Chapter 6: AVERIE - A Street King's Widow

The sound of feet running through my house had become my favorite alarm clock. Before I could even stretch good, Kaiden burst through my bedroom door with Khari right behind him.

“Mama!”

I groaned and reached for my phone on the nightstand. It was only eight twenty-two.

“It ain’t even nine yet,” I moaned.

Kaiden ignored me and climbed in the bed anyway.

“Ms. Kyenna said she was going to make breakfast for us,” Khari said.

“How do you know that?” I peeked from under my cover to look at her.

“She texted Kaiden,” Khari said.

I was still on the fence about sharing my kids with her. No, she never gave me a reason not to trust her with them. Khari loved her. It was just me being a little protective. They were all I had left of Rah. It was now my responsibility to protect them. The last few weeks had been hard for all of us. My son tried his best to be the strong big brother, but I caught him crying in the shower twice. Khari didn’t understand death the way we did.

“Alright,” I finally said. “Both of y’all go brush your teeth and wash your face. We’ll leave in an hour.”

Saturday mornings used to be my day. Rah would’ve picked the kids up from school on Thursday, and I wouldn’t see them until Sunday night. It didn’t matter what we were going through; he got his kids. All three of them. I sat on the side of my bed thinking about what I was going to get into while they were gone. I had finally decided to go back to work next week. I just needed the time to grieve and make sure my kids were okay. Getting up from the bed, I headed to my bathroom to get myself cleaned up. Afterwards, I headed to the laundry room to grab Khari’s favorite pajamas that I had just washed.

At an hour exactly, my kids were waiting for me in the living room. Originally, I was going to have Shameek come and pick them up. I think it was time for me to face going to that house if my kids were going to be there. Kaiden grabbed both of their bags as we headed out the door. As we drove over, I prepped myself to face Kyenna. We hadn’t talked at all. Besides the slick comments after Rah died. He made sure we never got close to Kyenna. I never understood why he was so protective of her and not us. Maybe it was just my broken heart overthinking.

“Can y’all please be on your best behavior?” I asked, as the gate opened for us.

“Yes ma’am,” Khari said.

“Kaiden…”

“Mama, I am not about to be disrespectful. I know better. I just want to be close to my daddy.”

Before I could fully park, Khari was pulling at the door handle.

“Girl, slow down.”

One of the security guards opened the door for us. I stood there just looking at the house. The last time I was here, I had got the news that Rah was dead. Just standing here, taking it all in. All the years we spent together trying to get it right and none of this was mine. Khari walked up and grabbed my hand, knocking me out of my trance. As we approached the door, it popped open. Kyenna appeared in the door smiling, as Khari ran up and hugged her.

“Hey, Kaiden,” Kyenna said.

“Hey,” he replied, stepping inside the house.

For just a second, Kyenna and I stood there. Like we were waiting for each other to say something first.

“You can come in. I know this is a big adjustment for all of us,” Kyenna said.

She turned around and walked in the house, leaving me standing there. I took a deep breath and walked in, closing the door behind me. My kids were nowhere in sight. I’m sure they had gone up to their rooms and forgotten all about telling me bye. This was my second time in the home, but I did remember where the kitchen was. Like she promised them, she was cooking breakfast. Now, I knew Mr. King and them had chefs. Why was she standing in the kitchen cutting up fruit when she could have just snapped her fingers and had someone else do it?

“Look, I’m not your enemy,” Kyenna said, handing me a mimosa. “And no, there is nothing in it. Had you been Raya, maybe.”

We laughed before it got quiet again.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“No, I do. I wasn’t expecting you to still want to have a bond with my kids. That speaks a lot about your character.”

“One thing about me, Averie. I love those kids. Now Kaiden and I still have some work to do, but we will get there. I will never not be there for them. This is just as much their home now as it was when Rah was alive. If they want to come get in the pool after school, they can. Whatever they want to do.”

“What about if you’re running the Flush?”

“When it comes to the kids, I’ll make it work.”

Finally, I was able to take a sip of my mimosa. This was our first real conversation, and I had so many questions.

“Averie, get it off your chest. I can feel you staring a hole in the back of my neck.”

“Why is this the first time we ever talked? Like, why did Rah have to die for anyone to get close to you?”

“I never told him to keep you away from me. That was his decision for whatever reason. If we’re being honest, I thought it was because y’all were still sleeping together and he didn’t want me to find out.”

“Girl, what? Hell no! I’m not that girl. Once a man tells me he’s gone, I’m done.”

“The only woman I ever told him to keep away from me was Raya, and as a woman, I would think you would understand why. I never had anything against you. Now, I did think you disliked me, and maybe Rah picked up on it and kept us away from each other.”

She was right about one thing. I did understand why she didn’t want to be around Raya. It was for the same reason I disliked her. She stole something from me. At least that’s how I felt. I felt like me and Rah could’ve taken on the world together.

“I completely understand how you feel. Since we are being honest, I did have some feelings towards you. No need to lie about it now. Rah is dead and never coming back.”

Kyenna leaned against the counter and ate a piece of fruit. I knew I had opened a door and now she was going to have questions that I wasn’t sure I was ready to answer.

“Can I ask why you had feelings towards me? I never did anything to you. I damn sure didn’t break your family up. I’m not that type of woman.”

“I felt like you did. Rah and I were not together but that’s what we did. We would break up and get back together. That was our thing. Then you came along, and his conversations with me changed to just about the kids. There was no more I’ll come see you, and we’ll talk to see where it goes. To me, I felt like you took my one and final chance to make it right with Rah.”

Kyenna picked up her mimosa and swallowed it down before putting her glass down. I could tell she was trying to choose her words carefully.

“I’m sorry you felt that way. From the very beginning of our relationship, he was honest with me about you. He told me all about you and how he adored you and your drive. He never spoke down on you. Rah loved you. He said the relationship had just run its course. You both tried everything. You were going in one direction and he was going in another.”

“He was continuing to be in the business of the streets with his brother and dad. I had higher dreams.”

“He paid for you to get through school both times,” Kyenna reminded me. “That was with the same money you’re standing here downing him about. The newest degree you got, he was married to me and still felt he was obligated to pay for your schooling. Me.” She pointed at herself. “I let him because I get it. I was raised up by a man that lived by the streets. You take care of your family first. Not once did I get mad, cuss that nigga out, or come at you.”

She was right again. Now that we were having this conversation, I could see exactly why he picked her. Kyenna was solid and down for the cause. She understood the dynamic of family and loyalty. I was raised that way. My mama fought for my daddy until the day he died.

“Averie, I want you to know from today on that I am not your enemy. I never was. I loved Rah so much that if he would’ve told me he wanted to be with you, I would’ve let him go and not thought twice about it. I hope now that we had this conversation and got an understanding of each other’s feelings that we can co-parent those beautiful kids together.”

Kyenna poured herself another glass of mimosa and filled mine back up.

“Now that Raya bitch, it’s always up with her,” she said.

We shared another laugh. I wasn’t fond of her either, and I didn’t want her around my kids at all without me around now that Rah was dead.

“To co-parenting,” I told her, raising my glass.

“To co-parenting.”

The doorbell went off, and Kyenna excused herself to answer it. She came walking back with Shameek behind her.

“Now this…this is what my brother would’ve wanted to see.”

“We’re good,” I told him.

“I came to get Kaiden for a little while so the girls could go get pampered.”

“They got to eat breakfast first and then we can go. Y’all both might as well stay and eat. I’m sure the kids would love to see us all sitting together,” Kyenna said.

Shameek looked at me and I looked at him.

“Sis, you cooked?” he asked her.

“I did. Why are you saying it like that?” Kyenna said.

“It’s just that you didn’t have to. You could’ve called your chef.”

“Rah is not here anymore. It’s just me. I’m not calling a chef to cook some pancakes and sausages. Let alone cut some fruit up. Now are you going to stay and eat or what?”

“Hell yeah, it’s a free meal,” he said.

“I can’t stay. I have an appointment that I can’t miss,” I told them. “Next time, though for sure.”

“Okay,” Kyenna said.

I sat my glass down and walked out the door without telling the kids bye. We had just made amends, but Shameek triggered me all over again. The family was closer to her than they were with me. Shameek and I were always cool; it was nothing like what she received. It was going to take me some time and before I let another woman see envy in my eyes, I’ll remove myself. I drove myself back home and got in bed. See, my life revolved around my children and work. Since Rah, there hadn’t been another man. No one could compare to him even if they tried. Rah had been dead for two weeks and I still couldn’t get our last conversation out of my head. I spent days in a trance thinking about him.

“Averie, you gotta chill foreal. I told you I fucked up cheatin’ on my wife wit’ Raya. I’ll never do that shit again. Why can’t you get out and go date or some shit? Every time I come to get the kids, you be on my dick. We be doin’ good and then you have a brain lapse or some shit.”

I hated when he rejected me. It only made me hate Kyenna more because what the fuck was it? Besides her loyalty. She was pretty and so was I. There was no way her pussy was that good because the bitch hadn't had any of Rah’s kids. My mama said as long as a nigga lay with you, you got a chance. I guess that’s why she kept fighting all the women off my daddy. That trick didn’t work for me. My ringing phone annoyed me for some reason. When my kids were home, I kept it on do not disturb.

“Hello.”

“What are you doing, girl? Want to go to the bar and have a drink?” my mama asked.

“Mama, I’m not really up for going out.”

“Averie, how do you ever expect to find another man? Rah is never coming back. Hell, when he was alive, he did not want you.”

“Really, Mama?”

“Baby, it’s not to hurt your feelings. I just need you to wake up and live in reality. You’ve waited on that man until his death. It’s time to live again, baby.”

“Give me a few hours, and I’ll swing by and get you. And mama, please refrain from getting too intoxicated. I’m not in the mood for you and all your male friends surrounding us at the bar.”

“Girl, get out that bed and get dressed.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours.”

My mama had me at sixteen years old. We grew up more like sisters than mother and daughter. Sometimes I enjoyed it because she could relate to me. Other times, I hated it. She would sleep with men my age and it was disgusting. We could never go out and she wasn’t showing so much skin that I made sure to keep something to go across her legs when we went out. You would look at me and wonder how she raised such a wholesome woman. I did it on my own. The only thing I took from her was begging a man to stay with me that didn’t want me.

Hours later, I pulled up in my mama’s driveway and she walked out with shorts so tight that they split her pussy lips. At fifty, she was fine. As her daughter, I just wanted her to dress her age just a little bit. She could still be in fashion without catching a yeast infection in the process.

“What do you have on?” she asked.

“What’s wrong with what I have on?” I asked her.

“We’re going to a bar, Averie. Why are you wearing jeans and a crop top?”

“Because I’m dressed appropriately and comfortably. Why are you dressed in those tight shorts splitting you like the Red Sea?”

“Oh, girl, please.”

We arrived at District 12. This was our favorite spot. It had some of the best wings and truffle fries. We’re not even going to get on the drinks and DJ. By the time I paid valet and we got in line, my mama was already finessing our way to the front of the line. Being her daughter came with its benefits and this was one of them. Instead of waiting in line, we walked in with one of the nightshift bartenders. The bass shook the walls as we walked in. The smell of hookah was loud but not louder than the cleanliness of the building. The TVs were lined up around the building, showing everything from sports, reality TV, to news. Women stood around the high-top tables taking pictures and dancing.

“Can we get four double shots of Tequila,” my mama said before her ass hit the seat.

“Who is that for?”

“Us.”

“I’m only taking one shot and I’m getting some food before I start drinking.”

“On the house,” the bartender said.

“No, you can start a tab.”

“The boss said so. He’s showing love to Mr. King’s baby mama.”

“Well, tell Q we said thank you,” my mama said.

“I don’t need Q thinking anything because he’s giving us free drinks.”

“Girl, shut up and drink. I swear you would think you was raised up on the east side of town with the rich people. Stop acting green and take what the nigga giving.”

Q, whose real name was Quincey, was a nigga that flirted every time I came in here. Even if it was to pick up food. I never saw him as anything but the owner of District 12. My mind was always on Rah even when his wasn’t on me.

“Q said anything y’all want tonight is on him. Food, drinks, and hookah.”

“Shit, bring me a hookah,” my mama said.

The bartender slid me a napkin, and it had Q’s number on it.

Niggas always wanted something for the bare minimum. I could buy my own drinks, food, and hookah.

“From one boss to another,” my mama said. “A new dick to get your mind off the one you ain’t had in eight years.”

I rolled my eyes and took my shot down.