Page 23 of When I Thug You Like That

“Kid-free? Who got my baby?”

“Girl, my parents stopped by earlier to see us. You know my mother thinks I can’t cook worth a damn, so she meal prepped for me and Chuston for next week.”

“Oh, okay. Love that for y’all. She must’ve smelled the Chick-fiL-A, Pizza Hut, and Chinese food y’all had this week all the way in Jersey.” I snickered.

“Girl, fuck you.” She chuckled. “You gotta see how neatly she labeled and packed the stuff, Jai. I’m talkin’ pre-seasoned meat and all.”

“And you know you need all the help you can get ‘cause you have a bunch of skills, but none of them are set in that kitchen, pooh.”

“See, I ain’t been on this phone five minutes, and I’m already ‘bout to hang up.”

“You called me,” I reminded her, laughing.

“Oh, right. Anyway, they came over and hung out for a little bit, then my dad told Chuston to pack a bag because he was spending the weekend with them. Told me before I fixed my mouth to object, I could forget about it ‘cause he was going.”

“Awww, that’s nice, T.”

Taina was close to her parents, but with nighttime routines being unpredictable with Chuston over the last year, she’d decided to put overnight stays on hold temporarily. I didn’t agree and neither did her parents, but we didn’t question what she felt was right at the time.

“It didn’t take much convincing this time. I was tossing clothes, snacks, and whatever else he needed to be comfortable in his bag. Chuston was looking at me like I had lost my mind.”

I cracked up laughing. “I hope he got stuff that match in his bag.”

“Hell if I know. Whatever he don’t have, I don’t mind droppin’ off. It’ll be drive by style though.”

“Bitch, you stupid.”

“But back to the reason for my call, other than making sure you left your second home. I wanna go out tonight.”

“Taina.” I sighed, pulling onto my street. “You know today was my long day at the school. Then, I spent the last half hour negotiating with a seven-year-old like we were deciding who gets what asset in the divorce. I’m exhausted. You still gon’ be kid-free tomorrow night?”

“Jaiiii, come on now. You know it’s been forever since I’ve been out. I wanna get cute, have some drinks, and eat some food that doesn’t feature a kids’ menu. You gotta come through for your best bitch in the whole wide world.”

The kids’ menu part made me laugh, but I heard what she was saying. Taina never complained about motherhood. She showed up tired, overworked, and on some days, overwhelmed but still managed to give 100%. However, being a mother wasn’t her identity. Before she had the title, she was my best friend, and if she was telling me she needed me for a few hours just to be Taina, I wasn’t about to make her beg for my time.

“Where you wanna go?” I asked, driving into the private underground garage of my building and parking in my assigned spot.

“Okay, so my coworker told me about this distillery she stumbled on. She was there last Friday and said it was a vibe. Real grown and sexy. She said the wine was a ten, they have light bites, and I believe Fridays are their R&B nights. That’s right up your alley too ‘cause you know you love you some R&B. Oh, oh, anddd she said the niggas be in there too. Just thought I’d throw that last part out there.”

“I don’t know what for.” I laughed.

“Ahhh, hell, you still fake gay, Jai’ana?” she asked, sounding disappointed. “I hope you ain’t start talkin’ back to the backpacker.”

“Bitch, I ain’t going nowhere witchu.”

“Okay, I take that back. If you still have the urge to be bean to bean, I ain’t judging you.”

“Girl, shut up.” I chuckled. “And I ain’t back talkin’ to Morgan’s ass either. She did text me today. I’ll tell you ‘bout that later though. What time you want me to meet you? And I’m spending the night at your place. I don’t feel like driving.”

“You only not driving ‘cause you’re a lush.” She giggled. “Can you be here by ten?”

“Absolutely not. That’s too much time in between for me to get comfortable once I get in the house. I been done took a bath, had two glasses of wine, and went to sleep.”

Turning off my engine, I stepped out of the car and headed for the elevator.

“Alright, nine then.”

“Nine-thirty.”