🖇🖇🖇Hey y'all, what's up? Sorry for the wait but I wanted this chapter to hit different. Enjoy😉!
Seated in Dr. Strouse's office, I was excited, couldn't contain the enthusiasm. This time I walked in proudly with my girl on my arm.
It's been a long journey, and we still have a long way to go, but I'm cherishing this. And what better way to start our life differently than with therapy.
We have the whole day to ourselves. Tronny man's at my parents. After this session, we're stopping to get a little grocery then head home for the rest of the night. I wanted to make sure I cleared today just in case she wanted to talk further after this appointment.
Dr. Strouse entered taking a seat after us, with that same goofy smile he did when I met him.
"The hell?" Cyrene mumbled to herself as she stared at his expression.
I laughed so hard I snorted as I sat back, getting comfortable, "Dr. Strouse, this is Cyrene, Cy meet Dr. Strouse weird-ass."
He reached over, sticking his hand out for her to shake, her eyes went back and forth from his hand to his face, repeatedly. "Nice to meet you, heard a lot about you." He gave an even creepier smile.
All I could do was laugh at the uneasy smile Cy mustered up with a he can't be serious look on her face, as Dr. Strouse waited for her to shake his hand.
Keeping a tight smile, she spoke low to me, "nope, this isn't weird at all."
"Nice to meet you as well." She finally shook his hand, then slapped my arm because I wouldn't stop laughing.
Dr. Strouse sat back, crossing his legs at the knees taking in the moment. "Well, isn't this is a surprise?"
Smiling, I connected hands with Cy's, pulling it up, brushing it against my lips. "She surprised me the day before yesterday, showing up at my job with Tron."
Earning an extended gaze from Cyrene, she leaned closer to me then said, "he asked me to come here today. I was a little apprehensive at first. I didn't know if it would be too much too fast, but there's one thing I do know —I know all of this is out of the norm for him, so I'm sure he's proud and eager to share his experiences. I want to support that."
"I'm floored —such an amazing woman with courage." Dr. Strouse chuckled proudly. "And you sir, what a transformation, wow." He took in my appearance, nodding his head proudly like a homey seeing his friend come up in the world for the first time.
I came into his office on day one, looking like shit, and it had only gotten worse over time. I was wearing my feelings literally on my sleeves.
Smoothing down my low trimmed beard and new cut, I laughed a little. "'Preciate it."
"Out with the old, huh?" He smirked, raising a brow.
"Oh yeah," I stated as a matter of fact. This was not a game. I'm tired of sleeping alone. That lifestyle is in the past, rearview. I see why Mike, Chance, A3, and Amina are so damn corny and crazy about theirs. I get it now.
"So tell me everything. You said she surprised you at your gym?"
Cyrene and Tron haven't even been home for a full forty-eight, and I can already see the difference in my life. My skin's clearer, the house finally smells like a woman live there again, and most importantly, my spirit is lifted.
"I had no clue at all. She, her sister, and my son flew in together. My boy Chez and I were already borderline pissed off. We hadn't heard from them. —Cyrene knew I wanted to see my son every night before he shut his eyes, and we couldn't get in touch with them."
Cyrene smiled, taking it all in as I carried on. "The staff started roasting me talking 'bout I fell off and they could barely recognize me. So I was about to go off. But as soon as I was about to say something, Cyrene came busting through the door, carrying my son. It was some real-life tv stuff. I'm talking dressed in all white, hair flowing in the wind with my son swagged out on her arm like an accessory, stuntin' on em'."
Goofy Cyrene dusted her shoulders off with her conceited ass. Letting out a slow chuckle as if she was hot shit and nobody could tell her different.
Slowly rolling my eyes, "Anyway, —it took me clean out of this world because seeing them was the last thing I would've suspected." I chuckled a little shaking my head at this silly ass girl now snapping her fingers.
"Was it an impulse decision? Or something you came to terms with over time?" He asked Cy.
She sat up and got serious, "I was never one hundred percent sold on the move in the first place. I only asked him to see what he'd say. I missed my family, and I was homesick, but I didn't think he'd be ok with me permanently moving with our son. I didn't want to be around him at the time — I knew that for sure. That's why I called Mikey and tried staying with him, then that didn't work out. My cousin Rai was able to get me in her friend's highrise in the city, and I was content there. But I still missed my family back in Nairobi, nevertheless."
"I told you it had to be your choice. I didn't want you to go. What type of person would I have been if I tried to make you stay?" I butted in.
"I know, and that's what partially brought me back. Knowing I had that choice, and you didn't make it even more stressful. That reminds me of the type of man you are. You're considerate, strong, and you put your family first."
There it goes again, that corny smile I couldn't contain. This girl can see me. The real me. She know my heart. That gives me the confidence I need to know that this could work between us. Ugh, I hate it how she can pull this side out of me.
"So no, it wasn't impulsive. On one hand, I knew I wanted to come back, and on the other, I was afraid. I didn't want to be the girl who end up in the same situation twice—"
"You won't, " I shook my head quickly. "Trust me. You won't."
"Good, because I'm sticking my neck out there, for us."
I nodded, kissing the back of her hand again. "I won't let you down."
Dr. Strouse smiled at us, "Ok, usually we have goals set for each week. I send him out with an assignment to complete at home, but I think today we'll do things differently. —Is that ok?"
We nodded in agreeance. He placed the red Ipad in his lap. "Then I have to ask you, Troy, are you comfortable discussing any previous conversations or anything we've discussed privately?"
"Yeah, it's fine." I rested our interlocked fingers on my thigh.
"Good, good." He swiped something on the screen. "—How are things between the two of you, right now? Are you co-parenting well? Do you think this may be a honeymoon, make up phase? Or do you see this as something that might strengthen the relationship in the future?"
I looked to Cy, seeing if she wanted to answer, she nodded. "Parenting between us is always great, even with the distance. Troy didn't miss a beat. When it's about Tronny man, both of us, we are all in, no question."
"That's great." He nodded, giving her the floor.
She glanced my way, contemplating what to say next, "I'm trying to keep my thoughts on the cheating topic as simple as possible. I tend to overthink it, and I end up hurting myself all over again in the process. So Bear with me."
"It's ok. Take your time." Dr. Strouse assured her.
—All I know is I love this man, and I'm not ready to give up. He broke my heart, but I'm putting trust in him to do better."
Taking in every word she said, I nodded. "I love you too."
"Both of us played a part. I'm never claiming innocent. We allowed someone in. We decided to repeat the act. We also decided to go all the way with it. Both of us had sex with this woman, with no boundaries. We didn't think about the risk or how it could affect what we shared. We lacked communication." Her grip suddenly tightened as she finally took a breath.
"I go through phases, and I'm still dealing with it all. It hurts, and I'm scared. I'm also disappointed in myself. I have guilt that ways heavy. I'm second-guessing decisions —It's all an adjustment." She attempted unscrambling her thoughts, but they came out jumbled anyway. Noticing her get riled up with emotions, Dr. Strouse raised his hand, stopping her from continuing, then looked to me, "sounds familiar?"
Wiping my free hand down my face, I then realized he was right. I said all of those things about myself. I also get emotional and start rambling when I talk about how much pain I caused Cyrene. I beat myself up about it. This woman is the mother of my child, the only woman I can envision in my life eternally.
"You told me the same thing. You were second-guessing, disappointed in yourself. One minute you're angry, then the next, you're in tears. You sat here racking your brain trying to piece the situation together entirely from both vantages." Dr. Strouse pointed out.
"I remember," I said with ease because I didn't know Cyrene felt the same way I did. How could she? She didn't cheat on me, I did.
Accountability is the road to success for both of us, so for her to be able to admit fault in the midst of all of my bullshit is huge.
"There's always two sides. Keep note of that when you're going through the motions of healing." Dr. Strouse informed. "Both of you realize your part in this domino effect, no matter how much one person could be recognized as more wrong than the other. —Like you said, keep it simple. Figure out the problem entirely from all aspects, then you fix it, together."
Both of us agreed.
"We know what to do differently now. We didn't realize how wrong it was in the moment, with Ana. But we know now how much damage something so careless can cause." Cyrene stated.
Dr. Strouse nodded as he took down some notes.
Cyrene stared at me as a cheesy smile grew on her face. "This could be the honeymoon phase of making up, who knows. But for now, I just want to enjoy it while I'm happy. Right now, I'm in love and glad to be back in my man's arms."
Feeling little flutters take over my stomach. I couldn't fight off how good hearing her say that felt, "And Ima' do everything in my power to keep it this way." I leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Her Lil' mean ass is giving me another chance. So, things have to be different, or this won't work —and I want this shit to work."
Gleaming at the both of us, Dr. Strouse finally spoke. "The two of you just made my job easier. I was under the impression this part of the journey would be further down the road. Not every day I stumble upon second chances. I'm honored even to witness this. Wow." Closing his Ipad, he tucked it beside him. "Anything you want to talk about before we close out, would love to hear more? It could be anything."
"I have something I want to say." I sat up laughing a little.
"Don't embarrass me, Troy. Watch your mouth." Cyrene mumbled under her breath, squinting at me.
"Chill out." I laughed again. "I was only gon' say I missed the hell out of you."
She relaxed her face smiling back.
Dr. Strouse laughed, "what did you miss the most?"
I sat back, running my hands down my pants. "Mannnn honestly, I miss the rubdowns she gave me. My black Queen used to make sure her black King was well moisturized daily. She stayed on me about self-care."
"I can tell." Strouse joked, "her presence is felt. I mean, look at your appearance, this transformation really has done wonders. You have lotion on and all."
Twisting my lips, squinting my eyes, "ease up. It wasn't that bad."
"I'm kidding." He raised his hands laughing, Cyrene joined him.
"Haha. Everybody has jokes." I rolled my eye.
"Aww, my baby daddy look good." Cy tried hugging on me, but I pulled away. "You were wolfing it, but that's ok because now look at you. You look like somebody raised you."
"Man gone with that. —The ladies were still checking for me, so that's all that matters." I leaned in and stole a quick kiss she pushed me off, popping the back of my head.
"Don't play. You'll be paying for another hour today with Dr. Strouse, crying, wondering why I dipped out again, keep it up." She tried hitting the back of my head yet again, but I was quick.
"Aww, I hurt your feelings, I sorry. Let me kiss it. Make it better."
"Get away from me, you clown." She mushed my puckered lips. "Play too much."
I tried kissing her again, but she held her ground, pushing me away, only for me to climb on her and plant wet ones all over her face and neck. "Eww, get off. You're so freaking nasty."
Slipping my hand underneath Cyrene's ass, I pulled her closer to me, "you damn right, I'm nasty." I said before meeting her lips, causing an arch in her spine.
"Um... should I leave to give you two the room?" Strouse waved his hand in the air trying his best to get our attention.
"My bad." I pulled back, wiping my lips, "it's her fault."
Laughing, Dr. Strouse stood. "Well, thank you both for coming in today, and it was nice meeting you. Feel free to come back with him anytime."
"Same here," Cyrene stood to shake his hand.
***
Arms wrapped around her waist as we strolled down the cereal aisle, looking for something to eat tonight. Neither of us could make up our minds. We're still on a high from the counseling session.
"What about takeout?" She leaned her head against my chest, stopping in front of the cocoa puffs.
I planted soft kisses on top of her head. "Ok, what do you want to order? Hurry and pick something, your stomach's talking to mine."
She picked up two boxes of the cereal, tucking them in her arm. "Go get me a cart."
Sucking my teeth, I huffed. "I asked you when we entered this hoe did you want a buggy."
"I didn't want anything then. I see a few things we need for the house. We can do Japanese take out." She pulled away from me and turned around.
"I guess I can get a shrimp bowl and some spicy tuna rolls." I lifted my shirt a little scratching at my side.
"You always get that."
"Why change it if it's good?" I walked away, leaving her standing there to get a cart.
"Aye, what up, man, what's good witcha'? Long time no see. What's been going on?" I waved the cashier off everybody call Trip. I hadn't seen him here in a while.
"They're cutting hours, probably why you haven't seen me. How's the family?" He finished ringing up his customer. I walked over to him to catch up. "Everything's good. It was a little bumpy, but we're getting things back on track."
"That's what's up. Did y'all get a date set for the wedding?"
Clearing my throat scratching the back of my head I managed to say, "see what had happened was—"
"Damn, that's messed up. I was rooting for y'all." Trip shook his head, spraying the conveyer belt off before wiping it down.
"The hell you mean was? Keep rooting for us, we ain't done. We're trying to work it out."
"True." He laughed. "My fault."
"What about you and your girl? Y'all still getting on each other's nerves?" I smirked because the last time she came by his job, she raised hell.
"That last time she came in here all loud and irate was the last time I spoke to her dusty ass." He shook his head.
"Oh, now she dusty?" I laughed, walking over to grab a cart. "Don't do that."
"It was cute before all of the bullshit. Now, not so much." He chuckled out.
"Stop lying. If she walked in here, today yo' ass would fold, and you know it." I made it back over to him.
"She's too crazy, man." He laughed, waving me off because he had customers.
As I was walking back to aisle seven, where I left Cyrene, I heard her talking to somebody.
Turning down the aisle where I thought she'd be, I didn't see her. Hearing her voice still, I knew she was on the next aisle over. As I turned the corner, I saw who it was she was getting loud with. "Holy... shit."
I couldn't believe my eyes.
"I don't need any help. I will drag both of you up and down this store by my damn self." Cyrene sat the cereal back on the shelf. I quickly pushed the cart towards her in between the three of them.
Cyrene was going back and forth, getting loud with Ana and... Red Doll. The same Red Doll A3 fucked years ago after we left that little strip joint. The same Red Doll that flew out to Miami to see him during Mikeys bachelor weekend. The same Red Doll that fought Rai in the lobby of the hotel.
"Bitch, I'll fling yo' Lil skinny ass out to that parking lot. Ask your friend about me." Red spoke loud over Cyrene as she tried stepping closer.
"I dare you, and that friend you're referring to is my cousin. Don't even bring her up. I'll slap the taste out of your fucking mouth, bitch. Mention her again!" Cyrene yelled, trying to slide the buggy out of the way. I quickly grabbed her hands because I know my girl can throw hands. Don't let the size fool you.
"I wish you would." Red stepped closer, pushing the buggy, Ana held her arm back.
Wait a minute. Why are they even together? Ana and Red Doll. How do they know each other? The world can't be that small.
Confusion must've reflected on my face because that got Ana's attention. She eyed me up and down slightly humorously, in a flirtatious way before butting in.
"Speaking of cousin. If you lay a finger on my cousin, that will be the last thing you touch." Ana made sure Cy knew she was talking to her.
Cousin?!?
"Yeah, that's right, my cousin, Dani White also known as Red Doll. I'm the one who flew down to Miami with her to your friend's Bachelor Party, and y'all kicked us out. —We didn't appreciate that, by the way." Ana flipped her long-ass locs to the side.
Cyrene started laughing, repeatedly nodding, "both of you are pathetic. It's sad. And I see how you bitches are coming. I see what you're on."
"You spoke to us. We were minding our business, shopping pooh." Red Doll added her two cents.
"Let's go. We're wasting time, mama." I sighed over this entire situation.
We had such a good day just for it to be ruined by these two bimbos.
Pushing me off of her, Cyrene shook her head no, "nah efff that. I want to know why they're so childish. I have questions."
I attempted to pull her away again, but she gave me that I wish you would face.
"Man, bae lets go." I stood in front of Cy with my hands firmly on her hips, keeping her in place. "Don't waste your time on this bullshit."
"This is bullshit now?" Ana laughed, interjecting while shaking her head. I tried my best pulling Cy away just trying to dead this whole thing. "Just know if I want him, baby girl, I can have him. Anytime, " she laughed again "anywhere."
That was the straw that broke the camels back. Thinking I had Cyrene secured here, she comes out of nowhere with those flexible ass arms again bursting out of my grasp. She pushed the cart over then used it as a trampoline to land on top of Ana as both of them fell to the floor.
With a fist full of Ana's locs in one hand and Cyrene quickly connecting her blows with the other. Red Doll beat me to it, grabbing Cyrene's arm, pulling her away. But not before she punched my girl in her eye.
The shit happened so fast that I tripped over the wheel of the cart, busting my ass to get to her. I stood up too quick damn near, twisting my ankle because Cyrene had her legs wrapped tight around Ana's waist, still with her hand tangled up in her hair. Red Doll threw quick blows to Cy's face while Ana attempted to stand up with hopes of slamming backward.
I got to Cyrene just in time before Ana tried body slamming her, and Red Doll could kick her in the face. Which I don't even think Cy noticed because she was in a zone throwing hands to Ana's face.
Grabbing Red Doll's arms away from connecting another blow, I lightly shoved her out of the way. She pushed me back, "Don't put your fucking hands on me."
"Hey!" An employee finally rushed down the aisle. I looked up, noticing three of them running towards us.
Red Doll tried her best to get to Cy again, I turned back toward her and grabbed her hands as the employees came over and pulled Red back.
Then all of a sudden, I hear a big boom.
Ana's body slammed Cyrene, landing on her back with Cy still on hers.
"No! Somebody call an ambulance!" I pushed everybody out of my way, including Ana, as Cyrene's head bounced off the floor, leaving her unconscious.
💚💜💚💜
🖇🙏🏾Y'all pray for your girl Cyrene... Yeah I know that was a little unexpected. That's one way to welcome her back home, yikes!
🖇Ol' girl is like a nat always showing up somewhere. 🙄
🖇Stay tuned to find out more about this cousin stuff. Celeste won't be too happy to hear about this. She might need to see sis. 🥊