Page 25 of I’m So Mega

I watched Ruth’s ass as it sashayed out of our back door.

She had me messed up. That was becoming more of a thing here lately, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

The whole impromptu girls’ night was suspect, because they had one already on the calendar.

I walked over to the digital calendar that was on the door of our smart refrigerator and pressed a couple of buttons.

When I found what I needed, my body turned to my best friend.

“Now why would they have an impromptu girls’ night tonight when one is on the calendar for the day after tomorrow? ”

Ned walked over to the counter where Ruth left our plates. She gave the boys their plates and told them that they could eat in their room. Another red flag.

He moved to the den with his plate and a water bottle that he got from the fridge. “Look, I’m already knowing something is off. Shan and I were chillin’ before your cock blockin’ wife called. I was about to see if I could put another baby in her. Once Shan got off the phone, her energy was off.”

I grabbed my plate to sit down and eat before my food got cold.

We sat in the den and ate quietly. There was a scratching at the back door.

I knew it had to be one of my big babies.

Well, not really my babies. From the day that I introduced Papa, Smurfette, Sassette, and Sashette to Ruth, they became her babies.

“Let me see which one of these dogs want to come in here.”

When I opened the door, a brown back passed me. “Gargamel! What are you doing?”

Gargamel was new to the crew, along with his sister, Adella. They were Papa and Smurfette’s daughter and son. They were both a little over nine years old. Gargamel was the leader of the pack since Papa died three years ago from cancer. That was a heavy loss for all of us.

When Papa and Smurfette had their litter, I planned to sell all the puppies. Eight puppies at $1,200 was good money. I should have known that my wife and daughter had other plans.

Many Years Earlier . . .

Papa and Smurfette had a gorgeous litter. This would be the last litter though. Taking care of a pregnant mama and her pups until the babies were ready to go to new homes was a lot and expensive. I wasn’t a professional breeder, so it was even more taxing.

Today was the day that four of them were going to their forever homes. “I’m happy you love them, Mrs. Nichols. Let me know if you need anything. Like I told you, you got their papers and their first shots record.”

“Thank you so much, Mega. My grandkids are going to go crazy.” She purchased the puppies for her three grandkids that she had custody of. We spoke for a few more minutes, then she was out of there.

Ruth was in the kitchen cooking lunch when I walked in.

We were in a very tumultuous spot in our marriage.

The death of our first son had us reeling almost out of control.

She recently had a complete meltdown because of something I caused.

I agreed to therapy but really didn’t want to fuck with it.

What was the point of sitting on some nigga’s couch for him to ask me questions and have me figure out my own life. I could do that shit for free.

“Hey, baby. What are you cooking? It smells good.” This was our life right now, random conversations.

She didn’t bother to look up when she responded. Rude ass. “I’m making burgers.”

“Oh, you could have asked me. I would have cooked them, love.” I offered. Maggie loved burgers. She would eat them literally every day.

Her head slowly rose for her to put her slitted eyes on me. “I know I can’t accomplish Mega burgers, but I make a pretty good burger that our daughter actually likes. You know there are some things that are great about me. Sex and having babies may not be some, but there are plenty others.”

Women held grudges better than I held a neck when I strangled a nigga.

I thought that since I agreed to go to therapy that it would soften her.

The night after our ambushed brunch, she tried to sleep in the guest room.

That was cool with me because my ass was right in there when her ass woke up.

It was bad enough that I couldn’t wrap my arms around her, but I refused to not sleep in the same bed as her. She knew that.

She wanted a reaction, and I was not about to give it to her.

I didn’t need a therapist to tell me that shit.

“I’m going to check on Maggie. I love you, Ruth.

” She didn’t respond. “Ruth, there is a lot and I do mean a lot of shit that I will tolerate from you. Holding your love back is not one of them regardless of what we got going on. I need that.”

Her expression softened. “I love you, Megatron.” She went back to making lunch.

That was fine. Ruth might have never known because I never told her, but her love maintained me outside of Big G’s love.

Yeah, I wasn’t messing with Big G right now, but I would never deny His love for me.

I felt like He owed me an explanation of why He did this to me.

Hell, all the death and despair, I’d left in my path.

Yeah, I was God’s vengeance, but how much of that was really that?

I left her and her attitude in the kitchen to stew.

When I got to Maggie’s room, the door was closed.

That put up my antennas. This little girl never closed her door.

I knocked since she seemed to want her four-year-old privacy.

She was a replica of her damn mama. So her attitude had been a little shitty toward me also.

Usually, I couldn’t keep her from me, but now it was ‘I want Mama.’

There was shuffling behind the door before she told me to come in. She was in her bed. Her little ass stretched and gave me a fake yawn. “Hey, Daddy, I’m sleeping. Can you come back later?”

I froze with a tilted head. These females in here got me messed up. “So, you want me to come back?”

“Please and thank you.” She rolled her little ass over, pulled the covers to her neck, then started lightly snoring like she really went to sleep that fast. All I saw was cover and a fucking bonnet.

Ruth was about to have to kiss my ass with this gentle parenting.

I got not spanking my daughter because I never wanted her to think it was alright for a man to put hands on her.

Ruth needed to tag her ass a little more.

If I had said what she just did to my mama, Goldie would have sat on my damn head.

I didn’t think a little girl or any child that got smart with their parents was cute.

If you didn’t nip that in the bud, it would be a problem later.

I didn’t say shit. I just left her lil funky room. “Let me check on my fur babies. At least they love me,” I said to myself.

I walked into the dogs’ house, which looked like a mini house.

By the time it was all said and done with, my backyard would make my house a compound.

All these damn structures. I purchased the lot behind mine just to expand my property.

Goldie said while I was at it, I might as well expand hers as well.

“Hey, my babies.” Wait, . . . two of my puppies were missing.

I knew they didn’t climb out of their kennel. The other dogs weren’t even in here right now. Like the little traitors they were, they were in the house near the kitchen with their mama. I picked up the two that were left to see what was missing. A boy and a girl.

I took the puppies out for a walk before I headed back into the house. “Ruth, two of the puppies are missing. Do you know where they are?”

She stopped making a plate. I only saw two plates, so that meant her mean ass wasn’t making one for me. That had been the status quo right now. She gawked at me, looked around her feet, then near the other fur Smurfs. “I don’t see them in here, so I have no idea where they are.”

I laughed. “I’m only going to give you and Maggie a little more grace with these attitudes, and then it’s gonna be a time in the Manfield residence.

I know I said that I would never spank her, but her grandma will.

You know damn will she’s been out of pocket lately, and that shit is a product of your stink attitude.

Don’t let your attitude get her lil ass fucked up by my proxy. ”

Ruth said nothing as I walked off, because she knew what it was.

Mama Goldie didn’t play about that misbehaving.

She gave grace, but when it was time to get serious, she did.

I walked back to Maggie’s room because something told me that she was the puppy thief.

I didn’t bother with the formality of knocking this time.

Like I thought, there she was in the middle of the floor with puppy one and two. My eyes were tight. Her eyes were big as she grabbed the puppies in her arms.

I outstretched my hand. “Maggie, please bring the puppies here so they can go with the rest of the litter where they belong. I told you about touching things that don’t belong to you.”

With a twist in her neck, she responded. “These are mine. You can’t have them, because Mama said they were mine.”

She rolled her little eyes like she ran something around here. When I took a step toward her, a hand grabbed my arm. I knew Ruth’s touch. “What the hell are you doing? You better not hit her.”

I slowly turned to face her with a tight jaw. I spoke in a low voice. “You’ve lost that much faith in me that you think I would hit my daughter when I never have?” I walked into her space. “Before you put me in the light of that kind of man, I’ll leave your ass.”

It was unmistakable to see the disbelief etched on her face. Yeah, she could say she would leave me over some nut; well, this situation called for the same. I played all day, but not when it came to my parenting.

“I—I didn’t say that. I just know that you’re frustrated with pretty much everything these days.” Her voice matched mine.