Ill be the one, p.3
I'll Be The One, page 3
“Okay, baby, and tell Brenda not to text me before ten anymore,” she replied, referring to Bianca. Since I’d introduced them she had never called her by the right name. Nan did the shit on purpose because she knew it got under Bianca’s skin. “I’m already looking for a reason to jump on her ass.”
Laughing, I continued my stride to the door. I let the three of them know I loved them before I left and they returned the sentiment.
While I was there Bianca and Keiala had been blowing me up. Bianca was sending me wedding shit and Keiala was going off about something she wasn’t making clear per usual. When I made it to my car, I called Keiala first.
“Really, MyKyng?” she snapped as soon as she answered.
“Really, what?” I asked as I tossed my head up to my driver who was waiting for my go ahead.
I had to meet up with my cousin Count right quick. He was not only able to obtain the new breakfast spot in town, Morningside, but he’d bought it. That was perfect for us. I needed lowkey spots for us to meet and I needed variety. Buying the business was definitely a goat move.
“On my birthday?” she snapped. “You’re going to marry that bitch on my birthday?”
Closing my eyes briefly, I released a deep sigh. I didn’t even think about the date Bia chose being Keiala’s birthday, but I was sure she had. There was nothing I could do about it though. It would be an argument between Bianca and me for sure.
“Kei, I didn’t choose the date.”
She continued to go off. Then she switched up, crying and shit. “But you let her. She did that on purpose.”
“I’m sure she didn’t know it was your birthday,” I lied. They both kept up with everything about one another.
“Yeah right,” she scoffed. “The bitch even went as far as saying ‘I know you may have birthday plans, but if not, you’re cordially invited’ blah, blah, fucking blah.” Clearly reciting a line from the invite.
I laughed a little to myself because Bianca would definitely get petty like that. Being head of The Family it wasn’t frowned upon to have multiple women. It was the opposite actually. My pops had his fair share and so did my uncles, all of their women were aware as well. To me it’s more of a headache than a benefit because the two I dealt with always went at it.
“Aight, but I didn’t know, Keiala.”
“Make her change it,” she demanded, all spoiled and shit.
“I can’t do that.” I sighed. “It’s just—”
She cut me off. “You can, Kyng, you just don’t want to. That bitch is doing this just to prove to me once again it will never be me.”
“Keiala, baby, you did that yourself,” I reminded. “All of this shit could have and would have been yours had you waited like I told you.”
“I was young and what you were asking was a lot,” she argued.
“Be that as it may, baby.” I shrugged like she could see me. “Both of our actions and decisions have landed us in the predicament we’re in today.”
“Wow,” she scoffed. “You really sound like you care right now.”
“What do you want me to say, Kei?”
“Nothing. Goodbye, Kyng,” she said and disconnected the call.
Releasing a heavy sigh, I pulled the phone from my face and saw B had texted me again. I reacted to all of the pictures she sent then put my phone away. I was outside of my destination so it was time for me to get in business mode. Everything else could wait.
“Cuz, what’s up?” Count said when I entered the building.
“Not shit.” I slapped hands with him when he was near then pulled him into a hug. “What’s the word?”
“Same, fam,” he replied, then looked around. “So what do you think?”
“Shit’s nice as fuck,” I admitted.
It looked like a typical diner, just a bit more spacious. When you entered the building there was a large chalk wall he currently had employees drawing different breakfast items on. Tables lined the wall and when you rounded the corner there were more along with a large, bar-like table in the middle for a larger group. There were also high top tables in there.
“I got big plans for this spot.”
Looking his way again, I nodded in approval. “That’s what I like to hear. You should get with P and put some of his people on.”
I didn’t like to have too many people involved in my businesses if they weren’t made or affiliated. Sometimes it was inevitable because we did work with established businesses who paid us taxes and allowed us to wash some of our bread, but when it was Family-owned I liked it to just be Family there.
“I got you,” he agreed. “You want us to hook you up with something?” he asked, referring to food but I declined.
“Naw, I just left Nan’s crib. She cooked.”
“Wow,” he playfully scoffed. “No invite? That’s wild as fuck.”
Nan wasn’t his or his siblings’ grandmother. She was our mother’s mother and they were related to us through our pops, but that didn’t mean shit. She treated all of our cousins like family. We did have some cousins in CF on my father’s side like Rock and Keem, but they weren’t made. The love was all the same though.
I shrugged. “Last minute. I’m out though. Holla if you need me.”
After bidding him farewell I was off to deal with my messy ass fiancée.
destiny.
“Thank you, Constance. You’ve made this so much easier for me.”
Constance was the cake decorator I had hired and my appointed manager. With Solei being so young I wouldn’t be able to be in-store as much as I needed to be, so I needed her really badly.
She smiled. “Just doing my job, Ms. Harris. Are you about to leave?”
I returned the smile and nodded. “After I get the point of sale system up. I want everything to work smoothly for us during the grand opening.”
It had been a month since I’d made it to Crescent Falls and we were settling in just fine. I was able to hire a full staff at my store and they were all perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. The only missing piece was a pastry chef. I could do that myself, but I needed someone else who specialized in it as well to fill in when I wasn’t in store.
“It really can’t get any more perfect than you already have it, boss lady.”
“I know, I’m just nervous,” I admitted. “Before I opened my first store back home, everyone knew who I was and had tasted my food before so it wasn’t as nerve-wracking as opening a store in a new city.”
“Girl good food is good food no matter who makes it. We both know everyone loves sweets.”
“True, but still.” I shrugged and kind of laughed it off. “Still nerve-wracking.”
“I get it,” she agreed. “But, I’m a native here so believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about.”
I smiled and nodded when she winked at me, then I went to check on Solei. She had started to whine a little bit, so I figured she was ready to eat. After pulling her from her seat, I walked over to one of the tables, taking a seat before looking up at Constance.
“You don’t mind if I feed her, do you?”
Her brows pinched in confusion until she realized what I was talking about.
“Oh, no, of course. Go ahead.”
A lot of people were uncomfortable when they saw mothers breastfeeding in public or at least acted like it. If Constance would have been, I still would have breastfed my baby. I just would have asked her to leave. Sure, Solei bottle fed sometimes, but ultimately she was on the breast. I only did bottles when other people had her, which was rare.
“So I see you always have her, even when you’re here. Is her dad at work or…?” Immediately I could tell Constance regretted her words because her eyes ballooned and she held her hand up. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Harris. You don’t have to answer that. Shit, I talk too much.”
She whispered the last part to herself as she palmed her forehead and I chuckled. Her question was definitely inappropriate because it was none of her business. But she wasn’t coming from a place of ill intent.
“It’s fine, relax,” I encouraged. “Her dad isn’t in the picture.”
A look of sympathy washed over her face. “I’m sorry, again. I was completely out of line to ask that, but I promise I had a reason.”
“A reason?”
She nodded. “Yes, a lady named Ms. Cosetta babysits. I was going to recommend her since you said it’s only you here.”
Smiling, I looked down at my baby who had begun to stir in her sleep a little before giving my attention back to Constance. “I appreciate that. My cousin actually recommended her to me too. I’m going to meet her at my house when I leave here.”
“Oh, so you have family here?”
I nodded. “I do. You may know her. Kehlani Goldsmith, she’s married to…”
She excitedly cut me off. “JV Goldsmith. Oh my god, he is so fine.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” I warned playfully. Lani knew JV was famous and how many women loved him, but she still argued people up and down. She didn’t care if they were fans at all.
“Yeah, she’s crazy about him, I know. It’s just, wow… I can’t believe you’re related to them.”
“Well, I’m not related to JV. That’s just my cousin’s man.”
She shrugged. “Tomato, tomahto. Everyone knows if you’re family to Kehlani, you’re family to JV. The twins are the walking testimony of that.”
I had to agree. If their father wasn’t around and active in the twins’ lives, one would never know JV wasn’t their biological father. He was also very welcoming to me and actually had been the one who’d helped me lock in with a realtor to get my house and building.
“Ms. Cosetta is a godsend. She kept my baby until he was ready to go to big boy school. Your baby will be in good hands,” Constance said, jarring me from my thoughts.
“I appreciate that,” I let her know as I pulled Solei from the boob and put her over my shoulder to burp her. She’d slept the entire time I fed her. She’d actually been sleeping the entire time I was at the bakery, but I wasn’t complaining because I was able to get a lot done.
I thought about all the good things I had heard about the babysitter I was considering. Leaving my baby wasn’t going to be easy, but I had to have someone. I was just glad my cousin was familiar with her. She had nothing but good things to say about her so that made me feel a little better.
After burping and changing my baby, I laid her back down then finished up with Constance. We had everything done, I just finalized her decision on an event planner and the grand opening date. I wanted to get up and running as soon as possible, so the date I selected was only a month away. I was both nervous and excited to be opening my second storefront.
As planned, after work I met Ms. Cosetta, the woman who would be watching Solei while I worked. I hadn’t been in her presence for ten minutes before I knew she was going to keep my baby.
She had receipts for all of the money she’d invested into her business as well as reviews from people she currently did business with and past customers. She now had an actual building instead of working out of her house. Ms. Cosetta gave off a very motherly aura. Just looking at her I could tell she was good people. Another thing I loved about her was that she had a camera system parents could access to see our kids in her care.
“Okay, so what do you think about her?” Kehlani asked after walking Ms. Cosetta out then meeting me back in my living room. I was unpacking some of my things and putting them in place.
Chuckling, I set the lamp on the table and plugged it in. “I told the lady I was going to hire her, didn’t I?”
“Right, but she’s bomb as fuck, isn’t she? Lei was so good with her.”
Rolling my eyes, I situated my decor on the coffee table. “Solei is a baby and all she does is sleep.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not at seven months. But that’s beside the point. You’re going to love her and so will baby girl.”
“I hope so.” I sighed, plopping down beside her on the couch as I worked.
“What’s wrong?”
Shrugging, I messed with the bowl filled with clear marbles until it was to my liking. “The manager I hired asked about Solei’s dad today.”
Her brows kissed. “Okay and?”
“I don’t know, I just never really thought about how much of a disservice I did both of us with the decision I made.”
“Disservice?” She frowned. “Don’t piss me off, Destiny. You are a fire ass mother.”
“Right, I know that, but I’ve really been thinking about how she doesn’t and won’t have a father. I selfishly made that decision and now she might grow up lacking and looking for the love of her father. I don’t want that for her,” I admitted. “Being here, I’m starting over with all of my explanations on the whys and hows.”
“First of all you don’t have to explain anything to anybody when it comes to your child. You had Solei at a time where you needed her and that isn’t selfish. Selfish is the bastard you wasted all of your time with.” She rolled her eyes. She never missed a moment to broadcast her disdain for my ex-husband. “Plus, who says Solei won’t have a dad? Crescent Falls is crawling with rich, successful, Black men. It’ll be easy.”
I waved her off. “That’s not happening.”
“Why?”
“Because I have no desire to be involved with the male species.”
“So what? You plan to work the plastic off those dildos for the rest of your life?” she asked, angling her head to the side. “Yep, I saw your toy box and most of them are worn completely out, sis.”
“Bitch, why would you look at my shit?” I spat playfully, hitting her.
“You’re the one who asked me to come over and help you.” She shrugged.
“Yes, to look after Lei while I talked with the babysitter, not violate my privacy.” I rolled my eyes. “How did you find that anyway? It’s at the top of my closet.”
“I gave myself a tour and couldn’t resist the urge when I saw the don’t touch sign on it.”
“You are annoying.”
She grinned. “I’ve been called worse. Seriously though, I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll find a good, fine, paid man. Crescent Falls is crawling with them.”
“Kehlani, I am not looking for a man.”
“Doesn’t mean you won’t find one.”
“I don’t plan to be anywhere where I could potentially find a man,” I let her know. “Plus, who would even want a woman with a small baby?”
“Um, basically every nigga,” she countered. “Niggas love a baby mama. You see mine.”
“Girl, everybody can’t wake up married to the Javyous Goldsmith,” I jested about the way she and her man had initially gotten together.
“Duh because I did and that nigga locked down forever,” she quipped.
I wasn’t jealous of my cousin. I was actually happy for her. I didn’t know her growing up, but she had told me stories, so I was glad she’d found love. Plus, her and JV’s story was beautiful. The way he loved on his wife and kids was everything. There weren’t too many men like that.
“But JV isn’t the only good dude out there. He’s just one of many.”
“Girl, I’m just not on that right now and honestly can’t say I ever will be. Nigel really…”
“Is a clown, girl. We not even about to waste any more of our time talking about his ass,” she spat, cutting me off as her phone rang. “Girl, this is JV. I know he’s probably ready for me to come home so I’m going to get out of here, but I’m going to vet some of his friends.”
I frowned hard. “Why?”
“Because you need a man or some dick at the very least.”
“Bitch, I don’t need you to set me up with anybody.”
She smiled and stood. “I disagree, cousin. Some adult time won’t hurt, maybe just a date.”
I stood and trailed her to the door. “Bye, Kehlani. Thank you for coming to help me. Please call or text me when you get home.”
“Mhm.” She turned to hug me. “If random numbers text you it’s because I’m setting you up, so reply.”
“So have my number changed, noted.”
I gave her one last squeeze before releasing her and watching her walk toward the car. Once she was inside and safe, I went back inside. I hadn’t talked to my mother and sister all day, so I knew they would be calling soon.
Heading up the steps, I peeked in on my baby girl to make sure she was okay before heading down the hall to my room to shower. While I was in there, I thought about me and Kehlani’s conversation as well as Constance’s questions.
For the first time since I’d had my daughter, I actually felt bad about not knowing who her father was. My cousin was right. I absolutely did have her when I really needed her but I wasn’t thinking about longevity for her; I was only thinking about what I needed.
Not having my dad around when I was a little girl was the worst and was likely the reason I’d fallen for a horrible man like Nigel.
While I was sulking, I heard my phone ringing in the other room, so I hurried to answer. It was either my mother or sister.
“Hey, Desi,” I answered, when I saw it was the latter.
“I booked a flight for tonight.”
I’m not surprised.
“Why not just come this weekend, Desiree?”
“Because Lei gets shots tomorrow, right?”
Chuckling, I put her on speaker so I could lotion my body and get dressed. I had to get Solei bathed and fed as well as get our stuff situated for her appointment in the morning.
“She does, but you don’t have to come down for that.”
She scoffed. “Like I would miss her getting shots. They had my baby fucked up at the hospital when she was born.”
I laughed. “I know, sis.”
“Also, I looked up that damn pediatrician and he’s kind of young, so I need to make sure he knows what he’s doing.”
“You are ridiculous.”
“Let me see her, hoe,” she requested as well as FaceTimed me. “You know I didn’t call to talk to you.”
