Chapter Three- Leyah

‘Knock, knock, knock… baby...’ The sounds of Joe blasted from my stereo as my cousin Rachel relaxed in the living room, listening to some old CD’s, whilst I got Asia ready for her father to come and collect her. The weekend was my time for freedom, not that I did anything in particular with it, but I was a time for me to chill.
“You got some good tunes here Leyah!”
“I know, I love my music, it gets me through. It makes me think back to when we were younger and all the house parties we used to attend. Now those were the good old days, when you could just go out and have fun!” I smiled, reminiscing as Rachel went through my album collection on my computer. “Asia! Come here and finish your dinner, you father is coming for you shortly”
Asia is my baby girl, I love her to bits. Her father on the other hand was a waste of space! We had Asia during a relationship we had four years ago. He charmed me, whined and dined me and then got me pregnant and that’s when I found out that he had a woman or to be precise a fiancée. I was hurt, and I was also four months pregnant when I eventually figured it out. Some people say to me, how did I not work that one out, but it was not simple. He had hidden it well. I mean we were together mainly everyday, if I did not see him I guarantee that I spoke to him. He knew exactly how to play the game and have me eating out of his hands. He told me all the right things and took me to all the beautiful places. We even went to Barbados together, which I later found out he had lied to his woman and told her some story about going to research the property market over there as a surprise for his mother. Man I must have really been a fool for true!
The only good thing about him is that he takes responsibility for his daughter. His relationship with his fiancée is still prevailing; she is actually a bigger fool than me! But I suppose whatever makes you happy, and he MUST be making her happy or giving it to her damn good for her to stay through his lies and scandals. Come on Asia is almost three, and Reese is a charmer, he has sex appeal oozing out of his body. I’m over him now, but I do understand what that stupid Shantel is going trough. It’s because I know what it is like, I know exactly what he has to offer, and YES it is all that and then some! I mean this man knows how to work every part of his body and then make every part of your body scream with desire, while making it look effortless.
He doesn’t really love Shantel, he couldn’t, he loves himself more. For him to treat her the way he has and then still continue the same behaviour he surely has no form of respect or remorse. The only reason he is still with her is because I kicked his ass to the kerb after I found out that he was engaged and had been the whole time throughout our one-year relationship, plus her parents own a number of estate agents and he needs the enhanced recognition.
Would I have stayed with him if he weren’t engaged? I’m not really sure how to answer that….maybe, or on the other hand maybe not. But I had always said from young that I wanted to have kids with one man and that would be the person who I would spend my whole life with. I grew up without my father in my life and I did not want that for my children. But life then dishes you out its own hand and your fate is at the mercy of silly mistakes and chances. Not to say that my Asia was a mistake, but it could have been planned a lot better, first being that Reese wasn’t the father and we had never met.
Just then my doorbell rang. I looked at the clock on the kitchen wall sceptically.
“Damnit, he’s here early” I announced as I rushed out of the kitchen to open the door.
“Look I will be back about eight let me go and buy some blank disks and come back” Rachel announced as I made my way past the front room to open the door. I knew Rachel was just trying to avoid Reese, she could not stand him. None of my family or friends could, but Rachel could not hide her repugnance towards him, so she avoided him as much as possible, because she was known to be very opinionated, she couldn’t hold her tongue!
“Alright then Rache” I opened the door and greeted Reese while Rachel kissed Asia goodbye and then forced a hi and bye to Reese as she brushed pass him at the door and into the sunset street.
He stood at my door, with the automatic safety light exposing his presence for all to see as he leaned causally on the wall.
“Hi, sorry I’m a bit early, it’s just that I left work early and decided to come straight down”
I rolled my eyes. “Look it’s fine, your only half an hour early, she’s not quite ready yet, just finishing her dinner”
“Daddy” Asia bellowed from the kitchen having heard her dad’s voice.
“Where’s daddies little princess?” He smiled as he passed through the front door and towards the kitchen which was opposite and in clear view of Asia sitting at the table on her pink princess booster seat.
Now I didn’t really let Reese into my house, because there was no need for him to come inside, but he took it upon himself to enter. Maybe this was the real reason why he had come early. To come and snoop to check that no man was living here. I know his tricks and I know the way he thinks, he had expressed many a times that he did not want no next man around his baby. Like I am supposed to remain a nun for the rest of my life. He must be mad!
He finished placing a tender kiss on her forehead before giving her instructions. “Princess, finish your dinner. Then you can come and have some fun at daddies, and I’ve got a little surprise for you if you eat all your dinner”
Asia rushed to eat her food, taking big gulps with her plastic children’s cutlery, anticipating her surprise. Reese turned and looked at me suspiciously, causing the temperature to dramatically drop.
“What’s wrong with you now? I like how you just invited yourself into my house, and don’t start your foolishness” I said to him sternly, turning my back to walk into the living room.
“What are you on about now woman? I am just looking at you, you look different, you look like your blossoming…there seems to be radiance about you today”
I kissed my teeth “Please Reese! What do you want? Those tricks certainly do not work with me anymore”
He smiled, following close behind me, loving the fact that he had been sussed “I came early because I just wanted to have a word with you”
“About what?”
“Well, we have to try and be civilised for Asia’s sake and…it’s not good for her not to see us interacting together positively” Reese said in his dictator tone
“What is your point? I am always civilised towards you despite the way which you treated me by lying and deceiving me, forgetting to mention that you had a FIANCEE” I bickered at him
“Leah, Leah, I know I hurt you and I am truly sorry for what I did, it’s just that I grew to love you so much that I couldn’t bear to lose you. You became a huge part of my life and you was like….”
“Stop bullshitting me Reese, it doesn’t make one bit of difference now. All that matters is that we are both happy and Asia is not neglected because of your stupidity!”
“Leah Leah I know but…”
He always used to call me Leah Leah when we were together, the way he said it used to make me feel all warm inside and he knew it, that’s why he was calling me it now, trying to make me succumb to whatever point he was trying to put across. “Look I don’t know what it is that you are hoping to achieve here…” I tried to finish my words but he cut in before I could.
“Leyah, listen. I just want to say that I think we should act more like a family for Asia’s sake! I mean try and give her some memories of the three of us together, just in case something happens in the future, at least she will have pictures and memories of us all together.” He blurted out as he invited himself to take a seat on my leather sofas.
“Well I am sure you have ruined any chances of us being a FAMILY, and it will all just be lies because you have made it this way” I scorned at him, the heat beginning to rise within me as the anger took hold of me once again.
“Come on Leah Leah, we have to try for our daughters sake, I mean lets just try and do things together for her.”
I could not believe what this fool was coming out with, how dare he try and act like the mature parent here. He was the reason why our daughter has to live in a single parent home and spend weekends at her fathers. Why should I be made to look like I was the one that was stopping things from progressing, from her being happy! Damn he irritates me!
“Look, I hear what you are saying, and I agree that we need to do something together for Asia, but I am not going to lie to YOUR WOMAN sorry FIANCEE about anything” I shouted. He ignored my anger and continued with his point.
“I’m not asking you to. Asia is my daughter and you are her mother she understands that, and she also understands that I would do anything for my baby girl. So that is not a problem. Look I have tickets to go to the aquarium Sunday, it would be nice if you could come”
Reese put me on the spot, and I could see the persistence in his eyes. I lowed my head confused. He knew he had backed me into a corner and I could not retreat without saying yes.
I brushed off my dress. “Wow, you had it all planned out then, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly, I was going to take her with Mum, but her arthritis is playing up again. So I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to make a go… you know… and do something together”
As I was about to give him another piece of my mind, with my arms folded and ready for the attack Asia came running into the front room right into her father’s loving arms.
“Princess Mummy is coming with us to the aquarium” Reese slyly said, avoiding any eye contact with me. Knowing that Asia would be excited at the prospect of me coming with them.
“Yeah, mummy, mummy, see the fishies?” She said jumping up and down on her dads lap excited.
“Yes darling, mummy is going to come and see the fishes with you” I said sarcastically “Now go and get your shoes and coat on”
“Okay” She said as she jumped off her dads lap and ran upstairs to get her coat.
Clap, Clap! “You are so conniving, you really haven’t changed! You knew that I couldn’t say no in front of my baby” I snapped at him.
“I know! Well I didn’t plan to tell her like that; just she came in at the right moment. Don’t worry about it, it will be fun. I won’t try and feed you to the sharks if that’s what you’re worried about” He humoured “I just want Asia to have fun memories with us”
Somehow what he said seemed genuine, although I knew he must have an ultimate plan under that scheming head of his, I will just go along for Asia’s sake. And as he said it might even be fun.
“Look, I’m coming but don’t be sneaking around, tell Shantel exactly who you are going with!”
“Listen I will! I am done with all the lying and hiding. She will know and I will be the one to tell her. Okay?”
I nodded my head in agreement
“Well then I will come and pick you up on Sunday for eleven o’clock, is that okay?”
“Yeah, I will make sure I am ready. And don’t think that this is for your benefit, I still dislike you and you are still the number one bastard in my life, this is not about us!” I had to ensure that Reese full and well knew that I was only doing it for Asia and not holding on to the small hope that it would bring us back together. I knew that he always had it in the back of his mind that one day I would beg him back, but I have gained some inner strength over the past couple years, especially seeing him and Shantel still together after everything he done. It has also made me a lot stronger and icier towards men, I am no longer a doormat for them, which is a huge change.
Asia came running down the stairs with her favourite coat that her dad bought her and her pink kickers, ready to leave. Reese didn’t need to take any clothes for Asia; she had her own room at his house with everything she needed, it was like her second home. He had managed to buy a huge four-bedroom house in Shirley, courtesy of his success in property development. He had managed to buy the type of house he had always wanted and had impressively made numerous investments to maintain his empire.
“Well Leyah I will see you on Sunday. Asia give your mummy a big hug and kiss from the both of us” He said while he let out a cheeky devious smile. I kissed my teeth at him, showing my disapproval.
I waved them good-bye as he drove off in his brand new black Range Rover Sports Jeep, the engine roaring down my quiet street. As soon as I closed the door, I went straight into the living room and sat down for a while. I needed to fully digest the arrangements that I had just made with Reese. I mean this man had caused so many problems within my life and now I have to try and play happy families with him, and it was not even my idea! Wait until I tell the girls about this, I’m not even sure if I should go. What if he fails to tell Shantel and I go through another experience like the last time when he came to the parents evening without letting her know. Now that was drama, she phoned me up cussing and swearing down the phone, accusing me of using Asia as a way to get back with him and at one point she even accused me of having an affair with him. As if I would do that again!