The Urban Daily

Chapter 21

Pablo

From: Chance – BBQ tomorrow at the crib, you down with it?
To: Chance – Fasho. I'll roll through for a quick minute.

Setting my phone down on the table, I looked up at my mother who was fuming.

"Did I, or did I not tell that girl to be back here by 8 o'clock? It's always something with that girl and I'm sick of it!" Mariah and I exchanged looks before looking at Ma, who was still angrily pacing back and forth in front of us. It was going on 10 and Ashleigh hadn't made it home yet.

After leaving out early this morning with a few of her friends back from high school, she had promised Ma that she would be back here in time enough that so that we all could go out to dinner to celebrate the grand opening of two of my mother's group homes.

After six years long years of saving up money, she finally had saved enough to open up and start up the group homes she had always wanted-one for teenage girls who were pregnant or either had kids and had no where to stay and the other for the homeless, who had trouble getting back up on their feet.

The city had granted her a few awards and a big check, as well as an all paid dinner for her and four people of choice at any restaurant of her choice. Ashleigh wasn't anywhere to be found when it was time to go which caused Ma to go up in flames, so we had no choice but to go without her.

Ma and Ashleigh never had a great, nor close relationship, because of her incident, but I knew for a fact that this was going to make it worse.

"She didn't even have the decency to call or send a simple text to let somebody know she wasn't going to make it! It's just like that girl to be stuck in her selfish ways and it doesn't make any sense." She fussed, shaking her head. "She's just like her got damn father, good for no-"

She was stopped mid-sentence at the sound of the front door unlocking and opening. She finally stopped pacing the floor and took a seat down on the couch across from Mariah and I. We could practically feel the anger radiating off of her as she tried to calm down.

Ashleigh stepped inside and closed the door behind her, a big smile covering her face. It slowly disappeared as soon her eyes landed on Ma.

"You didn't call, you didn't let anybody know that you wouldn't be able to make it. Nothing. You just went on about your business, knowing that this dinner was a big deal to me. I hope that whatever you was out doing tonight was important enough for you to miss out on this dinner."

A look of guilt wiped across Ash's face as she stepped further into the living room. "Look Mama, I'm sorry-"

"Take your sorry apologies and run with them Ashleigh because I'm tired of them, alright? You're always sorry Ashleigh, always!" She yelled, standing up. "This dinner meant so much to me and I wanted to have all of my children there, not just two of them. I invited and wanted you there for a reason."

"Oh really?" Ashleigh questioned sarcastically, raising her eyebrow. "Since when did you consider me as one of your children? It's either 'that girl' or 'Jake's daughter'; you're back claiming me as your daughter? After how long? Four or five years?"

"Look, I know we haven't always had the best relationship and I can be the first to admit that which why was I hoping this dinner could help us get back to where we used to be before your incident, but of course, you had to go and mess that up."

The room had gotten dead silent as Ashleigh and Ma stared each other down. As a first hand witness to almost all of their fights, I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to stick around for the arguments to come. Things could get really heated between the both of them real quick.