Chris
"I'm nervous, but not in the sense of like being scared type of nervous, like nervous as to how she's gonna look, what she'll say—you know?" I explained to India as I put on my clothes
"I mean, how different will she look—she's only been in there for a few months." I said
"Not even different, but like will she look more evil or something. Will she be wearing her crime on her face?" I said
India smiled, "I get what you're saying, and I bet she would."
I sighed, "I'm about to head out though, I'll tell you how it goes."
"Okay. Be calm." She said and gave me a kiss.
I went downstairs and got in my car to head to the place.
My mind was racing the entire time I drove there. I am indeed nervous. I want to get this over with since I chose to do it. I have so much to ask and say, and I bet by the time I get there everything would have left my mind.
I tapped on the steering wheel as I sat at the red light.
"Babygirl 💕is calling...."
I pressed the answer button and put it on speaker so it could connect to my car bluetooth.
"Miss me already?" I asked
She laughed, "Can you please pick up some rice cereal for the baby on your way home?"
I made a face as if she could see it, "Rice cereal? What you need that for?"
"I mix it with the milk so she can get full and all of that other stuff. I just used the last of it." She said
I nodded, "Oh okay, well send me a picture of it so I know what to get."
"Okay. Drive safe." She said
"I will, baby." I said and we eventually hung up.
After 20 minutes I arrived at the county.
I went through the procedure of getting checked in and everything and sat at the table to wait until she came out. I shook my leg in nervousness.
When she came out I sat up. She smiled as she walked to the table.
She sat across from me and let out a big sigh.
"It's so good to see you, son." She excitedly said
"I get many visits but, this one is merely unexpected." She said
"Who comes to visit you?" I asked
"Some friends I know, you know, family members." She said
I nodded, "How you holdin' up in here?"
"Good, I'm doing fine. These few months have been okay. I've made some friends, the guards are fine—not as bad as I thought it'd be."
"Really? So these next 20 something years will be a breeze since you got friends and sleeping wit' the guards, huh?"
She chuckled, "I'm not sleeping with anyone, Chris. I'm just saying the people that I've encountered with and the nice guards makes this fun."
"Fun?!" I asked with raised eyebrows, this confirms that she has gone nuts!
"Jail isn't supposed to be fun, ma, you're spending the rest of your life here—you won't see the free outside world, your real friends, your own house—nothing, again!" I explained
"I'm just not scared. I know what I did, I know why I did it and what I'd be losing and I knew my actions would have consequences, there's nothing to be scared of."
I nodded, "Your reasoning can't be argued. But, since you seem to have the answer to everything, answer this, why did you do it?"
She chuckled, "What do you mean why? I thought you knew."
"I mean yeah, because she stole from you and then some, but I know there's more to why—like, what drove you to it?"
She shrugged, "She wouldn't stop talking. She...she got under my skin. Started ridiculing me, belittling me for needing her, rubbing it in my face that she took from me and that I wouldn't ever be getting it back. She got to me."
I listened intently, "How'd you do it?" I asked
"You wanna know how I killed her?" She asked, looking me in my eyes
I nodded, "Yeah, what'd you do? Detail for detail."
I don't know why I troubled myself trying to get this information, knowing I'd be mentally scarred later but, it'd eat me up not knowing.
"Bludgeoned to death—hammer to the back of the head. She was kidnapped, brought to my place and I questioned her about what she took from me and when I'd be receiving it and it turned into an argument which was getting us nowhere. I grew impatient and utterly annoyed, and she laughed. She laughed in my face. Even after I repeatedly hit her—she laughed!" She sighed
"As I said, it got to me and I lost it. I left the room to get my item of choice and walked behind the chair she sat in and hit her—twice. She laid and bled for a while, and a while went to 5 days and eventually the police came and that was that...." She stared at the table as she talked, as if she wasn't phased by any of this.
"Chris, I always understood how she got under your skin and made you hate her. Even before she left you and Royalty, I understood. We always had our disagreements and so forth because of how evil she was. She got what she deserved and I hope she went to hell." She said, it was as if she got angry all over again.
It's a shame what greed and material things would do to a person.
"Are you proud about what you did?" I asked, though I didn't expect a 'yeah! I think I deserve a trophy.'
She shrugged, "Not proud. But when I think about it, I understand why and I don't regret it." She said and finally looked at me
I nodded.
I was satisfied with the answers I received and the closure I had. It just doesn't sit right with me how cruel and cold I never knew my mother could be.
"It was nice talking to you, keep your head up in here, ma." I said
"I will, son. Visit me again and bring Royalty."
"What about your other granddaughter?" I asked as I stood up
She scrunched her face up, "I can do without her."
I chuckled, "Go to hell..." I said and turned to walk away but turned back around, "23 times." I added
I exited and went back to my car.
I don't know when or if she'll be seeing me again.
••••
When I got in the house India was in the kitchen cooking something, Royalty was at the table drawing or something and Mimi, which is what I nicknamed Ai'Marie, was in her crib.
"Hey! Did you get the cereal?" India asked as I walked into the kitchen
"Damn, no 'how was it?,' 'how do you feel?,' just, 'did you get the cereal?' " I chuckled, placing my keys down.
"Sorry, I just need it. Not only does it keep her full but she has bad acid reflux, so thickening her milk will make it sit heavier on her belly. I do want to know how things went though."
"We'll get it tomorrow." I nonchalantly said and sat on the couch.
She came out of the kitchen, "Watch the food and the kids, I'll go get it." She said and grabbed her keys
"What? I wanna take a nap. Why can't it just wait until tomorrow?" I asked
"Remember what I just explained! Are you gonna get up when she's screaming to the top of her lungs because of the reflux?" She asked with a raised eyebrow
"I might."
"Might isn't good enough."
"How do you even know this helps?" I asked, flicking through channels.
"I've spoken with her doctor when it started happening too frequent and once I started using it she hasn't had it since."
I sighed, "Please don't be long."
"I won't. The food is almost done, I'm just letting it finish simmering, turn it off in about five minutes." She instructed
"Got it." I said and gave a thumbs up
••••
India
By the time I got back Chris was asleep, the food was burning, Royalty had paper everywhere and Ai'Marie was crying.
"Chris!" I yelled as I tossed my keys and purse down
He jumped up, "What?" he asked, he looked as if I had no reason bothering him.
"The kids! The food!" I said as I turned the food off and then went to pick Ai'Marie up.
"Why'd you fall asleep?!"
"I couldn't stay up, you were gone too long and I got up early."
"You stay up longer when you've worked a 9 hour shift just to play your game! I was only gone for 15 to 20 minutes. You couldn't handle that?"
He shrugged and chuckled, "Obviously not."
"This isn't a chuckling matter, Royalty just tore up all of that paper—which you aren't going to clean up, and Ai'Marie was in here crying. Which looked like had been going on since I left. In addition to the scorched food. I told you to turn it off for me."
I changed Ai'Marie on the love seat with her changing pad under her then put her back in her swing and gave her a half-full bottle that she didn't finish earlier.
I went back into the kitchen and started tossing the food out. He came and sat at the counter, watching me throw everything out.
He heavily sighed, "Just have Royalty pick it up and make something else. And for the record, she wasn't crying when you left."
"You make something else, I'm ordering Royalty and I something to eat."
"What about me?"
"Make you something else." I said and rolled my eyes
He sucked his teeth, "You something."
I ignored him and went on the UberEats app and started searching for something I had a taste for.
Though I told him I wouldn't order him anything, I still included him as well.
I instructed Royalty to pick up her mess and I cleaned up any mess I had lingering around.
When the food got here we ate in mostly silence. Typically we don't but tonight Chris is in his asshole mood so we don't have much to talk about.
Abt 3 chapters left.
Ria ✍🏽