Page 8 of The Key To His Soul
“Hi, Daddy.” Her tone had shifted to something softer and pleasing to my ears.
“That’s better.” I stepped back and held the flowers out to her. “These are for you. Not to make up for my absence but to show you I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout you.”
She took the flowers from me and put them to her nose. “Just not enough to pick up the phone, huh?”
“Which phone you call?”
“Your personal phone, Mehki,” she replied, clutching the flowers in her arm and walking back over to the register. “Youmade it clear that the only time we’re to call the business line is if there’s an emergency.”
I followed behind her. “And seeing as I don’t have any missed calls on that line, am I correct to assume that there was no emergency?” I asked, leaning against the counter.
“It wasn’t. I was just checking in on you. The last thing you told me was that you were going out and then nothing.”
Karima had this controlling thing about her that I didn’t fuck with at all. And while everyone else in her life adapted to it, every now and then, I had to remind her that I wasn’t. Even after a year of being with me, she was still adjusting to the fact that knowing my whereabouts was a privilege, not a guarantee.
“That’s not checking in, love. That’s monitoring,” I corrected cooly but stern at the same time. “You keep confusing the two.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, excuse me for being worried aboutmyman.”
“I…” The chiming at the front door made me pause. I wasn’t going to check her in front of her customers.
“I see you found him.”
I heard Julissa’s voice and turned to see her walk through the door. I smiled as she made her way over to me with her head wrapped, keeping her long locs out of her face. She wore a crop top that showed off her belly ring, tattoos, and waist beads. The white linen pants she wore hung low on her hips and swept the ground with each step she took. Julissa, aka Ju, reminded me of Lynn from the hit TV show,Girlfriends. My mother watched the show faithfully when I was younger. She was eccentric, carefree, and daring, just like Lynn, making her the complete opposite of Karima.
While Karima preferred lavish gifts, trips, and all of my time, Julissa went with the flow. She lived her life, I lived mine, and we met in the middle. In other words, if Julissa was Lynn, Karima was Toni. But unlike Toni, I think the only person Karimaconceded to in life was me, and that was because I set clear boundaries out the gate, and she loved the lifestyle I provided. She was still my baby though, just like Ju. My spoiled baby.
“Hey, babe.” Julissa wrapped one arm around my neck and stuck her tongue out.
Placing my arm around her waist, I took her tongue into my mouth and sucked on it before kissing her.
“Mmm,” she moaned, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Wassup?” I spoke after breaking the kiss and pecking her nose.
“Nothing much. Just stopped by to make sure this one wasn’t in here hyperventilating.” She pointed to Karima then stretched her arms out to her for a hug.
“Don’t be tryna hug me after throwing shade.” Karima pouted.
“Oh, girl, please.” Julissa brushed her off and walked around the counter. Hugging Karima from behind, she kissed her cheek. “I told you he was fine,” she said, looking up at me. “She was just a little worried about you, bae. Awww, he brought you flowers. See.” She pointed to the flowers, smiling big like they were hers.
That was another thing about Julissa. The same love she showed me in and out the bedroom, she extended to Karima. She was all inclusive. Karima, however, gave most of herself in the bedroom. She’d lick Julissa from head to toe but would pout about going on a double date. Which was why I always made it my business to spend equal time with the two of them. Karima tolerated Julissa for the most part.
I’d made it clear to the both of them coming into the relationship that the poly lifestyle wasn’t for play. If I was making myself responsible for them mentally, physically, and financially, I wasn’t compromising on my peace because one wanted more than the other. I wasn’t new to this. I’d watched my father have my mother as his wife and a girlfriend that she waswell aware of but didn’t engage with sexually. Things only didn’t work out after a few years when she began to cause disruption. She ultimately wanted my father to leave my mother so that she could be his one and only.
Unfortunately for her, there was no life without moms. They’d started that way, and I was sure they’d go to their grave just the same. My father let her go without so much as a conversation about it. Since then, it had been him and my mother only. I admired my parents’ relationship as far as their values and how they held each other in such high regard. What always stuck out to me though was how open they were with me.
I knew what polygamy was at age eleven. I never found it weird that my father would have his other woman tag along on family outings and engage with her in the same manner he did with my mother. She made it clear that my father had a lot of love to give, and so long as it didn’t interfere with his responsibilities at home or with him being a husband to her first, she was on board with what made him happy. I remembered my mother saying, “I don’t own your father or his love, nor do I control it. I want him to be happy. However, if there ever comes a point where I feel unseen, unloved, or our marriage is in jeopardy, I’ll leave the same way I came in.”
I knew I made my women feel seen. And while I cared for them equally, I couldn’t go as far as to say I loved either of them. But I made sure they felt love in the way I showed up, not just monetarily but emotionally and mentally. I believed in taking care of the people attached to me and being clear on where I stood.
“These are nice, bae,” Julissa added.
“Thank you, beautiful. Let’s go to the back real quick. I wanna talk to y’all about something.”
Karima narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just come on.”
