Last Bitch Standing (18 page)

"Genesis, I've been strong all my life. I didn't have
a choice, if only to avoid becoming a statistic. The
life I was born into was one where being nothing was
expected. When I married Supreme and had Aaliyah, she
was supposed to have everything I was denied growing
up: a loving father, beautiful home, and a mother who
protected her. I got the first two right, but I've failed
miserably with the last one."

"Precious, this isn't your fault. You had no control over what Maya did, or that girl who was driving the car
Aaliyah was in."

"Then why do I feel responsible?"

"Because you're a mother, and that's your child. It's
called `love' and it's the most powerful tool we have as
parents. So, hold onto that love and use it to fight for
Aaliyah. It's easy to give into the pain and feel defeated,
but for the sake of your daughter and husband, don't do
it."

As I soaked in Genesis' words of wisdom. We both
jumped in shock due to the loud interruption, courtesy
of Supreme and Nico. They were having a heated
exchange, which had escalated to a shoving match, and
then Supreme threw a punch that landed on Nico's upper
right jaw, and Nico returned the favor.

"Would the two of you stop!" I belted, pissed the
fuck off that they would behave like immature little boys
on the playground in the middle of such a major crisis.

Before shit got any further out of hand, Genesis
was able to break them apart. "Nico, chill. This ain't the
time or place for this bullshit." Genesis pulled Nico away,
taking him to the other side of the waiting area.

"Supreme, our daughter is in there fighting for her
life, and you want to fight with Nico! What the hell is
wrong with you?"

"He shouldn't be here! I'm sick and tired that every
time I turn around this motherfucker wants to be up in
your face."

"That's not what's going on right now. He was there when the accident happened. Of course he's gonna want
to make sure that Aaliyah is okay, just like Genesis. I
understand the two of you don't like each other, but I
don't need this shit right now, and neither does Aaliyah.
She needs all of our prayers while she's in surgery fighting
for her life."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry," Supreme said, embracing
me tightly as I closed my eyes, giving in to the calmness
of the moment. I felt so safe in his arms, as if he could
protect me from anything.

That moment of calmness didn't last long, because
when I opened my eyes I saw Quentin Jacobs walk in. I
broke free from Supreme to confront him. "What the
hell are you doing here? You need to leave, now!"

"Precious!" Genesis stated in a hardened tone as if
he knew he was my voice of reason.

"I wanted to see how my daughter and granddaughter
were doing."

When those words came out of Quentin's mouth,
it made me want to vomit. "Why don't you go check on
Maya? She's the only daughter that needs you!"

"You're also my daughter. You both need me."

"I can't take anymore of this Maury Povich bullshit!
This is public property. If you want to stay in this hospital,
so be it. But stay the hell away from me and my family."

"I'll respect your wishes, but here, please take this."
Quentin extended an envelope to me.

"I don't want nothing from you."

"It's not from me. It's a letter Ms. Duncan left for you. Ricky said you never came by to pick it up, and he
wanted to give it to you."

I snatched the envelope from Quentin and stormed
off with Supreme, refusing to bring any added stress on
myself. I had to stay strong and focused for Aaliyah. I
would figure out how to deal with Quentin Jacobs after
Supreme and I got over this hurdle with our daughter.

When I sat down, I thought back to the funeral and
Ricky telling me that Ms. Duncan had left something for
me. Nico and I had to rush back to Philly, so I never had a
chance to stop by her house and pick it up. With so much
drama going on, I had honestly forgotten. I opened the
envelope to what were the last words Ms. Duncan wanted
me to hear from her.

Dear Precious:

As you read this letter, please know that I'm
now at peace and in a better place. When I found out
I had cancer, I cried every day and night for over a
reek. The doctor told me it was too late to get any
treatment, and that I )rasgoing to die. Those words cut
me like a knife. I didn't want to die. I felt like only in
the last couple of years I had truly began to live and
appreciate life, and to norm) have it taken from me was a
heartbreaking reality. But once I prayed about it, had
several conversations with God and accepted it, I then
began a new journey in my life. I wanted to free myself
of secrets that had been so heavy in my heart. And that's why I'm writing this letter to you.

Precious, you know you were always special
to me. As feisty as you leas, I could always see that
sparkle in your eyes, a sweetness and gentleness that-you
rarely revealed. I knew a lot of that had to do with all
the struggles-Yon had to endure at such a young age. But
youve grown to be such a beautiful woman, and I'm so
proud of you. Please believe that.

And now you have your own family, and you
know how important it is for a child to have both their
mother and father in their lives. I truly believe that a
great deal of your pain came from never knowing who
your father was. And that's why I ve decided to tellyou.
I know you re grown non but I have to believe that the
saying, `Better late than never" applies here.

Your mother knew he was your daddy, but
for her own personal reasons, she never wanted him
or-Yon to knon Unfortunately, she's no longer here to
answer any of those questions, but your father is very
much alive. After reading this letter, if you decide you
want him to be a part of your life, my brother, Kicky
knows how to contact him. Your father is a man named
'Quentin Jacobs. If you ever want to understand who
you are, talk to that man, because he is truly one of a
kind, just like you.

Love Always,

Ms. Duncan

Before I could even let myself go through the
emotions of what I was feeling after reading Ms. Duncan's
letter, I saw Dr. Katz approaching.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mills," Dr. Katz said, keeping his
voiced composed.

"How is she?" both me and Supreme asked at the
same time.

"We were able to stabilize your daughter, but she's
still in critical condition. Aaliyah has lost a massive amount
of blood and is going to need a blood transfusion."

I swallowed hard as my heart sank, realizing that
even though the surgery went fine, Aaliyah wasn't in the
clear yet. I saw Nico, Genesis and Quentin walk near us
so they could hear what Dr. Katz was saying. Having
Genesis and Nico by my side did seem to give me more
strength, and I totally needed it.

"So what's next, Doctor?" Supreme questioned.

"I'm going to be very straight with you.
African American Blacks in the United States have a
disproportionately large number of individuals with rare
blood types unique to race. Those who need a blood
transfusion require an exact match of certain blood
traits with their own, statistically, because these traits are
inherited. A patient's most likely match is another family
member. Unfortunately, over seventy-percent of African
American Blacks can not find a blood type within their
own family. The reason I gave you the long-winded
background information on this is because not only does
your daughter have those odds working against her, but she also has a rare blood type of AB-negative. Do either
one of you know your blood type?"

"I don't," I stated.

"Neither do I," Supreme admitted too.

"We can perform a test and get that information
very quickly. But just in case neither one of you are a
match, we've already begun searching our database, but I
would recommend you contact any family members who
might be a match. Your daughter's life depends on it."

"Take the blood test, do whatever you have to do
because my daughter will survive. I put that on everything
I love," I promised...

Aaliyah

"I-Ti!" I waved at the security guard as I entered the
palatial estate. I then blew him a kiss and a flirtatious
wink. I couldn't help myself, he was outrageously sexy. I
knew the shit made him uncomfortable, because he knew
my dad would have his ass even though he wasn't doing
anything wrong. It was all me. But my dad wouldn't care.
In his eyes, his precious Aaliyah could do no wrong.

I parked the new sports car my dad got me for my
birthday behind one of his fleet of vehicles. He had the
silver drop top specially designed to my liking, and I adored him for it. "Where is my daddy?" I asked one of
the maids when I walked in.

"He's in his office, Ms. Aaliayah."

"Thanks, Maria. And would you prepare my lunch?
I'll be eating outside by the pool."

"Of course, Ms. Aaliayah."

I gave her a gracious smile and hurried off to see
my dad.

"Daddy!" I started calling out before even making
it down the hallway. I always did that. It was my way of
preparing him for my arrival. When I got to his office,
the door was open and he was sitting behind his desk,
wrapping up a phone conversation.

"There's my princess!" he said, coming from behind
his desk to give me a hug. "How's your day been going?"

"I went to the spa and got a manicure and pedicure.
You know, the typical stuff I do during the summer when
school is out. But I better enjoy it while I can, since
school starts back in a couple of weeks. This summer
flew by. Hold up, let me get that. It's Mom calling," I said,
answering my cell. "Hey, Mother, what's going on?"

"Just checking up on you. What are you doing?"

"Standing here talking to Daddy."

"Put your father on the phone. I need to ask him
something."

"Mom wants to speak to you," I said, handing him
my cell.

"Precious, how are you?"

"Good, and you?"

"Everything is going very well."

"That's good to hear, but I wouldn't expect anything
different."

"So, what can I do for you?"

"We're having a huge back to school party for
Aaliyah and all her classmates, since it's her senior year. I
wanted to see if you would be able to attend. You know
how much she would enjoy that."

"How would your husband feel?"

"Nico, don't start. You know Supreme would want
Aaliyah to be happy, and you being there would do that,
so he's fine with it."

"Just asking. Didn't want to ruin Aaliyah's party
because Supreme would have a problem with me being
there."

"Must we have this conversation every time I
speak with you? Supreme accepted years ago that you're
Aaliyah's biological dad, but he is also a father to her too.
So, I'll see you next month."

"Precious, how are you really?"

"Nico, I have to go."

"You haven't answered my question."

"We agreed not to do this anymore. And you wonder
why Supreme has a problem with you. It has nothing to
do with your relationship with Aaliyah, it's because he
feels ivve re still in a relationship."

"We are. It is called `co-parenting'."

"Goodbye, Nico. Enjoy the rest of the summer
with your daughter."

"Mother didn't have anything else to say to me?" I
questioned, taking my phone from my dad.

"No, she had to take another call, but she said
she'll call you back later on." Before I could find out why
my mother ended her call so abruptly I got a pleasant
surprise.

"How's my favorite niece?"

"Uncle Genesis, I didn't even know you were
here!" I smiled, giving him a hug. "Did Amir come with
you?"

"Yes, he's out by the pool."

"I have so much to talk to him about. I'll see you
both later. Bye, Daddy. Bye, Uncle Genesis." I gave them
my signature rich-girl-next-door smile, and rushed off to
find Amir.

Uncle Genesis was like an uncle to me, but Amir
definitely wasn't like a cousin. He was way too stunning
for me to ever put him in that category. He was the
spitting image of his daddy, and every time I laid eyes on
him, I was thankful we weren't related by blood, only by
association. Unfortunately, Amir didn't see it that way. But
I considered that to be a small obstacle, nothing to stress
over too much. I mean, with every passing month I was
blossoming more and more into a certified banger. There
was only so much self-control any young, hormone crazy,
boy could have. Eventually, I would catch Amir at a weak
moment, and whisper the right thing in hs ear. Then, all
that "we're cousins" shit would be out the window.

"Amir, baby, what is up?" I greeted him, extra bubbly and interrupting him in the middle of some text
message he was typing.

"What's good with you?"

"A whole lot. I have a proposition for you. Are you
down for making a lot of money?"

"Aaliyah, what are you talking about? We have
money and a lot of it."

"No, our fathers' have a lot of money. I think it's
time we start making our own. Are you in or what?"

"Like my father always says, when people come to
him with a business proposition, speak... make me want
to open my wallet."

"Well, baby, I'm not asking you to open your
wallet. You follow my rules, I guarantee you, I'ma put
money in it."

Once I gave Amir my signature rich-girl-next-door
smile, I knew I would close the deal.