Chapter: 9
*6 months later*
Tavi.
“Addison, seriously, you’re seven years old now, it’s time to give up the cry baby days.” I sighed as we got out the car.
We walked up to the church as Addison cried about wanting something that she knew she couldn’t have. We walked in and it took me awhile to find my way around the big mansion church. We finally found our way to where Sandra and the other girls were getting ready for the ceremony. Everyone was running around frantically trying to get ready for the wedding and to make sure that everything was right.
“Tavi, you’re late.” Sandra exclaimed as we walked in.
I nodded my head and closed the door behind me, “I know. I had a late night last night and this little girl was setting me back this morning.”
Addison sat down on the white futon on the opposite side of the room, while I grabbed her dress from off the rack with the rest of the girl’s dresses. I took Addison into the bathroom and changed her clothes so that I wouldn’t have to worry about her.
Once Addison was dressed I walked back out to the main room and all the girls were sitting in chairs getting their make-up done. I took my seat and let the make-up artist touch up my face.
“Can you put make-up on me too?” Addison questioned.
“No,” I mumbled. I pulled my phone from out of my pocket and handed it to her, “go over there and sit.”
She stomped off as all the girls laughed at her dramatic attitude. She was being a handful this morning which caused me to be late. After dropping Aubree off at my mom’s house, I had to swing to the store to pick up medicine for Addison, and she had me chasing her around the store, like it was game. I should’ve just left her with my mom and had Sandra be flower girl-less for the wedding.
“All the guys are dressed,” Loren announced walking into the room. I looked around and none of the girls had their dresses on or even had their hair done. The wedding wouldn’t start for another two hours so we were good on timing.
I looked over at Sandra who had a few different emotions plastered on her face. She squirmed in her chair a few times and wouldn’t sit still to save her life. I laughed and looked over at the door as Maurice walked in, dressed in an all white tux.
“Awe,” Everyone squealed.
“Addison go stand next to Maurice so we can get some pictures,” Kourtney instructed.
Addison rolled her eyes and stood near her ex-best friend. Apparently Addison said that she and Maurice are no longer friends anymore for god knows what. I think it’s the fact that the school decided to separate them for their first grade year and now she feels like he’s replacing her with other people.
“C’mon Addison smile, please!” Loren begged.
Addison gave them a fake smile as I shook my head, “so Sandra, are you nervous?”
“I wanna throw up,” she admitted. “I don’t think I wanna do this anymore.”
“Please stop!” I ordered, “you’re gonna go out there and marry the man that loves you the most. Stop being so scared, everything will be fine.”
“I hope so,” she mumbled. “Have you talked to Shayne?”
I rolled my eyes, “today is not about me and my problems it’s about you.”
There honestly weren’t any problems in my life at this point. I haven’t really spoken to Shayne since the end of the summer about the arrangements for the school year. He picks Aubree and Addison up from daycare and school on Friday’s and drops them off at the same place on Monday’s. He’s still the weekend dad, which I’m fine with, as long as there’s no problems.
“I just don’t want things to be awkward, you know?”
I nodded, “it’ll be fine, I promise.”
We went back to getting our make-up and hair done and soon after put on our dresses. By the time we were almost ready and done, it was a few minutes away from the time that the ceremony is supposed to start. I soon started to grow butterflies just because my best friend is about to get married, I’m so nervous for her, but I won’t let it show.
“The church is packed!” Karissa announced while walking in.
Sandra grew a panic face, “oh my god, I can’t do this, I think im gonna be sick!” She rushed towards the back.
“You all go get lined up, I’ll take care of her,” I ordered. They nodded their heads and disappeared out of the room to line up for the start of the ceremony.
I walked into the back where the bathroom is and saw Sandra gagging over the toilet while holding her dress. I kneeled down to her level and rubbed her back to comfort her as she continued to let out all her nervousness.
“Sandra, are you okay?”
She picked her head up, “no, I don’t know if I wanna do this now.”
I kissed my teeth, “all you’ve been talking about is getting married. Trust me, you want this, I don’t know what’s making you this nervous but you need to forget about all that and think about how much you love Nate and how much he loves you.”
“I’m just scared that he might not really want this as much as I do,” she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“If he didn’t want this he wouldn’t have gone this far,” I assured her. “He’s so crazy about you and you’re the same way about him. You’re about to have every girls dream come to life. You get to have the husband the adorable kid, it’s what a lot of girls wish for and right now you need to take advantage of it. Hope for the best right now.”
She nodded her head and smile, “thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“You know I love you,” I gave her a side hug and frowned, “but you really need to brush your teeth before you say I do.”
She giggled, “I know, can you get my purse? I have a travel tooth brush in there.”
I got up and grabbed her purse from out of the other room and handed her the tooth brush. I watched as she finished brushing her teeth and got herself readjusted for the next few minutes that’s about to happen.
A knock came to the door as I smoothed out her up do hairstyle. It was her dad, who would be walking her down the isle. I said goodbye to her and he stepped in so that he could of course give her the talk every dad gives their daughter before getting married.
I walked out to the foyer of the church and saw all the men and women lining up for the start of the ceremony. The wedding planer gave me my white small bouquet of roses as I looked around for Shayne, but couldn’t find him.
Right when I was about to ask Chris about his whereabouts Shayne came walking out from the back dressed in an all white tux with a fresh fade and edge up. He had a gold Rolex shining on his wrist to bring together the entire theme of the wedding.
He stopped to talk to Calvin momentarily as I took my place at the beginning of the line. I smoothed out my long white dress and made sure I looked good. Shayne came over and stood next to me without saying a word.
I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by the wedding planer, “you guys have exactly thirty seconds so get ready.”
Everyone in the foyer got quiet and waited for their cue to walk out and into the church. Shayne and I linked arms and before I knew it we were walking down the isle to start off the wedding. It felt weird to be in this situation with him, considering our relationship at the moment, which is very nonexistent.
We got to the end of the church and took our place on the opposite side of the stage as the next couple followed suit while Nate stood on the stage waiting for his bride. After a good minute or so all the bridesmaids and groomsmen were standing one behind the other on the opposite sides of the stage.
The music switched from the instrumental to an old 90’s song to a different instrumental with a slower beat. The doors opened and out walked Maurice and Addison, arms linked together as Addison threw white rose petals on the silk runway.
Everyone looked at them in awl and Addison soon started to throw the rose petals at the people in the crowd. I threw my head back in embarrassment as Sandra’s mom stood from her spot in the first pew and escorted them down the isle.
All the people in the pews stood to their feet and looked towards the backdoors, waiting for Sandra to ascend from the back. The doors opened and out walked Sandra and her dad as they seemed like they were having a small discussion between the two of them. He brought her down to the end of the isle and kissed her cheek before giving her hand to Nate.
I wanted to cry just looking at the two of them stand face to face ready to say their vows. I was so happy and excited for Sandra that I just couldn’t contain my emotions. This moment is something she’s been talking about ever since Nate proposed to her. Although she was a little hesitant I know this is exactly what she wants and I couldn’t be happier.
After they said I do, they kissed for what seemed like forever and a little too much public display of affection, the church filled with people stood to their feet and cheered them on as they walked out of the room. The bridesmaids and the groomsmen linked arms again and walked back down the isle and into the foyer.
We all separated and went back to the dressing room to change our clothes for the reception that was being held in the next building over. I don’t know exactly where Sandra and Nate went but I can’t wait to see her and see how happy she is.
<>
We walked into the packed hall that the reception was being held in and was taken aback. The entire place was decorated nicely to match the theme of the wedding. They had a DJ, a dance floor, a catering company that was waitressing around, and tables for everyone to sit at.
I searched around for Sandra and saw her talking to a few relatives. I made my way towards her and once she was done with her conversation I squealed and attacked her with a hug.
“You’re married now!” I exclaimed.
She turned around and smiled, “I know! I can’t believe all of this is happening.”
“Me either,” I sighed, “I almost cried.”
“You?” She rhetorically asked me, “when Nate and I left out the church I cried to him, still unsure of this entire thing, but he really knocked me upside the head and assured me that this what he wants and I can’t be happier.”
“Well there you go,” I laughed, “now you can enjoy yourself and just be happy for the simple fact that you’re married.”
She blushed and nodded, “yes, but there’s one problem.”
“What?”
“Your daughter is in the chocolate fountain,” she pointed towards the opposite side of the room where Addison was sticking her head under the fountain that poured out chocolate.
“Excuse me so that I can go beat her ass,” I smiled at Sandra before walking away. “Addison what the fuck is you doing?”
“Mom, this is so good!” She cheesed with chocolate covering her face.
“And this ass whoopin’ is gonna be so good tonight if you don’t start acting right. What’s wrong wit’ you?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Go over there and sit down with Maurice and be good for once in your life!” I pointed to a table that Maurice and Rico were sitting at.
She huffed and walked over to the table and took a seat and put her head down. I rolled my eyes and took a champagne glass from off of a waiter’s tray and looked around at everyone dancing and enjoying themselves.
A few hours later and the reception was still going. Addison, Maurice, and Rico were running around causing trouble as everyone paid them no mind and continued to celebrate the marriage of Sandra and Nate.
I walked to the entrance and saw Calvin and Shayne making their way towards the door. I haven’t seen them all night and I’m sure they were out handling business while Nate, Chris and the others stayed here to make sure everything was afloat.
Calvin walked ahead of Shayne as I walked out of the hall getting hit with the cold breezy night. “Hey, can I talk to Shayne for minute?” I asked him.
Calvin nodded his head, “yeah he’s all yours.”
I smiled up at him as he went into the reception. Shayne was talking on his phone and didn’t really seem to pay me any mind as I waited for him to end his call.
“Yeah, I’ll hit you later,” he spoke to the other person on the phone. He hung up and stood in front of me.
“Hey,”
“Wassup,”
I looked down at my watch and saw that it was twelve on the dot, “happy birthday.”
“Thank you,” was all he said as I looked around for something to say to make all of this a lot less awkward.
“I haven’t talked to you in a long time,” I started. “How’s everything?”
He shrugged his shoulders, “I’m straight. You good?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “I just really wish you’d talk to me sometimes. I don’t hate you or anything if that’s what you think.”
“Nah’ that’s not what I think,” he protested.
I know that all of this tension has to do with six months ago when he proposed and I said no. Me saying no was a real knife to his ego, but he should’ve thought before he actually did it. I still was mad and hadn’t gotten over the fact that he cheated, so for me to say yes was a stretch.
“Shayne I didn’t distance myself from you so that we could end up having no kind of communication. I still love you, it’s just that I needed some time to think and to forgive you,” I explained. “And I really do forgive you.”
“I understand and I’m cool wit’ that,” he nodded. “But just like you I need distance too.”
“Yeah, I bet.” I frowned. “I’m really sorry about the whole thing. I didn’t reject you because I wanted to be an asshole, I was thinking about myself for once.”
“I ain’t mad at you,” he grinned a little.
“Really?” I questioned with one eyebrow raised.
He nodded, “yeah, everything’s cool.”
“So if I ask for a hug can I get one?”
He looked at me confused, “everything aint that cool.”
My mouth fell ajar as he began to laugh. He pulled me into a hug and I took in his scent that I haven’t smelt in a long time, along with the feeling of his body. Right now I just didn’t want him to pull away from me.
“I love you,” I mumbled.
“Mhm,” he hummed, “I love you too.”
_______
Trina.
“You a’ight?” Marco asked me as I layed back on his bed.
I brought my knees up to my chest and shook my head. My body felt so numb and my mind kept racing from all the negative thoughts that I kept getting. He placed his hand on my arm as I had my back facing him, unable to look him in the face.
“Trina, talk to me,” he mumbled.
I gulped and opened my mouth to speak but nothing would come out. This morning was just not my morning. It started out perfect. I woke up next to Marco after a long night of being out with him because he’s in town from playing football for the past couple months. But when I started to feel sick this morning I knew exactly what was going on.
There was so much blood everywhere and the cramps in my stomach were so tight and so horrendous that I couldn’t even walk. Marco rushed me to the hospital where they told me I was having a miscarriage. I was four months pregnant with my second child and it was taken away from me this morning.
Marco honestly didn’t seem too fazed by it, and I don’t know if it’s because he’s trying to be strong for me, but I really wish he’d leave me alone. All I wanted to do was sleep this entire thing off and worry about it in the morning.
“What did I do wrong?” I murmured through my silent tears.
Marco sighed, “you didn’t do anything. I guess this just wasn’t meant to be.”
“How could you say that?” I asked looking over at him. “How could you assume that because I didn’t have this baby that it wasn’t meant to be here.”
“Look I know you’re upset, but—,”
“But what?” I sat up, “calm down? Is that what you want me to do? I can’t calm down Marco, my hormones are running through the roof and you want me to fucking calm down.”
“I wasn’t gonna say that,” he spoke calmly. “I was just gonna say, let’s just try this out some other time.”
I took a deep breath and layed back down feeling bad. He was only trying to be here for me and help me go through this traumatic situation and here I am yelling at him. I just don’t know how to deal with my emotions on this entire thing. One minute I’m pregnant and the next I’m not. How does one deal with something like that?
“I’m sorry,” I wiped my tears.
“Its fine,” he chuckled. “Just listen to me before you start goin’ off the handle. Now I know what just happened put a cloud over the plans we had to enjoy each other before I go, but if you wanna just lay here until I leave then that’s fine wit’ me. I’ll lay here wit’ you.”
“Okay,’ I mumbled as he layed behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Your hair smells like hospital soap,” he said while sniffing my bun on top of my head.
“Shut up,” I giggled.
He pulled me in closer to him and held me tighter, something I have yet to get used to. It’s been six months since we’ve been together and I’d say it’s the best six months of my life. We’re most definitely not a boring couple, with arguments everyday about something stupid, but make-up sex that last until the morning.
These six months with Marco has really showed me all the things I was missing when it came to relationships. We’re still in the first step of our relationship, which I’m fine with. He hasn’t met Harlem yet and I don’t know when I’ll be ready to introduce them to each other. It’s just another step in our relationship that we’ll have to walk upon together.
_______
Shayne.
Chris, Calvin, Nate, and I walked into the packed club searching for someone we were waiting on. The VIP section we had on reserved was empty waiting for us to fill it. Tonight the club was going up on ten, but I wasn’t in any mood to party or anything. Although it’s my birthday, I’d rather sit at home with my kids and chill.
“Yo,” Calvin called out over the loud music, “he said he’d be here in ten minutes.”
We all nodded and maneuvered our way to our section that over looked the club. Meeting someone important here rather than an empty alley way was a lot less suspect and it’d keep the radar off of us.
“You want some?” Chris asked handing me a bottle of Mascoto.
I declined the liquor and continued to look around the club. Out of all of us, at least one of us had to be sober enough to talk and that of course would be me. I continued to scan the club and came upon a girl that was dancing and kissing all over some Mexican looked nigga that looked like he belonged with the Mexican Mafia. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew the back of her like no other.
“If you think that’s Tavi, then you’re right because it is.” Nate leaned over and said over the music.
I watched her intently as she danced and carried on with the guy who seemed to enjoy her body all over him. I switched my attention over towards the steps of the balcony as an old familiar face walked in.
I stood to my feet and greeted him with a dap before we sat down and got to business. He was the same Jamaican that wanted to buy the product off of me that Nino was gonna give me. After telling him that something happened to Nino, he assured me that he’d still give me the two million if I found something worth it, which I did.
“Let’s talk business,” he started.
I nodded, “lemme start by saying thanks for givin’ me some time.”
He waved his hands, “it’s cool. Once I heard who you were I knew I’d be in for something good.”
“Yeah, and that’s exactly what I got. Some nigga in Colombia by the name of Leo has some of the finest coco plants.”
“Go on,” he nodded.
“You give me two million and I’ll get you the plant.” I negotiated. “The Colombians aren’t too fond of the Jamaicans so I’m willing to get this product to you to help your business.”
It was the same scheme as Nino; I pay five hundred thousand and get two million back. I’d just need to have Chris take a trip to Colombia to make this deal happen. It’s all up to him if this Jamaican says yes.
He slowly nodded his head giving me the green light, “you do that and I give you a quarter of my profit.”
I shook his hand letting him know that business was in action. Soon after he started to enjoy the club scene with Nate and the rest of them while I sat scanning the place for Tavi.
I immediately spotted her all over the same nigga from before but just this time they were heading towards the exit. I stood up and walked out of the VIP section without telling anyone where I was going. Making my way outside I could hear Tavi talking to the guy as they walked upon a car.
I watched from a distance as they shared a kiss and then she pulled away. She wiped the lipstick from off his face and went through her clutch looking for something.
“Drive safe,” he told her.
She nodded her head, “yeah, don’t come in too late.” She told him, “handle your business and come straight home.”
He nodded, “I will. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she gave him one last kiss as I looked at the both of them completely confused. He assisted her into the car and she pulled off as he went back into the club.
It’s only been six months and already she’s telling someone else she loves them. I really thought it would take her some time to move on, but it’s clear she had no problem in that department. I just can’t believe she forgot that fast.
Sorry if this chapter was boring! The next two chapters are about to give yall sooooooo much life!
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