The other day while performing one of my beauty rituals, I ran into a female at the nail shop. She gave me a kind of sideways look, but still said "What's up?" I replied the same. She looked over at me and then blurted out..."Don't you know Mike?"

I just nodded and tried to enjoy my pampering. She pressed the issue though and in a ghetto-fabulous kind of way, looked me up and down, then said loudly "Yeah, I thought you look-did familiar. My man, Mike, how do you know him?"

"How do I know him?" Is that the question she had presented? The man with whom I spent 8 years of my young, adult life. The man for whom I decided to terminate a pregnancy... And take part in illegal activities, And do shit so freaky, the memories alone embarrass me. (Embarrass me because I liked it.:-) )

"How do I know him?"

I know how he likes his eggs - runny. And how he likes his fries - soft. And his women - freaky (behind closed doors)

"How do I know him?"

"How do I 'KNOW' him?"

I know that as a child, he aspired to be a great musician like Miles Davis and the only other person he told was his grandmother, Ma'Dear. He stopped playing when she died. She was the only one who really supported him.

I know his biggest fear is drowning. I know that when he dies, he wants to be cremated and have his ashes spread across a marijuana field in Jamaica. He has actually written that down and keeps it locked away with his valuables.

Hmmm...Let's see...

I know how the scar on his right leg is from falling off his bike, And the scar over his left eye is from playing basketball...5 stitches...I was there.

I know his favorite candy is chic-o-stik, His favorite kid toy was stretch-arm-strong, And how on the D.L., he listens to old school jazz and gospel... But would never tell his boys.

I know how much he adores his mother, Is indifferent about his stepfather, And overprotective of his sisters, And how he secretly visits his father in jail.

I know that he has a baseball card collection that he has had since he was 8, and how he loves kids, but isn't ready for any of his own.

I know how BADLY he wants to own his own restaurant one day, and how he still has nightmares of the day his cousin was killed even though it's been three years.

"How do I know him?"

I know one of his proudest moments is when he crossed line as an Alpha. One of his most embarrassing moments is '99 New Year's eve when he was PISSY drunk. And his happiest memories are of him and his grandmother playing cards. Oh...and favorite color...GREEN.

"How do I know him?"

Is that what she really wants to know? I "know" him the way that two people who have had what we did, should know one another. Intimately, deeply, completely honestly... That's how I know him.

I know him in a way she couldn't possibly. Not yet. Hell, maybe not ever. But I just looked at her with all this going through my mind and scoffed.

"How do I know him?"

I looked her up and down in a "sister" kind of way and simply responded...