Dramatic Encounters 6u5t2g

Dramatic Encounters

Michele Burden

Copyright © 2013 by Michele Burden.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013904349 ISBN: Hardcover Softcover Ebook

978-1-4836-0686-6 978-1-4836-0685-9 978-1-4836-0687-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 03/09/2013

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Surviving The Trials

Confidence

Romance

Bills

Trying To Survive

Love At First Sight

Unexpected Plans

My Life

Thuggest Life

Jailbird

Moving On

Misinformed

Better Days

Marry Me

Acknowledgments

First, I would like to dedicate this book to God for his motivation and and the blessings he has given me. Also to my three beautiful children, Randolph Junior, Rauzail, and Trinity. I also want to thank the people that helped me publish this wonderful book, and my family and friends, who ed me along the way. Without your motivation and cheers, I would have never kept struggling and staying strong to finish this book. To the love of my life, David, even though it has been years since we have been together, you have always been in my heart, and now that I have you in my life again, my life could not be any better than it is now. Let’s rule this world together, Pookie. To everyone that I didn’t shout out, thanks and I love you all.

Surviving The Trials

It all happened on April 18, 1981, at Decors Hospital, in Greensboro, North Carolina. There was a baby girl named Keiadra Smith born to a lovely and devoted, wealthy, intelligent young couple. Keiadra was a very alert, healthy dark-toned baby. Neither one of Keiadra’s parents wanted children at the time, so before they had Keiadra, they made arrangements to have the baby adopted. They made arrangements for the foster parents to take her right after she was born so that they would not have any with the child. Even though they were not ready for children, they loved Keiadra with all their heart. How could they not love her? After all, she was their daughter! Kim and James Smith were their names. Kim and James had found the perfect parents for Keiadra. Even though they didn’t have as much money as the Smiths did, Kim thought it was more about the love than the money. Kim looked into newspapers, on the Internet. They came upon a couple named Mr. and Mrs. Jonson. Both Mr. and Mrs. Jonson had graduated and had done at least a year in college. Their income was reasonable for the Smiths, and the Jonsons had already had some children of their own. Keiadra would have siblings, love, and both parents in the home, so the Smiths wrote their names down so they could give them a call to make arrangements before Keiadra was born. Debra Jonson and Tony Jonson were the name of the foster parents that the Smiths were interested in to adopt their daughter. All the paperwork was finalized at last, and the Jonsons could take their new baby girl home. Not every day was a good day for Debra though. Already taking care of four other children before adopting Keiadra, Debra knew it would have its bad days as well as good. It didn’t stop her from taking her daughter home and loving her just the same. Debra thought that her family was complete, and now there was not a thing to worry about—well, that’s what she thought. Tony had lost his job a day after the adoption. Debra was not working at the time. How were they going to pay their bills? Will the adoption agency come back for Keiadra? There was so much to worry about in such little time.

Tony had gotten so depressed about not being able to provide for his family that he left in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep. He did not want his children to see him like that. It made him feel like he was less of a man to just sit back and watch the mother of all his children work to put food on the table. He left a note on his pillow, which read, I’m sorry, baby. I can’t provide for you all anymore, so I have to leave to try and better myself for my family. As the morning came, Debra knew she did not feel Tony beside her. This had woken up Debra. She was always greeted with a kiss every morning. This morning, no kiss, no Tony. Instead she had a letter waiting for her. Debra was so hurt that she just sat in her room and cried for hours, until one of the children came to her room. “How could he just walk out and leave me with the kids like that,” Debra cried. Debra wiped her tears and thought to herself, “I have children to take care of right now. I have to get myself together for my girls.” Debra had already had four girls before she adopted Keiadra. “I have to be strong for my girls,” Debra said to herself. Wherever Debra went to find help to take care of her kids, they turned her away. It was getting hard for Debra to keep food and shelter for her kids, so she put down her wall of pride and went to the local health department and got assistance for her and her children. Tony didn’t like this situation after he learned what Debra had done. They had to notify him that Child was coming after him for the return of the money they assisted Debra with. Debra didn’t care at the moment. It was all about her kids at this point. Debra had asked Tony to help out with the kids several times, but he kept making up excuses as to why he could not help. Debra grew tired after a while and did something about it. “So typical of him,” Debra said to herself. Meanwhile, not knowing the whole time Debra and Tony was married, he were having an affair with the lady next door. See, Debra had just learned of this when she was on the TRT coming home from work one evening. You know how people talk about people, and they don’t know they are talking around… Yeah, it was one of those situations.

This lady Tony was cheating with was Debra’s best friend. They were the best of friends. They watched each other’s kids, went out on the streets to chill, and the whole time, this bitch was fucking Debra’s man. It all happened so fast. Everything seemed to fit into place, Debra thought. He didn’t leave because he couldn’t provide for his family; he left because he was having relations with her best friend. Even though it happened a while ago, Debra was still feeling angry about Tony cheating on her. Everything seemed like it was going downhill from then on. Debra and her girls lived in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the ghetto where most of the population of poor black folks resides. Everybody knew everybody and their business. You could not keep anything to yourself. It was one of those neighborhoods that whatever you did in the dark would come to light.

Confidence

His lips touched the back of her neck while his hands caressed her thighs slowly up and down. “Keiadra?” asked this sexy black man. “Yes,” Keiadra answered. “Can I make love to you?” he asked. Keiadra did not say a word. She did not know what to say. Keiadra never made love before. “Keiadra,” he called her name again. “I do not feel like talking about this right now,” Keiadra responded. “Can you just leave and give me time to think?” Keiadra asked him. The whole time, this beautiful brother accepted her request but wondered what the hell just happened. He gathered his belongings and let her be. Before he left, he told her “Okay, I will wait until you are ready, just do not forget about me while you are thinking.” What was she to do? She never imagined for their relationship to go this far so fast. It all happened one winter in November 1996. She met this young five-foot-nine muscular black man in a blue-and-white-striped suit with a nice pair of blue Stacy Adams on his feet. He was just sitting at the table all by himself. Keiadra had found this young brother attractive and decided to go over and introduce herself. What if he’s not interested in her? What if he was unavailable for her? All these thoughts crossed Keiadra’s mind as she walked over to him. You see, Keiadra was the quiet type, always minding her business, staying out of trouble. Besides, men usually approached her. But there was something about

this man Keiadra liked. Something about him made her want to walk right up to him and eat him like a sweet potato pie. Keiadra slowly went over and sat beside him. “Hello,” Keiadra introduced herself as she sat down. “Hello,” he responded. “How are you tonight?” Keiadra asked him. “Fine now,” the young man said. “My name is Keiadra, Keiadra Jonson,” Keiadra introduced herself. “Well, hello, Keiadra. My name is Kevin… Kevin Turner,” Kevin said, repeating how she just introduced herself to him. Both of them started to laugh. “Kevin Turner,” Keiadra pondered. “Nice to meet you, Kevin,” Keiadra said. “What brings a fine young man to a bar tonight, dressed to impress like you are?” Keiadra asked curiously. “Well, I came here hoping to find someone to talk to, but I guess I have found that somebody,” Kevin said. Keiadra had a big smile on her face. She noticed that she had the biggest KoolAid smile on her face when he just looked at her in amusement. “Do you use that line on everyone you try to talk to?” Keiadra asked him. “No, Ms. Jonson, just you,” Kevin responded. “So, what brings such a beautiful lady as you to a place like this?” Kevin asked her. “Well, to get out for a little while,” Keiadra responded. Keiadra never flirted with anyone before, but tonight she felt like a new woman. Like she could do whatever she wanted; the sky was the limit. She liked listening to all the pickup lines they could come up with. Kevin was different. Keiadra thought he was the one for her. Keiadra always believed in love at first sight. It seemed like she fell in love all the time. I guess that’s why she could never get her relationship to end in marriage. Kevin interrupted her thoughts.

“Ms. Jonson,” Kevin called her, then continued, “May I buy you a drink?” “I already have one,” Keiadra said. “Maybe after you finish that one, I could buy you another one,” Kevin asked nicely. “We will see. If I still be here that long to order another drink,” Keiadra said with attitude. Keiadra wanted to know what was going on with her. This wasn’t something that Keiadra did regularly. She never came on to a man. It had to be the drinks. She never dealt with a man of such kind like this before. The men she dealt with usually were thuggish or mama’s boys. “So tell me about yourself.” Keiadra wanted to know more about this Kevin. “Is there a missus that I need to know about?” Keiadra asked. “No, I’m not married. I guess I haven’t found the right one yet,” Kevin explained. He continued to say, “It has been going on about three years since I have been in a relationship. I had a lot of friends, but I don’t know… something just didn’t click with them girls. I feel like something will click with you though.” “Oh, another pickup line, uh,” Keiadra said, looking him straight in the eye. “No, I just know what I like,” Kevin told her. “Well, when that time comes, and if it comes, then we will know for sure if something really clicked,” Keiadra said with confidence. “For right now, let us just enjoy the moment and these drinks because I think this conversation is getting out of line,” Keiadra explained. “That’s fine with me,” Kevin said, smiling. They sat there enjoying their conversation, while they lost track of time. Kevin looked at his watch. “Ms. Jonson, I’m afraid it is getting late, and I have work tomorrow. Here is my number and call me when you have a chance” Kevin suggested. “Yes, yes, sir. Will do,” answered Keiadra. “Good night,” Keiadra said to him as he left. Keiadra had so many emotions going through her body. She had lusted after this

Kevin Turner. It probably was the fact that she had not had sex in a long time. Keiadra did not care. All she knew was she was feeling this man or herself for the moment. She just sat there thinking about what just happened. Kevin was not the one Keiadra wanted to let slip out her hand. Not this time, after she just worked up the nerve to go introduce herself. To her it was too good to be noticed. Something had to be wrong with this dude. She felt like Kevin was hiding something. It could have been the fact that she had bad relationships in the past. Whatever it was, Keiadra was going to put her issues aside and start over. She knew she had to start fresh to move on with her life. Her mom always told her, every man cheats. It’s in their DNA. Keiadra had to know about this man, and nothing was going to stop her. She felt she spent too much time and energy into the conversation to give up. See, this was how Keiadra fucked up her relationships. She went looking for something she didn’t really want to see. She never knew how to leave well enough alone. Kevin had been gone for a while, but Keiadra just did not feel like going home yet. She knew she was getting over herself. Who was to say that it would work out with Kevin? Besides, there were more fish in the sea. Keiadra sat there for a while before the DJ played her song. She finished her drink and ran straight to the dance floor. Keiadra was tipsy now. She was having so much fun on the dance floor she didn’t notice that she was the last one to leave the club. After all this time, being drunk as hell, Keiadra was still thinking about this Mr. Kevin Turner! “He probably gave me the wrong number,” Keiadra thought to herself. As Keiadra stumbled to the car, a man stopped her. He felt the need to be concerned and not let her drive home while she was drunk. He called her a cab and told her she could pick her car up in the morning. “Would you like me to walk you to the cab?” the kind man asked her. “Yes, please, and thank you,” Keiadra answered him. As they walked to the cab, Keiadra was still wondering about this Kevin. Keiadra wanted to know how old he was and if there was a Mrs. Turner. You see, the guys Keiadra was usually involved with were usually in a relationship, but

they lied and said they were not. This bothered Keiadra for the rest of the night. “I’ll go home and sleep on it,” thought Keiadra. “I would have to figure this out in the morning when I’m not drunk.” She laughed to herself. Jonson’s Industries was the name of the business Keiadra was CEO. Her grandfather, Wayne Smith, had built it from the ground up in 1902. There had been many changes to the building since her grandfather died four years ago. Keiadra had to stop her life and take on the family business, which was expected of her. Keiadra was living her own life four years ago, “stress-free”. She did not have any children and did not want any at the moment either. It was just her and Michael Covet. She met Michael in New York City, and they hit it off really well. He didn’t want any children either, so this worked well for Keiadra. Michael wanted his own life, with one exception—a queen to make his life complete. You see, a queen to Michael was someone that stayed at home, took care of the house, and just shopped. He wanted to bring home the bacon and pay the bills. Even though it sounds nice, Keiadra was not housewife material. She decided to sit Michael down and let him know that she could not be a housewife any longer. She did not feel comfortable letting someone else take care of her expenses when she was CEO of her own company. They sat down for hours trying to figure out a way to make their relationship work, but nothing was working, so they called it quits. They promised to stay in touch with each other and try to work things out. That night, Keiadra had gotten a phone call from her uncle Tuck. “Keiadra, we need you to come home right now, it’s an emergency. Catch the next plane home and get here soon,” he said quickly. “What’s wrong?” Keiadra asked. “We will talk about it as soon as you get here,” Uncle Tuck answered. “I’m not catching a plane for any reason,” Keiadra said. “It’s your father, KeKe,” Uncle Tuck said. “Please get here soon,” he pleaded.

“Okay, I’m on my way,” Keiadra said. Since she and Michael were trying to work things out, she wanted to tell him what was going on and she would be back in a couple of days. There was not enough time to explain to him what was going on, so she told him she would get in touch with him when she got to Greensboro. She had to find out what was going on with her dad and why her mom did not call and tell her. She packed a week’s worth of clothes, went to get her plane ticket, and waited for them to call for her departure. Keiadra could not wait to get to Greensboro to find out what was going on. Sitting in the airport, Keiadra tried to keep her mind off her father’s situation, so she wondered how her life would be if she married Michael. Would she like being a housewife? Keiadra had plenty of friends, but there was one friend she had to call. “How could I forget to call Talaya and let her know I was leaving?” Keiadra thought to herself. Keiadra and Talaya had been friends since elementary school. Even though Keiadra lived in Brooklyn, New York, and Talaya lived in Jamaica Queens, New York, they found time to hang out on the weekends together. She had to tell her best friend she was leaving on an emergency call and would get back to her as soon as she returned to New York. Finally, the loudspeaker came on. “Flight 95 to Greensboro, North Carolina, will be leaving in twenty minutes. Please board the plane and be seated,” the voice said over the loudspeaker. Keiadra quickly got off the phone with Talaya and hurried to her exit. She knew there was nothing stopping her, and she just had to find out what was going on. She gave the flight attendant her ticket and boarded the plane. Even though Keiadra did not like planes, she sat there hoping that the plane ride would not take long. Usually she just ate a few crackers and drank a few shots of vodka to make the ride much smoother. For some reasons, she could not drink anything, and she wasn’t very hungry, which was unusual because she had not had anything to eat all day. She just pulled down the shade at the window and fell asleep. “This should make it go by faster,” Keiadra thought. “Attention, engers,” the voice said on the loudspeaker. “We are now about to land in Greensboro, North Carolina. Please stay seated and keep your seatbelts on.”

“Finally,” Keiadra thought to herself. “Now I can get off this plane.” Keiadra had gotten off the plane and went straight to the luggage department to claim her luggage. When she got to the entrance of the airport, she saw Debra standing there waiting with a smile on her face. “You made it,” Debra said. “Yes, ma’am, I’m here,” Keiadra answered her mom. “I should have taken the company plane.” “Oh, honey, you will be all right. We might not have a lot of money like you, but you can rely on our planes,” responded Debra. Keiadra’s parents were not rich. They were just two older people trying to make it through life. “What’s wrong with Dad?” Keiadra asked Debra. “We will talk about it as soon as we get to the hospital,” replied Debra. “HOSPITAL?” yelled Keiadra. “Dad is in the hospital?” She could not wait to get to the hospital, so she pleaded with Debra to tell her what was going on. “Mom, please tell me what is going on,” she pleaded. “Well, Keiadra, your dad has cancer, and they need to operate on him,” Debra answered. “Cancer,” Keiadra said sadly. “He wanted you to be here for the surgery in case he did not make it out of surgery,” responded Debra. “In case he doesn’t make it! Come on, Mom, I can’t wait any longer. Let’s get to the hospital, please,” Keiadra pleaded. “Now, calm down, Keiadra. I told him that I would let him tell you as soon as you got here. So don’t get too upset, Keiadra,” Debra insisted. They arrived at Lake Prince Hospital in downtown Greensboro. Keiadra asked her mom if she could give her a few minutes to get herself together before she

came in the room. “Yes, baby. Don’t take too long, your father will be worried,” said Debra. You see, Keiadra did not inherit her money from Mr. and Mrs. Jonson. Her biological parents wanted their daughter to have everything they owned when they way. Even though they gave her away, they thought of Keiadra every day. Mr. Smith away first, then Mrs. Smith a few months later. Everyone said she died because she was so unhappy and lonely after Mr. Smith died. They left Keiadra their entire estate. It was something to them by. It took Keiadra a few minutes to gain control over herself. She could not believe she was about to lose another parent. Even though the Smiths gave her up for adoption, the Jonsons made them her godparents so they could still see and be in touch with Keiadra. Not knowing what she was going to see when she entered the room, Keiadra wiped her tears and entered the door with a smile. She never saw her dad on so many machines before. Her heart dropped as soon as she saw him. She was freaked out but couldn’t and wouldn’t let Tony see how upset she was. As she entered the room, Tony noticed her right away. “Hello, sweetheart,” Tony greeted her. “I have been waiting for you. I have something to tell you… Sit down please,” Tony asked her. “I have cancer, and I have to have surgery,” he explained. “I wanted you to be here in case anything goes wrong during the surgery,” Tony continued. “What kind of cancer, and why did it take so long for me to find out?” Keiadra asked him. “It is lymphoma cancer,” he answered. “I waited to tell you because you were just getting your life back on track, and I know if I would have told you, you would have stopped your life to take care of me,” Tony explained. “You are right… and another thing…” Just as Keiadra was about to continue, her phone rang. “Who could be calling me right now?” Keiadra thought. It was Michael Covet. Keiadra didn’t think he would be calling her at this moment. “It does feel nice to be thought of,” Keiadra thought to herself.

“I was just calling to see if everything was all right,” Michael explained to her. “Yes, I’m okay. Thanks for calling. I will have to call you back though,” Keiadra continued. “Okay. I was just making sure you were okay. Good-bye,” said Michael as they both hung up the phone. There was too much excitement for one night, and she felt like getting pretty and going out for a drink. That is just what she did.

Romance

Romance is what I feel when you massage my thighs, The way you glide your tongue, making my temperature rise. Romance is where you put your love in my heart, Daring me to try and take it apart. Romance is when you put roses around my bed, Making up for all the times I wish you were dead. Romance is the love I feel, Letting me know this love is for real. Romance is taking it slow and meaning all that you do, Romance is when I rise up and down on top of you. Romance is when you scream my name real loud, Romance is when you make me float through clouds. Romance means we will never be apart, Romance means you will love me with your whole heart.

Bills

Bills… What can I say? Bills that grow every day. High bills, low bills, bills overdue, How messed up my credit will be, if I only knew. On a budget is where I found myself, Feel like these bills will cause my death. Bills are what I hate to see, These bills will not become me.

Trying To Survive

Debra was so happy and thankful for help that she received: she wanted to give back, but she could not afford anything at the moment to show her appreciation. Instead, she prayed for all of them and volunteered her services when they needed her. Meanwhile, she and her children moved into a three-bedroom project home. Debra was happy that everything was looking good for them now. The children were in school, so Debra decided to find a job to her kids more than the assistance she was getting. Debra did not have experience in anything, so it was hard for her to find a job. Debra didn’t have to work for a while. Tony always provided for her, so she didn’t have to do anything but take care of the house and the children. This made Debra very sad because after all these years she didn’t work, it caught up with her. Debra dedicated her time to an elementary school until she could find work in her field. Everything was in place now. Tony was out of their life, and the kids were in school. She could focus on the important things instead of worrying from day to day. One day, Debra had come home to find out that Tony had known where they were living. Debra was so scared for her life that she hid in the house and would not let the kids go outside unless she sat on the porch with them. She was so afraid of Tony because the last time she and Tony had spoken, he beat her. After a while, Debra could not keep living in fear. Besides, it wasn’t fair to her children to have them locked in the house. She decided to let her children move on with their life and made a plan so if Tony came back, she would know what to do. Tony never came back for a while, and this made Debra nervous. It wasn’t like Tony to visit and not come back. She decided to leave well enough alone until he decided to show his face again. Debra had spoken too soon. Tony had come back about a month later asking for Debra’s forgiveness and to take him back. This man was the only man Debra had known since she was young, so she decided to give Tony another chance. The children thought that this was a bad idea, but they couldn’t tell their mom what to do. They knew that this was going to end up bad. She figured she could try

this thing one more time after all he had done for her when they were together, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Debra kept looking over her shoulder, walking on eggshells so that she would not get him too mad that he would beat her. Debra did not realize that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. Everything was great for a couple of months until Tony decided he wanted to cheat on Debra again. All the warning signs were out there for Debra. So as soon as she started noticing Tony not coming home and the fussing starting, she knew it was time for Tony to go. Debra knew that something was about to happen when he started coming home saying that she was cheating on him behind his back, but the whole time, Debra was only providing for her family. Keiadra ed it like it was yesterday. The abuse started again, the cheating, fussing, not coming home. Debra figured that there was no way out and wondered why these bad things were always happening to her. Tony had started leaving more. Not coming home for two, maybe three, days at a time. Debra was glad, though, because if he wasn’t home, how could he beat her? She always wondered how he could come home and beat her when she did not go anywhere or talk to anyone. Every time Tony came home, he would beat Debra, not knowing the outcome would affect her daughters in the long run. Debra’s children, Valerie, Kim, Simone, Raquisha, and Keiadra, did not like what Tony kept doing to their mom, so they threatened Tony’s life. Debra’s daughters had grown so tired of their father’s abuse to their mom that they waited for Tony to go to sleep. As they waited for him to fall asleep, they sent Debra to the store so she would not witness or try to stop them from what they were about to do. As soon as Debra walked out the door, Simone went into their parents’ room and quietly tied Tony’s hands and arms to the bed rails so he would not be able to escape. “Wake up,” Kim said. Tony woke up after a while to find that he was tied up against his will. “So you like to hit women?” Simone asked madly. “Well, we are going to let you see how it feels to be beaten on,” said Valerie. They beat Tony with brooms, belts, anything they could get their hands on at the moment. Something had interrupted them though. When they heard the bedroom door open and saw their mom, everything had gotten silent.

“What are you girls doing?” Debra said as she came in the room. Debra untied Tony to let him free. Tony was so scared that his girls had done such a thing he jumped out the bed, gathered his things, and ran out the house. “Stop coming here beating on our mother!” Keiadra yelled at him as he ran toward the front door. Now that the girls scared Tony and they knew he wasn’t coming back, their mom could get on with her life without having to look over her shoulders. Finally, Christmas was on the way. Debra was out buying gifts for the children; everyone was feeling joyful. Debra knew she had to tell her girls what was bothering her. She couldn’t keep this secret for that much longer without the girls finding out what was going on. As she bought the last gift for the day, she made up her mind to sit them down and just let them know the truth. Debra came into the house after taking everything out of the car and told the kids to sit down, she had something important to talk to them about. The girls thought that this talk had something to do with Tony. They were right, but not about Tony beating their mom. “Sit down, kids, I have something to tell you. I have been holding this in for a couple of months, and now it is time to share it with you,” Debra said to them. “I am pregnant, and it is a boy,” Debra told them. “It is your father’s baby, but I do not want him to know, okay?” Debra asked them. “Yes, Mommy,” said the girls. “We are going to spoil him rotten,” said Keiadra. “Yes, you can,” Debra agreed. “Now, come on, girls, you can open one gift now to celebrate, but you will open the rest on Christmas,” she continued. The girls were so excited to open a gift that they all chose the biggest present to open. They could not wait for the next morning to open up all their gifts. Christmas morning arrived, and the girls were so excited. As they came down the stairs to open their presents, they saw that the presents were coming from under the tree to the stairs. They wondered how their mom could afford these

gifts without a job. They appreciated the gifts, though, and sat there and opened them all until there wasn’t any more to open. The Jonsons were enjoying their Christmas. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Who could that be?” thought Debra. She wasn’t waiting for anyone to stop . “Who is it?” yelled Kim. You see, Kim was the second oldest of Debra’s children. Kim was very quiet and kept to herself. She really wasn’t a people person. Kim was into novels and making sure she got to school on time. Kim was the responsible one of Debra’s children. “Tony,” answered Tony. Everyone had gotten quiet. They could not believe that Tony was at their door again. Not after they had already warned him to stay away. “What do you want?” yelled Debra without getting up to open the door. “I have presents for my children,” Tony yelled through the door. Debra looked out the window to see if Tony had gifts for real or if he was just trying to get back in the house. To her surprise, Tony was not lying this time. He really did have gifts for the girls. So Debra decided to open the door. She let him know that he could not stay for long, for him to hurry up, give them their gifts, and leave. Tony agreed with the conditions, and that is what he did. Tony had brought almost all the gifts the girls had wanted for Christmas. “He looked better too,” Debra thought as he was leaving out the house. Nothing happened; this was unusual, but Debra and the girls moved on with their lives not looking back or wondering what or where Tony was. Tony always tried to come back to Debra, but this time it felt different. To make sure Tony didn’t come back with the harassment, she went down and took a restraining order out on him. Interrupting the rest of Debra’s conversation with the kids, she had gotten an unfamiliar text message that said,

PLEASE KEEP YOUR CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE AFTER 7 P.M. WE ARE HAVING A DRUG BUST AND WE DO NOT WANT YOUR CHILDREN

OUTSIDE IN THE WAY!!!!!!

Debra was glad that they had warned her of this, but she was getting tired of all the violence in the neighborhood. She just had to get out of the projects. She was going to do just that as soon as Tony Junior was born. Debra made the girls go to bed so they would not experience what was going on outside the house. After she had gotten the girls settled, Debra went to bed herself. The next morning, there wasn’t a sign that the police was in the neighborhood the night before, but she still wanted to walk her children to school just to make sure they would get there okay. After she got them to school safely, Debra went to do her volunteer work at the elementary school. Debra was so tired after she got off from work that she came home, cooked dinner, helped the kids with their homework, and put them to bed by 9:00 p.m., this night Debra or Simone would never forget ever for the rest of their life. This same night, someone had broken into Debra’s home. This man had to be watching Debra for a while to know it was only Debra and her kids and not a male figure in the house. This stranger climbed up the back wall and through the bathroom window. Since the bathroom was on the second floor, no one thought to close the window at night. This mysterious man went into the first room he saw. He did not see anyone in the room but Simone because Raquisha and Keiadra always slept with their heads under the covers. This was the perfect time for him to try to do something since there wasn’t anyone else in the room with Simone. That was what he thought until Simone started to scream and Keiadra came up from under the covers. The man saw that there was someone else in the room and decided to leave. As this man was leaving, Simone was calling for Debra to come and save her. “Mom, help!” yelled Simone. “Someone is in the house,” continued Simone. As soon as Debra heard Simone calling her, she got up and grabbed her gun. She did not know what was going on with Simone. She just knew her daughter needed her help and it was late at night. By the time Debra got up the stairs, this man was gone. Debra did not know what to do. She searched the house to make sure this man wasn’t still in her house after she made sure her girls were okay.

There wasn’t a sign of this man, but Debra knew he went out the back door, because it was left open. Debra knew she had locked the door that night before she went to bed. Debra quickly called the police and made a police report about the incident so if the man decided to return, she had the right to use her gun. Why not? It was ed. Debra could not believe someone had broken into her house to try to harm her children. After the abuse and struggle she had been through with Tony, she thought it could not get any worse, but it did. Debra was afraid to go back to sleep that night. She had to stay up and make sure her babies were okay. She had to make sure that all her windows were locked at night, and she decided to change her locks on the doors. After months went by and Debra started to feel more comfortable in her own home, she thought it was time to get back on track with her life. She went to get therapy for her children and herself to make sure everything was back the way it was meant to be. “Kids,” Debra called for them. “Yes, Mom,” the girls responded at one time. “Come downstairs, we need to talk,” she yelled up the stairs. “Oh no… another family meeting,” mumbled Valerie. “I heard that,” Debra said to Valerie. “As you know, a lot has happened in the past few months. Now that the rain has stopped pouring on us and the sun is shining again, it is time to put our family back together again,” Debra explained. “Children, you need to start doing what is expected of you around the house,” Debra continued. “You know that it is almost time for Tony Junior’s arrival, and I cannot keep this house clean by myself. You all need to do what you’re supposed to do in school, at church, etc. So when it is time for me to have this baby, I would not be worried about what is going on at the house. I would know that you are here doing what is expected of you. Valerie will be in charge of the house while I’m gone, and you will listen to her,” Debra told the girls. “Why Valerie?” asked Kim. “She already thinks she is in control of us. Not only that, she will bring guys in the house like she has done before,” snitched Kim.

“Well, if she does that, then let me know when I get home. Meanwhile, she is the oldest, and she will be watching over you while I’m gone. Your grandma will come to check up on you all every day, so you should be fine,” Debra continued. “Okay,” the girls agreed. “Great, Grandma is going to come and check up on us,” Keiadra said in a smart but nasty way. You see, Debra did not care if the children went to church or not, but Grandma made sure they went every Sunday. She had them in the choir, on the usher board. When they decided they wanted to fall asleep in church, she made them stand for the rest of the service. “Does anyone have any questions or have anything to say? Say it now,” Debra asked them. “I do,” responded Valerie. “What do you have to say, Valerie?” asked Debra. Every time there was a family meeting, Valerie had to put her two cents in, but Debra was not ready for what she had to say this time. “I’m pregnant,” Valerie told her. There wasn’t a response from anybody. Everybody was in shock from what they had just heard. Everybody just looked at Valerie with their jaws dropped. “What did you just say?” Debra asked after she took the information in. “Mommy, I’m pregnant,” Valerie said again. Debra could not say anything to Valerie. After all they had been through, after all the struggles and mishaps, not even the fact that Debra was about to have a baby of her own. Debra was stress-free, ready to live her life and bring her son home to a safe, comfortable home. Now she was going to have two babies to look after. Valerie did not work and was barely going to school. Something had to be done. How was she going to explain this to the landlord? He had already let her move in with five girls and one baby on the way. It was only a two-bedroom apartment. Debra had to stop and pray. She knew once the landlord found out

about this situation, she was going to have to move. Debra saw Valerie was falling into her footsteps, and she didn’t have any control over the situation. You see, Debra was only fifteen when she had Valerie. Now Valerie was about to have a baby at fifteen. Debra had to take care of her own baby and a grandbaby. “Two babies!” Debra screamed. “Oh no, something has to give,” Debra said angrily. “You have to go and get assistance for your baby because I cannot and will not do this by myself,” Debra said. “You lay down and made it, you will take care of it,” Debra continued. Debra always taught her girls to take responsibility for their actions, and this was the perfect example for Valerie and the rest of the girls. Valerie did not know what to do. She hurried to the phone to call Patrick to let him know what decision her mom had made about the pregnancy. Patrick was a slinky tall black boy that lived up the street from Debra. Valerie and Patrick met in school when they decided to become boyfriend and girlfriend. Patrick was only a year older than Valerie. They didn’t know what to do with a baby; they were babies themselves. Valerie let the phone ring several times before Patrick decided to answer. “Patrick, I told my mom about the baby, and she was mad, but she told me to go get assistance to take care of the baby. What do you think about that?” Valerie asked. “Well, we want to keep the baby, so I think it is a good idea until I can find a job to help our child,” Patrick responded. Valerie did not like the fact that Patrick agreed with her mom, because she did not want to be on welfare. She did it though because she wanted to keep her baby. Little did Valerie know the day when Patrick found a job to help her baby wouldn’t never happen! Valerie found herself on welfare, with a child. Keiadra could not believe this. Valerie and Keiadra were tight. How could Valerie go and have a baby when she had Keiadra? Wherever Valerie went, Keiadra went. Now that Valerie was pregnant, how was Keiadra going to spend time with Valerie when she was having a baby? You see, when Valerie thought Keiadra was old enough to go with her to places, she took Keiadra everywhere with her. She would usually go over to her

boyfriend’s house. It did not bother Keiadra though because she loved to play with Valerie’s boyfriend’s sister. One day Keiadra had kept asking to go with Valerie to the house of this boy named Vincent when she went outside that Valerie gave in and told her she could go. Keiadra was only six years old at that time when Valerie took her with her to Vincent’s house. Valerie was really into Vincent. She was just like Debra when it came to men—dumb, stupid, and head over heels for them. “Stay here for a moment,” Valerie told Keiadra. “I’ll be right back,” Valerie continued. Valerie set Keiadra on the porch and went into the house with Vincent, which seemed like forever. It was about ninety degrees outside when Valerie made Keiadra sit on the porch and wait for her. Keiadra had gotten too hot after a while and started to cry for Valerie to come outside and get her, at least let her come in for some air. Shit, it was ninety degrees outside; it was hot as hell. What was Valerie thinking leaving Keiadra outside by herself at six years old? Anything could have happened to Keiadra while Valerie was in the house that long. It seemed like it had been a few hours before Valerie came back outside to get Keiadra and take her home. “I am going to tell Mom you left me outside in the heat,” Keiadra cried. “You always messing things up, Keiadra. I should have left you home,” Valerie said angrily. “Come on and let me take you home,” Valerie said. Keiadra was confused. She did not know what was going on. How could Valerie blame her when she was the one left out in the sun for several hours and without water? This chick was crazy. “I will never ask her to go outside with her again,” Keiadra thought to herself. When they got home, Keiadra could not wait to tell her mom what Valerie had done. Valerie was mad that Keiadra had told on her. Valerie could not go back to see Vincent because Vincent was a grown man. Debra went to press charges on Patrick so he would stay away from Valerie, which worked out because Patrick had found out that Valerie’s child wasn’t his child after all. Valerie was really furious with Keiadra that she didn’t talk to

Keiadra for months. It didn’t matter to Keiadra though because she didn’t want to go anywhere with Valerie after she left her in the sun, which seemed like forever.

Love At First Sight

It was ninth grade when everything was cool and everything was stupid. Guys walking around with their pants hanging off their butts, females walking around with the tightest and shortest clothes they could wear to school. Keiadra wasn’t like the other girls in school. She didn’t wear tight clothes. Everything she wore wasn’t brand-name. She had a favorite outfit she put on all the time, some black pants and a green shirt. She always tried to do her own hair. Sometimes her hair would look like she just came from the beauty salon, and other days she looked like she didn’t care. You could tell when her mom did her hair and when she tried to do her hair by herself. Keiadra was sitting in math class when she saw this slinky tall black boy walking through the classroom door. He was sexy to Keiadra. She just had to have this boy, but he was interested in the popular girls. He never paid attention to Keiadra, but she never gave up on trying to talk to him every now and then. Keiadra had gotten so frustrated with him that she gave up on talking to him. Every time Keiadra heard him talk, she asked him to be quiet. His desk was the third seat behind Keiadra, so she could hear him every time he tried to talk to the girl in front of him. “Would you both be quiet,” Keiadra asked him in a nasty way. “What is wrong with you?” the dark boy asked her. “There isn’t anyone talking to you, so mind your business,” he said. Keiadra turned around and looked at him like she would smack him if he said anything else to her. He just looked back at her like she was stupid and continued on with his conversation. Meanwhile, as class went on, Keiadra felt herself getting angrier at this boy because he would not pay attention to her. Days went by, and Keiadra’s feeling began to start showing its true colors. She wanted this dude, and she was tired of trying to play it cool. She started acting as if she needed certain things so she could ask him for them. After all this flirting

and trying to get his attention, Keiadra finally got up the nerve to introduce herself and ask him out. As everyone took their seats, she turned around and introduced herself to him. “Hello, my name is Keiadra,” Keiadra said. “I know who you are. You have been sitting in front of me in class almost all year,” he responded. Keiadra felt stupid. She didn’t know if she should proceed with her idea or just leave it alone. She felt like she worked too hard to get up the nerve to introduce herself so she was going to get him to go out with her. “It is a shame you do not know my name though,” he continued. “You ask me for things and ask me questions every day to try to talk to me, and you don’t know my name,” he responded. “My name is Brian,” he said. “The teacher calls my name every day, and you still don’t know my name,” Brian said. Keiadra knew that Brian was feeling her because he would not have taken the time to let her know that he was paying attention to her. Over the next few days, Brian and Keiadra had gotten very close to each other. Neither one of them made the attempt to ask the other out, so they had just continued as friends. That was until Keiadra had seen another girl talking to Brian. She walked over to them, asked Brian if she could speak to him for a moment. She was not about to let this girl just come in and take her man. She needed a plan to keep Brian interested. Keiadra invited Brian to a party that never was going to happen. He said that he would come, but Brian never showed up. This made Keiadra feel bad. Keiadra always felt herself doing crazy, stupid things to get Brian over to her house instead of being honest with him and letting him know that she was interested in him. The school year was almost over, and Keiadra had to keep in touch with Brian over the summer. She could not let him just walk out of her life. To her, Brian was her first love. The one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Keiadra was stupidly in love with this boy. She stopped hanging around with her friends and dedicated all her time to Brian. This was okay with Brian because he felt the same way about Keiadra. Keiadra’s and Brian’s moms let them go over to each

other’s house during the summer so they could keep seeing each other. This was a great plan for them because their parents trusted them enough to let them start spending the night with each other every other weekend during the summer. Keiadra was getting so used to going around Brian’s house that Debra had started having concerns about what Keiadra was doing while she was over at Brian’s house. “Mom, can I go over Brian’s house this weekend?” Keiadra asked. Debra thought that this was a good way to see what Keiadra was doing while she was over there that she used Tony Junior as a weapon. “The only way you can go over Brian’s house is if you take your brother with you,” Debra said, thinking Keiadra was going to have a problem with the fact that she had to take Tony Junior with her. But Keiadra agreed with the idea. She just wanted to get to Brian’s house by any means necessary. Keiadra had gotten on the phone to call Brian to let him know that she had to bring her brother with her. She hoped it was okay with Brian because she really wanted to go and see him. “Okay,” Brian told her. “He can play with my siblings when you all get here,” Brian continued. Keiadra got off the phone with Brian, told Tony Junior to come on, and went to the bus stop to take the next bus over to Brian’s house. They had finally made it to Brian’s house after two buses they had to catch and a thirty-minute break between them. Before they went in, Keiadra laid down some ground rules for Tony while they were over at Brian’s house. “Do not keep bothering me, play with his brother until it is time for us to go, and behave,” Keiadra told him. “Okay, Keiadra,” Tony Junior agreed. “Let’s go in,” he pleaded. Keiadra looked at Tony and knocked on the door. Brian’s little brother answered the door. “Hello, Milton,” Keiadra said to him when he opened the door. “Where is Brian?” Keiadra asked him.

“He is coming. He is in the bathroom. He told me to tell you to sit in the living room and he will be out shortly,” answered Milton. “You want to come and play with us?” Milton asked Tony Junior. Tony Junior looked at Keiadra to see if it was okay for him to go and play with Brian’s brother and sister. Keiadra gave him the okay to go and play but also reminded him of the rules while he was over there. Milton and Selena were Brian’s siblings. They were nice children that respected their mom to the fullest. Keiadra respected them for the respect they gave their mom, being that she was a single parent raising two boys and a girl all by herself. “Okay, Keiadra. Can I go now?” Tony Junior said. Keiadra nodded yes, and Tony ran into the room as fast as he could so Keiadra would not call him back. As soon as Tony and Milton went into the room, Brian came out of the bathroom. Every time Keiadra saw Brian, it was like the first time she laid eyes on him. Brian was looking all good to her, walking out of the bathroom still wet, with a towel on. Keiadra just wanted to eat him up like he was a bag of popcorn, a big bag of buttery popcorn to be exact. This made Keiadra start to feel all hot and bothered. She wanted him, and she wanted him now. Keiadra didn’t wait for Brian to come and give her a hug when he came out of the bathroom before she tried to jump his bones in the front room on the floor. “Hold on, baby,” Brian said, laughing. “We have all day to do that. Let me put on some clothes, and we can watch a movie for a while,” Brian suggested. “Okay,” agreed Keiadra. “You just make me want to jump your bones every time I come around you,” Keiadra continued. Brian was Keiadra’s first everything, her first love, her first boyfriend. He was also the one to take her virginity. Brian meant everything to Keiadra. Their love grew so strong that the wind could not break them apart. Keiadra grew tired of having to tag Tony Junior along with her every time she went to visit Brian that she got up the nerve to ask Debra why she had to take him with her all the time to Brian’s house. Debra was clueless. She had so many questions going through her mind at one time. She was trying to figure out why

Keiadra was trying to get rid of Tony Junior when she wanted to go to Brian’s house. Debra had just come out and asked Keiadra what was on her mind the whole time. “Are you and Brian having sex?” Debra asked Keiadra. “No, Mom,” Keiadra answered. Even though Keiadra was lying, she was not going to sit there and tell Debra she was having sex. Shit, she wasn’t stupid. “Okay,” responded Debra. Debra knew Keiadra was having sex because Keiadra was sleeping a lot and eating more than usual. Something was up, and Debra just had to find out what it was. Debra let it go for now; besides, there wasn’t any evidence to think otherwise. Keiadra and Brian’s relationship grew so close that Keiadra started attending family cookouts with Brian. Debra even let her go out of town on vacations with Brian. After Keiadra and Brian came from the cookout, Keiadra was feeling very bad. She didn’t know what was going on. Brian told her to go lie down and he would bring her something to drink. Keiadra could not let this go. She had to figure out what was going on with her body. She called her best friend Talaya to explain what was going on with her body. Talaya was more experienced than Keiadra, so Keiadra thought Talaya could tell her what was happening. “Girl, it sounds like you could be knocked up,” laughed Talaya. “What, pregnant?” Keiadra said. “Yes, girl, we need to get you a test and fast. I’ll be over there in a minute. I’m going to stop and pick up one on the way,” Talaya explained. Keiadra didn’t know what to do. What if she was with child? How was she going to provide for this baby? How was she going to tell Brian? A lot of questions crossed Keiadra’s mind as she sat and waited for Talaya to come over with the test. “I better not think about that right now,” Keiadra thought. “I will just take the test, wait for the results, and figure out what to do next,” Keiadra said to herself.

There was a knock on the door. Keiadra knew who it was, so she just got up and answered the door. Brian was wondering why Keiadra didn’t tell him Talaya was coming over and why all of a sudden they were being so secretive. “Go into the bathroom, pee on this stick, wait ten minutes, and it will tell you if you are pregnant or not. One line means you are not, two lines means… you’re a mommy,” Talaya explained to her. Keiadra went into the bathroom, did what she was told, and waited. Keiadra hoped that she wasn’t pregnant as she waited for the answer to the pregnancy test. Keiadra finally came out of the bathroom. “Well, what did it say?” Talaya asked. Not waiting for an answer, Talaya snatched the test out of Keiadra’s hand, looked at it, and screamed. “Yeah,” Talaya responded. “You are pregnant!” “I know,” responded Keiadra. “How am I supposed to tell my mom? How am I supposed to tell Brian?” cried Keiadra. Keiadra panicked. Tears started to roll down her face. She started thinking different thoughts. She knew for a fact she hadn’t been with anybody else but Brian. He was the love of her life. How could she be with someone else when she was madly in love with Brian? Now to add to her list, Brian was her first baby daddy. Keiadra was not ready for any children, being that she was only in high school. Something about this baby made her want to keep it. Maybe it was the fact that it was Brian’s baby. She wanted to keep it because it would be a part of him that she would always have. As time went on, Brian kept calling Keiadra, but Keiadra would not pick up the phone. Brian didn’t know why Keiadra would not pick up the phone for him. This made Brian very worried, so he took the bus to Keiadra’s house to find out what was going on. This was the first time Brian had caught the bus. If that was not true romance, then what was? Brian never caught the bus. He always got a ride to where he had to go. This time it was serious. He would do anything for Keiadra even if that meant catching the bus. There was a knock on the door. “Who is it?” yelled Keiadra because she did not feel like getting up. “It’s me, Brian,” Brian answered.

Keiadra’s eyes widened. “Oh no, he did not,” Keiadra said as she went to open the door. “How did you get over here?” Keiadra asked Brian. “Never mind that, Keiadra! Why are you not answering your phone?” Brian asked. “I just need time to think,” responded Keiadra. “Time to think about what?” Brian asked Keiadra furiously. Keiadra did not know how to tell Brian that she was pregnant with his child. She just got up the nerve and told him while she had the nerve to. “Brian, I’m pregnant,” Keiadra told him. There was a moment of silence. “Wow,” said Brian. “Are you sure?” he asked her to make sure he heard what she had just said. “Yes! I saved the proof so you wouldn’t think I was lying,” Keiadra told him. She pulled the little stick out and showed it to Brian. Brian began to smile as if he was glad that Keiadra was with child. “I cannot believe this!” Brian yelled. “We are about to have a baby!” Brian screamed. This made Brian so happy he didn’t know what to do. He ran around the house several times. He picked Keiadra up and twirled her around; at one point he started to sing. Keiadra thought Brian would not want the baby, but now that she saw how he was rejoicing, she knew everything was going to be okay. Now all they had to worry about was telling their parents. They enjoyed the rest of the day not focusing on how their mothers would react. They just laid side by side on the bed as Brian rubbed Keiadra’s belly. Brian could not stay all night. He had to go back home since he didn’t ask his mom if he could spend the night. “Do not mention this to anybody right now,” Brian suggested. “I will handle it all tomorrow after I finish up on some things that I am doing,” Brian continued. “Okay, I will not,” responded Keiadra.

Brian could not believe that this girl who always got on his nerves in math class was about to have his child. He loved the fact that Keiadra was pregnant with his child because he loved Keiadra with all his heart. Every time Brian told Keiadra he loved her, he made her feel special because to her, he made her feel as if he meant it every time he said it. Their love was pure, unconditional love. Keiadra had gotten so caught up in the moment that she forgot to tell her mom about the news. Even though she was scared to death to tell her, she had to face her fears and let her mom know what was going on with her and her body. Three days went by. Keiadra could not tell her mom face-to-face, so she decided to write her mom a note to let her know that she was with child. Keiadra could not stay in the house and wait for her mom to get home because she was too nervous, so she left the house and waited for her mom to call her to talk to her about this matter. Debra came home to find that Keiadra and Tony Junior weren’t home. She wondered where they could be, and they did not complete their chores. Debra knew that she was going to have it out with them as soon as they set foot in the house. She went in her room to put her things up when she saw the piece of paper Keiadra left on her bed for her. Debra was curious as to what this paper was because she knew when she left the house this morning, she didn’t leave anything on her bed. As Debra opened the paper to see what it was, she realized that it was Keiadra’s handwriting, so she went on reading it:

Dear Mom,

I have something to tell you, and I am scared to tell you face-to-face because I don’t want you to be upset with me. I lied about the fact that Brian and I were having sex when you asked me. I didn’t want you to make me stop seeing him or spending the night with him if you knew we were having sex. Mom, I don’t want you to be mad with me, but I am pregnant. Please don’t be mad because I am very sorry for what I did. I am at Talaya’s house when you are ready to talk to me.

Debra could not believe what she just read. Her little girl was pregnant at fifteen. This reminded her of Valerie getting pregnant at the age of fifteen. It had to be a curse, Debra thought to herself. Debra had to calm down and think before she called Keiadra to talk to her about the news she received. Debra let two hours go by before she called Keiadra to talk to her. Keiadra was scared to go home by herself, so she asked Talaya to at least walk her halfway to ease the tension. After Keiadra had gotten home, her mom called her in the room to talk to her. “Keiadra, what are we going to do about this situation?” Debra asked her. “I want to keep my baby,” Keiadra answered. “How do you expect to take care of a child and you are still in school?” Debra asked her. “I don’t know,” Keiadra answered. Debra could not deal with Keiadra and her decision at the time. She made Keiadra get out of her room because she knew she was getting angry. Keiadra went in her room to call Brian and let him know that her mom knew about the baby and that Debra was going to call his mom to talk to her about what they should do. Brian was nervous; the conversation had stopped, and there was a long pause in their conversation. Brian didn’t know what to do. He told Keiadra that he would handle it and hung up the phone on her. Debra had already talked to Betty about Brian and Keiadra’s current situation, but Brian and Keiadra didn’t know this at the time. Betty and Debra had made arrangements to come to Debra’s house the next day so they could talk to both Brian and Keiadra at the same time. Keiadra was mad at Debra because she had asked Keiadra what she wanted to do, so Keiadra didn’t feel as though she needed to sit and talk about it again. Keiadra and Brian were going to have their baby, and nobody was going to stop them. It was about 5:30 p.m. the next day when Betty and Brian came over to Debra’s house to talk about what they were going to do with their children and the fact that they were about to have a baby. Keiadra was so not ready for this conversation, so before Brian got there, she had taken a short nap. Brian walked in Keiadra’s room to find her asleep. “Wake up, baby,” Brian said as he shook her.

When Keiadra woke up and saw Brian, she had gotten nervous. She knew the outcome of this was not going to be good. She got up, went to wash her face, and went into the living room where they were sitting, waiting for her company. “Okay,” Debra started. “You both know why we are here. We need to work out something about this situation and come to an agreement on how we are going to settle it. Now, KeKe, I know I asked you before what do you want to do about this situation, and you told me that you wanted to keep it, but as of this moment, I don’t think that is a good idea. Not with both of you all still in school, and you are only fifteen,” Debra went on. Before Debra could say anything else, Betty interrupted her. “Brian is not keeping this baby. I am not about to take care of a child that I cannot afford. Now if you want to keep this baby, you will be taking care of it by yourself. I really don’t think you should have a say-so in the matter because you all are still underage, so I am making the decision for my son,” responded Betty. “We need to get on the phone and start finding some abortion clinics so we can get this done as soon as possible,” continued Betty. “I don’t mind helping out to pay for this abortion, but I think it is best for both of you to go ahead and get rid of this child.” Keiadra didn’t like what she was hearing. How were her mom and Ms. Betty going to make them get rid of their baby? Debra knew Keiadra was hurting about the outcome of this situation, but right now Debra was only thinking about the best thing for her child. Debra got on the phone to find an abortion clinic before Betty and Brian left so Keiadra and Brian could get this abortion. She did not care if it took place the next day. This baby had to go! “I want my baby,” cried Keiadra. “Mom, how are you going to do this to me? You asked me what I wanted to do. Now you are going to tell me that I have to get rid of my baby?” Keiadra continued. “Look, little girl,” Ms. Betty said angrily. “I don’t know what your problem is, but I just told you Brian is not ready for a baby. If you decide to keep it, Brian would not have any part in it!” yelled Betty. “Okay, everybody, calm down,” Debra interrupted. “This is not helping the situation. I made an appointment for Monday afternoon, so we will see you both then. Until then, everybody, take a deep breath and try to calm down,” Debra

continued. Betty was not trying to hear that at the moment. She was so upset that she grabbed Brian’s hand and went to the door. “I guess we will see you both on Monday,” Betty said as she and Brian went out the door. Keiadra was so frustrated she just looked at Debra and went to her room and slammed the door. Keiadra could not understand how Debra could make her have an abortion and she didn’t make Valerie have one. After all, Valerie was fifteen too when she got pregnant. Keiadra thought that this was unfair and she was not getting rid of her baby. She thought of different ways to not be on time to go and have this abortion. She had even convinced Brian into going somewhere else so they would miss the appointment. Brian didn’t care anyway because he wanted his baby too. Keiadra loved Brian so much that after she calmed down, she told him that their plan was a bad idea and they should go home to have it. Keiadra did not want to mess up Brian’s life. She loved him too much to put him in that predicament. They met with Betty and Debra to go and have the abortion even though they were forty-five minutes late. Keiadra went into the back of the clinic to get started. They gave her this big white pill and made her watch this video for about thirty minutes while they prepared the room for the abortion. The whole time Keiadra was waiting for them to call her, she was crying on the inside. This was the last time she would feel her baby, the last time she would have a child with Brian. Keiadra knew it had to happen, and it was going to happen. After the abortion, Keiadra stopped caring about everything. She felt her life was over. She stopped going to school, got into drugs, and her relationship with Brian was falling apart. Keiadra had started feeling insecure about herself. She thought Brian didn’t love her anymore because of the abortion. All Keiadra ever thought about were the instruments that lay on the table to kill her baby and the fact that she didn’t have her baby anymore. It kept playing over and over in her head. She could it like it happened yesterday. She always got upset with Brian because he didn’t act like he cared about the fact that they just killed their baby. Keiadra could not understand the fact that boys act in different ways than girls to

show their emotions, but little did she know that Brian was hurting on the inside too. This went on for a while. When Keiadra could not take it anymore, she packed her stuff and went into the living room to talk to Brian. “I cannot do this,” Keiadra told him. “Do what?” asked Brian. “How can you just sit back and pretend nothing has happened when I feel like they just took my world away from me?” Keiadra cried. Brian knew exactly how Keiadra was feeling because he was feeling the same way, but he didn’t ever respond to her question. Keiadra just looked at him, got up, and went to get her things. Even though Keiadra was madly in love with Brian, she just could not be around him because he always reminded her of their child they had killed. “I have to go,” cried Keiadra. Keiadra picked up the phone to call herself a cab. She just had to get out of there. She sat on the porch soaking in her own tears, wishing that she never got the hand that she was dealt. Even though she knew she didn’t have control over everything, it still hurt her heart. As the cab pulled up, Brian ran out the door to tell Keiadra that he loved her and he felt the same way she did. He just didn’t know what to do or say to her because everything made Keiadra cry after the abortion. Keiadra was just not herself. Keiadra did not respond to Brian. She just looked at him and got into the cab, never looking back, never to return again and thinking that things happen for a reason. Well, that was the plan. Little did she know that was not the plan!

Unexpected Plans

Keiadra woke up at about 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning when the phone rang. “Goodness. Who is this calling my phone at the crack of dawn?” she said to herself. “Hello,” Keiadra answered. “Hello,” the voice said. Keiadra started smiling as if she knew who it was on the other line. She sat up straight on the bed. So much was going on with her mom, especially her dad that she forgot all about Mr. Kevin Turner. “Good morning, did I awake you?” Kevin asked. “Oh no,” Keiadra responded. Even though she was lying, she could not let Kevin know. “I was wondering if maybe we could have breakfast this morning,” Kevin suggested. “Well, let me see,” Keiadra told him as if she had anything else to do but sit in the hospital all day. “I think I can do that,” Keiadra said, flirting. Kevin smirked. “Okay, how about I come and pick you up around 9:30 a.m.?” Kevin suggested. “That is fine with me, but I have to be back at two o’clock to be at the hospital when my dad has his surgery,” she informed him. “Will do,” Kevin agreed. “Okay, well, I will see you in a minute,” said Keiadra.

They both hung up the phone. Keiadra’s heart was pounding with excitement. “Kevin called, he really called!” she screamed out loud. Keiadra was acting as if she was in high school again. She had to figure out what to wear. Everything she had just didn’t feel or look right to her. She only had two hours to get ready. She was worried about how she was going to do her hair, which shoes to wear. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it fast because time had whine down. It was almost nine o’clock. Kevin pulled up at about 8:45 a.m. He got out of the car and went to knock on the door. “I’m coming!” Keiadra yelled. Keiadra opened the door because she knew exactly who it was at the door, so she didn’t have to ask who it was. As soon as she opened the door, there was Kevin, looking and smelling all good. “Well, hello, Ms. Jonson,” he said as he looked her up and down. “Hello, Mr. Turner,” she replied, repeating how he had just said good morning to her. “You can come in. Let me get my purse and we can go,” responded Keiadra. Keiadra ran into the kitchen to retrieve her purse and hurried back to the living room so she would not keep Kevin waiting. “Are we ready now?” Kevin asked her. “As soon as we leave this house, we are,” Keiadra said. Keiadra locked her door and walked to the car. She walked up on a nice rimmedout, two-seater silver BMW. “Damn,” Keiadra thought to herself. “I like this.” “Here, let me open that for you,” Kevin suggested. “Well, all right,” Keiadra told him. “Yes, my mom raised a gentleman,” Kevin replied.

As they continued on, Keiadra thought she would spark up a conversation. “So how have you been doing?” Keiadra asked. “Working hard, you know. How about you?” Kevin asked. Keiadra wanted to know what his take was on having children and how he felt about a woman working or if he wanted a housewife, like Michael. A girl was curious. Even though she wanted to ask him all these questions, she felt like she would ask him at different times so she would not run him away with her twenty questions. They arrived at IHOP, and before Kevin would let her get out of the car, he told her that he would get the door for her. Keiadra was impressed. She never had someone open the door for her when she got in or out of the car. She considered herself the “chirp chirp” girl. You know, when a man comes to get you and he hits the alarm so you can get in instead of opening the door for you. Keiadra had to get used to this. So she got out, and they went into the restaurant. They had waited to be seated even though they were standing there for about ten minutes before the waitress realized that they were there. As they sat down, the waitress asked them what they would like to eat. Kevin let Keiadra order first. She ordered a breakfast platter. It had two pancakes, two sausages, eggs, and hash rounds. Kevin thought that sounded great and decided to order the same thing with a cup of orange juice. “That was good,” Keiadra said as she finished eating. “How did you know I was hungry?” she asked Kevin. “I didn’t. I just knew I was hungry, and I was thinking about you, so I called you to see if you wanted to eat breakfast with me,” Kevin responded. “Well, I enjoyed myself,” Keiadra told him, smiling. They sat there and talked for hours getting to know one another. It was almost time for Keiadra to go to the hospital, so Kevin paid the bill, and they left, headed toward the hospital. Keiadra had made it there just in time to find out what was going on. “Keiadra, they had to rush Dad into surgery because his heart stopped. They

don’t even know why,” said Valerie as Keiadra came walking through the hospital door. “What?” Keiadra asked. “Dad is in surgery!” answered Valerie. “First, he was talking to us, next thing you know, he wasn’t breathing,” she continued. Simone started to cry. “He will be okay. He always comes out okay,” Kim reassured her sisters. Simone was the third oldest of Debra’s children. Tony always called her his tomboy. Simone always stayed in fights or talked shit to people so she could fight them. Simone’s sisters knew whom to call when they had beef with someone because Simone was always ready. She was a ride-or-die chick, always got kicked out of school. If you argued with her, you would have to want to fight because the words that came out of her mouth were so strong you would have to put a choke hold on her. She didn’t play, and she was not about to let anyone take her for a joke. She was also the most sincere one. Whenever she heard bad news about anybody in her family, she cried. I guess the saying is true, “A hard head makes a soft butt.” While they sat there waiting on the updated news about their dad, the girls caught up with one another since all of them lived in different states. Keiadra loved it when she and her sisters got together because it reminded her of the old days. How they used to fight and make up or how they used to gang up on people when the fight should have been a one-on-one fight. They grew tired of waiting, so Kim suggested that they all go out for a drink until the doctor came out to tell them about their father. Everyone agreed, so they informed the nurse that they were going to leave for a little while and that when he came out of surgery, to give them a call. The sisters grabbed their purses and headed out the door. That is, until they got stopped in their tracks when they saw Tony Junior come through the hospital doors. “TONY!” they yelled while running to him.

“Where have you been?” Keiadra asked him. “I miss you, boy,” she continued. Keiadra hadn’t seen her little brother since high school, when she stopped caring about everything altogether. They were the closest of the siblings because Keiadra always had to take him with her when she went over to Brian’s house when they were younger. Their relationship had grown stronger. “We are about to go have some drinks,” said Kim. “Do you want to come?” she asked. “Yeah, but let me go say hi to Dad first,” Tony Junior said. “He is in surgery. That is why we are going to have a drink,” said Keiadra. “Come on, boy, we will fill you in on what is going on with Dad over drinks,” Simone told him. “Okay. I’m not going to sit here all alone all night until he get out of surgery. I’m going too,” Tony said as he grabbed his coat off the back of the chair. They didn’t go far because they didn’t want to be stuck in traffic on the way back when they got the call that their dad was out of surgery. They went to the closest bar, had a few drinks, and caught up with one another and their lives. They didn’t know that when they left the hospital, it was going to be the last time that they left without their dad.

My Life

My life is not really that great It has been three months since I have been on a date. Taking care of myself, that’s what I do, Not realizing I was lonely and blue. My life is not really great, So I have learnt how to appreciate. The little things life has to offer, Instead of holding on to the things that I suffered Getting married to my husband is what I will never see, Because I’m not going to change who I am or who I want to be. This is only me, Watching and waiting on who it could be. My life is really great, It is great because it is great to be me.

Thuggest Life

After loving Brian the way Keiadra did, she felt as if she could not love anyone else that way again. She thought if she kept herself busy, she would not have to worry about falling in love. Keiadra knew that all the depression she was experiencing was from the abortion and the breakup that she had with Brian, and she could not focus on anything else. She was hurting deeply on the inside. She could not find anyone to talk to about the situation, and the man she once loved acted as if he didn’t care. Keiadra knew it was time for a change. She knew that she could not keep sitting around constantly thinking about the past. Since she had dropped out of school the year of the abortion, she decided to enroll herself into a GED program so she could get her high school diploma. Even though there were days that Keiadra didn’t feel like going, she pushed herself. See, the GED program was at night. While everyone was in school, Keiadra was working, so that meant that when it was time for her to go to school, everybody was out enjoying themselves. She didn’t like the fact that all her friends were outside having fun while she was in school. This was the price she had to pay when she stopped caring about things after the abortion. Keiadra had let this abortion define her life, and she was tired of not being able to move on in life without an education. Six months went past, and it was finally time for Keiadra to graduate from the GED program. She was so happy that she finally accomplished something in her life. She was tired of starting projects and not finishing them. Keiadra was more motivated than before. Things began to look good for Keiadra. She started her new job at Jenney to keep a little change in her pockets. Everything was on the straight and narrow. Everything was looking like it was headed in the right direction. The telephone rang. Keiadra did not want to get up and answer the phone. After a while, she got up to answer when she realized whoever it was wasn’t giving up on calling her until she answered the phone. “Hello, damn,” Keiadra said madly.

“What’s wrong with you?” said a woman’s voice. “I’m trying to sleep, and you keep ringing the phone, Wendy,” Keiadra responded. Wendy was another friend of Keiadra’s from high school. She was the party girl. She never had anything to do but work and party. “Come with me out Louisville for a while,” Wendy pleaded with Keiadra. “I just said I was trying to sleep,” responded Keiadra. Wendy didn’t care. She wanted to go out to Louisville to chill, but she didn’t want to go by herself. “Come on, girl. Get your butt up and come chill for a little while. You always acting old,” Wendy said. Keiadra knew that every time she went out with Wendy, they were going to get drunk, flirted with a few boys, and probably fought girls. It depended on if Wendy wanted to leave with someone else’s man or not. Either way, the outcome of it all was going to be bad. Keiadra hadn’t been out in a while, so she agreed to go out with Wendy. It was a great day, so why not? Keiadra told herself. “Okay, I will be ready in an hour,” she assured Wendy. “Okay. I am on my way. By the time I get there, you should be finished, right?” Wendy asked her. “Yes, Wendy,” Keiadra agreed. It was not even forty-five minutes when Keiadra heard a horn beep. It could not be anyone for her because she knew this chick didn’t get there that fast. Even if she did, she better had come to the door because she was not about to look out the window to see who it was. The doorbell rang. “Come in, Wendy, the door is open!” Keiadra yelled. “Girl, are you ready?” Wendy asked her.

“No. I know you were not out there beeping the horn for me. How the hell you get here so fast anyway? Did you fly?” Keiadra asked her, laughing. “Okay, now I’m ready,” Keiadra said. Keiadra grabbed her purse and walked out the house. Wendy was already outside in some boy’s face as usual. “Come on, girl. You always in someone’s face,” Keiadra said. Wendy got the dude’s number and got in the car. Wendy was running out of gas, so she decided to pull over at a community gas station to get some gas before they headed to Louisville. Keiadra sat in the car waiting for Wendy to come out of the store when a black BMW rode up to the pump from across Wendy’s car. A nice, fine dark-skinned brother, dressed nicely, got out of the car. “Ummmm,” mumbled Keiadra. “Excuse me,” he said. Keiadra didn’t know whom he was talking to because she never said anything to him. She looked around the car to see whom he was talking to. “Did you say something?” he asked Keiadra after he came to the car window. Keiadra sat up in the chair. She could not believe that he heard her. “My bad, you just look so good to me. I didn’t even think you heard that,” Keiadra said, smiling. “I do, uh,” he said, smiling back. “Well, hello, my name is Andre,” Andre introduced himself. “Hello, Andre,” Keiadra said. “My name is Keiadra,” Keiadra continued. Andre was so fine. Keiadra could not believe that he was asking for her number. “Well, hello, Keiadra,” Andre said. “Maybe you will let me take you out one day soon,” Andre asserted. “That will be fine with me,” responded Keiadra.

Keiadra gave Andre the number, and Andre was happy to get the number and started smiling. “552-6974,” Andre repeated. “Well, I will call as soon as possible.” “We will see,” replied Keiadra. Andre continued into the store while Keiadra watched his every move. Wendy continued to pump the gas while she made jokes at Keiadra about getting hit on. “Woooo, girl,” Wendy said as she got back into the car. “He was too fine,” continued Wendy. “What did he want, girl?” Wendy asked curiously. “He wanted to take me out, and I played hard to get,” Keiadra responded. “I did give him my number though,” Keiadra continued. They both started to laugh. They continued to Louisville, talking about Andre the whole time until they pulled up at this apartment building. “What in the world. You brought me to the hood?” Keiadra asked Wendy. Wendy started to laugh. It had been a while since Keiadra had been to the hood, so this made her uncomfortable. She told herself that she would never come back after what she had been through when she was a child. “No, girl, we are at my friend Cole’s house,” Wendy said, laughing. “It is still the hood,” responded Keiadra. “She is going to fix my track right quick. It will not be long,” Wendy said, trying to convince Keiadra. “Okay, but I do not want to be here all day. I know how you do, Wendy,” Keiadra said. Just as they were walking to Cole’s door, Keiadra’s phone began to ring. “Hello,” Keiadra answered. “What’s up, Keiadra? This is Andre. I met you earlier at the gas station,” responded Andre.

“Yes, I you. That was fast. How are you doing?” Keiadra asked him. “I’m fine. Just wanted to know if you wanted to go catch a movie later tonight, if you were not busy,” Andre asked, hoping that she wasn’t. “Sure, I don’t see a problem with that,” Keiadra answered. “Okay, well, I will call you about seven to get directions to your house,” Andre suggested. “Oh, no, thank you. How about you can call me at seven so we can meet somewhere? I do not bring people to my house on the first date,” Keiadra explained. “Okay. Talk to you at seven,” replied Andre. Keiadra hung up the phone, smiling and grinning from cheek to cheek. “Who was that? They have you smiling from cheek to cheek,” nosy Wendy asked. “Andre. We are going on a date tonight at seven,” Keiadra answered. “What? He called you fast,” Wendy said. “I know, but do not hate. We have to hurry up so I can go find something to wear,” Keiadra responded. “Oh girl, you have enough time. Just give me a minute,” Wendy asked.

As soon as Keiadra had gotten out of the shower, the doorbell rang. Keiadra hurried and put her robe on so she could go answer the door. She wished she never did because it was Wendy coming over to be nosy. “Girl, what do you want?” Keiadra asked. “Just making sure you go out looking sexy and not look like you are a grandmother,” Wendy said, laughing.

“You are funny,” said Keiadra. “Okay. You look cute. Go get him, girl,” Wendy told her. “I am. He is fine too. I am going to make him my baby daddy,” responded Keiadra. They both started laughing. Little did Keiadra know, her words were going to come back to haunt her. Keiadra made it to the Outback Steakhouse, where she was to meet Andre. There were no parking places close to the door. Keiadra parked as close to the door as she could get. She did not like to walk; that was one of her weaknesses. As she checked in, the waiter asked her for her name and walked her to the table where she found Andre sitting. Keiadra had come to the restaurant a few minutes early so she would be on time, but I guess Andre had the same idea because he was there waiting for her. “Hold on, Keiadra, let me get that for you,” Andre told her. He got up from his seat to go pull the chair out for Keiadra. Keiadra didn’t know what he was talking about at first. She hadn’t had anyone pull the chair out for her in a long time. “Did you get lost? Did I give you the directions good enough for you?” Andre asked. “Yes, sir. Everything was good. I was trying to find a parking spot,” Keiadra said. “So would you like to go ahead and order or just talk for a while before we eat?” Andre asked. “We can order, then we can go ahead and chat until our food comes,” Keiadra suggested. They both went ahead and ordered their food and got to know each other better while they waited for their food to arrive. Not before long, the food was finally there, so they ate and continued along with their date. Keiadra was really enjoying herself.

It took them a couple of months to leave first base, but Andre didn’t care. He was really into Keiadra. After three months, I guess Andre was tired of waiting because he started asking Keiadra when she was going to let him experience all of her. Keiadra knew it was about that time for him to ask this question. She just never thought he was going to take this long to ask. Keiadra wanted to make love to Andre for a while now. She did not know how to approach him, though, since he never asked. Andre was the perfect gentleman. Keiadra didn’t want to waste any time. She had to get him while the getting was good. “How about tonight?” Keiadra suggested. “After dinner at my place,” Keiadra said. Andre could not believe what he was hearing. Keiadra wanted him as much as he wanted her. He was so ready for this encounter that he couldn’t wait for dinner to be over. Yet he didn’t rush her. He continued to take his time and wait until she said she was ready to go. It seemed like Andre grabbed all his food, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it without chewing first. Keiadra couldn’t blame him though; she wanted it just as bad as he did, but she couldn’t let him know that. Dinner was over, and they decided to go ahead and tip the waiter so they could leave. They decided to go to Andre’s house to make that thing happen because Keiadra really wasn’t ready for Andre to go to her house. Andre got out of his car, ran to Keiadra’s car, and opened the door. “Are you ready? Do you really want to do this? Because if you are not, we can just watch a movie until you are ready to go,” asked Andre. This made Keiadra want to give it to him more. He was such a gentleman, and Keiadra was so much in heat that she wanted him right then and there, forget going into the house. She was going to jump his bones in the car. “Yes, are you?” Keiadra asked him. “Well, let’s go into my house, and I will give you a tour of the house before we get into the mood. Just so you could be aware of your surroundings and feel comfortable,” Andre suggested. “Welcome to my home,” Andre said as Keiadra walked in the door.

It was beautiful. Nothing like Keiadra thought it would look. It was so detailed as if a female decorated his apartment. “Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable,” Andre suggested. Andre had nice furniture. It was black-and-white leather furniture with white outlining on it. Decorations were everywhere, but there weren’t any pictures of children, a wife, his parents, nothing. “What was the man hiding?” Keiadra thought. That night, it didn’t matter. Keiadra just wanted to get her rocks off, go home, take a shower, and sleep like a baby after. It had been a while for Keiadra, and she was really feeling Andre. As she sat there waiting for him to come back into the room, Andre had put on some slow music and dimmed the lights so Keiadra could feel more comfortable for this very much needed booty call. First, he started to kiss her neck as he held her close. Caressing it like it was a strawberry lollipop. Then he worked his way down her shirt to her nipples. Her nipples were so tender and hard that he took his time with both of them. Sucking them like there was no tomorrow. He started kissing her navel and started working his tongue down to her warm spot. She exhaled as she felt his tongue on her coochy. “Ah. Don’t stop,” Keiadra moaned to him. About a half hour later, Andre was still pleasuring Keiadra. She thought he enjoyed doing this. Andre did not come up for air one time. Keiadra was so ready for the sex she stopped him in the middle of this work and told him that she was ready for Mr. Wrong. Andre shook his head to make sure he did not leave any cum behind and proceeded up from her middle, wiped his mouth, and put on his protection. Keiadra knew he was the right one now. She did not have to ask him to put on a condom; he already knew. As Andre started to penetrate Keiadra, she saw everything from the stars, the moon. She thought she saw Jesus. Keiadra hadn’t had this pleasure in some years, and now that she did, she wanted to enjoy every moment of it. Two hours went past, and Keiadra was sleeping like a baby. Forgetting where she was, she slept peacefully until she woke herself up. “Did you sleep well?” Andre asked her as soon as she opened her eyes.

“Yes,” Keiadra responded without thinking about it. Did she just tell him that? Even though that was how she felt, she couldn’t let him know that. Andre had Keiadra smiling without her even knowing she was. “I really enjoyed myself last night,” Keiadra told him. “I will have to cut this short though. I really have to go, didn’t mean to keep you all night,” Keiadra told him. “You are okay. You do not have to leave,” suggested Andre. “No, that is okay,” Keiadra said to him, smiling. “Okay. Well, call me when you get a chance,” said Andre. Keiadra hurried and put on her clothes and left as fast as she could before she changed her mind about staying. Keiadra knew that Andre was someone special. Their relationship had taken off without Keiadra realizing that she was falling head over heels for Andre. It had Keiadra waiting for bedtime every night because she knew she was going to get that bomb head and the sex that made you want to get down all night. You know, there wasn’t a relationship without problems, but Keiadra wasn’t ready for these problems. She always thought Andre was faithful because he was with her all day besides when they went to work. She had no reason to think otherwise until one day when she got some news that made her heart feel like someone was stabbing her a thousand times a minute. She found out over time that the reason Andre could afford to buy her nice things all the time was because he was a big-time drug dealer. Keiadra couldn’t believe she fell in love with a big-time, gang-banging drug dealer. At that moment, that fact didn’t matter because Keiadra was in love with him. Well, that’s what she thought. She later came to that she was really lusting after Andre instead of loving him. Keiadra had to learn the difference between love and lust. It was almost Halloween, and Andre sat Keiadra down and told her he had to talk with her about something. Keiadra knew this wasn’t good. Andre never had to talk about anything, so she knew this was going to end badly. She didn’t know that he was going to deceive her in this way. “KeKe, you Courtney?” Andre asked her.

“Yep,” Keiadra answered. She wanted to know what Courtney had to do with anything he had to tell her. “Well, she is going around saying that she is pregnant with my baby. Baby, I swear I never touched that girl,” Andre told her. “Come on, Andre. Why will she say that if you didn’t mess with her?” Keiadra asked. “I don’t know. All I know is that the baby is not mine for a fact,” Andre said sincerely. Keiadra just sat there listening, taking it all in. She felt that she needed Andre at the moment, and until she got what she wanted out of him, she was going to stay. Andre kept on insisting that the baby was not his baby until Keiadra told him she believed him. “Okay. If you say it isn’t, then I don’t have a choice but to believe you,” replied Keiadra. “In due time, the truth will come out, but thanks for making me aware,” Keiadra continued to tell him. Andre kept sitting there, looking at Keiadra, kissing her every twenty minutes. He knew he was guilty, but Keiadra was just waiting for the truth. She knew it was his baby, so why didn’t he just it it while he had a chance? As months went on, Keiadra and Andre’s relationship went from bad to worse. They began to argue all the time. He kept disrespecting Keiadra as if he didn’t want to be bothered anymore. Keiadra didn’t find out that Andre was sniffing powder until one day she came home and saw the white residue around his nose. This frustrated Keiadra, and she knew she had to find a way to get out of this relationship. Andre was costing too many problems than he was worth. Andre hit Keiadra. I mean, beat her down like he was on the wrestling team. Pushing her around and banging her head into walls. Keiadra kept taking it though. Her mom always told her to leave Andre alone, but I guess people don’t leave until they are ready. Debra knew Keiadra thought that it was all right, being that Tony used to beat on her. She just wanted Keiadra to leave Andre before it got out of control. One day, Andre slapped Keiadra and spat in her face. Keiadra knew that it was

enough; she couldn’t stay another day. Keiadra had put up with a lot of disrespect from Andre, but this right here was too much. Keiadra wasn’t about to stay and get her ass whipped, but she didn’t have anywhere to go. She figured since she was getting beat, she might as well do something for the ass whipping. Keiadra got on the Internet, called 411, and did many other things to get back in touch with her long-lost love. Finally, Keiadra got the number to Brian’s house. She went ahead and decided to call, not caring if Brian was in a relationship or not. She just had to get in touch with him. “May I speak to Brian?” Keiadra asked as a voice answered the phone. “This is he. May I ask who you are?” Brian asked. “It is me, Keiadra. Hope I am not taking too much of your time, but I have been looking for you. How are you doing?” she asked him. “Hello, Keiadra. How are you?” Brian asked her. “I am fine. I was hoping that I could come and see you, if you don’t mind,” Keiadra asked him. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, KeKe. I have a girlfriend, and she lives with me. How about I meet you somewhere so we can talk?” Brian suggested. “Okay, how about the play park where we first kissed?” Keiadra suggested. “Okay,” agreed Brian. “I will meet you there in about two hours,” Brian said. “Good for me,” agreed Keiadra. They both hung up the phone. Keiadra had forgotten all about the fact that Andre had just beat her up. It didn’t matter though. She just found Brian, and that was all she was thinking about at that moment. Now she had to come up with a plan to leave the house without Andre suspecting anything. Keiadra was in her own zone. She had found her first love, and there was no way Andre or anything was going to get in her way. Besides, Andre was sniffing powder hard. The color of his skin had changed, and he had an attitude about everything. It was always “fuck everything” with Andre.

Keiadra couldn’t wait for her date with Brian. She acted as if nothing was wrong. She didn’t want to make Andre mad because when he was mad he would want to stay in the house for the rest of the day and this would not work for Keiadra. It was time for Keiadra and Brian’s date. Keiadra had found a backup plan in case Andre had gotten suspicious about her going out. Keiadra used Wendy as an excuse to get out of the house. Even though Andre didn’t like Wendy, he didn’t mind if Keiadra went out with her from time to time. She was not the best example for Keiadra, but he trust her. Wendy came and got Keiadra as if they were going back to her house and chill, but Wendy took Keiadra to meet Brian. This went on for several months without Andre realizing what was going on. Keiadra wasn’t worried about Andre while she was with Brian. Brian made everything feel better like he used to. As Wendy took Keiadra home, Keiadra just sat there thinking about the times she had spent with Brian. She missed those days in high school when she couldn’t wait to see him walk down the hall. Keiadra didn’t want this day to end. Keiadra knew that Brian had a girlfriend, and she didn’t want to take Brian from his girlfriend, but Keiadra wanted Brian so much. What was she going to break up with Andre if Brian chose to be with her instead of his girlfriend? Keiadra wanted to be wanted, but it seemed like Andre just wanted her for sex. Brian showed her that he wanted to be with her, and she could handle that— being wanted. All those past memories came back when she was with Brian. She felt like a young lady again, and trust me, Keiadra had not felt like this in a long time. One rainy night, Andre and Keiadra were not really getting along, and she wanted to call Brian so bad, but she didn’t want to put Brian’s life in danger. She knew that she couldn’t keep calling because Andre was her safety net when things did not go according to plan. Besides, Andre put a roof over her head when everyone else turned their back on her. She felt she owed Andre for what he had done for her—taking her off the streets and loving her when no one else did. Brian was always in the back of Keiadra’s mind. He was all she could think about, but it was time to let Brian go. Brian did not have to choose; Keiadra

made the decision for him. During all the mishaps, it was time for Keiadra to go to work until the phone rang. “Hello,” answered Keiadra. “May I speak to Andre?” a woman’s voice answered. “He is not here at the moment. May I take a message?” Keiadra said. “Yeah, tell him that his daughter was born this morning,” she replied and hung up the phone. Keiadra forgot all about this child during the little episode she was going through. Now Keiadra had to find out if this baby was Andre’s baby or not. After all these months, Andre had been denying this child since day one. Now it was time for Keiadra to find out even if it ruined their relationship. She waited for a minute, then picked up the phone to call her job to let them know she was not going to make it in for that day. She called it a family emergency. Keiadra wanted to be home when Andre got there to tell him the news so she could see the expression on his face. Keiadra also wanted to go to the hospital to see if the baby looked like Andre. She was so hyped that Andre was taking too long to come home for her. When Andre came home, Keiadra told him about this phone call that she got, and as Keiadra expected, the baby was Andre’s. Andre didn’t want Keiadra to go to the hospital with him, so he told Keiadra that he had to go the store. Keiadra was frustrated at this point. Now she knew without seeing that Andre had fathered a baby on her and kept lying to her about it when he could have just told her the truth. Everything was messed up, and Keiadra didn’t know what to feel or how to act about this baby situation. “A baby by another woman! After all this time, he couldn’t tell me the truth.” As Keiadra sat there, it kept playing over and over in her head. Keiadra had enough. She started to pack her things and leave, but where was she going to go? She didn’t have anybody that she could stay with. Andre had a hold on Keiadra; he knew she didn’t have anywhere to go, and that was why he kept treating her like she was nothing. Keiadra couldn’t break free no matter what happened or what was done. The way he kissed her lips, the way he touched her. Everything about Andre was wrong, but to Keiadra it felt so

right. Keiadra had to see this baby for herself. As time went on, Andre didn’t talk about the baby, and to Keiadra, he didn’t go see this baby either because they were always together. He kept it like this baby was not even his baby. There was a knock on the door. Keiadra went to answer it, and to her surprise it was Courtney, the mother of the baby that was Andre’s. “Hey, Keiadra, is Andre home?” Courtney asked. “He supposed to watch our daughter for me so I can go to work,” she continued. Now Keiadra could see if this baby looked like Andre or not. She had been waiting for this moment to present itself for a long time. “No, Andre is not here,” Keiadra told her. “I told him I needed him to watch Reese today… Now what am I to do?” Courtney said, frustrated. Keiadra saw this baby named Reese, and she was the spitting image of Andre. Keiadra’s heart fell straight to her knees. She wanted to cry, but her pride would not let her. “There is no denying this baby,” Keiadra said to herself. Keiadra had an idea. “I will watch her for you, if you don’t mind,” Keiadra told Courtney. “Okay, thank you. Tell Andre I get off at nine,” Courtney told her. “Okay, will do,” Keiadra said nicely. Keiadra could not wait until Andre got home and saw her with his daughter, Reese. She wanted to see the expression on his face when he saw that Keiadra had her. Finally, Andre came walking through the door at about six o’clock. “Baby,” Andre said as he came through the front door. Keiadra sat there with baby Reese, waiting for him to come into the living room with this bitch attitude on her face.

“Ba…” Andre stopped dead in his conversation. He couldn’t believe his eyes. His baby girl was in the arms of his woman he tried to keep this secret from for almost a year. “I am sorry, baby,” Andre pleaded. “I didn’t want you to find out this way,” he continued. Keiadra didn’t say a word. She just handed Reese to her father and walked to the back room and slammed the door. Andre just stood there holding Reese, in shock. After a few hours went past, Keiadra came out of the room and let loose on Andre. “You deny this baby the whole nine months. After she was born, you still denied her. Now here she is… a spitting image of you,” Keiadra said while crying. “How could you lie to me?” she continued. Keiadra didn’t say anything else, and she didn’t wait for him to answer before she went straight back into the room and slammed the door again. “I think we should give her time to calm down,” Andre said to baby Reese. Andre took Reese into the kitchen to warm a bottle for her. It was almost her feeding time, and the game was about to come on, so Andre had to think fast. He had to watch the game, and he knew he wasn’t going to ask Keiadra to watch her after their little episode. Keiadra couldn’t trust Andre again. He wasn’t the man she fell in love with. She was always looking over her shoulder, wondering if he was still cheating or if that was past them. Either way, Keiadra had to look out for herself now for real. Even though Keiadra decided to stay with Andre, she went out to bars instead of watching a baby all the time. She started going out more, meeting new guys; it was all about her. Even though Keiadra didn’t want to get close to Reese, it ended up happening anyway. Reese knew who Keiadra was when she came over Andre’s house on weekends. They went to the mall, to the movies, and out to eat together. Even though Reese was two years old, Keiadra found herself having a lot of fun with Reese. Keiadra didn’t have any children, so it made it worth the while for her to spoil Reese. Courtney didn’t like the fact that Reese and Keiadra were getting along well. She thought that if she brought Reese around Keiadra that Keiadra

and Andre would break up, but her plan only backfired. Courtney stopped bringing Reese around Andre’s house and took him down for child , thinking that this would hurt Andre. Even though Andre treated Keiadra wrong, he did love her, and that was 100 percent true. Keiadra always bought Reese clothes, so when it was Andre’s time to visit her, he would not visit her empty handed. Keiadra and Andre were getting along so well that she thought their relationship was headed in a good direction. That was until he smacked the shit out of Keiadra. “What the hell you do that for? What did I do for you to do that?” Keiadra cried. “Shut the fuck up before I hit you again, bitch,” Andre replied. “What the fuck just happened?” Keiadra asked him again. Before she knew it, Andre had smacked her again. Now Keiadra knew this dude was going crazy. She was just sitting there, and he hit her like she was a nigger in the streets. “I said shut the fuck up. I am getting tired of seeing you all day,” Andre told her. “I am about to have company, and you need to find somewhere to go,” Andre continued. Keiadra couldn’t believe her ears. Was he telling her to get lost because he had another bitch about to come over to her house? Oh yeah, Andre had fucked up now because Keiadra was not going anywhere, and he was going to get his for hitting her like she was a punching bag. “All in due time,” she thought. After Andre had figured Keiadra was not going anywhere, he stood up in front of her, grabbed her by her arms, and pushed her out of the house. Keiadra couldn’t take the abuse from Andre anymore. She didn’t want to cause a scene, so she just got up, turned around, and walked away. Keiadra had found herself over at Andre’s mom’s house. Andre’s mom lived across the street, so Keiadra didn’t have that far to go. She told Ms. Angela what had happened, and Ms. Angela let her stay there until they came up with something or somewhere for Keiadra to go. Ms. Angela never liked the way Andre treated Keiadra. In fact, she used to tell Keiadra plenty of times to leave

Andre, but you cannot tell anyone what to do until they are ready. The next morning came, and Keiadra had to hurry and get her things and leave before Andre came home and tried to make her stay, but it was too late. Keiadra was about to leave out the front door when Andre had walked in. “Baby, please stay,” Andre pleaded as Keiadra tried to leave out the door. “The police was going to run in the house last night, and I didn’t want you to be here in case they did,” he continued. Keiadra believed anything Andre said to her. She was so deep in lust with him that it didn’t matter what Andre did; if he acted like he loved her, Keiadra believed it. Keiadra was dumb like the other girls out there in the world that thought they were grown enough to take care of themselves, but instead they got used and abused. Like Keiadra, these types of girls thought that getting beaten was a form of love. After months went by and Keiadra kept praying for a way out, she found a way out. She just couldn’t deal with the physical and verbal abuse any longer. She called her dad, Tony, and asked him for help so she could leave Andre. Tony was waiting for this day, and it finally came. Tony sent Keiadra a check for one thousand dollars so Keiadra could find herself somewhere to live and be comfortable until she could get back on her feet. Finally, Keiadra was away from Andre, all the baby-mother drama, and the abuse. These things Keiadra would not let happen again. Keiadra was glad that she was single again and more independent than ever before. “Now to start a new chapter in my life,” Keiadra thought to herself. She knew Andre was bad for her and nothing about their relationship was going to change. There was one more thing she had to do to erase Andre out of her life for sure. Keiadra told Andre she wanted to work things out with them and their relationship and if she could meet him at his house at five o’clock to work things out. Andre agreed. He didn’t know that Keiadra had set him up. She knew everything about Andre. The fact that he sold drugs out of his house and everyone that sold drugs with him would be there. When five o’clock came, Andre noticed that Keiadra wasn’t there, but there was a knock on the door. When Andre went to answer the door, the police handcuffed

him and searched his house. They found pounds of weed, dope, guns—anything you can name a drug dealer of having they found. Andre knew he was never getting out of jail. He hurt Keiadra this much that when the police put him into the police car, she walked up to the car and told him, “Good-bye, farewell, so long,” smiled, turned around, and walked away. Now justice was served—at least for Keiadra.

Jailbird

Jailbird is what I see, Thinking, since you are locked up, there is an opportunity. Didn’t treat me right when you were out, Never heard my screams and shouts. Thinking you were the king, Now you are asking me for canteen. You need me now more than ever, I told you, never say never. Jailbird is what I see, Thank you, God, it is you and not me. Years behind bars and suffering, Why are you still calling me your queen? You have never known me nor my charm, Wanting me to believe in what you believe in… Allah. Sorry, Sir, I believe in only one, That is the Lord, God’s son. Jailbird is what I know, It is impossible for you to show.

How do you want me to change? When you are living your life insane! Jailbird is what I see, No it isn’t jail, it’s me… being free!

Moving On

Keiadra’s phone began to ring. She took a while to answer, but finally, she did. Keiadra was tired. “Hello,” Keiadra said. “Hello, sweetheart,” said a male voice on the other line. “Well, hello, Kevin,” Keiadra said, smiling. “How did you know it was me?” Kevin asked her. “You are the only male with my number,” Keiadra answered. “Oh, is that right?” Kevin asked her. “Yes, sir. So what’s up?” Keiadra asked him. “Just sitting here thinking about you, so I wanted to hear your voice,” Kevin told her. “That is so sweet,” said Keiadra. “So what are you doing tonight?” curiously Kevin asked. “Nothing, what do you have in mind?” asked Keiadra. “How about I cook you dinner, and we can watch a movie at my house?” Kevin suggested. “So you want some of Keiadra?” Keiadra asked him, joking. “No, ma’am. I just want to spend some time with you, Keiadra,” Kevin answered. “Okay. How about six o’clock p.m.?” Keiadra continued.

“Well, I guess I will see you at six,” Kevin agreed. Wow, Keiadra didn’t date anybody in a while that just wanted her and not her body. What was this dude up to? His game was tight, and it made Keiadra want to go with him anywhere without him assisting in anything. She was also in heat. She knew before she got there that she was going to give him some, regardless. He was also going to have to work for this booty. Now all Keiadra had to figure out was what to wear. She could not find anything in her closet to put on. She just had to go out and buy an outfit to wear that night, something casual yet seductive. She found the perfect outfit. Keiadra thought Kevin would love this on and off her. She would let him decide. She went to the to pay for the clothing and went home to prepare for that night. Keiadra finally made it to Kevin’s house, knocked on the door, and heard him yell. “Come in. I am getting the drinks. You can sit down, and I will be right back,” Kevin told her. Keiadra took her coat off, laid it on the back of the couch, and sat down in the living room waiting for Kevin to come out of the kitchen. As Keiadra was looking around at the pictures in Kevin’s house, she noticed that there weren’t any pictures of any children or girlfriends. This made Keiadra feel a little better knowing that there might not be any competition while she was trying to get Kevin to be hers. “How are you doing, beautiful?” Kevin asked as he came out of the kitchen. “Fine, now that I am with you,” Keiadra said, flirting. Kevin and Keiadra enjoyed their company every time they were with each other. To Keiadra, it was love at first sight. They found themselves finishing each other’s sentences. They even knew what the other was thinking before they could say it. It was cute but, at the same time, kind of scary. I mean, they only knew each other for a short time, and they already felt like they had known each other their whole life. Kevin poured the wine into the glass for Keiadra and watched her while she sipped it slowly. “So, Keiadra, which movie would you like to watch first?” Kevin asked her. “I have For Colored Girls, Madea Goes to Jail . . .”

Before Kevin could finish, Keiadra interrupted him. “I would like to watch For Colored Girls,” Keiadra suggested. “For Colored Girls it is,” Kevin said, laughing. He couldn’t believe that Keiadra hadn’t seen this movie yet. As the movie started, Keiadra had gotten a phone call to rush to the hospital. She wanted to know what was going on now. Every time she tried to enjoy herself with Kevin, she always got interrupted. “What’s going on?” Keiadra questioned the person on the phone. “He’s gone! Daddy’s gone!” screamed Valerie. Keiadra could not believe what she was hearing. She dropped the phone, grabbed her purse, and ran out the house. She didn’t give Kevin an explanation as to what was going on; she just left. Kevin knew the situation about her dad, he kind of figured that was the problem. He didn’t turn off the TV or lock the door behind him. He grabbed his keys and ran after her. “Do you need me to come with you? I will drive,” Kevin suggested. Keiadra didn’t say a word. She just got into the car, and they drove off to the hospital. Keiadra was in her own little zone. Kevin couldn’t see if she was crying, asleep, or anything because she had her glasses on. He just had to see if Keiadra was okay. He didn’t want to make any assumptions, so he decided to ask the question that was on his mind since they had left the house. “Are you okay? What was the phone call about?” he asked her. Keiadra didn’t answer any of his questions but one. “To the hospital.” Keiadra didn’t wait for Kevin to park the car before she jumped out and ran to her father’s hospital room. Everyone was sitting around waiting for the next to come out of the room so they could go in and say their final good-byes. “Dad is gone, KeKe,” cried Kim. Keiadra could not believe what they kept repeating over and over again. Her superman was gone. No, it couldn’t be. He told her that he would never leave her. That he would always be there for her. Now he was gone. How was she

going to live without him? She was his princess always and forever. Keiadra just stood there in shock beside his bed. She didn’t want anyone bothering her; all she needed was time alone with her dad. All she needed was time to say goodbye to her number one superman. Keiadra just sat there repeating the same questions over in her head. How could he leave her? He was the only man she knew as a father regardless of whoever her biological parents were. Tony was there for her no matter what. Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, and he had his share of mistakes, but he didn’t have to leave her. She didn’t tell him good-bye before he took his last breath. What was she to do now? Keiadra didn’t want to be around anybody; all she wanted was her dad back. After the funeral, the reading of Tony’s will, and the fact that they were going through his things to see what they wanted, Keiadra was ready to go home and never think of this day again. She knew she had to break it off with Kevin because she was never coming back to these parts again! There were just too many memories, and Keiadra couldn’t deal with that right now. At least not right now. She was daddy’s little girl. She felt like she was running away, but all she was doing was running from the pain. Before she left, she called Kevin to talk about where their relationship was headed. She didn’t want to leave without giving him some explanation. Kevin took the breakup pretty hard, but he also understood what Keiadra was going through at that moment. He figured he would give her the space she needed, but he was not about to let Keiadra out of his life like that. Every day, he sent her flowers, called her at least twice a day, and even wrote poems to Keiadra to show her that he wanted her and only her. Keiadra was not feeling Kevin at the moment. She tried to tell him in different ways that it was over, but Kevin was not giving up without a fight. Keiadra was going to be his girl no matter how long he had to wait for her to come around. Keiadra decided to call him one night and have a truth moment with him. A truth moment is when you get everything off your chest without the other person getting mad or feeling angry. You know, trying to handle the situation like adults. “Kevin, I enjoyed what we had… trust me, I do, but I just lost my dad, and I’m not ready for this relationship right now,” Keiadra said. “I need you to let me have my time so I can heal, and when I do better or feel better, I will give you a

call, and we can hit the streets,” suggested Keiadra. “Okay, but first chance you get, call me,” Kevin pleaded. Keiadra didn’t know that Kevin was the bugaboo type. It was hard for Kevin to let Keiadra go, and much time was wasted. Keiadra was glad that was over, and she really didn’t have anything to worry about now. It was all work and no time for playing now. Keiadra thought that if she kept busy, then she wouldn’t have time to think about the memories of her father. It worked for a while. You can only hold so much in before it explodes like a firecracker. Keiadra had to learn that the hard way. Meanwhile, everything was on track, going according to plan. Keiadra was headfirst at work; she didn’t have time for a personal life. It was getting late, and everyone was leaving, but Keiadra decided to stay late at work to finish her work for that day. She decided to go for some takeout before everyone left for the night. She went to the closest Chinese t by the office. She ordered her favorite meal, sweet-and-sour chicken, with sweet iced tea. Keiadra had gotten used to ordering takeout so much that she was starting to miss a home-cooked meal. Too bad there wasn’t anyone at home to cook for or anyone to cook for her. Keiadra loved showing off her cooking skills. Keiadra’s order was up, so she went and paid for her food and headed back to the office. As she turned around, she saw this old familiar face from back in the day. “Rome, is that you?” Keiadra questioned the young man. “Keiadra! Where have you been, girl? I haven’t seen you in a long time,” Rome answered. “Me either. I’m doing fine though,” Keiadra answered. “How have you been?” Keiadra asked. “I’m fine. I’m living. Do not have any kids still. No, I am not married, and yes, I will go out with you,” Rome said in one voice. He was really feeling himself, Keiadra thought. She just asked a simple question, and he had invited himself into her life. “How do you know that I want to go out with you?” Keiadra asked him.

“I have wanted to go out with you, KeKe, since we were young,” replied Rome. “I didn’t want to ask you out because I thought you would have turned me down, being that I had a girlfriend at the time,” Rome continued. “Yes. I would have chopped that question all up before you could have gotten it all out,” Keiadra said, laughing. “No, though. I’m not ready for a relationship at the moment. I’m going through some things, and right now it is not a good time,” Keiadra continued. “Damn, girl. You act as if I asked you to be my baby mama. I just want to chill, that’s all,” Rome responded. “Maybe we could talk and see how it goes,” Keiadra said as they both started to laugh. “That’s good enough for me. Well, here is my number, and when you have time, give me a call,” Rome told her. “Will do,” Keiadra said, smiling. Keiadra wanted that number. She was in heat too. She watched Rome as he walked away till he was clearly out of her sight. Rome had gotten fine. Low haircut, brown eyes, sexy walk, and his swag was at one hundred. He had grown to be a very nice-looking fellow. Someone Keiadra would not have paid attention to in the past. Keiadra snapped back into reality. After all, it was just a phase she was going through. Keiadra thought she didn’t have time for another relationship, yet alone another stalker. She knew Rome though. They basically grew up like brother and sister. Keiadra was already thinking about debunking Rome. “Ugh,” Keiadra yelled out loud. “I will just get back to work and all of these thoughts will be gone… Besides, it has been a while since I had sex, so it is my cookie thinking and not me right now,” Keiadra thought to herself. The thought never ended. Rome was on Keiadra’s mind all night. Keiadra decided to put her ego aside and give Rome a call. She didn’t care that it was late at night. Shit, she was grown. If she wanted to have a booty call, she could. “Hello, may I speak to Rome?” Keiadra asked as a voice answered the phone.

“This is he,” Rome said. “I was wondering if you could meet me tomorrow night at the Inn to catch up on old times. I just feel like getting out,” Keiadra said. “Sure. Fine with me,” Rome agreed. “How about six o’clock?” Rome suggested. “Okay. I will see you then,” Keiadra said. Keiadra just dropped everything and rushed home to find something to wear for her date with Rome. Keiadra always got herself extra cute for guys she was interested in. Something about Rome made her feel sexy. Rome kept himself up from head to toe, so she had to make sure she was well represented. He always had an edge up, sagging pants, button-down white tee, and a fresh pair of sneakers. His look just made Keiadra want to jump his bones. Now that she had her outfit ready, it was time to get dressed and meet Rome at the Inn. Keiadra entered the driveway of the Inn. She had to remind herself to stop planning her next move and to just let things happen if and when they presented themselves before life ed her by. It was a little message Keiadra told herself because she always rushed head forward into a relationship, and it didn’t end the way she wanted it to. Keiadra took a deep breath and walked into the restaurant. “Hello. I’m here to meet a Mr. Rome Williams,” Keiadra told the hostess. “Right this way,” the young lady responded. Keiadra came up at a table that sat right in the middle of the restaurant. A brownskinned brother, dressed in an all-tan suit, was sitting at the table, drinking water out of a tall glass. “Hello, Keiadra. Glad to see you could make it still,” Rome said. “Let me see… there weren’t any parking spots in the front of the building, huh,” Rome said sarcastically. Rome knew Keiadra too well. That was exactly why Keiadra was taking long to get in the restaurant. Besides the fact she was reminding herself to let the man be the man without making him feel less of a man. Keiadra wasn’t going to let him know that though. Keiadra was only 115 pounds soaking wet Keiadra was lazy too. She felt like since she had a car, what was the need to walk anywhere but to

her door and back to the car? “Yes, you still know me,” Keiadra said as they both started laughing. Keiadra and Rome caught up on old times. Keiadra told him about the challenges that were thrown her way since the last time they saw each other. Keiadra forgot all about Rome knowing almost everybody in her family, even her dad. They started going out more. There were times when if you saw Keiadra, you saw Rome. They were like two peas in a pod. They were like best friends all over again. Some nights to them felt like they were never going to end; it also felt good to wake up in the morning to a handsome smile. A familiar face and a hard body! Not only that but a hard dick on your booty. It made Keiadra feel like since she knew this man, things were going to be just fine. Well, that’s what she wanted to happen. You know, they had their bad days when they disagreed on things. What relationship doesn’t? Not too many of those days were disagreeable like her past relationships, so Keiadra gave it more chances than she would usually give. Keiadra knew when Rome was in a bad mood, because he would begin to fuss. So to ease the tension, she just put on slow music, gave him a lap dance, and made him feel good again. Men love it when you make them feel like they are in control, when you know that you are the one controlling things. Tell you one thing, everything was quiet afterward. As days went by, Keiadra didn’t have her period for that month. It was almost the end of the month, and Keiadra noticed that it didn’t present itself. “I cannot have any children right now. I hope I’m not pregnant. I’m not ready for any children right now. I have a company to run, and how will I do that if I can’t get out of bed to run it?” Keiadra pondered to herself. Keiadra didn’t want to get ahead of herself, so she decided to buy a test and find out before she beat herself up over nothing. She thought, how did going to dinner one night turn into having to buy a pregnancy test to see if she was with child a few months later? She promised herself that once she took the pregnancy test and it came out negative, she was going to let Rome go and get back to loving herself. Keiadra was so frustrated that she prayed as she took the pregnancy test out of the store. She didn’t want Rome to know what was up, so she went to Raquisha’s house to take it in peace.

“Raquisha, open the door,” Keiadra yelled through the screen door. Raquisha was the fourth oldest sister. Raquisha was always in her own zone. Chilling, minding her business. She kept her job and took care of her children. Raquisha’s children always loved their aunt KeKe. They knew that whenever Keiadra came around, she had something for them. They were glad to see Keiadra since Keiadra really didn’t come around that often. “Girl, I think I might be knocked up,” she told Raquisha. “What?” Raquisha said in surprise. “I don’t know for sure. I have to take the test. I came over here to take it because I don’t want Rome to know until I find out for sure,” Keiadra told her nervously. “Okay, okay, bitch,” Raquisha said to Keiadra. “Go in the bathroom and do your damn thing,” Raquisha continued. “I’m going to be an auntie again,” Raquisha said. “Again, what you mean again? This would be my first one,” Keiadra pondered. “Yeah, crazy… I have other sisters with children too,” Raquisha replied. “Oh. I’m just nervous,” Keiadra told her. Keiadra took her purse and went upstairs to the bathroom to take the test. She took the cup, wasted a little pee inside, and dipped the stick inside it. Now it was just the wait time of five minutes that was going to drive her crazy. Five minutes seemed like a long time to know if she would have a little Rome running around or not. Keiadra sat there and waited patiently for the answer. While she was deep in thought as to what she was going to do if she was pregnant, the alarm rang. It was time for her question to be answered. Keiadra ran back into the bathroom to see the result of her pregnancy test. “Yes! I’m not pregnant!” Keiadra yelled as she ran out of the bathroom. “Damn! I thought you were about to have us a baby. You know you are the only one that has not given Mama a grandchild yet,” Raquisha said, disappointed. “No baby,” Keiadra said happily.

Keiadra was so happy she thought she would take a vacation to celebrate her good news. First, she had to get rid of Rome before this mistake happens again. Where was she going to go? Who was she going to take with her? Keiadra hated to break up with guys. When she felt like they were stopping her from accomplishing things, it was time to let them go. It was all about her, and she didn’t care about how they felt or their wants. Keiadra didn’t break it off completely with Rome. She just told him she was leaving on a business deal so he wouldn’t want to go with her, and if she felt like she didn’t want to be bothered when she got back, she would break it off. Rome didn’t like the fact Keiadra had an all-of-a-sudden business meeting, but what was he to do? He couldn’t make her stay; that wasn’t going to happen. He knew something was up; he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Keiadra knew then who she was going to take. She called her friend Talaya. “Talaya, what’s up?” Keiadra asked her when she answered the phone. “I’m about to take the kids to New Jersey to visit their aunts and uncles for the weekend,” Talaya responded. “Well, who is going with you?” Keiadra asked curiously. “Just me and the boys,” Talaya told her. “Well, I’m trying to take a short vacation. Can I tag along with you? I will help you with the gas,” Keiadra pleaded. “Sure, I would love the company. Plus I can save some of my money on gas,” Talaya agreed. “We are leaving at nine p.m. tomorrow, so be ready, Keiadra. Meet me at my house so we can head out from there,” Talaya continued. “That’s what it is,” Keiadra agreed. As she hung up the phone, she sat on her bed looking at the closet filled with all of her famous brand-name clothes but couldn’t find anything to take to wear. “It would be hot, and it’s New Jersey!” Keiadra screamed. Keiadra loved New Jersey. She just had to find something to wear. She picked out three outfits and two bathing suits just in case she wanted to take a dip in the

pool or go to the beach. Keiadra was good for taking short swims into rivers without notice. She finally finished packing her things before Talaya started to ring the phone off the hook to make sure she was going to be on time. Keiadra was always late for things. She would probably be late for her own funeral. Keiadra was at Talaya’s house when she got the last ring before it was time to go. “Damn! This bitch on time,” Talaya said to herself. She was really surprised and shocked at the same time. Talaya hurried and got the boys and the rest of her things and rushed out the door. As she locked the door and turned around, she noticed that Keiadra had rented a car. Talaya wanted to know what was going on with Keiadra. She was on time, and she rented a van. Either way, she was glad she was leaving this boring place and finally going to have some fun. Like always, she prayed before they got on the road. It seemed like they weren’t getting anywhere. The more they drove, Keiadra could tell that Talaya was getting tired. Keiadra offered to drive, but Talaya told her she was good, so Keiadra decided to take a nap. Keiadra knew that Talaya always wanted to be in control knowing that she was tired as hell. Keiadra didn’t know that it would be her last conversation with Talaya before she woke up in a hospital bed the next day. After all Keiadra had to go through since she was born, she felt like her life was filled with bad luck. Keiadra started to accept the bad things that happened to her whether she wanted them to or not. “What happened?” Keiadra asked Talaya when she finally woke up in the hospital. “We had been in a car accident,” Talaya told her. “Today is Tuesday, and you are in Green Brook General Hospital in Harrisonburg, Virginia,” Talaya continued. “How? Today…” Keiadra started to say, but Talaya interrupted her. “No, yesterday,” Talaya said. “Monday we had got into a car accident, and we total lost the car,” Talaya finished. “They said you would not wake up, they said that they lost you,” Talaya cried. “I would not accept that. They had to do everything they could. After about an hour later, they came out and said that you

were okay and that we could see you as soon as they put you in a room,” Talaya continued. “Here we are.” There was so much that Talaya was telling Keiadra about what happened while she was knocked out. Keiadra just stared out the window and took it all in. Her life just flashed before her eyes. All Keiadra could was asking to assist in the driving, and the next thing she knew, she woke up in a hospital room. All Keiadra wanted was a vacation. She couldn’t even enjoy her vacation. Keiadra had to learn how to breathe deeply again, cough, and have bowel movements and learn to stretch her muscles all over again. One morning the nurse came in to assist Keiadra in walking on her own. Keiadra barely made it to her feet when she ed out. She could not hold herself up any longer. The nurse hit the emergency button and put Keiadra back on the bed. “She just fainted when I was trying to get her to walk to the bathroom,” the nurse explained as the doctor entered the room. The doctor had put cold washcloths on Keiadra’s forehead, took her temperature and pulse. Finally, after a while, Keiadra woke up. “Stay still, Ms. Jonson,” the doctor said. “You will have to stay an additional three days so I can watch you since you had fainted on us,” he continued. Keiadra’s blood pressure was up. She was so excited about what was going on that it was making her blood pressure go up. If she didn’t calm down, they were not going to let her go home. Keiadra had to find some way to calm down. As she sat there for the next two days, Keiadra wondered about Brian. Not the fact that she just got into a car accident and almost lost her life. After all these years, no one took Brian’s place in Keiadra’s heart. She knew there were only memories. She knew she could never get Brian back. Brian had probably moved on, not thinking about her. Keiadra had started feeling better. Her blood pressure was going down, and she started walking on her own and being able to keep her food down. “Ms. Jonson, I think it is about time for you to go home,” the doctor told Keiadra.

Keiadra looked shocked. She couldn’t believe that she was about to go home. She missed working. Shit, she missed her own bed. “I can go home?” asked Keiadra. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I will discharge you tomorrow morning, and you can take the pain pills when you are in pain. Take it slow and allow your body to heal. For your wounds, use coco butter or shea butter to make the scars less visual,” suggested the doctor. Even though Keiadra was listening to the doctor, she was ready to go. She was so anxious to leave. All she had to do was wait now. Keiadra had to catch the Greyhound back home because Talaya had to leave to get back to work. She didn’t have any more vacation time left, so she had to get back to work. Keiadra had understood Talaya’s situation, so it didn’t bother Keiadra that she was left in the hospital alone. Keiadra could have called her mom and siblings to let them know what was going on, but Keiadra didn’t want to worry anyone, and it was time to go home now. As they drove down the road on the Greyhound, it seemed like the driver was trying to hit every bump in the road. Keiadra was almost back to New York City. “Almost home, only twenty more miles left,” Keiadra thought to herself. As the bus pulled up to the Greyhound Station in Brooklyn, Keiadra started to gather her things. She looked out the window, and to her surprise, who did she see? Michael. “Awe, damn,” she said to herself. “How in the hell am I going to get rid of his ass? How did he know that I was going to be here at this time? Shit, how the hell did he know I was up here?” Keiadra asked herself. Maybe Keiadra was jumping into conclusions. As she walked off the bus, she tried to get herself together before she was face-to-face with him. “Hello, Michael,” Keiadra said first. “Hello, Keiadra,” Michael answered.

“So what are you doing here?” Keiadra asked, concerned. “I am on my way on a nice short vacation. What happened to you? Where is your car?” Michael pounder. “It is a long story. Maybe when you return, I can fill you in on it,” Keiadra responded. After Keiadra told him that, she wished that she didn’t because she knew that just as soon as Michael came back, he was going to try to use that to get over to her house. It really didn’t matter though. All Keiadra had to do was not open the door. Keiadra just wanted to get home to her bed and relax. She knew as soon as she did, she would be out for the count. As time went on, Keiadra healed just fine. Even though her scars didn’t heal as fast, Keiadra felt some type of way about her appearance. She just had to do something about those scars. It took time, but Keiadra had gotten used to and accepted the scars. They were part of her. She figured if you didn’t like the scars, then you might as well kick rocks, and that is how she kept it. People started to say that Keiadra’s attitude changed after the accident, but wouldn’t yours if you had been through something so traumatic? Keiadra’s friends started to turn their back on her, family started acting funny toward her, but it didn’t matter to Keiadra because she could do better by herself. That was until Keiadra had received her lump-sum from the accident. People started befriending her. People that did not want to be around Keiadra started to call. That was how Keiadra knew who was true to her and who just wanted a piece of her change. “Look at all the devil’s children,” Keiadra thought to herself. They actually thought that they were going to sit there and laugh in her face and talk about her behind her back. They weren’t going to get a drop of her money. Keiadra could not take any more of the fakeness. Keiadra left the fake shit alone. She didn’t know whom to trust anymore. She lied to people to keep them out of her business. She thought if she told them what they wanted to hear, they would stop worrying about her and her money. It worked for a while until people started making up stories about not having enough money to pay their bills. They would also bring up the memory about the car accident, so the next question would be, “Do you still have some of that money?”

Keiadra put a stop to that though. She ed what her grandmother always told her, “Don’t let your left hand know what your right one is doing.” That was the best advice that her grandmother could ever give Keiadra. She followed it all her life. Keiadra lived for that quote. No one was going to hold Keiadra Jonson down, no one.

Misinformed

This dude I met one day outside, Asked me to creep and hide. He told me he had a girl, Told me he will give me diamonds and pearls. I told him it was only a sex thing, It seems like everything has changed. Tries to come over every day to get him some, When really he doesn’t know he is not getting none. Well, I slipped up and gave him a little, Now this dude I can’t get rid of. His emotions running too fast, How can I explain to him that I want him to carry his ass? Come on, dude, you knew what was up, Nothing much, only a fuck.

Better Days

After Keiadra got away from all the people that were trying to hold her back, she started getting around accomplishing a lot of things in life. She started realizing who she was as a woman. Life was challenging, but she took those challenges and rode them out. She began to invest her money in stocks and bonds. She even thought of settling down and starting a family; after all, she was getting older, and she didn’t want to be by herself forever. “Life was too short,” Keiadra pondered to herself. She thought of making a will out so if anything happened to her, her mom could have all her assets. Keiadra had a plan, a plan that was going better than expected. Keiadra was the boss of her own company, didn’t have any children to tend to, and recently opened up a new business that she always wanted. This new business she opened up was called Denetta’s Home Décor. Keiadra always wanted to decorate houses. She felt that she owed her biological parents a lot since they left her their business when they died, but it was time for her to do what she wanted for herself and not anyone else. Keiadra let her brother, Tony Junior, handle Jonson’s Industries until she had gotten her new business off the ground. Keiadra found herself buying a three-bedroom home. Why? She didn’t know, but it was a fresh start for her. Now all she needed was someone to share it with. Keiadra was tired of being successful and having no one to share her success with. Keiadra had met different guys over the past years, but not one of them she thought of settling down with. She wanted Brian, but she hadn’t seen him in God knows how long, and the way she broke it off with him, there was no possible way that he would want to be with her anyway. She thought of new ideas of how she could meet new people. She went out on several dates; she even started going to clubs on and off. These dudes she met were only about one thing, and Keiadra wasn’t handing up her cookies like that. Those one-night stands did help for a sister some nights though. Nothing was working. Keiadra kept finding the wrong man. Keiadra thought that if she would stop looking and let them come to her, she

would find who she was looking for. She didn’t know that she would be waiting for a long time, and time was not what Keiadra had. She started thinking that she would never find her soul mate. She just sat there on the couch, sipping her herbal tea, thinking about all her past relationships and why they didn’t work and the fact that she was not married yet. Was she doing something wrong? Was it her, or was she just attracted to the wrong guys? Keiadra couldn’t come up with an answer to all these questions. She was a strong black woman with her own business—two, I might say. So what was Keiadra doing wrong? Even though she had been asked to be married five times, why hadn’t she accepted? These questions kept playing over and over in Keiadra’s mind, but an answer never followed. Keiadra couldn’t live each day waiting and wondering why; she had to continue with her life. She had bills to pay and a company to run. Keiadra wasn’t going to let someone just come up and take away her hard work all because she wanted to stay home and worry about the what-ifs. It was April 18, 2012, and Keiadra was turning thirty-one. It was time for Keiadra to live life to the fullest. She didn’t have any children and never found herself a husband. Her twenties had been over a year ago. She wasted her twenties building her life, and now that she had accomplished everything she wanted, it was time to celebrate. She figured, why stress about Mr. Right when all she wanted for the moment was Mr. Wrong? She visited Virginia Beach Oceanfront, took pictures in front of the White House, taken boat trips to Jamaica. Keiadra was living life finally, not knowing that when she got back, her Mr. Right would be waiting on her. When Keiadra got home from her adventure, she saw that she had fifteen messages on her voice mail. “Dang, a sister can’t even do her without someone worrying the hell out of me,” Keiadra said as she saw the light blinking on the telephone. “Who in the hell needed to talk to me that bad?” she asked herself. She knew she told the most important people where she was going and when she was coming back, so who was it blowing up her phone like that? As she listened to the first ten, they were business calls, something her assistant could have handled, so she was going to handle her as soon as she got back to the office. Five messages were from her sister Raquisha. Every message Raquisha left had

told Keiadra to call back but didn’t leave a reason for her to call back. Keiadra was curious because she knew she told that girl she was going on a vacation. “Let me call this girl and see what was so important,” Keiadra thought to herself. “Hello, Quisha,” Keiadra said as Raquisha answered the phone. “Yes, girl. I get on Facebook last night and what to my surprise, a dude named Brian asked to be my friend. I knew I known him from somewhere, so I accepted the request. He left a message asking how you were doing and let me know that he used to talk to you so I would know who he was,” Raquisha explained. Keiadra was so happy. She had wanted to find Brian for some time now, but she didn’t know how he would react because of the way she had broken things off with him. Keiadra couldn’t do anything but smile as Raquisha told her the conversation between herself and Brian. Keiadra had the biggest Kool-Aid smile on her face, like she had never smiled before. Before Raquisha could finish telling Keiadra the whole conversation, Keiadra cut her off. “Give me his Facebook name so I can request him as a friend,” Keiadra said to Raquisha. Raquisha gave Keiadra the e-mail name for Brian on Facebook, and before Raquisha could say anything else, Keiadra had hung up the phone on her. “That bitch,” said Raquisha after she had noticed that Keiadra had hung up the phone on her. “OMG!” Keiadra yelled as she got on Facebook to find Brian. Keiadra couldn’t believe that she was finally about to get back in touch with Brian, her first love, after all these years. Keiadra had started to everything about their relationship, bad and good, over the years that they were together. She had tried to find him on People Finder, Yellow Pages. Shit, she even tried 411 in every city in Greensboro, but there was no hope for her. She just could not find Brian. It was like he disappeared from the face of the earth. Now all she had to do was wait for him to accept her friend request, and it would be on from there. Keiadra hated waiting. She was the type that whatever she wanted, she got it and didn’t have to wait for it. After all, why should she? She didn’t have to want or

need anything or anybody. This she had to wait for, regardless of what she had achieved in life. The next day, after Keiadra came home from work, she hurried and got on Facebook to see if Brian accepted her friend request. As she knew, he did. Keiadra didn’t know what to do. She just sat there for a few moments looking at the “friend accepted” message on the screen until she got up the nerve to go ahead and write him something. It took a while for Brian to write Keiadra a comment back, but when he did, they stayed up there for hours catching up on old times. “I would really like to talk to you off of Facebook. When you get a chance, call me. My number is 5857376254,” Keiadra messaged him. “I will do it in a minute! I just got home. I’m going to take a bath, and when I’m finished I will give you a call,” Brian texted her back. “Okay. Well, I guess I will talk to you soon,” Keiadra responded before she logged off. Keiadra just sat there ing how much they were in love back in the day —well, how much she loved him. How they kept in touch over the years off and on even though he had a girlfriend. Keiadra felt as if it didn’t matter who Brian was with; he belonged to her. Now that she knew he was trying to find her just as much as she was trying to find him, it made the search more exciting. Keiadra ed how at the time it didn’t matter how many buses or trains she had to catch to be with Brian; she loved him, and if it took that to see him, then so be it. Brian finally called her back. It was almost midnight, and Keiadra was halfway asleep, but as soon as she knew it was Brian, she woke up like she was never asleep. As the conversation went on, she found out that Brian was not in Greensboro anymore. He was thousands of miles away, in Texas. Keiadra thought, how was she going to see, hold him when he was all the way in Alpine, Texas? Brian promised Keiadra that he would come visit her as soon as he could get a chance. Brian had a lot of things going for him. To Keiadra, he had done everything he said he was going to do in life when they were young. Keiadra was so proud of Brian. She knew that whatever Brian put his mind to, he could and would do. Brian was always headed forward, strong, and straightforward. Even though

Keiadra was impatient, she waited for Brian to come, but he wasn’t moving fast enough for her. Keiadra had just come back from a vacation, so it was too early for her to take another at the moment. She had to make sure her companies were okay and on track before she could leave again. Brian made sure that Keiadra knew that he wanted to be with her, that she was on his mind constantly. He sent her “Good morning” text messages in the a.m. and little kiss messages throughout the day. If Keiadra didn’t know that he wanted her, she knew it now. This made Keiadra very happy. This was what she waited for—a husband, maybe kids—and she was going to do it with someone she knew and loved her whole life. What more could she ask for? Finally, she was getting what she had asked God for—love, unconditional love. Keiadra was getting kind of restless waiting for Brian. She thought that he was just telling her these things to play with her mind. Keiadra thought that she might as well hang this relationship up too; after all, she did break up with him kind of rudely. Why would he give her a chance? This could be payback for their past relationships. Either way, Keiadra wasn’t just going to sit back and take it. She was just going to have to let Brian go again for the third time. “Hello,” Keiadra answered. “Hello, baby,” Brian responded. “Hello, Brian. How are you doing?” Keiadra asked him. “I’m doing fine. Just sitting here thinking about you and wanted to ask you something,” Brian said. “I would like to know if I could come up for the weekend and see you,” Brian asked. Keiadra could not believe what she was hearing. Just as soon as she was about to give up on him, he called and asked to come and visit. Keiadra wasn’t a fool. She hurried up and agreed. After all, she wanted to see him just as much as he wanted to see her. Keiadra had learned a while ago to stop fronting and go for what you want instead of driving the man away. “Okay, when I get to New York, I will give you a call so I can get your address,” Brian suggested.

“Okay,” agreed Keiadra. They both hung up the phone, and Keiadra had a smile on her face. Keiadra could not wait until the weekend to see Brian. It was only Tuesday, and Friday seemed so far away. The wait made it more exciting than ever before. Keiadra had not seen Brian in some years, and this was going to be the best weekend ever. Keiadra love to cook, so she had to make sure that she kept food in the fridge. Toilet paper and paper towels in the house. Her house had to be perfect so that when Brian came by, everything would be in place. She wouldn’t have to go out for anything. Finally, Thursday night presented itself. Keiadra could not go to sleep. She knew that Brian was going to be there in the morning. She kept tossing and turning while she waited for the sun to come up. When the sun finally came up, Keiadra was knocked out. She didn’t even know it was morning until the alarm went off, and she thought she left the television on. Keiadra began to smile. She jumped out of bed, hurried to take her shower, almost tripping over the telephone cord beside the bed. She had to get herself together so when Brian called to get directions, she would already be ready, waiting for him. It was about eleven o’clock when her phone decided to ring. “Hello. I am coming into the city now. What is your address?” Brian said. “3217 Gilmer Lane,” Keiadra said while smiling. Even though she knew Brian had a few minutes before he would arrive there, she watched out her window until he drove up the driveway. Brian parked his car, got out, and walked to the door. Keiadra didn’t even give him a chance to knock on the door before she opened it and jumped into his arms. Brian stood there holding Keiadra tight and long as if they were saying their good-byes. “I see you have gotten what you want,” Brian said to Keiadra as they let go of each other. “What do you mean?” Keiadra asked curiously. “The big house and the fancy cars,” Brian responded. “No, those things didn’t matter. All I wanted was you,” Keiadra told him honestly.

“Damn, that is sad,” Brian said, laughing. Keiadra didn’t think that it was funny. She missed how Brian used to joke around and call her different names. There was one name in particular that Keiadra hated being called by Brian. Smurf! Keiadra did not like that name at all. It was his nickname for her, though, so she accepted it, but only he could call her that. Regardless of who heard him call her Smurf, Brian told Keiadra that she reminded him of the Smurfs. Keiadra was short, always wore blue and white as black as she was. The name grew on Keiadra though. They spent all night picking up where they left off on the telephone. Time was going by, and it was almost daytime. They had sat up and talked the rest of the night away. Even though Keiadra wanted to fuck Brian ever since he came in the house, she had to keep it like a lady, and he kept it very respectful. “How about I take you to breakfast?” Brian asked Keiadra. “Sure, I would love that,” Keiadra responded. “Make sure you put on a dress, KeKe,” Brian yelled after her. Keiadra didn’t notice that she really didn’t wear dresses back in the day. She wore them now, and Brian didn’t know what he was in for. “All right,” Keiadra yelled back into the living room as she laughed. Keiadra made it her business to find the most sexiest but classy little dress to put on for Brian. She felt it was the least she could do for this man she was so madly in love with. As they sat at their table in IHOP, they both still looked shocked to see the other in front of them. Brian could not believe Keiadra own a dress, and Keiadra could not believe that Brian looked so delicious in his suit. They both decided to order their breakfast before moving on with their conversation. Finally, everything Keiadra wanted was right in her face. She came to a conclusion as she sat there; the reason why past relationships didn’t work out was because she wanted Brian. She kept comparing the other men to him, and that was why it never worked. The abuse felt like love, which was only lust. She just couldn’t find the love she wanted. Brian interrupted Keiadra’s thought.

“Keiadra,” Brian called her. “We have been out of each other’s life off and on for about ten years now, I have been through a lot in life myself, but I only could think about you. Past girlfriends didn’t feel right. The love I wanted to give was for you and only you,” Brian told her. “You have always been mine, no matter where you went in life. Who you were with, you were mine,” Brian continued. Keiadra could not wait to hear these words, especially coming from Brian. She always dreamed of the day when he would say these words to her. “Keiadra, what I’m saying is, will you marry me?” Brian asked her. Keiadra’s jaws dropped. Keiadra couldn’t believe Brian just asked her to marry him. She thought she better answer before he thought something was wrong. “Yes, yes, Brian, I will,” cried Keiadra. Finally, she had her career and now a husband. Life was really on point now for Keiadra. All those failed relationships didn’t matter anymore. Things she thought would never happen happened. Now she was about to become Mrs. Moore! Brian Moore. Life was getting great. They started on a family, and you know, when Keiadra tried to make something happen, it usually went bad. Sometimes things do go bad, but Keiadra’s life now was going just fine. Marriage was the sweet life for Keiadra. She had all she wanted—a career, a husband, a house. Now it was time to work on a baby—or was it?

Marry Me

You asked me to marry you on New Year’s Eve, The next day I had to leave. Not knowing you will be unfaithful, Yet you sit back and call me ungrateful. The love I feel when I say your name, Makes my heart, my mind go insane. Why tell lies, why play games, When you are the one to blame? Will I marry you, what? Dude, you sound like a nut. Marriage is the love between one and another, Not you messing around with others. So before you go asking questions you do not mean, Make sure your life is clean.