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  Rent Money

  A Hood Soap Opera

  By Natavia

  Copyright © 2019 by Natavia. Published by SOUL Publications. All rights

  reserved www.soulauthors.comThis book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales or, is entirely coincidental. No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without writer permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Soap Opera:

  A soap opera is an ongoing drama featuring the lives of many characters and their emotional relationships.

  Essa

  Feb 14th 2018…

  I t was Valentine’s Day and I couldn’t wait until my boyfriend, Ricardo, of three years came home from work. At twenty-four years old, I had a pretty decent life. I worked at the post office making good money and we had a sixteen-month-old son together named Ke’Ari. Ke’Ari’s father was seven years older than me. I met him one day at work while he was picking up his mail. We immediately hit it off and he’s been the love of my life since.

  “Mommy gotta put you to sleep so I can plan a special night for Daddy,” I said to Ke’Ari while putting on his onesie. It was nine o’clock at night and Ricardo usually walked in the door at nine-thirty. Ricardo is a lawyer and works at his father’s firm. Sometimes, he’d come home at midnight, but I never had a reason to question him. I laid Ke’Ari down in his crib after I kissed his chubby cheek. After I pulled the blanket over him, I had thirty minutes to prep Ricardo’s lobster, shrimp and broccoli meal. Seafood didn’t take long to cook and neither did steamed broccoli. My cellphone rang on the counter while I was cutting the lobster tail down the middle. When I answered the phone, it was my cousin, Kitty.

  “What you doin’, hoe?” she asked.

  “Fixin’ dinner for my man.”

  She sucked her teeth. It wasn’t a secret how much she hated Ricardo.

  “He’s not gonna do shit anyways but complain about it missin’ an ingredient. That nigga is ungrateful,” she complained.

  “See, this is why I don’t like answerin’ my phone for you and Tinka. All y’all do is criticize everything I do with my son’s father and I’m not tryna hear that shit!”

  “Calm down, Essa! It’s really not that deep. We’re just worried he might be takin’ advantage of you. Let’s face it, y’all come from different places. You were raised in the hood and he was raised in a big house on the hill with his rich-ass parents,” she replied. I wanted to curse Kitty out and tell her to mind her business. It was Valentine’s Day and she was supposed to be with whomever she was dating. Kitty could be in a relationship and not tell anyone because she was secretive.

  “What does that have to do wit’ you?”

  “You changed on me and Tinka when he moved you into that big house you’re livin’ in, that’s all. Just don’t forget we’re still here,” she replied. I sensed the sadness in her voice; something was wrong with Kitty.

  “Sumthin is up witchu. Talk to me.”

  “We’ll talk later. Enjoy your day,” Kitty said dryly, then hung up the phone. As soon as I put my phone down, it rang again. The call was from an unfamiliar number. When I answered it, it was a collect call from a detention center. It was my father, Eddie. I didn’t accept the call. My father couldn’t stay out of jail or off drugs. My father’s mother raised me until she died when I was sixteen then Kitty’s father stepped in to take care of me until I was old enough to get my own place. That’s why being a family woman was important to me. I didn’t have a two-parent household growing up. My cousins didn’t understand that because they didn’t have any children, and as much as I love them, I couldn’t hang out every night like I used to when I was single.

  Twenty minutes later, dinner was ready. I fixed two plates then placed them on the dining room table. Afterwards, I hurriedly ran upstairs to take a shower and put on sexy lingerie. I couldn’t wait until Ricardo came home so we could make love. It had been two weeks since we had been intimate because of our work schedules. He didn’t want me to work but I loved to contribute to the small household bills we had. I took a ten-minute shower and just like that it was nine-thirty on the dot. I dried off then moisturized my body before I put on my cute, red see-through set. The door opened then closed downstairs. I walked down the spiral staircase and there he was, standing in the foyer with flowers, balloons and stuffed animals. Ricardo was dressed in an expensive navy suit with a brown tie and shoes. He was easy on the eyes. Ricardo resembled the character, Dre, from the show, Power. He was just a little taller.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, beautiful,” he greeted me. I took my things from him and he kissed my lips.

  “Let me wash my hands then kiss my son before we eat dinner. It smells good in here,” he said. I walked past him, and he smacked me on the ass.

  God, I love that man.

  I went into the kitchen to find a vase for my pretty white and pink roses. Ricardo spoiled me, and he was an amazing father. When Ricardo came back into the kitchen, he lit a few candles and dimmed the lights. He grabbed a bottle of champagne out the fridge to set the mood.

  “I think we should go on a cruise and leave Ke’Ari with my parents. We need to spend more time together, but I still think you should quit your job and go back to school for your bachelor’s degree.”

  “I’m still thinkin’ about it,” I replied.

  “You’re the best cook,” he said while eating his food. My cellphone rang again but I ignored it. All I wanted to do was have a nice quiet dinner with my man. The phone rang six times before I got up from the table and snatched it off the counter. It was the detention center calling me and I knew it was my father. Tired of ignoring his calls, I answered the phone.

  “Baby, please get me out. Hurry up and get me before my suga drop. Come on, Essa. Don’t do the only parent you have like that,” he begged. My father had two brothers, but he was the only one who wasted his life away. One minute he was clean then the next minute he’d relapse. Ricardo had to get him out of jail plenty of times until he told me he couldn’t do it anymore. He thought my father needed to learn a lesson and I thought I wanted that for him, too, at one point, but I was feeling sorry for him.

  “Call me tomorrow morning but please just let me have dinner with Ricardo. Get some rest and sober up,” I replied.

  “Sober up? Who said I was high? They locked me up for no reason. Do me a favor, help me sue these people. They are harassing me every day knowin’ damn well I have diabetes. Help me, Essa,” he begged.

  “Okay, I will in a few hours. Sober up, Daddy.”

  I hung up the phone with a heart filled with guilt, but my father blamed everything on his diabetes. He even went as far as saying he was a thief because his sugar would drop, and it made him sleepwalk. Ricardo grilled me when I sat back down at the table.

  “This will stop when you become my wife. Your drug-addicted father and your ghetto-ass cousins are going to ruin your life. Let your father stay there so he can stop depending on you. Every fuckin’ time I turn around, Essa, you have to help those losers out. Tinka left a bag of weed in my car along with her Independence card, oh, and a box of condoms. Kitty had you out until five o’clock in the morning a few months ago like you don’t have a damn family. We can’t even spend time together for five minutes without them calling!” Ricardo spat. As long as we been together, Ricardo has never yelled at me.

  “Don’t talk about them like that!”

  “I can say what I want! I’m sick of this bullshit! I don’t even trust Tinka around my son with her speech impediment because i
t might teach him bad English, and Kitty is nothing but a jobless slut! Those people aren’t your family, I am!” he said.

  Don’t say it. Please, don’t say it! Bitchhhhhhh, this nigga doesn’t know how ratchet you can get. You have been behavin’ for a while now but, babbyyyy, he’s testin’ you. Get into that ass, bitch!

  “Nigga, who are you talkin’ to? Don’t you ever fuckin’ come at me like that! You think your family is better than mine?”

  “My family is well-educated, Essa. Your family is full of illiterate users who take advantage of government funding,” he replied. I threw wine in Ricardo’s face and he was shocked.

  “Wow, I guess you got that ratchet shit from Love and Hip-hop,” Ricardo said, wiping his face. I couldn’t believe all the things he said about me. Kitty had been trying to tell me since day one that Ricardo thought less of us, but I didn’t want to believe it. I went upstairs to the master bedroom while Ricardo stayed downstairs. It was six o’clock in the morning when he walked into our bedroom. I couldn’t sleep; I laid awake thinking about the things he said to me and how bad I wanted to fight him. He sat on the edge of the bed and unbuttoned his dress shirt.

  “I’m sorry, Essa. I was way out of line for talking to you like that. I just hate how they always call you like you don’t have other priorities,” Ricardo said. He stripped down naked and climbed into bed with me. Ricardo laid on top of me and kissed my lips.

  “I love you so much, Essa,” he whispered against my ear. Minutes later, we were making love. Ricardo was so gentle and the way he maneuvered his big dick inside of me was a plus. Even though I forgave him for speaking ill on my family, it couldn’t happen again. I wasn’t too fond of Ricardo’s family neither, but I would never tell him to forget all of them just because I felt like they weren’t good enough. Ricardo went to sleep after we were finished but I lay awake. Something felt out of place and it didn’t sit well in my heart.

  Two days later…

  I went to the dry cleaners after I got off from work to pick up Ricardo’s suits. The Chinese lady brought his things out. I counted his suits to make sure he had everything.

  “Here you go. A few things fell out while I was cleaning,” she said, handing me a small clear bag. My stomach bubbled and sweat beads formed on my forehead when I saw the hotel room key Ricardo must’ve forgot to return. I don’t recall him getting a room. Matter of fact, Ricardo came home every night, but then I wondered if he was getting off work earlier then coming home at nine-thirty to throw me off. I thanked the lady and headed out of the cleaners. When I got inside my Lexus truck, I burst into tears.

  I pray this man ain’t cheatin’ on me. I went against my family for this nigga! I’ll kill his ass.

  I dried my eyes then headed in the direction to pick up Ke’Ari from daycare. Usually I’d stay for a few minutes to chat with some of the girls who babysat Ke’Ari’s group, but I just didn’t have it in me.

  “Hey, Essa, are you okay?” a young black girl named Rayona asked.

  “Yes, I’m just tired. How was he today?”

  “He was great as usual. I put his chart in his bag—oh, and he might be a little fussy because he didn’t take a nap,” she replied.

  “Thank you very much. Have a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow,” I brushed her off. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I couldn’t help it. Ke’Ari was whining about something when I picked him up and put his coat and hat on him. He yawned, and I knew he was sleepy. Ke’Ari went right to sleep after I placed him in his car seat. I should’ve gone home to prepare dinner and all that bullshit, but I went in the opposite direction. I was going to Ricardo’s job.

  Twenty minutes later…

  Ke’Ari was still asleep in my arms when I walked into Ricardo’s father’s law firm in downtown, Annapolis. The secretary at the front desk asked me who I was there to see.

  “Is Ricardo Mitchell here?”

  “No, he isn’t. May I take a message for you? He won’t be back until tomorrow,” she said.

  “So, he’s off for the rest of the day?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  Ricardo’s father and a few other men were coming down the hallway chuckling about some stupid-ass golf game. He held a look of disappointment on his face mixed with confusion when he saw me standing in his office. Benjamin walked over to me and Ke’Ari.

  “What are you doin’ here? And why on earth would you bring my grandson?” Benjamin whispered.

  “You’re embarrassed or sumthin? These people don’t know about Ke’Ari?”

  I was so hurt. I thought I knew Ricardo, but he was a complete stranger. He was a cheater and was hiding me and his son away like he was embarrassed by us.

  “Listen, do not ruin Ricardo’s image behind whatever you two have going on. This place doesn’t tolerate nonsense! Now, I’ll tell Ricardo you’re looking for him, but you need to leave,” he said.

  “Tell your son to bring his ass home or else it’ll get ugly!”

  “Are you threatening my son? What did you think was gonna happen? You’re what? Twenty-four? Ricardo is a thirty-one-year-old man, Essa. You two were supposed to be for fun until you trapped him. Now he’s stuck with a young and lost woman with a baby,” Benjamin gritted. I walked away from him. When I got to the front door, I turned around and he was still standing there.

  “Hi, everyone! My name is Essa Murphy and I’m Ricardo’s girlfriend who he’s been with for three years and this is his son, Ke’Ari Mitchell!” I shouted throughout the office. Benjamin’s colleagues along with a few other people who were in the waiting area stared at me. Benjamin’s face turned red from embarrassment.

  “Say bye-bye to Pop-Pop,” I told Ke’Ari and he waved his small hand.

  I strapped Ke’Ari back in his car seat and headed home. While I was driving and crying my eyes out, my cellphone rang, and it was Ricardo blowing me up. I really wished I hadn’t picked up Ricardo’s clothes from the cleaners. I could deal with arguments because every couple argued but cheating and then being ashamed of me was something I couldn’t digest. It took me forty minutes to get home because of traffic. Ricardo’s Maserati was in the driveway. He ran out the house as soon as I pulled up.

  “Baby, let me explain!” he pleaded. I ignored him and grabbed Ke’Ari out the car seat. He reached for his father, but I pulled him away from Ricardo. That son-of-a-bitch didn’t deserve to acknowledge my son. Ricardo talked about my family, yet his family was ashamed of a baby because of my background. Ke’Ari cried for his father and it pissed Ricardo off.

  “Give me my son! What in the hell is wrong with you?” Ricardo asked when he came into the house. I walked into the living room and sat Ke’Ari inside his play pen.

  “Do you hear me talking to you? Get back here!” Ricardo yelled. He grabbed me by the arm when I tried to leave out of the living room and that’s when I lost it. I punched him in the face. He was trying to duck my blows and knocked over the table in the hallway. I scratched his face and ripped his shirt. Ricardo grabbed my arms and I slammed my fist into his nose.

  “Take this hood ass whippin’, bitch! I’m just a young hood girl, huh?” I screamed and clocked him upside the head. Ricardo pushed me onto the floor and I got up.

  “Who is the bitch, huh?”

  “It was only a few times! Please, Essa, don’t leave me and take my son,” he begged.

  “Why are you embarrassed by him, huh? What kind of man are you?” I screamed.

  “I love my son with every bone in my body, but it was you I didn’t want them to know about. Are you happy now? It’s your background, Essa. Do you think I want them to know that the dirty man who is always in my office is my woman’s father and he can’t stay out of jail for two seconds? My son will not be attached to that! I didn’t plan on falling in love with you. None of this was planned! Baby, can we please just talk about this? Look at my face, you won!” he said with tears welling up in his eyes. Ricardo tried to console me, but I pushed him away.

  “The woman y
ou’re cheatin’ on me with. Who is she?”

  “She’s my partner at the firm,” he admitted.

  “How could you do sumthin so evil to someone who loved you? But, yet, my family is sick? They’d never do anything like this or pretend Ke’Ari doesn’t exist because his father is a bitch-ass punk! You gonna reap what you sow. I should call my cousins over here, so they can fuck you up!”

  I ran up the stairs and Ricardo chased after me. He was begging and pleading his life away with those sorry-ass tears. I grabbed my clothes and started packing. Ricardo grabbed me, trying to stop me. I didn’t know he was that strong since he let me sling him around like a rag doll.

  “I fucked up, okay? I’m wrong and you have every right to be angry with me, but I don’t love her. I’ll do anything to make it up to you,” he sobbed. The doorbell rang, and Ricardo pulled away from me. He looked out the bedroom window and I saw flashing lights.