Ratchet Bitches 2 (3 page)

“I’ve thought about that, but she was there for me when I needed her the most.” Bianca said. She’d already contemplated if she should or shouldn’t. She just needed a listening ear and a little bit of advice.  

“What does Tory have to say about that?” Lauren pondered.

“He has nothing to say except that it’s up to me. He doesn’t want to come between our friendship nor will he ever say no to me. So, that doesn’t help much.”

“He just wants to please you and if that means that your bestie can move in until she get her shit together then I guess he’s good with it. I see trouble, though.”

“Well, I kinda figured that you would feel that way.” Bianca said with a sigh. She was definitely torn, because Tessa was the only best friend she had outside of her sisters. She never once judged her for any of her flaws and she certainly had many.

“You know I’m not crazy about Tessa. I’m not gonna even front.”

“I know,” Bianca said with a slight shake of the head.

“I’ve just never seen her being good for you. She drinks, she smokes, she pops pills, sometimes she does coke, has a snooty attitude, and she barely wears any clothes. You know its August girl. The heat is still out there which means that she probably ain’t got any clothes on as we speak.”

Bianca laughed a little. “Yep, that’s Tessa.” She agreed.

“You can’t have her walking around your husband like that. That shit ain’t cute.”

“You’re right, Sis.” Bianca responded. “But, I don’t know. Maybe if it’s just for a month and I’ll make sure that we talk and lay down some ground rules. I just don’t want to see her on the streets.”

“Girl, Tessa doesn’t have any kids. She fucks for money and she probably never stayed in her apartment anyway from fucking from hotel to hotel. Let’s face it; she’s about as ratchet as they come.”

“Come on,” Bianca cut in. “She’s not that bad. She probably has her ways and does certain things that y’all may not agree with, but she is my bestie and I love her regardless of how y’all feel about her.”

“One thing I can say B is that you have a big heart, because the bitch wouldn’t be moving in my house.” Lauren nonchalantly commented.

“I guess you can’t help how you feel,” she disappointedly said. “You are the least judgmental out of our sisters and that’s the only reason why I called you, but I understand your feelings.”

“I don’t want to sound harsh, you know I don’t. I just don’t want you to regret moving her in and being that you love her so much; I don’t wanna see y’all fall out just in case she fucks up.”

“Trust me, Sis. I understand totally. Thanks for the pep talk, but I’ll see once she and I sit down and talk with each other first.”

“Okaaaaay,” Lauren said.

“I’ll be over Kerry’s later. It’s the weekend and mom wants the kids. I’ll be free to hang out and have some fun with y’all.”

“Sounds good to me,” Lauren said. “I’ll see you later. Oh and bring a bottle or something.”

“Will do,” Bianca said as they ended their call.

Lauren took off her satin nightgown and proceeded to get in the garden tub full of warm water. She just wanted to relax her thoughts a bit. Here she was giving her sister some advice about what she should and shouldn’t do in her home, when she couldn’t figure out what the hell kind of changes she needed to make in her own. Rich definitely had her fucked up if he thought that he could just continue to slang good dick and not help out financially. Jamal may have been a low down, cheating dog, but he did take care of her. That was the least that he could do since he’d put her through so much.

As she relaxed in the warm tub of water, her phone alerted her of an incoming text message. She sighed, feeling like she didn’t want to be bothered at the moment. She didn’t move, but then five minutes later, another text came through.

“Kerry, I’m coming. Don’t bug me,” she said out loud, figuring that it was her sister who was never late for anything. So, she expected them to be on time, too. “You’re just gonna have to wait until I get there.” She continued. No sooner than she could get relaxed again, her phone alerted her of another text message. “Damnit now!” She exclaimed while leaning out of the garden tub to reach for the nearest towel to dry her hands. She then picked up the phone to read the messages.

You were supposed to be here by seven, heifa. I bet you probably still sleep. Watch you be on my head until late tonight. Call me back. Kerry
          

“I knew it was her ass,” Lauren uttered then opened up the next message. “She better not be wasting my damn text messages with this-” But, before she could get out foolishness, her heart sank down in her chest as she read the next message. 

Hey baby. It’s been awhile. I’ve missed you and my lil man. Kiss him for me and tell him that daddy misses him very much. Jamal

“What the fuck?” Lauren whispered with a sour look on her face. She hadn’t spoken to him in three months. The last time she saw him was the day of Bianca’s wedding and he was supposed to be leaving town to get himself together.

I wonder if he’s left that nappy headed ass wife of his with her ratchet ass.
She quickly thought then proceeded on to the next message.

I’m glad that you decided to start cashing the checks. Please, take care of my boy. I love y’all. I know I was wrong for many things, but I promise that I’ll make it up to the both of you. I promise. Jamal.

“Wow,” she said as her heart fluttered. She still loved Jamal. He was that guy, but the wrong guy for her. If only he wasn’t married to a deranged, psycho ass bitch then they would’ve been good. She contemplated messaging him back, but then sat her phone back down. “Lauren, don’t you do it.” She coached herself.

There was no relaxing of any kind after reading those text messages. Jamal had her thinking, and he had her thinking hard. She appreciated the money that he was still sending, because without that she would be down on her luck, struggling to keep the bills paid. There was just no way could she ever imagine taking him back, even if he had left his wife for good. He’d hurt her too bad with the many secrets that he kept from her.

“I think it’s better if I just left it alone. Hell, maybe I need to get my number changed or something,” she whispered. However, she felt bad and wanted to reach out, because her son missed his daddy. It was just too much going on at the moment though, and she needed to figure it out first before she made that move.

“Damn,” she said, reaching over and turning the power off on her phone. She then closed her eyes as she rested her head back on the tub. She was going to get some relaxation to clear her thoughts if possible, one way or the other.

Chapter 2

Meanwhile in Marietta, GA, Janay was making her way down the hall and into the baby’s room to pick up Brison since he was crying. She held him close in her arms and rocked the eight month old as his sleepy eyes closed then opened back up to look in her face. She kissed him on his forehead and smiled at her beautiful baby boy. Apparently, he’d had a nightmare of some sort and just needed his mothers warm touch.

“Shhhh,” she said as she watched him doze back off to sleep.

Lately, she’d been extremely tired. Her memory seemed to be fading in and out. She’d been feeling some type of way. Maybe it was because she wanted so desperately to move back home to be closer with her parents and her sisters. Finn, her husband, had been working on the move back to Augusta, GA, but being the Assistant Pastor at his father’s church had them stuck in Marietta until they could get someone else to take his place.

She sighed, taking in a deep breath as thought after thought plagued her mind. Maybe it was postpartum depression. Even though Brison was eight months old, she’d read where a woman could get postpartum depression up to a year after given birth. Whatever it was had her cranky at times, feeling unworthy, unloved, and lonely. She didn’t even look at her son in the same way, because she felt like she wasn’t being a good enough mom to him.  

As she continued to rock Brison in her arms, pacing back and forth in front of his crib; the house alarm sounded off. She knew that it was Finn entering the house. Apart of her smiled inside, knowing that her husband had made it home. He’d been gone overnight from a revival that he had to attend in Charlotte, NC. Every now and then he was asked to be a special guest at different churches. Unfortunately for her, it would sometimes require him to go out of town to perform his pastoral duties.

“Sweetie,” she heard him call out as he made his way down the long hallway.

“I’m in here, babe.” She said just above a whisper, trying not to wake Brison back up. The minute Finn entered the baby’s room, she looked over at him. “Shhhh,” she said. “He’s just going back to sleep.”

Finn stepped inside the room and walked over to her, giving her a light kiss on the lips. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah,” she said as she gently laid Brison back in his crib.

“I’ve been calling you since early this morning to let you know that I was on my way back home. You never answered.”

Janay frowned as she looked around the room. “Where is my phone?” She asked, heading out of the room as Finn followed closely behind her.

“Sweetie, I called the house phone, too.” He said.

“Are you sure about that? I didn’t hear any phone ring.” She said as the entered their master bedroom.

“Babe,” Finn called out. “Look at me.” Janay turned to face her husband. “You’ve been acting really strange, lately.”

“I’m okay, babe.” She assured him, but she knew that she hadn’t been herself. She was highly confused as to what happened to her. Overnight she seemed like a changed person. She walked over to the big king sized bed and sat down. “Baby, I just want to move back home. I’m not feeling being here at all. I miss my mom and dad, not to mention my sisters. I just don’t like being here.” She said as a tear fell from her eye.

“Sweetie,” Finn said as he rushed to his wife’s side. He knew that she’d been under pressure after they ended up not moving back to her hometown right away. She’d done nothing but stood by him and the decisions that he’d made were only to continue to work with his father until he was well enough to handle things on his own. “It’s gonna be alright.” He said to her as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Nobody here likes me,” she said, feeling bad as hell. “Your mom despises me.”

“She doesn’t dislike you. Think about it baby, she has been trying to be so much nicer to you since I had that talk with her. She knows that if she can’t get along with you then she and I are going to have problems.”

“That’s the thing. You’re her only son, so I can understand why she feels a certain way. I just want her to give me a fair chance.”

Finn disappointedly shook his head. “She just threw us a dinner party a month ago to try to welcome you into the family. Even Aunt Lily was there to help you feel at home. You didn’t feel the love or the attempt to let you in?”

Janay thought back at the dinner party. Mrs. Carter definitely seemed different. It was as if she was attempting to make amends, but she was still skeptical.

“Plus, dad and the rest of the family love you. I think that now you have to get out of your feelings and allow her to be good to you.” Janay looked at him, still unsure as she continued to wipe her tears. “Can you do it for me, please?” He sincerely asked.

Janay didn’t respond right away as she looked off into space. She didn’t know what to think or what she wanted to do at the moment.

Finn could see the pain in her eyes and it hurt him to see his wife so distraught, because all he wanted to do was help her.

“If you want to go home and be with your family until you feel better then I won’t stop you. I will miss you and Brice, but I’ll visit as much as possible until we can get things situated. I just want you to be happy and to feel better.” He sincerely said, feeling somewhat torn between his loving feelings for his wife and the close relationship he shared with his mom.

He just wanted them to get along with each other and now that it seemed that his mom was coming around, Janay was actually getting more distant.

“Look,” he said wiping her eyes, and then kissing her on the lips. “Go shower, fix your hair up, and get dressed in something really sexy. It’s almost four o’clock so we have the rest of the evening to spend together. I just want to show you a nice time and shower you with my love.”

Janay smiled. Finn always had that magic touch and knew exactly what to do to make her feel better. For him to be thirty-three to her now thirty-nine years of age, he seemed so much older than her. He was in tune with her needs and always took care of her. They were close to being married two years now, but it seemed like twenty. She knew him better than he knew himself, and he knew her better than she knew herself. Regardless of what his mom thought about their union, she felt that they were destined to be together.

“I think that would be good for me. I need to spend some quality time with my fine husband.” She said with a smile on her face as she leaned over to kiss his soft lips again. “I’ve been feeling really lonely, lately.”

“I know, sweetie. I know,” he said. “Now go wash up and I’ll get Brison ready.”

“Thanks my love,” Janay said, feeling so much better. She got up and headed into the master bathroom to get herself together. Once she’d disappeared and Finn could hear the water running from the shower, he picked up the cordless phone sitting next to him and called his mom.

“Hi son,” Mrs. Carter spoke in a cheery tone. “How are you? Have you made it back from Charlotte?”

“Yeah, I’m home now. I just got in not long ago.”

“Good, how was the sermon?” She pondered.

“It was good, mom. You know it was a packed house. Our church is steadily growing with a congregation of almost 3000 people. However, Saint John’s Baptist church has a congregation of about 6000 people, doubling what we have.”

“Oh yes, I know,” Mrs. Carter said. “Pastor Williams doesn’t live in that big old, seven bedroom house for nothing.” She said, having known him and his wife for over twenty-years.  “He’s really good with the word too, but I know you showed up and showed out for them.”