We Listen & We Fight

Ayana, who had a day off, suggested brunch after hearing the recent news. She always knew how to lift my spirits when I was feeling down. She reassured me that everything would be okay and that I’d make it through. But the real issue was that I still didn’t know who had caused all this trouble.

“There you go again,” she said, watching me play with my food, lost in thought.

“What?”

“You’re so preoccupied that you can’t even enjoy a day out with your best friend.”

“Yana, it’s just… who would cause me to lose my job like that?”

She placed her hand on my back and gently rubbed it. Then, her phone buzzed, and she looked at me.

I looked at her confused because I couldn’t understand why she was looking at me like that.

“Look who showed up.”

I turned my head around, thinking it was Jeremy (because when the hell will I meet this guy), only to be gravely disappointed.

“Oh hey Simone,” I said uninterested.

“Damn, we haven’t seen each other in months, and that’s the best you can do?”

She and Ayana hugged before sitting down. Ayana mentioned that I’d been going through something. I was glad she wasn’t the type to gossip about my personal life, as we all knew each other. She’s the kind of friend who says, “That’s not my business to tell.”

I pushed through and ended up relaxing and opening up more. Maybe it was the fresh-squeezed juice, but I don’t know. What I do know is that everything went out the window when I looked up and saw a snake coming towards us. How dare she show her face around here?

“Who invited this bitch,” I said, twisting my face.

As if she hadn’t done enough, she had on that fake smile she wore as an accessory at this point. And in the most disingenuous way possible, she said, “Hey ladies.”

Only Simone responded. She was the only one who needed to because Ayana and I stuck together and we weren’t going for it.

I turned to Simone. “You didn’t say anything about strays.”

“Oh please, the only stray here is you, Mira. Lost at life, lost at love, just fucking lost,” Keema said casually.

“And what does that mean, hoe?”

Just as I was about to stand up, Simone chimed in.

“Look, we’re not going to ruin this fine establishment because you all can’t get your act together. Sit down, Mira!”

There she was, kicking into mommy mode. That’s exactly what we were talking about before. She invited Keema, knowing how she felt about me. That I’m sure, then gets mad at the fact that I don’t want to be around her. She forces the group to get along, somehow, because of our history. But if our differences keep resurfacing every encounter, maybe we shouldn’t be forging a friendship.

I sat down, but kept my gaze fixed on Keema. I couldn’t trust her as far as I could spit on her.

“Yeah, that’s right, sit your pregnant ass down.”

My mind went blank for a second. How did she know?

“You’re pregnant? Damn, does everyone know except me?” Simone said, her voice laced with a twinge of sadness.

“I just found out. Relax, Simone.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem? Why can’t you all get along?”

“Simone, you don’t know,” Ayana asked genuinely shocked.

“I don’t be worried about your business. What’s going on?”

“Oh, I guess you’re not as close as Keema says you are.”

“She slept with my man,” I said, snaring at Keema.

Simone didn’t react. She just kept flipping through the menu, unfazed. I noticed that.

“I’m not surprised she’s always had a thing for him.”

“So, you knew and you didn’t say anything?”

“And what was I supposed to say, Mira? That Keema likes Chris? And then what? You’re still with him, so I’d figure you’d see it when you’re ready.”

“That’s foul, Simone,” Ayana interjected.

“No, what’s foul is you hoes leaving me out every chance you get, as if I’m not a part of this group too.”

She sounded hurt. Like genuinely hurt by that. I wanted to comfort her, but Keema ruined the mood again.

“I may have slept with him, but you’re carrying his child, so it doesn’t matter.”

Simone’s eyes shot up at that. “It’s Chris’ baby?”

I ignored that because it wasn’t the right time to clear the air around that.

“Why did you invite her, Simone?”

“I didn’t!”

My heart sank when those words hit me. I turned to Ayana, who had been unusually quiet throughout the conversation.

“Ayana, tell me you didn’t invite her here. You know I can’t stand her.”

“Mira, I know, but I can explain.”

“Go ahead, I’d love to hear it.”

“Keema and I had a conversation yesterday. She was talking about how devastated she was when she visited Chris and how he told her you were pregnant.”

“You were talking about me,” I said, tears welling up in my eyes.

“Let me finish. Then, she went on to say how she loves Chris and how much they belong together. I thought that was really sweet and special because you hadn’t spoken about Chris like that in a very long time. I thought we could bury the hatchet.”

As she said that, she reached over and gently rubbed her fingers over Keema’s long, sleek ponytail. She didn’t grip it tightly, but enough to notice if you were looking, which I was.

“Aw, I’m glad one person understands,” Keema said, her ponytail bouncing with her words.

“But you know, something slipped that went unnoticed, and I decided we all needed a girls’ day out to discuss it. The fact that this bitch got you fired, Mira.”

Just then, her grip tightened so suddenly that Keema’s head leaned back, and Ayana clenched her fist, striking Keema. She slung Keema by her hair and pinned her to the ground.

“You thought this was a reunion, bitch?”

Just then, security arrived, snatching Ayana off of Keema and separating the two.

“Look, I don’t know what you two got going on, but you need to get out of here with all that.”

He escorted Ayana to the door and threw her out. He picked Keema up and led her to a separate entrance.

Then, he returned to the table and said, “You need to leave too. We don’t condone that behavior here.”

Simone and I nodded and got up from the table. I paid for mine and Ayana’s food and left. That’s when I noticed right there in the parking lot that Ayana had grabbed Keema again before she could even reach her car.

This girl was relentless.