Howell

[|“Baby Mama”]    “Mj get your behind in this house I aint calling you in anymore” Candice was getting agitated, it was her second time calling Mj in. Mj came in looking like he had just lost war, and smelling all musty. She looked down at her son who was to short for his age, and noticed that he was starting to look and act like his daddy and shook her head. “Mj your dinner is on the table, you need to eat and then go wash your little dirty behind.” Candice then walked to her room thinking to herself, boy coming up in here smelling up my house.

Mj didn’t understand why his mother and father wasn’t together, but after all what 8 year old would. It was Thursday evening around 6:30 Candice knew that this coming up weekend was Marcus’s turn to keep Mj, after all he only see’s him every other weekend …courts order. Candice was just worried that Marcus had “forgot”, and she would have to come up with some half wit lie to cover Marcus’s behind.

Candice sat on her zebra print comforter and as she was about to pick up the phone and call Marcus it rung. Before Candice could say hello Marcus ol’ black tale was yelling in her ear, “HELLO, HELLO CANDICE I KNOW YOU HEAR ME.” Candice took a deep breath and in the most loving voice she answered with “yes Marcus what do you want?” in a harsh hateful tone he tell her “ I can’t come get Mj this weekend I’m going to Vegas.” She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that Marcus hadn’t been able to come get Mj for the past four times that was his weekend, and that he never had money when it was time for him to pay child support, but when his buddies wanted to go out he all of a sudden had big bucks. “Alright Marcus, maybe next time” that’s all she could really say without getting pissed.

“Mj it’s time for bed” she yelled down the hall to her son that was engaged in video games. As Candice put her little nappy headed rascal in bed she realized that he was all she had in south side Jamaica Queens. Candice kissed her baby boy on his small but fat brown cheeks. As she was about to walk out and close his room door she hears, “Dear, god I know that my dad is very busy and probably want come to get me but please make him come this one time please.” Tears slowly begin to fall from her eyes because the truth was he wasn’t going to come this time or next time, all she wanted was to give him everything he needed.

Knock, Knock “ Candice girl come to da door.” Candice could tell it was Janet by that project slang she talked. “I’m coming damn hold on” by the time she got to the door Janet had almost knocked it in. In a joke like manner she tells Janet “girl you can’t be banging on my boor like the police, had me scared.” Janet just rolled her eyes as if everything her best friend just told her made no sense at all. Janet goes all through the house as if she looking for something. “ What took you so long to come to the door anyways?” Janet asked while in the bathroom playing in Candice “Saturday night” make-up that hadn’t been used in a month of Sundays. “Oh nothing the usual making Mj bed and washing clothes.” Candice wondered why it mattered? She offered Janet some sweet tea while she was standing in the kitchen. “Why you drink sweet tea this aint the south” Candice just ignores Janet because they go through the same thing every week and plus everybody in the hood know that Candice was from the south. They also knew that she left all her family and a higher education for Marcus, her sorry baby daddy.

Candice patiently waited for Janet to really say why she came over, she didn’t have nothing but time after all Mj was at the project park with the bebe kids of the projects. Finally Janet broke the silence, “girl I went to the mailbox cause my child support comes today, I opened it and it was only a hundred dollars.” Janet’s light skinned freckled face seemed to be turning a hot red, and Candice could tell that Janet was livid. Even though she and Janet was basically going through the same thing Janet still had it easier. Candice hadn’t seen a damn child support check in the mail in months it almost seemed like years. Janet got one every month for her daughter Zana. Candice knew that Janet’s baby daddy James was just as sorry as Marcus, but at least James could put a good front. She really wanted Janet to stop complaining about everything, after all Janet’s mother only lived three blocks away from the projects, she paid all of Janet’s bills; Janet had never worked a day in her life. On the other hand Candice had a sorry baby daddy, her mama lived in the south and she had to work two jobs just to make ends meet.

“Mommy I don’t want to go to daycare, I’m to old for that.” Candice was already frustrated because she was late for work and Mj could tell. “Well Mj what am I suppose to do with you, I can’t leave you here by yourself and I don’t trust any of these folk out here.” Mj looked at his mother like she had just crushed all his hopes and dreams. Candice got to work 25 minutes late, when she arrived her light brown sun kissed face was just as red as ever. “Candice this is your third time this week being late.” Yelled Mr. Green across the break room, her eyes grew big, she started breathing so heard that she could hear heart beating through her ears. Candice managed to say “I’m sorry Mr. Green it want happen again.”

Candice rolled over and looked at her clock, she grunted because it was only 6:30 am and she couldn’t sleep. Just as she was about to roll back over, her phone vibrates her eyes turn glassy. “Hello?” she kind of asked hoping they had dialed the wrong number. “Yes is this Candice Moore?” Candice inhaled, and looked across the room and down the hall to make sure Mj hadn’t woken up yet. “Yea it’s me mama” on the other end of the phone it sounded as if her mama had taken a sigh of relief, and then all hell broke loose. “Well damn Candice you don’t have to call nobody and tell em’ you living. How my grandson doing that I aint never seen, you could send pictures.” Candice played with the covers and said “ I know mama I just been busy and Mj doing fine.” Her answers never seemed to be enough for her. “Whatever Candice you always got an excuse aint nobody tell you to run to Queens and have no baby by the first boy to wink at you.” By now Candice was highly agitated and just wanted to get the phone call over with, “Mama what do you need? I got things to do around the house.” Candice patiently waited for her mother to reply hoping she had gotten the clue. “ Candice you don’t have to be snappy with me. Child you need to bring your light brown narrow behind home and go back to school, the family can watch Mj for you, and Birmingham has plenty of schools for you and Mj.” Candice knew her mother was right. “Mama I hear you, but I can’t afford to be moving.” After she said that she knew her mama would have an answer “ I know that Candice, aint nobody say anything about no dang money, just think about it…y’all will always have a place here in Alabama.” Tears started to roll down her pretty acne free skin. “Thanks mama I’ll think bout it.”

` Candice laid back down, she thought about the day that she had packed up and left home, she had just turned 18 and had been accepted to 4 colleges. As she drifted back off to sleep, she wondered if she really wanted to go back to Birmingham, Alabama. It would be nice to be bill free, to be able to go back to school, cause man it was hard out there in them projects.

Mj awoke at 1:30pm to boxes and a house that was half way empty. “Mama what’s happening yo?” Candice looked up from the box that she was currently packing, she sighed “we moving I’m finally getting you out of these projects. Now go pack” Mj smacked his lips and went to his room. Candice had been packing all night long. By 9:30 she had called all her so called friends and even Marcus and told em’ she was leaving first thing in the morning.

“Wake up Mj” Candice felt guilty that she was waking him up so early but shoot it was now or never. Candice had loaded her 1991 Honda, prayed and whispered to herself. “ I don’t know where we headed I just hope its home.”