11

Janet

As we drove down the highway Bethany couldn't stop smiling.

"So I'm actually seeing teeth in this smile, so I know it's a real smile." I commented as I turned the radio down.

She looked at me for a second before looking back at the road. "I feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. Plus I know where Nadia is. My mother isn't my mother, so I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse. But hey, imma say it's a blessing right now."

I chuckled as she exited the highway. We were in the north end of town, most people call it the hood.

Never bothered me none.

She took some turns before pulling into a driveway. Bethany cut the car off. "Come on."

"Oh I can come?" I asked her.

She opened the door and got out. "Yes, you can come."

I got out the car and Bethany and I walked on the porch as she knocked on the door.

"Who is it?!" A male voice yelled through the door.

"Boy stop trynna sound hard. It's Beth." Bethany responded.

The door swung open and a man stood there. "Sister!"

"Brother!" Bethany yelled back sarcastically. "Where is my daughter?"

He scrunched up his face. "How you know she even here?"

"I didn't negro, but you just told me." Bethany responded as she shot him a look. "Ralph, this is Janet. Janet this is my play brother Ralph."

I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

He took my hand and kissed me. "Ah no ma'am the pleasure is all mines."

Bethany smacked his hand away from mines. "Gay! She is G-A-Y! And I've already called dibs. So stop being so thirsty Ralph!"

He shrugged. "It was worth a try."

I chuckled at him and Bethany pushed him back. "Move back. Let me get my daughter."

We walked into the house and it was nice in the inside.

Nadia was in the kitchen eating and when she saw her mom her eyes widened. "Momma I swear I was gonna go back to grandmas, she was just having one of those days."

Bethany went over and hugged her. "Nadia, please don't do that again. You had me scared to death."

"I'm sorry Momma. It won't happen again." When they let go of the hug I looked at Nadia's face.

"What happened to your face?" I asked Nadia.

Nadia got silent and Bethany tilted her head and looked at her cheek.

"Ralph!" Bethany shouted.

Ralph practically ran into the kitchen. "Yeah?"

Bethany turned to him. "Who hit my baby?"

"Nadia, who hit you?" Ralph referred the question back to Nadia.

We all looked at Nadia who shook her head. "Uncle Ralph, she's gonna be mad."

Ralph came and stood by me and we all looked at Nadia for a second.

Finally Bethany sighed. "Dia, I need you to talk to me. Who hit you?"

Instead of Nadia answering she busted out in tears and Bethany immediately embraced her.

Ralph tapped my thigh and I looked at him. "You her lawyer right?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Thanks for even taking her case. She has the biggest heart ever. Everyone's just had a fucked up way of loving her. It's obvious that y'all have something going on, so take care of her Janet. I'd hate to have to kill you." Ralph told me.

He pointed to the counter and I saw a gun laying there. I chuckled at him. "Trust me, you won't have to worry about that."

He nodded. "Good. Cause you too cute to kill."

We finally heard Nadia say something. "It was grandma. She came home late and she just started yelling and before I knew it she had hit me. So I ran all the way here."

"At 2 am?" I questioned in disbelief.

"She got here at 3." Ralph inserted the time frame. "She was panting, not to mention her nose was bleeding and her cheek was swollen."

Bethany bent to Nadia's height. "How many times did Grandma hit you?"

"Two or three. The only reason she let up is because I pushed her back and ran." Nadia admitted.

I could see Bethany's temper shortening.

How could I blame her? Her mother had lied about her entire life and now she had put her hands on her child.

And if we are being totally honest here, this physical contact thing is the reason Tommy bled out on the bedroom floor.

Beth turned to look at me. "Can she stay?"

"Of course." I immediately agreed. "You don't have to ask me that."

Ralph spoke. "If you ask my opinion. The bitch back on that crack. I don't give a fuck what nobody say, don't nothing but that white have you tripping out at night."

We all looked at him crazily.

Bethany spoke. "Really? In front of Nadia?"

"You act like she ain't heard that shit before. Nadia baby, Grandmas on crack. Sweet crack. Ya know like that shit that took Whitney and Bobbi out." He kept going.

Bethany and I kept our glares on him.

He bucked at Bethany.

"Ain't my fault shit." He spoke.

Nadia's mouth was wide open. "Grandma does crack?"

I laughed and Bethany shot me a look that shut me right up. "My bad."

Bethany sucked her teeth. "Uh honestly baby I don't know."

"Nah don't lie to that child! Yeah grandma does crack." Ralph answered Nadia's question.

"So grandmas going to die soon? Cause grandma always tells me 'Don't do Crack. Crack is wack.' She says it'll kill me." Nadia commented.

I think she's to young to realize that Whitney Houston said the same thing.

Bethany mumbled. "I'm so fucking adopted."

I looked down at my feet so Bethany wouldn't realize I was trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, well in grandmas case crack is real wack when you got some dick to distract." That came from Ralph.

"RALPH!" Bethany and I yelled.

Ralph raised his hands in surrender. "Okay I'm done. I'm done. Matter fact let me go get some flour to batter my chicken. Actually, I can substitute crack for some flour so I'll call and ask ya momma B.T."

"That's it. That's it. Let's go. We're going." Bethany began pushing Nadia towards the door.

"Bye Uncle Ralph!" Nadia called out.

"Bye Nadia! Be better than your grandma sweetie!"  He called after her. "Bye Beth! Tell your moms I said, if she sell some of that crystal white she might meet her kryptonite."

Bethany shot him the finger and I laughed as I followed them out the door. "Bye Ralph. It was nice meeting you."

"Bye Janet. I think I should tell you too. Your mother in law is a crack addict. Call the hotline." He joked as he shut his front door before I could say anything back.

I shook my head as I went and got in the truck. For a minute Bethany just sat there before she finally put the car in reverse.

"I'm going to my mothers." I knew her mind was made up at that point.

Still I tried to object. "Bethany, I don't think we should take Nadia back there."

"Not only do I have a bone to pick with my mother, I have two now. I'm not going to be able to sleep knowing that she put her hands on my child."

I understood where she was coming from completely, but I didn't see this going well at all.

For the moment, I fell to no response, but finally I spoke after rationalizing. "If you go in there, you're going to snap Beth. I don't want you to snap right now."

Bethany looked at me before exhaling softly. "I'll stay calm, as long as you stay with me."

"Yeah, I'll go in there with you." I assured her.

"No, I mean stay with me. This case is over, and it's not like it's much reason to run from our feelings—."

"Mommy! Are you asking Ms.Janet to be your girlfriend right now? Am I witnessing history?" Nadia asked as she got excited in the backseat.

Bethany chuckled. "Yeah baby, you're witnessing history. Well that's if Ms.Janet says yes to being my girlfriend."

I looked back at Nadia. "Should I say yes Princess Nadia?"

Nadia shrugged as she smirked. "I don't know, I bet if we had some ice cream you would have a answer."

I looked at Bethany and she shot me a look. "If ice-cream is going to encourage your answer, then I guess I'll take that as a no."

"Fine." I gave in knowing she wasn't bluffing. "I would love to be your girlfriend Bethany."

She smiled as she kept her head forward. "Yep that's what I thought."

I rolled my eyes playfully as I looked back at Nadia. "It's okay, we will get your ice cream right after we leave your grandmas house."

"Well apparently that ain't her grandmother." Bethany mumbled under her breath but I heard her clearly.

I mumbled a response back as I turned the air up. "Stop being petty."

She shrugged. "It's in my DNA. I can't help it."

We pulled up in front of Bethany's mother house—. I mean adoptive moth— you know what I quit.

Bethany put the car in park and took the keys out.

She looked at Nadia. "Don't say anything to that woman Dia. I'm serious. There's nothing for y'all to talk about."

Nadia nodded in understanding. "Yes ma'am."

We all got out the car and walked to the door. Bethany went to knock but a man opened the door clearly on his way out of the home.

He saw Beth and panicked. "Bethany? Girl long time no see!"

Bethany's jaw clenched. "Jim get the hell out of my face."

She pulled the man out the door completely and rushed in. We found her mother on the couch of the living room. She looked horrible.

"What the hell?!" Bethany yelled out of aggravation. "Momma seriously? You really on that stuff again? You got the damn crack dealer in here?!"

I cover Nadia's ears on instinct and she looked up at me. "Ms.Janet, this isn't anything I haven't heard before."

Mrs.Williams shook her head as she kept rubbing her nose and shaking. "Beth I— I don't know what you talkin' on child."

Bethany grabbed a pack off the ground. "Mama please. Look at you! You feenin'."

Her mother fell to no verbal response.

"Momma did you hit my child?" Bethany asked her slowly.

Her mother looked at her then at Nadia. "You ain't nothing but a demon seed. J- Just like your father. No good! Never will be."

"Okay, no. We aren't about to do this. Don't talk to her like that!" I defended Nadia.

Bethany looked at me and then at Nadia. "Take my daughter outside Janet."

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you in here alone."

She nodded. "I understand that, but my child doesn't need to see this."

Bethany's face told me that she was about to snap. I walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "No. It's not worth it."

When I grabbed her hand she looked at me and I watched as she softened up. "You're right."

"Yeah listen to ya woman child. She knows all there is to know apparently. Ya know, I always regretted having you—."

Beth yanked her hand away from me. "Having me?! You know what!"

It happened quickly as Bethany shot up the steps and Mrs.Williams followed in pursuit.

"Nadia." I turned to her. "Please stay down here."

I followed them up the stairs and heard things slamming closed and things falling down. When I got to the room I stopped right behind Mrs.Williams, who seemed rooted where she was.

Bethany was ripping her room apart. She opened the closet and began throwing things behind her. Weather it was shoes or clothes. They were scattered everywhere.

Finally she grabbed a box and opened it.

Bethany looked at me then her mother as she held a paper up. "I saw my birth mother today Momma."

Mrs.Williams sighed. "Bethany.."

"No. It's okay." Bethany didn't let her mother get much out. "It's fine. You've lied to me my whole life. How could I even expect you to watch my child? That was dumb on my part."

She grabbed the entire box and stood in front of me. I moved to the side and she walked down the steps.

I followed her and I grabbed Nadia's hand on the way out.

"I was going to tell you Bethany!" Her mother yelled from the porch. "It's a lot you don't know baby. It's a lot you won't understand. I had to do it!"

Beth got in the passenger seat, and I shut her and Nadia's doors before getting into the drivers seat.

Instead of asking on our destination, I drove home. The looks in Beth's eyes told me that she was tired.

Physically? Maybe.

But all I saw behind those eyes of hers were emotions that had yet to be let out.

- Unedited