Crazy In Love With A Thug: Bari and Seven (17 page)

Chapter 33

"Bari, is that you? It's me Marion."

She extended her hand for me to shake.

"It's so nice to meet you."

I pulled her into a hug.

"Are you okay? You look like you've been crying."

"I'm just so glad you're here," I lied. "Uncle Meestake is going to be so happy."

"Oh, that is so sweet!" She exclaimed. "And you must be Seven. You sure are a big guy, aren't you?" She giggled. She was very pretty. Uncle Meestake hadn't lied about that. "I appreciate this so much. I can't wait to see him. I miss him so much. I can't stand being away from him. I love him so much," she said dreamily.

"Did you have a good flight?" I asked, still fighting back tears.

I was so upset, more upset than I could ever remember being in my life. I was more hurt and afraid than mad. ·

"I had a wonderful flight. I've never flown first class before," she confided. After we retrieved her suitcase from the baggage claim, we headed to the parking lot. "Wow! An Army truck! This is nice! Nicer than my Stakie's Cadillac with the big bullhorns on the hood!"

I couldn't help but smile. I climbed into the back and let Marion ride in the front with Seven. He hadn't said two words to the woman since he’d introduced himself. He glared at me in the rear view mirror. I turned my head. I was waiting for him to slam in a rap C.D. and blast Marion and I out, but he didn't.

He carried Marion's suitcase into the house, carried it up to one of the guest rooms, then came back down. I showed Marion to her room, careful not to wake Uncle Meestake, who slept in the one next door. I could tell by the way he way snoring when I passed his door that we had not disturbed him.

"I can't fuckin' believe you," Seven said when I walked into my bedroom.

He was sitting on my bed with his head hung down.

"And I can't believe your ass either," I snapped. "But thanks for showing me your true colors. I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Fuck all that. You might as well cancel your plans. It ain't gon' happen."

"Seven, you've been knowing for months that I was waiting for this. Why are you trying to make it difficult for me?"

"Difficult for you? Difficult for you? What about me? What the fuck about me?" He asked. "You're playin' games, Bari."

"I've never been more serious in my life, Seven."

"Then what was all that shit you was talking a little while ago?"

"It wasn't shit. I do love you, and you know it. But I never want to feel the way I felt this past week again, and it's just a matter of time before it happens again for some other reason. I'm not ever going to put myself through that again, and I'm not going to let you put me through it either. It doesn't matter if we would have stayed together or not. I still planned to move."

"What the fuck do you mean, ‘If we would have stayed together or not'? We are together."

"It's funny to me that a man like you would want a ho and a bitch for his woman."

"You know I didn't mean that."

"I don't know a damn thing. I only know what you said, and I know how it made me feel."

"You're not moving, and we're not discussing it anymore. I said what I had to say."

He walked out and slammed the door. I walked out behind him and followed him to his room. I mustered up some courage and began to speak.

"I'm moving, Seven, and you need to accept that. That doesn't mean that I don't love you, or that I won't miss you, but I can't stay here, and I'm not going to."

"It would really be in your best interest to shut that shit up, Bari. I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to hear it and don't bring it up again."

"You know what? I tried to be as adult about this shit as possible, Seven. I tried to make it as painless as possible for both of us, but I see you're not going to try to meet me half way so fuck it. I'm through."

I turned around and began to walk out the door.

"Through with what?' He stormed. "What the fuck are you through with, Bari?"

He slammed the door shut so hard that it seemed like it would go right through the wall when it closed.

"Everythang all right in there?" Uncle Meestake yelled form down the hall.

He probably woke up to see if we had brought more chicken home.

"Yes, Uncle Meestake!" I answered before he decided to come to the door and check out the ruckus. "What part don't you understand, Seven? I'm through with everything, including you!"

"You got me fucked up! You better check yourself and remember who the fuck you're talkin' to! I ain't ever treated no bitch the way I treat you! I ain't never let nobody move up in my mutha fuckin' house! I invested my whole life into you! And if you think you just 'bout to pack up and move 'cause you feel like it you really got shit twisted!"

"Seven," I said calmly.

"Naw, fuck all that."

"You need to give it a chance, and you need to respect my decision. Please."

"Like I told you already, I'm not respecting a mutha fuckin' thing."

"Seven, you just spent a whole week not being able to even look at me. You just spent a whole night going back and forth between being in love and being disgusted. I don't need to be here. At least until we can work through this."

"We did work through it. Then you came out with that dumb ass shit about moving! You can stand here and talk 'til you're blue in the face. It ain't gon' change shit, Bari! You ain't goin' no damn where!"

"Yes, I am," I said as gently as I could. "And you can keep saying I'm not going until you're blue in the face. It isn't going to change anything either. I love you more than I love myself, Seven, but this is something that I have to do for both of us. You don't know how it felt when I saw the look on your face when you came home after being gone all those days. It was like you were looking at a stranger, and yes, we did have a partial make-up a little while ago, but you know what? The look was still there. Behind all the smiles and the hugs, you were still looking at the same 'ho' you saw in me that night. I can't live with that. You've lost respect for me, Seven. You know it, and I know it, and I can't stand that thought. So, do us both a favor and let me go."

"I can't, and I'm not. So forget it," he said with finality.

"I'm sorry, Seven, but you have no choice."

I closed the door and went to my room. I pulled the curtains back and watched the sun coming up over the horizon.

Chapter 34

"Have you slept at all?" Uncle Meestake asked, sitting down with his coffee cup at the table.

I was already up and making breakfast.

"Yeah," I lied.

"You havin' breakfast with your uncle this morning?"

"I already ate,'' I lied again, and felt terrible for doing so.

I would make it up to him though.

"I tried to call that woman of mine this morning, and she wasn't home. I sho'll would like to know where she's up and off to this morning."

"Just try back later, Uncle Meestake. I'm sure you'll get in touch with her."

"I sho'll do miss that woman. Miss her like my favorite pair of alligator shoes that got burnt up in that garage fire," he said, getting up from the table, rolling up the newspaper and carrying it with him to the bathroom near Seven's recreation room.

I wanted to holler after him and let him know it was that bucket of chicken he ate last night, but I left it alone and shook my head with a smile on my face.

"Hi," I said, as Seven went to the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Hey," he replied, and stood there holding the glass with a confused look on his face.

I was hoping he wouldn't snap and bust me in the back of the head with a frying pan while my back was turned. I decided to concentrate on the fluffiness of my eggs when I felt a pair of strong arms encircle my waist.

"I love you, Milkshake. You just don't know how much I love you. I can't lose you, baby. You're my life. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you're anything less than my queen. You're my baby, and I can't give you up. The last thing in the world I wanted was to run you away. I don't ever want you to go. I apologize for everything I said and did, and I promise I'll never stay away from you that long again, but I'm not letting you move out of here."

"Move? Bari, ain't moving no damn where!" Uncle Meestake roared as he came into the kitchen hitching up his boot cut Roebuck jeans. "What the hell is all this I hear about moving, Bari? I know good and damn well you ain't trying to live in that big ass house by your damn lonesome!"

"Actually, yes, I am."

"Well, you can forget it! Ain't nothin' in that damn house but a bunch of fuckin' ghosts! I'll be damned if I let you live in that house by yourself! I ain't gon' allow it!"

Now, Uncle Meestake was upset.

"Let me tell you both at the same time. Uncle Meestake, Seven, I'm moving. I want to live on my own. You both knew that so quit trippin'."

"Trippin'?" Uncle Meestake asked. "Trippin'! Girl, you crazy if you think for one minute that I'm gon' let you live there by yourself! This a fuckin' outrage! I can't believe this sh..."

"For a minute, I could have sworn I heard ..."

Marion came into the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about.

"Baby! Where the fuck did you come from? I mean ...I can't believe it!" He swept her up into his arms. "That's where y’all went last night! I sho'll am grateful. Ooh, I missed me some you!"

They kissed, hugged, kissed, hugged and kissed some more, then headed upstairs. Uncle Meestake said he wanted to show Marion his room. Yeah right.

I placed the scrambled eggs on a large platter, got the biscuits out of the oven, put the grits in a bowl and laid the sausage on a plate covered with a paper towel. I put it all on the counter until I finished setting the table, then set the food on the table as well and filled the glasses with orange juice. The whole ordeal didn't take a whole five minutes. When I looked up, Seven was leaning against the counter watching me, and Uncle Meestake was standing in the doorway with a sheepish grin on his face. Marion stood behind him, all red faced and flushed. Her hair, which was perfect a few minutes ago, now stood out at all angles. I suppressed a smile and acted as if l didn't notice, and I probably would have gotten away with it if my eyes didn't rest on Uncle Meestake's zipper, which was partly unzipped with his shirt sticking through. I looked back at Seven, who I could tell was trying his hardest to hold back his laugh. As Marion walked into the kitchen and took her seat at the table, Seven whispered to Uncle Meestake about his zipper.

"Aw man, you know how it is." He grinned and followed Marion. "Seven, If it's alright with you, I'll say the grace." Seven nodded in relief. "God is good, God is great, I thank him for the vittles on every plate," Uncle Meestake prayed and dug in.

I looked at Seven and shook my head. He smiled. I felt Seven's eyes on me and knew he was watching to see if I'd eat. So I did. I didn't want to hurt Seven. I knew he cared about me and loved me. I ate a biscuit, drank some orange juice and chased it with some coffee.

When breakfast was over, my uncle decided that he wanted answers that I wasn't ready to provide. I knew he was watching and waiting. I turned to look at him. He motioned for me to come to him. I walked over and stood in front of him.

"Baby ..." The ringing of the phone interrupted him. "What?" He asked, picking it up. “Hold on."

He held out the phone for me.

"Hello?"

"Bitch, what happened? Seven called and said the move is off."

"That's cold that he believes that."

"It's not?"

"Believe it when you hear it from me," I said, glaring at Seven, who glared right back.

"What time are we coming over?"

"Major and Birdie will be here around four."

"Us too then. Bari?"

I could tell she was covering the mouth piece with her hand.

"Yeah?"

"He didn't hit you, did he?"

"Of course not, Gucci! Why?"

"It's just some things that Six said last night made me think it was close to that. I love you,

Lil’ Sis."

"I love you, too."

I hung up the phone and looked at Seven.

"Yeah, I told her that," he said, before I could say anything.

"That's okay," I replied.

I wasn't about to get into it with him.

"Can I go with you then?"

His question caught me off guard.

"What?"

"I said, can I go with you, and I'm serious."

I was so touched that I could hardly speak.

"You wouldn't leave this house, baby."

I couldn't believe he had said that. It made me want to cry.

"I would for you," he assured me. "I would do anything for you."

"I believe you."

"So, can I? If I don't go, then you don't go. Which is it? Am I going with you, or are you staying here with me?"

"Seven. . . "

"Which one?" He gently kissed my lips. I let him pull me into his arms. "Don't ever leave me, Milkshake."

"I love you, baby."

"Bari." He held tightly to my waist. It was starting to hurt. I had lost so much weight that his fingers were digging into my ribs. "Answer me."

"Why do we have to live together to be together? And have you noticed at all that I have a hard time looking at you, or do you think you're the only one that's embarrassed. I'm very ashamed of what I did, Seven. I don't need you to be embarrassed for me. I'm embarrassed enough for the both of us. And no. No, I'm not going to tell you that I'm not moving, and I love you, baby, but I don't want us to live together."

When I finished cleaning up the kitchen, I went upstairs leaving Uncle Meestake in the living room with Seven watching football. Marion sat curled up by my uncle's side, just happy to be there.

“Bari!" Uncle Meestake called.

“Yes?”

"Come down here!" He yelled excitedly.

"What is it?"

"Oh, Bari!" Marion cried.

"Bari, what' chu think about Marion and I moving out to California?"

I hugged him so tight I probably squeezed his breakfast right into his pants.

"Are you serious?"

"Oh Bari, we can't wait! Please say yes!" Marion pleaded.

"Yes to what?" I asked.

"Well Bari, we was hoping you'd let us move into your house until we can find somewhere."

I looked at Seven and knew he was the one who had suggested it.

"When are you coming?" I asked.

"As soon as possible. Maybe in the next couple of weeks. You know I got to tie up a few loose ends," my Uncle said.

Marion looked at me hopefully.

"That's fine, Uncle Meestake," I said. "I'd be glad to have you here."

"Well, why can't Bari live there, too?" Marion asked. "There's all those rooms."

I thought Seven was going to take off on her. Uncle Meestake saved her.

"Now baby, now, that ain't a good idea. A man and his woman needs they privacy." I knew what Uncle Meestake was up to. He was definitely in cahoots with Seven. "Thank you, Bari! I sho'll do ‘preciate it. I sho'll do!"

I nodded and headed back up the stairs. I lay across my bed and thought for a long while. I was overreacting. He had apologized. He had offered to leave his home and come with me. What was I looking for? So what that he left for a few days. He was mad, he was angry and he was trying to avoid a confrontation. It seemed to me that he was trying to go to any length to keep me from leaving, but not in the same way that Darshon did. Seven just loved me and didn't want to be without me. Darshon was Satan.

"I know you're mad at me," Seven said, coming into the bedroom.

"No, I'm not, baby. I'm not mad at you. I know why you did that."

"Maybe you can just keep your room that you've been sleeping in or pick another one further away from mine. But you don't need to be in a whole different house, Milkshake. How am I gon' make sure you're alright?" He asked.

I looked at him and gave him a little smile.

"How about I just stay on my side of the bed?" I asked.

It took him a second to catch on.

"That's what the fuck I'm talkin' 'bout," he said, pulling me into his arms. "Now let's go

get you some food.”

"I'm not hungry right now! I'll eat when everybody gets here."

"Major is already here. Him and Birdie are downstairs."

"They're early."

"That fool is crazy. You should see all the shit he brought. Man, I'd be mad if l was Birdie. She said they made like five different stops at different butcher shops. And Major figured that since 'he was in the neighborhood' they would just come over now. They were like an hour away. He really wanted to meet your uncle."

"Leave Major alone. If it wasn't for him you wouldn't be here," I joked.

"Damn, that's some real shit! Some other dude would be sitting here with my Milkshake, huh baby?"

He pondered that thought for a moment, made himself mad and swore that he loved his father.