Page 11 of Fever: Love In Scrubs

“ Y ou have been in a super good mood for the last two weeks,” my mother said.

I was currently at my parents’ for dinner and here she was, getting in my business. The truth was, I had been in a good mood. Getting to know Wynter was a breath of fresh air. I could tell she was a little nervous, but I made it my mission to make her comfortable in and out of my presence.

I still didn’t know what it was, but something about her felt so familiar to my spirit. I could tell she was good people. Sure, she was a little slow to open up at first, but given time, I felt like she would show me exactly who she was.

“I can’t be in a good mood?” I asked, taking a sip of my wine.

“I didn’t say that. I was just making an observation.”

“He’s got a girlfriend,” Jamari said, smirking.

Forks clanked against the plates as everybody looked at me. My father, my mom, and my brother-in-law all started asking questions at rapid speed. I could barely make out what they were saying because they were talking so fast.

“Wait a minute, y’all,” I said, waving my hands. “ I do not have a girlfriend. That’s how rumors get started, Mari.”

“Well, Daddy, you’ve been smiling extra hard since you told me about her. I hear you talking to her at night. I thought you asked her to be your girlfriend.”

I shook my head. “For everybody’s information, I am very much still single. I am, however, interested in someone and we’re getting to know each other. That’s it and that’s all.”

“Well, you must like her if you’re taking the time to get to know her,” my mom said.

“Look at you trying to marry the boy off already,” my dad said, shaking his head.

“I am not! I just wanna know if he likes her.” She turned to me, waiting for an answer.

“I do like her,” I confirmed. “It’s something about her.”

“Where did you meet her?”

I scratched my eyebrow. “Uh… the morgue.”

Johnathan snorted. “You picked up a chick while doing an autopsy? That might be a red flag, man.”

I waved him off. “I did not pick her up while doing an autopsy. We actually met a couple months ago when she claimed her father. We met again when I was working in the ER a few weeks ago. She’s originally from Silver Run, but she lives in Colorado Springs.

Her father died and left her his house, so she was in the process of cleaning it out.

Jonathan, you were actually the contractor she used to do the remodel. ”

His brows knitted together. “Word? And who is this?”

“Her name is Wynter.”

“Oh! The hoarder house! Man, let me tell you. I had my work cut out for me. Dare I say that was my best gut job. The place looks unrecognizable now compared to what I had to work with. Best commission I ever earned.” He smirked at me. “You been to the house yet?”

“No, I haven’t. We aren’t on that level yet. I’ll leave it up to her if she wants to invite me.”

“If who wants to invite you where?” Asia asked, coming into the kitchen from the bathroom.

“A former client of mine that your brother has a date with,” Johnathan answered.

“Wait, you have a date!”

I sighed. “Yes. Please don’t make a big deal.”

Asia raised her hands and giggled. “I’m not saying anything. Let me guess, you’re already on your way to being smitten.”

It was sad that I was that predictable.

“You’re in my business, sis.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.”

“We actually have a date this weekend.”

My mother smiled. “I’m glad to see you finally getting back out there. You haven’t seriously dated in years.”

“Yeah, well. I have an almost teenager that I may or may not have to threaten on the regular, so I’ve focused my energy elsewhere.”

Jamari scoffed. “I’m not that bad, daddy.”

“Sometimes you do too much, Mari. Like the bra thing.”

“Whatchu need a bra for, Mari?” my five year old niece, Kacie, asked. “You don’t got boobies.”

Me and the rest of the table stifled a laugh. Kacie had never been the kid to hold her tongue.

“You don’t got boobies,” Jamari mocked her.

Kacie didn’t get the sarcasm, so she hit her back with, “Duh. I’m five! That would look silly!”

“Auntie Asia, please get your child,” Jamari said, rolling her eyes.

Asia giggled. “Kacie, baby, leave your cousin alone. And no more talk about boobies.”

“I not bothering her, Mommy, and I like boobies. I go to sleep on yours all the time.” She pointed at her father. “Daddy likes your boobies. Uncle Jaxson, do you like boobies? Does your girlfriend have big boobies?”

It took everything in me not to double over in laughter.

“She’s not my girlfriend, lil’ bit. Enough boobie talk.”

“So, do we get to meet her?” my mother asked.

“Ma, it’s too soon for all that. Y’all are gonna scare the woman off.”

Asia looked at me like she wanted to say something, then she looked at Jamari.

That was a tell-tale sign she was about to make an Amandela related comment.

My sister couldn’t stand her. When she found out Amandela not only cheated on me but was stealing from me as well, she wanted to beat her ass.

The only thing that saved that woman was Jamari.

“Well,” she finally said, taking a sip of her wine. “Let’s hope you’re lucky this time.”

I agreed. “Let’s hope.”

We continued to eat and talk. After dinner, I helped my mom clean the kitchen while the rest of the family chilled in the living room. The minute they were out of earshot, she was on my ass.

“I’m so glad you’re dating again. Anything is better than Amandela’s ass.”

I chuckled. “You know she showed up to dinner the other week asking about getting back together.”

“No, she didn’t!”

“Yes she did. The audacity. Fool me one time and you won’t get to fool me again.

She went back to putting the blame on me for her cheating.

I get it, I had to work, and I worked a lot.

But I still took care of home. I took care of her and Jamari.

I didn’t deserve her cheating and I for damn sure didn’t deserve to be stolen from. ”

“Does this woman you’re going on a date with have a good job?”

I nodded. “She does. She works with kids in foster care to prepare them for life on the outside. Kind of like a mentor.”

“So she likes kids. That’s good. She knows about Jamari?”

“Of course. I never keep my baby a secret. We’re a packaged deal.”

“You know Amandela is gonna start some shit when she finds out you’re dating.”

I shook my head as I dried the frying pan in my hand. “I’m prepared.”

“So…tell me about her.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. “Well, she’s thirty. Never married. No kids.”

“What’s her family like?

“The only family she’s told me a good bit about is her aunt and cousin. She lived with them after leaving her dad’s at fifteen. Her father was a hoarder. Her mother passed away during childbirth, and he never really got over it. She said their home was like a graveyard for her mother’s memory.”

She shook her head as she dried her hands. “Grief will consume you if you let it. That poor child. You make sure you make her comfortable, Jaxson. I’m sure she has some trauma from living like that for so long. Don’t make her feel bad about it if it ever surfaces.”

“I hear you, Ma. I’m on it.”

I knew dating Wynter might be a challenge, but I was prepared. If medical school taught me anything, it was how to approach things with caution. I had patience and understanding, and I would give it all to her if she let me.

I tapped on Jamari’s room door and waited for her to answer.

“Come in!” she called.

I opened the door to find her putting on lotion.

“You got everything together?” I asked.

“Daddy, can I skip this weekend with Mom?”

My brows furrowed. “Why?”

“I don’t really like going over there anymore.”

“Something happened?”

“Not really. It’s just… Mom doesn’t act like she wants me around all the time. She’s always on the phone or she invites her friends over and makes me go to my room so they can have privacy. If they bring their kids, she sends us outside to play and I don’t like those kids.”

Truth be told, I didn’t like her friends’ kids either. They were bad as hell, grown as hell, and disrespectful as fuck.

“It’s not just that,” Jamari added. “She makes me go to bed early so her friend can come over.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Like, we’ll be in the middle of a movie or something and he’ll come over. It’s like she can’t wait to get rid of me to spend time with him. I’ll go in my room, but I’m not sleeping. I can hear them through the walls. Daddy, they’re so loud and it sounds nasty.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I couldn’t tell Amandela what to do in her house or who to do it with, but she could at least make sure our daughter didn’t have to hear her having sex.

If she wanted to entertain a man, that was on her.

But to cut her time with her child short to get some dick didn’t sit right with me.

She only had weekends with her, so why couldn’t she focus on being a mother from Friday to Sunday?

“And I don’t like him,” Jamari added. “He walks around naked when he thinks I’m asleep. Twice I’ve gotten up to go to the bathroom and he wasn’t wearing any clothes.”

“What!”

“I didn’t say anything to Mom, but it made me uncomfortable.”

“Baby girl, that’s not something you keep to yourself.

That’s a grown ass man walking around naked in a place he doesn’t live with a child he doesn’t know.

Even if he knew you, that’s inappropriate as hell.

Both of them are out of line.” I stood from the bed and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

“You don’t have to go this weekend, but I need you to start telling me things, Jamari. I can’t protect if I don’t know.”

She hung her head. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

I pulled her into a tight hug.

I wasn’t sure what the fuck was going through Amandela’s head, but she had me and life all the way fucked up. One thing I didn’t play about was my baby. After giving Jamari a forehead kiss, I went to leave the room but stopped.

“Aye, what does he look like?” I asked curiously.

“Tall. Brown skinned with long locs. He has a bunch of tattoos. One of them is a teardrop under his right eye.”

“Bet. “

I left the room and went downstairs into the garage. My baby didn’t need to hear my cursing her mama out.

The phone rang four times before Amandela answered.

“What, Jaxson?” she asked, venomously.

“You better watch your damn tone. Why the fuck is my child telling me whatever nigga you have over there walks around naked when she’s in the house?”

“What?”

“What?” I mocked. “You heard me, Dela. Why the fuck are you letting a man walk around naked in front of my child?”

“I’m not letting a man do shit!”

“So, she’s lying? So, she’s seeing a ghost when she gets up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?”

She kissed her teeth. “He sleeps naked. I’m sure it was an accident?—”

“An accident! Dela, you live in a two bedroom, one bathroom house. It’s a shared fucking space. Your nigga needs to put on clothes around my child. You done lost your rabid ass mind. You know I don’t play with you when it comes to Jamari.”

“Jaxon, you need to take some of that bass outta your voice when you talk to me. Now, I said it was an accident?—”

“Ain’t no fucking accidents!” I yelled. “She’s twelve. That’s her home when she’s with you. She shouldn’t have to worry about seeing one of your little fuck buddies exposed when she’s trying to go to the bathroom.”

“If she saw something, then why didn’t she say something to me? Huh? She’s at that age where kids start lying. She’s probably just mad because I sent her to bed.”

“And that’s another thing. You play mommy for two nights a week. Why are you cutting into your time with her for a nigga?”

“I have a life too, Jaxson! I work like a dog five days a week. Excuse me if I wanna have a little fun on the weekends. I’m sure you get your dick wet when you don’t have her.”

“What I do when I don’t have my child is nobody’s business. When she’s with me, she has my full attention. Furthermore, there is no woman coming to my house when she’s here or otherwise.”

She laughed. “So because you aren’t getting any pussy, you expect me not to get any dick?”

“History has proven that you will get some dick by any means necessary. Don’t worry about it, though.

My child won’t be back over there any time soon.

She doesn’t feel safe and I’m not gonna make her come over if she doesn’t want to.

You wanna see her, we can meet somewhere, and that’s if she wants to see you.

And another thing. When I find out who this nigga is, I’m beating his ass on sight. That’s a fucking promise.”

I didn’t give her a chance for a rebuttal before I hung up.

I had to take a minute to calm down before I could go back in the house. As I was about to head inside, my phone rang. I just knew it was Amandela’s ass, but to my surprise, it was Wynter.

“Hello?”

“Good morning,” she said, cheerfully.

“Good morning, Wynter.”

“You okay? You sound… I don’t know. A little off.”

“Baby mama issues. I don’t wanna talk about her, though. What’s up? You made it to town?”

“I did. I got in a day early. I’m sorry about calling so early. I figured you’d be up with your daughter.”

“I am. Getting ready to take her to school.”

“You work today?”

“I’m actually on call today.”

“Oh… well, would you maybe want to have breakfast? I could meet you somewhere if you have a recommendation.”

“I’d like that. And of course, I have a recommendation. I’ll shoot you an address.”

“Let’s say, nine?”

“Nine is good.”

“Okay. See you then.”

“See you.”

We disconnected the call, and I slipped the phone back into my pocket. Hopefully, good food and good company would put me in a better mood because right now, I wanted to kill my ex-wife.