“No problem,” Fee said. “Good night.”
“Good night,” I returned.
“Thanks for today. I really appreciated the company,” Morris said.
“I had fun. Thank you for allowing me in on your family time. I know it’s precious.”
“You’re welcome to join us anytime. Good night,” Morris smiled.
“Good night,” I said before walking into my apartment.
I was tired! I started undressing as soon as I locked the door and set the alarm. I took everything out of my jeans pockets before I took them off and tossed them in the hamper. I unfolded the money that Morris gave me for the girls’ hair and realized he’d given me two hundred dollars.
I threw on a pair of jogging pants, a t-shirt, and my slippers. I walked out of my apartment, across the hall to Morris’ place, and lightly knocked on the door. He opened it after about a minute wearing some shorts and a sleeveless tank the stretched deliciously over his broad chest. I refrained from licking my lips even though I really wanted to.
“What’s up? Everything okay?” He asked, looking around me and over my head.
“Yeah, ummm, you gave me too much money,” I said while handing him the one-hundred-dollar bill.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. I said it was one hundred for both girls, not one hundred apiece. This is too much, here,” I said, still holding the money in front of him.
“I know what you said, but I also know that you did their hair at the last minute and on your day off. You entertained them and watched them while I went for food and took a call, so it’s actually not enough.”
“No, Morris.”
“Yes, Cam, consider it a tip.”
“Fine. Thank you. Also, Skye asked me about her mother while we were riding back home.”
“What did she say?”
“She said her mother used to do her hair, but she hadn’t seen her in a while. She started to cry. I just told her that both you and her mother love her very much and sometimes grownups go through things.”
“Thanks for letting me know. I found out today that Beatrice is locked up. I’m going to get the money to her cousin tomorrow morning to bail her out,” Morris said.
I knew that Morris and the girls’ mother’s relationship had been over for a long time. I thought it was admirable that he would pay to get her out of jail.
“Wow, is that why she hasn’t been coming around?”
“No, that just happened. I don’t really know the reason why she hasn’t been around, and I don’t care except it’s affecting the girls.”
“So, she just stopped showing up for them?”
“Yep, over a month ago.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Tell me about it. Then when she called, she didn’t even ask about them. She was just concerned about getting out of jail,” he explained.
“That’s foul.”
“Yep, but whatever. I was going to let her ass rot in jail, but then I had to think about my daughters.”
“It’s very nice of you. I don’t know too many men who would do the same thing. Out here saving ‘em, huh?”
“Somebody gotta do it,” he shook his head.