"Are you serious?" Skip called Michael out of nowhere to find the truth. Not that Michael wouldn't marry, but this moment in time seemed too coincidental. Although his pointless charges were already behind him, Mike wedded Lisa Marie around the same exact time that Skip and I rekindled our relationship. It was all too weird.
"Yes. Why are you so skeptical, man?" Michael questioned on the other line. Their talk was still loud enough for me to hear. I wanted Skip to meet me back at my home. The girls were already sleeping for the night as usual. I still used baby monitors here, but our voices were all kept low. We knew better than to act up.
"Not that we don't want you to be happy, but the timing just doesn't add up for some reason." Skip volleyed his thoughts back. Silence then fell on the telephone. It wasn't long before my own mind quickly jumbled with far too many questions.
"What?" Still confused in one way or another, I didn't know what to think until Skip whispered. Tonight, we sat on the bed. Keeping up a platonic bond wasn't easy and we honestly slipped up, but our angels were so happy to see us back together.
"Mike wants to talk to you." It wasn't long before Skip lowered his famous voice and handed me the phone. I stared for a moment until I cleared my throat and answered Michael on the other line. There was no other choice as silence fell again.
"Hello?" I asked Michael, trying to figure out what was going on. I shook my head as questions jumbled in my mind once more. My face then quickly scrunched in return with confusion. Michael could have genuinely wanted anything at this point.
"I thought you two were divorced." Moments later, Michael reached for the jugular and grilled me. I gaped in response, fuming already. We didn't call for him to volley everything right back to me. More and more upset, I almost hung up tonight.
"We are divorced. You know why." I whispered to Michael, but still glanced towards Skipper between words. My ex cornered himself with folded arms, but watched my baby monitors. Last time I checked, both twin girls were knocked out with sleep.
"Nicole, that's true, but isn't he dating someone new every week? What kind of example are you setting for the twins?" Michael probed. I rolled my eyes, knowing that his hypocritical ass had recently married. Everyone in the world just knew.
"Please stop your own judgement. Hooking up with you caused the divorce, but stop messing with me." I whispered-yelled, trying not to scream. My twins were still asleep, but Skip sat on the bed to watch. Total silence emoted from him. I knew he heard everything that I told Michael. My heart thumped, despite his forgiveness.
"Baby, if Prince still acted married for you, we'd never sleep together." Michael crossed two different lines. I fumed, wanting to shout. Yet, I wasn't supposed to break down and wake my daughters. Even now, tears seeped from my brown eyes.
I just wanted Skip to watch our angels from the baby monitors and forget what Michael said. Seconds later, he then turned to face me and tears reached his nearly hazel eyes. Even his perfect mascara started to bleed and smear out of place.
"Please, hang up." His voice cracked.
I dropped the telephone.
_____
I didn't even care that my ex stayed for the night. Kicking him out would've broken my heart and proved that I was quite a terrible person. Skip was out of bed by the time I woke up, though. It wasn't until I heard television playing that I truly roused.
"Hey. Good morning." Skip peeked from the opened bedroom door and held this tray of plates. He'd washed off the makeup from last night. My heart swooned, as we were still together. I sat up in bed and watched as he set down the food for me.
"What's this?" I asked, still trying to wake up in one way or another. I shook my head, knowing full-well that my bonnet from last night fell off somewhere in the bed. In turn, my twists for curls sprung wildly. I'd have to try fixing this hair soon.
"Your mother's here and she cooked breakfast." Skip replied and I nearly froze. Of course she had her house key, but welcoming herself now didn't sit well with me. I'd talk one on one later, but smiled when our twins laughed from the living room.
"I'll talk to Momma later, but I wanna know why our babies are giggling. It's so cute." I beamed like some little girl. Skip imitated my own smile, but stole one of the cantaloupe pieces found on my breakfast plate. Another example of typical him.
"They're just watching TV and waiting for you." Skip smiled for the first time since last night. We couldn't care less about Michael anymore. We should've questioned his relationship with Lisa Marie, otherwise drama wouldn't take place beforehand.
____
Anyone else would've headed straight to therapy, but Skip and I rounded the kitchen table to speak with my mother. As another night loomed beyond these windows, the girls were back to sleep. Unfortunately Skip would leave by morning
Neither one of us actually trusted strangers with our personal matters, regardless of their own professional background. Anything could to the media. I wasn't part of the spotlight aymore, but still knew better now. I sipped coffee to keep myself up.
"Nicole, I'm not saying that you should imitate my dynamic with your father, but something is bothering me." Momma said at one point. My ex cleared his throat in return and glanced at my mother with silence, waiting to see if I'd hear the truth.
"What now, Momma?" I held Skip's hand under the table. He then offered to smile, but I frown instead. There was no other choice, especially since the tension here only turned out to be worse. My mind jumbled with so many question, even now
"I love you and Skipper so much, but what about that girl?" Momma asked me out loud . Her accent mixed between Southern comfort and Tri-State grit. When another round of silence reached this kitchen table, I realized exactly who she meant.
Mayte.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
