kept getting bigger and better 'til everyone knew your name."

"Yeah... And here we are now."

"Yeah... Wizzo-the-weirdo and Skipper sitting in a tree."

"F-u-c-k-i-n-g."

She laughed, playing with the tips of her scarf and finally came that knock at the door, the one to snatch me from shelter and out into the storm.

"Prince?" Duane called. "You awake?"

"I'll be right there." Sitting up, I kissed my baby's lips. "Try and get some more sleep." Reaching behind my neck, I felt along my chain for the clasp.

"Sleep? Funny."

"I love you too," I said, placing the necklace around her. "I'll call you when I get to Miami, okay?" The gold chain was longer than she'd usually wear, the love symbol pendant resting on her belly. "My keys are on the dresser. Don't lose them." I got off the bed and she grabbed my arm to stop my first step.

"Babe? What if I'm pregnant next time you see me?"

Biting my smile, my fists sank into the bed as I leaned in to kiss her. "Then that's what I call checkmate."

End of Act III