The Baker And The Queen Pin

02.) My Ex-wife/ My Property

~~~Booker

I sit in the seat, uncomfortable with her being in the store, knowing what she did last time, knowing the scene she tried to make last time. She said she was going to be by herself but her fiancé was sitting on the other side of the café on her phone. "You said we were supposed to be by ourselves,' I said to her. She smiles as she says, 'This is something for our kids more than anything,'

'I want you to sign this paper and we won't ever have to communicate again,' I look at the paper and I see that it's a custody agreement. "You want me to give you full custody?" I say to her. She doesn't smile, instead, she says, 'We can arrange for good visiting,' I feel my anger rising then I remember how she almost had the kids taken away from me forever. "I'm not signing this. If this is what you wanted to talk to me about, then you wasted your time," She smiles as she says, 'I didn't waste my time. I'm giving you an option,'

"An option?" I say with my eyebrow raised. 'Your bakery is failing. Everything that you're doing is putting our children in danger,' I then say to her, "My bakery isn't failing. We've been doing pretty good in terms of sales. The only reason I was having trouble before is that you destroyed the front entrance to my bakery,' She smiles and says, 'As you can see the court denied the proof and nor did they believe a woman beater,' She was so good at playing the system, abusing it for her benefit while others suffered.

I then said to her, "I never laid my hands on you nor did I want this to be a problem. I just wanted you to give me a fair visitation for my children. Now you want to take them from me," I say. Her eyes looked semi-uncaring but for a moment there, I saw emotions. She then says, 'I'll give you a few days to think about it' as she slides the papers over. I could only imagine Junior is acting more resilient,' she says with a smile. "He's only acting this way because of something you said to him. He never started complaining and he is a genuinely sweet kid. Why would my son have a problem with me?" I say to her in an accusatory tone.

It's then that her fiancé steps in, I really had no problem with her but I felt like she was trying to overstep her boundaries and maintain the peace. I would honestly like her to, but I know what type of woman she is. Anyone who is willing to sleep with another man's wife really has no grounds to stand on. 'Do you have a problem with two women raising your children?' My ex-wife asks me. I then said, "No but you did sleep with another woman in my own bed. Felicia, what did you want?" Her fiancé was a butch white girl and she was nice, but I could tell she didn't know too much about my ex-wife and what she believes is that I'm some kind of woman-beater though now I hope she understands that I have no problems with her. I had a problem with how she met her.

Cheating is never justified to me, but I guess this is how it has to be. I accepted that a long time ago. It's then her new fiancé steps in and says, 'I understand it can be daunting, but I think it's more stable if we take full custody. We'll still agree to whenever you want to see your children and as per usual, they'll remain in the city,' I nod as I pick the paper up and I walk quietly to the trash can. I turn to them both and say, "I'm not giving my children up. If you want to make it a fight, you can. I think it's best that you leave though," I say, looking at both of them. She stood up and then said, 'You know Mr. Johnson, we don't have to do this.'

I turn back and say, "Well Ms. Evans," referencing her last name, "I don't care. I just want my kids and I want to be left alone. We have custody down 50-50 and yet somehow, you still want more from me. I've given my last and I've had to pay alimony even though I've been a supportive father, you've taken everything from me. I will not let you take my children," She then smiles as she says, 'Do you even have the money to support your children? Do you even have the money to support your shop?' she says with a smile.

"That's not your concern, you should be leaving," I open the door and have them leave. The store wasn't open today and I found myself, walking to the back. I look at the mirror and a tear rolls down my eye. I grip the sink so tightly and I think about all the years I wasted with this woman, all the years I gave for these two children and I wouldn't trade them for anything because I love them yet now I find myself, losing money. I'm only able to keep the store and my children afloat.

I wanted my children to have so much more, I want them to see how beautiful some of the world is and now I'm struggling to even be able to provide that. They don't even want me to provide that.

~~~Maria

I sit in my home, I find myself happy that I can relax. The last few days have been quite annoying, I find myself putting on my grey robe and drawing myself a hot bath. I think about the gunshot that killed Carlos, I think about the things I've gone through in the last few days and then I remember how a lot of it could have been avoided.

I grab an expensive bubble bath and I pour it in and watch the bubbles foam. I allow that to happen as I reach for my grinder and I go and grab some rolling papers. After I finish grinding, I turn the water off. I put my hand inside of it to feel how hot it was, it was hot, I loved it. I dry my hands and I begin to start rolling. Marijuana had many strains and I knew most of them.

I press the blunt to my lips as I light a match. I take a deep inhale and I relax. Each time I press it to my lips, I inhale deeply, letting the smoke fill my lungs and I soak in the bath. I enjoy the moment of quietness as I listen to my inner thoughts. Everything that has happened has driven me to have a new appreciation for these moments. I have a new appreciation for this kind of peace.

It's then that my phone starts ringing, I find myself taking a deep sigh as I get up. "Well, this was short-lived," I say to myself. I walk to the phone and I answer the phone and I put it to my ear. "What do you need, Kevin?" 'I'm sorry, Ms. Smirnoff. I'm sorry to interrupt you,' "What do you need, Officer Kevin?" I say to him. I think to myself, I gave him enough money to keep him and his boys away so what else would he need?

'They're conducting a raid soon on a few of your properties,' "When?" I say to him. I look at the time and realize it's late in the night but early in the morning. 'They'll be doing one this afternoon. It's hitting one of your properties, it's going to be random. They think there's a mole in the BCPD,' And here I was hoping for a peaceful night, I say to myself.

'Hello?' I hear Kevin say. "Alright, I'll have it all taken care of." I hang up the phone before he can even say goodbye and I start, making calls. Each call going to each of my properties, it's going to take me 20 minutes to call everyone, I think to myself. I let the water out and I prepare for a day's worth of work.

End of Chapter 2: My Ex-wife/My Property