Page 27 of Just Listen
“Hey, I feel you. Sometimes you definitely gotta pop out and show a nigga.”
“Yesss.” She animatedly bounced in her seat.
“So, what’s the issue?” I nosily questioned, truly not giving a fuck. I loved hearing other people’s mess, and if I was overstepping, she could just say so. I didn’t give a damn, either way.
Once again, she sighed. “Kahreme is a good dude. Like seriously. He keeps me satisfied. He’s generous. Smart. But he rarely has time for me, because he’s deep off in the streets, and I was getting tired of it. So, I been fussing about it, and he was acting like he was cool with me being done. Like, nigga, can’t you see how much I love your stupid ass? If I wasn’t complaining,thenhe’d need to worry.”
I nodded. “I hear you…but do you be nagging about it?”
She cut her eyes at me. “Nagging?”
“Yeah. I mean, is it a situation where you constantly wanna argue about it?”
Her lashes fluttered. “So, am I supposed to be passive when there’s something that I don’t like?”
“Not y’all over there having a therapy session,” Jahreiah snickered, as she was applying glue to her client’s wig cap.
“Right,” Kema tittered.
I waved them off, as I focused on Ms. Thing next to me. “No, you should definitely speak your mind, but constantly repeating yourself veers the course into something else.”
“So, when a nigga aint giving you what you need, how are you supposed to handle that?” She wanted to know.
“It depends on what you need. If it’s something that every woman naturally wants, then that’s one thing. But if it’s about him doing something that he was doing before he met you, then you’re the problem.”
“Wait, what?” She laughed. “I legitimately wanna hear how you came up with that.”
“I’m just tapping into the mind of a man,” I admitted. “A lot of times when I hear women complain, we talk about how a manshouldbe. But never do we stop to think about his mindset, and who he is at the core. I don’t care how much you love a nigga, he’s gonna be whoever he is. And we shouldn’t enter into relationships, hoping to change them. So, when it comes to a nigga in the streets…you gotta meet him where he’s at. Accept it for what it is. Because he’s not gonna walk away untilhe’sready. All the arguing in the world won’t change that. If anything, it’ll just have y’all in a fucked-up space. So, I say…either accept what he’s doing, and make peace with it. Or leave him alone. Otherwise, y’all will never see eye to eye, and maybe hewillwalk away to find something with less drama.”
“Yeah,” Jahreiah spoke up. “My daddy always says that a woman can’t force a man to do nothing. He gotta wanna do it on his own. So, constantly arguing with a nigga about the streets is probably just gonna lower the morale.”
“Okay, I get that,” ole girl claimed. “But how do you at least try to get the man to see where you’re coming from?”
“By speaking from the heart,” I offered. “Tell him how you feel. Without the rah-rah. With anybody it’s about the approach.Sweet-talk the nigga. Be soft. That’s how you gain control over these niggas.”
“Basically, manipulate his ass,” Kema jested.
We all laughed.
“You know what?” Ms. Thing uttered. “I appreciate this conversation. All bullshit aside. Because I really love that man, and the last thing I wanna do is push him away.”
I nodded. “Aint nothing wrong with loving and fighting for your man.”
“Right.” She lightly bumped my shoulder. “So, what’s tea with yours? I know you got a man somewhere.”
I shook my head, while scratching the back of my neck. “I’m single.”
Jahreiah pursed her lips. “So, you still on that?”
“Yep.” I nodded.
“Why?” My sister wanted to know.
I lifted the cell that was in my hand. “Because this is a new phone. I had to replace the last one, after he smashed it into my TV.”
“What?” Jahreiah paused, with a frown on her face. “And you’re just now mentioning that? I know that nigga didn’t put his hands on you—”
“He didn’t,” I stopped her before she could get started. “But I’m still done with his ass.”
