Around the Way Girls 9 (14 page)

“Why would she lie on you?” Teresa questioned, swinging and connecting with the left side of his head. “Huh? Answer me that! What reason does she have to lie on you?”

“Because she's jealous! She probably wants me for herself! I keep telling you that she's hot in the ass! Spending the night down there at that boy's house. What do you think she is down there doing?” He was trying to manipulate Teresa into thinking that Breezy had been sleeping with King. “I'll tell you what she's doing! Fucking that's what! Look at how she stood in the bathroom and listened to us fuck! That should tell you something right there!”

“I wasn't trying to listen to you. I was sick to my stomach!” Breezy screamed in her defense. “The door to the bedroom was open so I couldn't help but hear but I wasn't trying to.”

“Yeah, I bet you weren't!” he yelled back.

“I want you out of my gotdamn house right now, nigga! Get your shit and get the fuck out!” Teresa screamed through tears. She was hurt and couldn't understand why every man who came into her life did something to hurt her. No matter how good she was to them, they always did her wrong in the end.

On the inside, Breezy was cheering and turning flips. She wanted to run over and hug her mama and tell her how much she loved her and how much she appreciated her taking up for her, but she didn't because, to be honest, she was afraid to, unsure of how Teresa might react.

“Fine then. I'll go but you are going to feel really damn stupid when you find out that her ass is lying!” Terry gathered his clothes and slipped them on and then brushed past Breezy nearly knocking her down. He slammed the front door hard on his way out.

Teresa sat on the side of the bed crying with her head in her hands. After standing there watching her for several minutes, unsure of what she should do, Breezy finally walked over and wrapped her arms around her mama. To her surprise, Teresa hugged her back.

“I can't believe that he would do some shit like this to me.” Teresa cried on Breezy's shoulder. She felt so hurt and betrayed by Terry. “I have been damn good to that man . . . too damn good for him to do some shit like this right here.”

Breezy sat there slightly confused; somehow it wasn't sounding like this was about her at all. It was sounding more so like it was about her mama and the fact that Terry had cheated on her rather than the fact that he'd raped her daughter.

She went on for more than an hour about Terry cheating on her. When she had calmed down some she stood up, picked her gown up off the floor that she'd been wearing before her and Terry's sex session, and slipped it on. She looked back at Breezy who was still sitting on the edge of her bed fidgeting with her fingers, a habit that she also had. “I'll be right back. Going in the kitchen to get me something to drink.”

“Okay,” Breezy replied looking up at her mama briefly and then back down at her fingers. So many thoughts were running through her mind, along with mixed emotions. She couldn't remember the last time that she and her mama had sat and held a conversation; and although it felt good to be talked to for once instead of talked at, yelled at, or cursed at, this still wasn't about her like she'd initially believed. She looked up blinking back tears and let out a sigh. Her eyes were red and puffy from all of the crying that she'd done. “Well at least she didn't beat my ass and Terry is gone. Things could have turned out a lot worse so I won't complain.”

Walking back into the room carrying a glass of water, Teresa looked around confused knowing that she'd just heard Breezy talking to someone. “Ummm, are you all right?”

“Huh?”

“I thought I heard you talking to someone.”

“Nah, just thinking out loud.”

Teresa crossed the room and sat back down on the bed. “Whew, I'll tell you the truth, Terry really did hurt me. I thought he was different,” she started again, shaking her head.

Breezy decided to change the subject and ask her the one question that she'd been needing the answer to for years. She knew that they may never sit and talk like this again so she took this as her opportunity. “Ma, why do you hate me?” she blurted not beating around the bush at all. She wanted to know why things were the way that they were between them. “What did I do to make you treat me the way that you do? I am a straight A student. I've never been in any trouble until yesterday. I cook, clean, and do whatever it is that you ask of me but it's still not enough. I don't understand.” She looked at Teresa, who was wearing an unreadable expression, and waited for her to answer.

Teresa smoothed her shoulder-length hair down and looked toward the window. “I don't hate you, Breezy. I could never hate you.” She looked back at her daughter. Reaching over she tried to touch the side of her face and she jumped. Guilt ate at Teresa; she knew that Breezy was so jumpy due to the fact that she was afraid of her. She withdrew her hand and placed it in her lap. “I hate what you remind me of: your father.” That was the honest truth. “I loved that man so much. I would've done anything for him all except for one thing: get rid of you.”

Now that was a shocker, after hearing a million and one times how much she hated her and wished that she'd gotten rid of her. “He wanted you to have an abortion?”

“Yeah, he did. He wasn't ready for kids. See your father was captain of the basketball team and he was one of the best players anyone had seen in a while. He knew that he was going pro after high school. There was no doubt about that and he refused to let a baby hold him back. He sat me down and explained to me that he wasn't ready for a baby. He told me that he loved me but if I didn't have an abortion the two of us could no longer be. I was so hurt because I couldn't believe what he was asking me to do. I tried to reason with him by saying that I would take care of you by myself until he got established but he wasn't trying to hear that. He told me again to have an abortion because he wasn't ready for any babies. He said ‘if you keep it, it's your responsibility. I want nothing to do with it and I mean that.' Well as you can see, I didn't get rid of you and as a result of that he broke up with me and wouldn't have anything to do with me.”

“Did he ever go pro?” Breezy asked, thinking that was a dumb question. She knew that if her dad was a pro basketball player Teresa would have definitely taken his ass to court and had him up for child support.

“As a matter of fact he did. He used to play for Miami but he got hurt a few years ago and wasn't able to play anymore.” She looked off into space as she thought about the man she'd been head over heels in love with fifteen years ago. “Dujaun . . .”

“Sinclair.” Breezy finished her sentence in disbelief. She stood up and began pacing back and forth. This couldn't be true. Dujuan Sinclair was one of the best basketball players to ever play in the NBA and one of the richest.
She has to be lying,
Breezy thought before saying it aloud. “You can't be telling the truth.”

“But I am.” Teresa stood up and lifted her mattress. She rummaged around before putting it back down and handing Breezy an old picture.

Breezy took the picture from her hand and looked down at it. She nearly pissed herself. Sure as shit there was Teresa and a young Dujuan Sinclair.
Well I'll be damned.
Excited, she started jumping up down and yelling, “I'm rich! I'm rich!”

Teresa snatched the picture out of her hand. “No, you ain't! You didn't allow me to finish. Now sit down.”

Breezy saw a glimpse of anger in her eyes so she sat down. She didn't want her to get upset because for the first time they were talking and she wanted it to last for as long as it could.

“His mother gave me a check for twenty thousand dollars when she found out that I was pregnant and had no plans of having an abortion. She said that money was to keep my mouth shut but not to expect another dime. I took the money and used it for as long as it lasted to take care of us but of course twenty thousand dollars doesn't last forever.”

“Why did you take the money? You should have told her no and taken him to court. Then we wouldn't have to struggle like this and we would be happy!” Breezy exclaimed.

Teresa shook her head. “Y'all kids don't know nothing. I took the money because I loved him and I didn't want to hurt him by taking him to court.”

To say that Breezy was confused was an understatement. She couldn't hurt him by taking him to court but she could hurt her by beating her ass every day. She sure had some crazy-ass logic going on. “Okay, so in that case, why didn't you have an abortion so that you could've still been with him?” She wanted to know. She needed to try to understand exactly what was going on in Teresa's head because at the moment none of the things that she had said were making a lot of sense to her.

“Because you were a part of him. You were what he and I had lain down and created. I felt like if I killed you, I would be killing a part of myself and him as well and I just couldn't do it.”

The happy feeling and excitement of talking to her mama was dwindling by the second because nothing seemed to be about her at all. It was about her mama and the men in her life.

“I loved him so much and I still love him to this day. You look so much like him. Every time that I look at you, I see him and I become angry,” Teresa explained. “Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Breezy mumbled.

Teresa saw how sad and pitiful Breezy looked and felt bad. She decided to try to make things right between her and her daughter. “I'll tell you what though. I am going to try to control my anger from now on. I'm sorry for how I have treated you and I am sorry for what Terry did to you. Okay?”

Breezy couldn't even try to hold back the smile that took over her face. “Okay.” They hugged and then stayed up most of the night in the dark talking.

The next morning they got up early and went down to social services. Teresa was able to get her light bill paid and food stamps. Over the next few days, she and Breezy laughed and talked nonstop. Breezy being suspended actually turned out to be a good thing because she and Teresa used that time to bond. Breezy had never been so happy.

Saturday rolled around fast. It was Breezy's birthday! Normally she wouldn't be excited but after having such a good week with her mama, she couldn't help but be excited. She jumped out of bed that morning, ran down the hall to Teresa's room, and peeked inside. Through the crack in the door she saw that she was still asleep. She pulled the door back closed and went to take her bath in hopes that Teresa would be awake by the time she was done.

She got in the tub and took a nice, hot bath, including washing her hair. When she was done she dried off and slipped into a pair of red sweats and a white tee that had some red writing on the front. She got an old toothbrush and took her time cleaning up her old Nikes. That didn't make them look too much better but better than they did before she'd cleaned them. She got her brush and styling gel and brushed her hair back into a ponytail. Then, she dipped her finger in the jar of Vaseline that was on the dresser and put a little on her lips. She looked in the mirror and though she wasn't thrilled with her appearance, she felt she looked okay.

She went back down the hall to Teresa's room again. She opened the door and saw that she was still in bed. “Hey, Ma,” Breezy called.

“Hey, Breezy,” Teresa replied from beneath the covers. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks, Ma!” Breezy squealed jumping onto the bed like a big kid.

Teresa removed the covers from her head. “I ain't got no money to get you nothing but I will get you something when I get my hands on some money,” She promised.

“It's okay. I understand. I am just happy that the two of us have been getting along so great! That's gift enough.” Breezy wrapped her arms around Teresa's neck the best she could with her lying down. “I love you,” she whispered to her, meaning it from the bottom of her heart.

“Love you too.”

Breezy smiled; hearing those words was better than any gift that money could buy. “I am going to go see King and Ms. Annette for a little while but I will be right back.”

“A'ight. Lock the door on your way out.”

“Okay.” Breezy practically skipped up the street to King's house. When she got there she rang the doorbell. A few seconds later she heard someone unlocking the locks. The door opened and Annette was standing on the other side.

“Hey, Birthday girl! We were just about to come and get you.”

“Hey. You were?” Breezy asked surprised.

“Yeah, I have a huge surprise planned for you. Well, King helped me think of it. So come on in and speak to him and then me and you have an appointment.” Annette was more excited than Breezy as she stepped out of the way so that she could come in.

“An appointment?” Breezy grew excited. “What kind of appointment?”

“You'll see, nosey!” Annette teased, giving Breezy a hug. “Happy birthday again, baby,” she told her.

“Thank you.”

“King and his friend are in the kitchen; go ahead in there and speak. I know he can't wait to see you. You've been MIA on us all week.”

“Yeah, I know but I was spending time with my mama. She has been so nice this past week. It's been like living in a dream world or something.” Breezy giggled. “I sure hope that things remain this way.”

“Yeah, me too. You are a good girl and you don't deserve to be treated the way that you have,” Annette started but then stopped herself and smiled. “You know what? We ain't even gon' talk about that mess today.”

Breezy smiled and made her way into the kitchen expecting to see Jalen or Sean since Annette had mentioned King was in the kitchen with his friend. She really hoped it was Sean because she really didn't want to be bothered with Jalen today. Her birthday was going great so far, she didn't need him and his slick remarks ruining it. She walked into the kitchen and was shocked to see Davita sitting at the table with King showing all thirty-two. He was all up in her face whispering something and she was giggling.

Breezy took a deep breath and cleared her throat. Both Davita and King looked over in her direction.

“Hey, big head! Happy birthday!” King jumped up and ran over to her with his arms open for a hug. On one hand she didn't want to hug him because she was a little jealous about seeing him with Davita, but at the same time she knew that she had no right to be, so she hugged him. “Where have you been the past few days?”

“Chillin' with my ma.” Breezy blushed unable to reveal her good news without smiling.

“Really?” He sounded shocked, which was understandable.

“Yeah, I will tell you more about it later.”

“Cool.” With one of his arms still around her shoulder he turned and motioned toward Davita. “You already know Vita, right?”

“Yeah.” Breezy smiled politely and waved as she eyed Vita. She envied the girl because she had a banging body, her hair was always laid, her gear was always on point, she was very popular, and all of the guys at school wanted her but most importantly King looked at her like she wished he'd look at her. “Hey, Vita.”

“Hey, Breezy.” Vita was all extra like the two of them were besties. “Girl, happy B-day!”

For as long as they'd known each other, Vita had never spoken a word to Breezy before so she knew that she was being fake but she just played along. “Thanks.”

Annette came into the kitchen. “You ready, Breezy?”

“Where are we going?”

“Girl, just bring your little narrow behind on here. Ms. Annette got this girl! All you need to do is lie back and enjoy the ride, honey, because this is your day and we are going to make sure that you have the best birthday ever!” Annette smiled doing a goofy little dance, which caused everyone to burst into laughter. She stopped dancing and her demeanor became serious. Directing her attention to King, she waved a finger at him and Vita. “I don't want no mess out of y'all. Curtis is in the bedroom so he will be keeping an eye on you.”

“Ma, what do you think that we are going to do?” King asked.

“I don't know what you might be thinking of doing.”

“Nothing except talking like we are now.”

“Good.” She looked back at Breezy. “Come on.”

“See y'all,” Breezy told King and Davita, not liking the thought of leaving the two of them alone.

“I can't wait to see you later, Breezy!” King teased. “I might have to start calling you Ms. Breezy.”

Breezy looked confused, trying to figure out what he was talking about. “Huh?”

“Don't pay him no mind.” Annette grabbed her by the arm. “Come on here!” The two of them left.

During the drive Annette bragged about was how nice looking Vita was and how she was such a nice girl and how King seemed to really like her.

Breezy looked out the window trying her best to tune Annette out, though it was proving to be really hard since she kept asking her opinion. If she'd had an ink pen or something with a sharp tip she would've stabbed herself in both ears. She was beyond fed up with hearing about King and Vita. At this point she was ready to ask if she could just take her home but she was glad that she hadn't when they pulled up in front of Angel's Salon.

“Get out of the car,” Annette told her. Breezy couldn't believe that she was about to get her hair done. She jumped out of the car and nearly ran inside. When they got inside, the receptionist greeted them and asked if she could help them with anything. Annette informed the woman that she'd scheduled an appointment for Breezy with Blue.

“Okay. I will let her know that you are here. You can have a seat.” The receptionist disappeared toward the back of the salon and returned a few seconds later with a tall, curvy redbone sister with a blue weave.

“Hello, I'm Blue,” she introduced herself flashing Breezy a smile that showed off the gold tooth in her mouth.

Breezy smiled politely and introduced herself, “I'm Breezy. It's nice to meet you.”

“Is there any particular way that you want your hair done?”

“Just make it really pretty,” Annette spoke up. “Today is her birthday and I want her to look stunning.” She looked at Blue's hair and then added, “But no color for her.”

“Oh okay, no problem,” Blue assured her and then looked at Breezy. “Come on, birthday girl, follow me right this way.”

Breezy followed her to her station. Blue got right to work on her hair, first giving her a much-needed perm, then sewing in some hair. She styled it in a doobie wrap that fell around Breezy's shoulders and framed her face. When she was done, she turned her around so that she could look in the mirror.

Breezy jumped up out of her seat. She was all in the mirror touching her hair. “Oh my goodness, I love it! Gosh it looks so good!”

Blue giggled at the girl's obvious satisfaction with her hair. “Sit back down so that I can do your eyebrows and makeup.”

Breezy did as she asked and Blue worked her magic. When she was done, Breezy stood in the mirror with her mouth hung wide open. She couldn't believe that the reflection of the beautiful young woman standing in the mirror was actually her. Her eyes began to water.

Annette got up from the dryer and walked over to get a closer look at Breezy's hair. She saw the tears in Breezy's eyes from her reflection in the mirror. “Hey, hey now. There will be no tears today, young lady. Can't have you ruining your makeup.”

Breezy turned around from the mirror to face Annette and couldn't hold back the tears that poured from her eyes. They were tears of happiness and appreciation. “Thank you so much, Ms. Annette.” She cried, hugging her tightly. “No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I appreciate it so much.”

“Awww, baby, don't cry.” Annette rubbed Breezy's back, tearing up herself. Breezy felt almost like her own and, sometimes, she wished that she was her own so that she wouldn't have to go through the things that she did at home. “I am just glad that you like it.”

“Okay, let me touch up your makeup,” Blue told Breezy.

“I need to go and get my butt back under this dryer. I just walked over here to be nosey. When you are done over here, go over and let Samantha do your nails. This is your day and I want you to feel like the princess that you are.” She smiled at Breezy, knowing that she was loving the birthday surprises that she'd put together for her.

“Okay,” Breezy answered as Blue fixed her makeup. When Blue was done she went over to Samantha, like Annette had told her. By the time that Samantha was done with her nails, Annette had paid for everything and was ready to go.

“All right, we have one more stop,” Annette informed Breezy once they were back in the car.

“Okay,” Breezy replied unable to stop looking in the mirror at herself.

When they pulled up at the mall Breezy looked over at Annette. “Why are we here?”

“Well we can't have your hair and nails looking all cute and not get you a cute outfit and some shoes to go with it.”

Breezy started screaming. “Oh gosh! Are you for real?”

“Yes, I'm for real!” Annette laughed. “Now come on here, girl.”

Inside Annette bought her two outfits and two pairs of sneakers. She also bought her some new underwear and bras. Breezy felt like she was dreaming.

“Go into the bathroom and change into one of your new outfits and a pair of your sneakers,” Annette instructed. “I will hold the rest of your bags while you change.”

Breezy went into the bathroom and changed as quickly as she could, wondering what other surprises Annette could possibly have in store for her after all that she'd already done. She walked out of the bathroom and did a little twirl so that Annette could get a good look at her in her new clothes.

“You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you, Ms. Annette. I really do appreciate everything. I can't thank you enough and I know that I certainly will never be able to repay you.”

“Oh hush your mouth, child, talking about repaying me. That is just nonsense.” Annette laughed waving her off. “And besides, I can't stand here and take all of the credit. King let me keep his allowance for the past few weeks to help pay for it, so he deserves some thanks too,” she informed Breezy who just blushed at first.

“He did that for me?”

“Yep.” She drove out of the parking lot and into traffic, headed to the final and biggest surprise. Ten minutes later, they turned into the parking lot of Golden Corral and got out. “I hope you're hungry.”

“I sure am,” Breezy told her, now missing her best friend and wishing that he was there with her. “I wish King's big head was here. Not that I don't like chillin' with you, Ms. Annette, but that's my buddy though.”

“I understand,” Annette replied smiling to herself.

They walked inside and Annette whispered something to the hostess.

“Follow me right this way,” she told them. They did as she said. Before they made it all the way to the table, Breezy saw Mr. Curtis, King, and Vita seated at a table toward the back full of balloons, a cake, and a few gifts.

“Awwww, y'all, this is so sweet.” She burst into tears for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

“Cry baby,” King teased getting up to give her a big hug. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. She almost didn't look like his homegirl anymore. “Look at you, Ms. Thang, don't you look mighty fly. Dag, I'm going to have to kill them niggas at school if they see you looking like this. I can't have all of them hounds on my homegirl!”

“Whatever.” Breezy hit him playfully. She wished that he would look at her like the guys he was referring to.