Chapter 4- Go Home, Roger
"Jr, Please come pick this skateboard up out the floor before I trip over the damn thing and they find me not breathing like they found Mike!" Nuriyah's 8 year-old son was her pride an joy, but out of all the wonderful qualities he could've acquired from his mother, he had inherited her habit to leave thing lying around wherever he had dropped them, no matter how dangerous it was. And by "things", she meant everything.
The young mother huffed angrily and continued to answer the ringing door, but not before spotting her son's backpack and jacket strewn haphazardly in the foyer. "And WHAT did I tell you about leaving your coat and bag on the floor, Jr?! We have hooks by the door so you can hang that stuff up instead of slinging it around and having mommy trip on it. You do NOT have no maids around here!" She fussed on, finally making it to the door and pulling it open. She stopped momentarily, breath caught in her chest, to get a good glimpse of the sight standing before her. Aquae, still dressed in his scrubs, was standing at the door with his usual million dollar smile. Nuriyah would be lying if she didn't admit that his smile still did things to her.
"JR! Your dad is here!" She called, never taking her eyes off of her son's father.
It had been years since Nuriyah and Aquae had been romantically involved; yet there were still times in which she felt an inexplicable connection with a man. She had come to terms years ago that she would always feel undeniable sense of home with him. Although he hadn't been her first in EVERYTHING, he had been her first in everything that had counted. At 18 years old, Nuriyah had begun dating the sophisticated older guy as an act of rebellion towards her parents. He was mature and in college, and an ultimate "fuck you" to the guys who had come before him and proved themselves unworthy of anything that Nuri would and could be willing to offer. Aquae was the first guy to look past Nuriyah's "crazy" streak without trying to change who she was. Nuri suspected that their relationship would've probably lasted much longer than it had if it hadn't be for for Aquae's need to always be right and Nuri's desire to always prove him wrong. From the beginning, they'd always been a passionate couple, but when that passion turned tumultuous, both parties felt going their separate ways would be best.
"So where are you guys going tonight?" Quae, leaning his body onto the wall with his hands in his pockets, brought Nuri out of her thoughts. She swallowed hard at the way he was looking at her. It was like he could see through her…like he knew what she was going to say before she even said it.
"Nowhere, Roger's actually coming over to watch movies and cook me dinner," She answered truthfully, stopping to look suspiciously once Quae began to chuckle. "What?" She interrogated. "Nothing…I just figured…nothing. Nothing, Nuri." He finished, still unable to hide the glint in his eyes that told Nuriyah it was anything but nothing.
She glanced over, the corners of her mouth turning up involuntarily. "Don't start, Quae". Aquae pressed his index finger and thumb together and ran both digits around his pursed lips to signal that he would speak no more on the topic. She had never been one to let words go unspoken, and really wanted to hear what Quae had to say. Finally unable to resist, Nuriyah asked "Fine. What? What are you going to say?"
"NOTHING! You told me not to start, so I won't." His lips twitched as he fought the smile threatening to ruin his whole act. "But you started already, so go ahead" She challenged.
"Fine, I just never took you for the stay at home and watch movies type. Especially with a guy named Roger…Guess he's keeping your expectations low, though." Quae added in a throaty sound that sounded something like "cheap" but Nuri wasn't sure she heard correctly.
"Yeah, well I'm tired of going out and having to sit through bullshit movies and bullshit dinners..and bullshit men" She added in for good measure. "At least now, I can pull my gun out on him if he gets wrong and I don't have to worry about some civilian reporting me" She laughed dryly. Quae's signature smug ass grin made an appearance soon after and Nuri was just about to check his ass on it. Her oncoming rant was cut short by the footsteps of her excited 8 year-old son.
"Dad!" The young boy ran full speed ahead until he was standing directly in front of his father. Jr loved his dad. And Nuri was happy that he had a dad to love. Usually in situations when parents would split up, one parent would become jealous of the connection the child had with the other parent. Nuri and Aquae were the total opposite. They were just happy that Aquae Jr. was happy and healthy, no matter who he was happier to be with at the time.
"Wassup son?" Quae reached out and offered his fist to his son. Jr. bumped it with his fist and they both pulled back with fingers wiggling, making explosion noises. That had been their special handshake since Jr.'s first day of preschool and no matter how many times Nuri had tried to get in on the routine, she had always been met with the same response. "No Girls Allowed".
Shaking her head at the two guys, she reached down and put a hand on her son's shoulder.
"Hey! You'll be with him all weekend. I won't see you until Sunday night. Since I can't get in on the handshake, the least your lil butt can do is give me love!" The straight face she had been fighting to keep control over was soon covered in a broad smile as her son turned and gave her the biggest, tightest hug he had in him.
"I love you, ma" He declared into her shoulder.
"I love you too, Quae-J" Nuri called her son by her personal nickname for him as he pulled back and got a good look at her son's face. She really did miss him on the weekends that he was gone with his dad, no matter how junkie his ass was once he got back home. Nuriyah gave him a kiss on the forehead and ordered "You be good for your dad, and don't talk him into any more scary movies. I'm still mad at the last time. I didn't get sleep for almost a week fooling with you and that Chainsaw killer." This caused the whole family, or whatever they were, to giggle as Quae and Jr. made moves to leave.
At the same time that Aquae reached for the door, Nuriyah grabbed for the handle as well. Their hands met momentarily before both parents pulled away, but not before feeling it…the IT that neither could describe but felt anytime they were in the same room as one another. Nuri hid her face bashfully as Aquae smiled down at their son who had watched the encounter occur. He broke the silence with "Dad, I'm hungry".
"Welp, I guess that's our cue to go" Quae announced as he and his namesake exited the condo.
"See you guys later!" Nuri waved as her son and his father made their way to the car. "Bye, Ma!" Jr waved. "Have fun on your date!" Aquae called, flashing her one more of his epic smiles before getting into his car and started.
After watching them drive off, Nuriyah closed the door, leaning her back against it. "What the hell was THAT, Nuri?" She asked herself. Knowing that she had no answer, she exhaled deeply and headed up to her room to prepare for her date.
Roger. Hell, he's just as boring as his name. And he's rude as hell! Look at him, picking as his teeth. That shit is gross. Nuriyah thought as she twirled her food around with her fork.
"What's wrong, you don't like it?" Roger's concerned expression almost made Nuriyah feel bad for contemplating doing bodily hard to him mere seconds earlier.
"No. Actually, it's great. I just don't have much of an appetite." Or at least that's what she said. What she was THINKING was "I couldn't eat if I wanted to with you smacking and sloshing and chewing with your mouth all open. You would probably be able to hear my stomach grumbling if you weren't slurping on this shit like a fucking 3 year old. Jr. has better table manners than your rude, inconsiderate ass." Nuriyah grinned painfully as the voice in her head ranted on. She did her best to hide her utter disgust as she took a bite of the food and nodded in her date's direction.
If he noticed that anything was off, he was definitely wonderful at hiding it because Roger continued on, "Well I'm glad you like it. I got the recipe from my mom". Beaming proudly, he took another large bite that resulted in some of his food from his mouth back onto his plate. Nuriyah turned her mouth down in disgust, feeling her already empty stomach threaten to hollow completely. "Oh really?" Was the only answer she could come up with, willing herself to keep her eyes off of the pig across the table from her.
"Mhm. She cooks for me just about every night." AWHHH Hell. A mama's boy. She should've known he was off.
"You see your mom every day? Like visit her? Is she sick or something?" She tried to hide any signs of judgment in her voice, but from the defensive stance he immediately adopted, broadening his shoulder and inhaling deeply, she could tell that it had definitely still been in her tone.
"No..No I don't" Nuriyah gave a sigh of relief, before he continued on. At least he wasn't still living at home with his mom.
"I don't visit her daily because…Me and my mom…well..my mom and I… we live together." His declaration caused her to nearly choke on her wine. She had spoken too soon.
"You live with yo' mama?!" She exclaimed before she could stop herself. Oh, helllllll no. "Uhh..YES. What's wrong with that?! It saves on the rent and I get a home cooked meal every night." This man was really defending the fact that he was 30 years old and living with his mother.
"But what about privacy? What about having a place of your own? Is…is that why you wanted to cook here? Because your mom's at home?" Yeah, Nuri was probably overstepping all types of first date boundaries but she didn't even care at the moment
"You should be glad somebody's willing to date you. You're a woman who is an officer of the law! And you have a son. And don't think none of us remember the freak you used to be.
"EX-FUCKING-CUSE ME?!" No. She had to be hearing things. He did NOT just bring up her past, insult her job AND her son in the same breath."
"Get the fuck out of my house" She stated calmly, stroking the handle of the steak knife that was sitting on the napkin beside her plate. "Look Nuriyah, all I'm saying is that you should be more open. So what, I stay with my moms. I'll be good to you and I could be a good father for you kid..I'm sure he needs male atten…." His monologue was halted by Nuriyah's steak knife being pierced into the wooden table between two of Roger's fingers of his hand that lay flat beside his glass of tea.
"Maybe I wasn't clear the first time. Get the FUCK out of my house before I unload a round on your punk ass!" Nuriyah spewed. The NERVE of this dude. How dare he think he was doing her a favor. He was the boring jackass that still lived with his poor mama who was more than likely tired of washing his stankin ass draws on the daily. She glared at him through the slits that were her ass, as he gathered his things and grumbled "Man..the boys were right. Your ass is crazy." Without so much as a "Thanks For Not Killing Me", Roger exited stage left and all but sprinted to his car.
"THANK YA JESUS!" Nuri exclaimed, grabbing the whole bottle of wine from her kitchen table and heading to the living room to watch Martin reruns.
Nuriyah took a seat on the couch, tucking her feet under her body tightly as she waited for the voice on the other end of the phone. "Shouldn't you be on your date?" questioned a curious Aquae. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…I just forgot to tell you that Jr. left his inhaler here so you guys should probably swing by before soccer practice tomorrow to get it…" Nuriyah began. That probably should've been the end of the conversation, but she felt compelled to continue. "Plus, he was boring…and an asshole. He chewed with his mouth open…and lives with his mom. And was boring. Really boring. A really, really, boring asshole". She had every intention of carrying on, but Aquae cut her short with a hearty chuckle. "OKAY, Nuri. I get it." She could hear his smile through the receiver.
"I really don't understand why you keep putting yourself through this, Nuri. Especially with THESE dudes," Quae began his usually sermon after a few moments of silence.
"Because how am I going to find the man of my dreams to sweep me up and dick me down if I'm not looking? I gotta be open, Quae!" She argued, laughing at how honest the two of them could be with one another despite the romantic past that they shared.
"What if he's out there already? What if you're looking for the wrong thing? Looking past the right one?" He asked thoughtfully.
"If he's the one for me, he won't just let me keep looking past him." Nuriyah's retort must have struck a nerve with her son's father, because he cleared suddenly and she felt the air on the phone go still. She knew that whatever she had said had struck a nerve with Aquae. Nuriyah sighed heavily at the change that had taken place on the phone in mere seconds.
"Where's Jr.?" Was the only thing she could think to ask him.
"He went to bed a little over an hour ago. I think that's where I'm headed, too". That was meant to be her clue that the conversation was over. Nuriyah sighed in resignation.
"Well..have a good night" She tried not to sound as defeated as she felt. She hadn't meant to do whatever it is she did that had obviously been the wrong thing to do.
"I will." He replied. "And Nuri" he called right before hanging up the phone. "Hmm?"
"Just…keep your eyes open. Okay?" She had no idea what that meant
"Nuriyah, what the HECK are we watching?" Ameena asks, staring at the tv with an expression that was somewhere on the spectrum between disgust and utter amusement.
"BAPS!" Yelled Nuri from the kitchen, matter-of-factly. "BAPS?" Ameena's eyes were still glued to the tv. "What is…Is that Halle Berry with that blonde prom hair?"
Nuri appeared in the threshold between the kitchen and living room. "Yeah…BAPS. You know..BAPS? Halle berry's best movie TO DATE?"
"NO. I don't know this movie, but judging from what I'm seeing now, there are plenty of movies better than THIS one starring Halle Berry" Meena argued. "Like what?" came Nuri's challenge. "Like Catwoman, the X-Men series, Losing Isaiah, Jungle Fever, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Boomerang –that's my personal favorite-, or Monster's Balls…you know, the one she won an ACADEMY AWARD FOR?!" Ameena finished with a smug expression meant to shut down the argument once and for all.
"I can't believe we grew up in the same household sometimes, Ameena. Wine?" She asks, before heading back into the kitchen to grab some snacks and drinks.
"No thanks" Meena answered, causing her sister to pause mid-stride and come back to the couch. Finally looking up from the spectacle that was Nuri's television, the unreadable expression on her younger's sister face caught her off guard. "What?" Nuri's accusing eyes bore into her more, causing her to look around, making sure she hand't missed something.
Nuri's eyes narrowed. Why was her sister acting so clueless? They knew each other, and they were the two sister who got together often and had wine. The only reason Ameen would turn down a glass was if…
"Are you pregnant, Meena?" Nuri interrogated, sensing she was on to something when she saw her sister's breath hitch.
"NO! I mean..no…maybe…probably not." Ameena fumbled before finally resolving to tell the honest to God truth. "I don't know, Nuri." Seeing how distressed her sister was caused Nuriyah's features to soften a bit. "What do you mean you don't know? You haven't taken a test?" Nuri asked like it was the easiest thing in the world. "It's not that simple, Nuriyah". But to Nuri it was and she told her as much. She was met with pretty adamant opposition on Ameena's end though.
"But what if it's positive and ends up like last time?" Her sister asked, avoiding her gaze. Last time? What did she mean last time…She had never been preg…
"Last time? Meena..you..?" Nuriyah couldn't even bring herself to speak the words. "When?" She hadn't realized that she had said it aloud until her sister answered next.
"A little less than a year ago. I was about 3 months in. One day we heard a heartbeat and the next week we couldn't. It happened that quick. That's the day Jay and I decided to stop trying." Her voice was level and her demeanor unshaken, but the hurt couldn't be hidden from her eyes. Nuriyah scooted over from her spot on the couch and grabbed onto her sister's hand. "Nuri, you have to promise not to tell anybody about the last time…or this one. Please. Nobody knows, not even Zore." Ameenah pleaded. "I won't tell a soul, Sis. Promise" And Nuriyah meant it. Ameena had always been the one who took up for Nuri and protected her. She was the smart one, the one who had encouraged Nuri to put all her drive and bossiness towards something constructive. She'd convinced Nuri to become an officer. The two sisters sat in comfortable silence until Ameena finally spoke.
"So how was your date?"
"Girl..awful. He was 2 words and a half-inch from losing his fucking hand, Meena. He was boring and sloppy and still lived with his mama! And had the nerve to say he was doing me a favor. I should've listened to Quae!" Nuri ranted.
"Oh reallyyyy?" Ameena eyed her younger sister carefully, unable to hide the smirk that was tugging at her lips. "What's that supposed to mean, Meena" Nuri pulled away from her sister's embrace to find her peering at her smugly. "It means that 'Oh really? You're taking dating advice from Quae, now? The man who wants you so bad, he can taste you at night?" Ameena teased.
Nuriyah scoffed at her sister and her idea that she and Quae had any connection other than co-parenting Jr. Of course, she would always have a special place in her heart for him, but they could never go back to being involved romantically. They were both firecrackers who were bound to cause an explosion with one another. "Meena, hang it up. There's nothing there. Quae and I ended a LONG time ago, and it was for the best. I just can't see us being together" She finished.
"Well you may not see the two of you together NOW, but just keep your eyes open," Nuriyah inhaled sharply before picking up her glass of wine and downing it. It was the second time in 24 hours that she had been told to keep her eyes open. If only she knew what she looking for…
