Maybe, Maybe Not

16. My Place or Yours

She spent the whole week with Nikko but knew she needed to get home that weekend. It felt weird shacking up with her young boyfriend when she had a perfectly good home.

She had clean her place and do some laundry. This was one of the times she was thankful for the small apartment versus the bug house she lived with her ex. Less to clean. Although, while Theo was doing good financially they hired a weekly cleaning service to do the hard work. She did miss that.

After cleaning and starting a load in the laundry area, she decided to do something with her hair. Tired of the bob she wanted to install a wig. After she washed her hair, she blow dried it and then began to put her hair in cornrows. Now she looked like Cleo from Set It Off.

She would never want Nikko to see her looking this rough. Well today she was lounging around the apartment by herself because Nikko had to work every other Saturday and he was on duty today. Not much to deliver on his route since most businesses were closed, so he covered more of the downtown area picking up another courier's route.

While she was relaxed, a glass of wine and a book in her hands, lounged in the living room she heard someone at the door. It had to be her daughter who was the only one with her spare key.

Sure enough, it was Minah, a tight jersey dress barely covering her ass, and her breast nearly out. Her daughter had on the long fake lashes that looked like spiders were on her eyes, too much makeup and her curly, sandy brown hair down and long down back.

A mini her when she was that age, except lighter complexion. She favored her in so many ways, except her attitudes.

Minah pretended as if she did not see her sitting there and marched right into the kitchen. Soon she heard cupboards opening and closing.

"Damn! Why she ain't got no food in here!"

She did not know why her child chose to look and dress, and talk like a hood rat when she was raised in a fancy house and sent to fancy schools all her life. She liked to say she was a "City Girl" and not because she lived in the city, but because that lil rap group. Whatever that meant.

"Minah, I am right here!" she yelled out to her daughter.

More cupboards opening and closing. There was food in there, so she was unsure what the no food comment was about. Sometimes her and her brother would come over only to shop in her kitchen, pantry and bathroom. That is why she kept it stocked, for them. If they did not want to go shopping for their own cans of soup, crackers, tissue or paper towels, she had plenty for them.

"Where's the seaweed snacks I like, Mom? And some canned chili. Oh and I need to borrow your bowls."

She put her book down, flapped her bare feet into the kitchen and opened the lower cabinet drawer and pulled out a brand new, unopened Costco sized pack of her favorite seaweed snacks.

With no thanks, she took it and put it in the plastic shopping tote that was tucked in the corner. Jakinda would never see that thing again.

"Ugh! Why are you looking like a scruffa muffin?" Her daughter looked over her braided hair, her too-big and dingy t-shirt and shorts that had seen better days.

"A what?"

"I know you're old, but you can still look good," her daughter said, walking away from her. "I mean, maybe that's why dad left, you don't care what you look like anymore."

Her daughter knew very well why she decided to leave her father. She talked about it with Minah and her brother before she filed for divorce. They were not in love with each other anymore, and had not been for a while. Even Theo did not fight that fact. The kids were old enough to understand, that's why she stayed as long as she did.