Page 132 of Buy Back My Love

“Then quit looking at me like that.”

He laughed. “Come on before these people find something else for us to do.”

I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. Van followed me outside, still laughing, and we made it halfway across the parking lot before I realized I was still holding his hand. I looked down at our hands, then over at him, but neither one of us let go.

JB

By Christmas Eve, Hannah had barely said more than ten words to me in three days. I couldn’t even blame all of it on pregnancy hormones. She had been acting like that ever since I told her Lee was pregnant.

I knew she wasn’t gon’ take the news well, but it wasn’t like I could keep it from her. Lee was having my baby. Hannah was gonna find out eventually, and I figured hearing it from me was better than hearing it somewhere else.

We argued, Hannah cried, I got pissed off, she got more pissed off because I was pissed off, and by the end of it she had told me she was done with House of Hannah. Said once our daughter Jaliyah got here, she wanted to stay home with the kids anyway and didn’t feel like dealing with the shop no more.

Then she hit me with, “Give it back to Lee. That’s who you wanted in there anyway.”

She meant it to be smart. I thought it made sense. Lee had been working out of that little spot in the back of somebody’s barbershop. She was doing good from what I could tell, but Love-Lee had been hers before all this shit happened. The building and equipment were still there, and her old clients knew where it was.

If Hannah didn’t want it and Lee needed it, then problem solved.

At least, that’s how I saw it.

Hannah clearly didn’t agree, because she hadn’t had much to say to me since. If it wasn’t about JJ or something she needed for the baby, she barely opened her mouth.

That morning, I walked into the kitchen and found her standing at the counter fixing JJ a plate. He was sitting at the table in Christmas pajamas watching something on his tablet while eating cereal like she wasn’t already making him real food.

“You want me to take him with me for a little while?” I asked.

Hannah didn’t look up. “Where you going?”

“Out.”

That got me a look.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

I opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. “You been saying nothing for three damn days.”

“And you still here.”

I looked at her as she slid some fruit onto JJ’s plate. I could already feel another argument coming, and I wasn’t doing this shit today.

“You need anything while I’m out?” I asked.

Hannah kept her attention on JJ’s plate. “No.”

“You sure?”

She finally looked at me. “Yes, JB.”

“Aight.”

I kissed JJ on the top of his head, grabbed my keys, and headed for the door.

“Tell Lee Merry Christmas for me.”

I stopped with my hand on the door and looked back. Hannah still had her back to me.