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"Then what is she doing here? What was she doing here the night she took advantage of you." Xora was being dramatic, not that I expected anything less.
"For the record, Hailo didn't do anything that night that I didn’t want her to.” I defended her because I was just as much to blame as Hailo was. I couldn’t attest to much about her character, but being an opportunist didn’t fit what I did know about her.
"Now that the cat is out of the bag, we all know what will happen next. Regardless of how any of you feel, Hailo is family now." Ross addressed, allowing his eyes to float around the room at each family member.
“For once, I’m just glad somebody else is fucking up around here,” Tyson’s grin caused my expression to be still.
“A big fuck up. What do we know about this woman to bring her into our family business?” Uncle Lucas inquired.
“Not a damn thing Pops,” Tyson replied curtly.
“About as much as you knew of Sophia, but we all welcomed her into the family.” Uncle Everett casually tossed out. He was quiet and laid back, but when he spoke, everybody listened.
“Mia, you better get your husband before I fix his ass myself!” Sophia threatened.
“We can settle this if Pops grants me a get-out-of-jail-free card.
My attempt to reel the conversation in only added fuel to the fire.
“Oh, so the rules can be bent for Gi and not me?” Solana interjected, leaning forward, ready for an argument.
“Exactly what rules do you need, bent Solana Jovon?” Aunt Sophia interrogated, causing Solana to recline on the sofa. My hand sat perched on my forehead to shield me from all the jabs thrown.
“The rules aren’t being bent for anyone. Gianni and Hailo will get married. Solana will remain the princess of this family, and we will all play nice when Hailo arrives. Speaking of which, where is she?”
“Home wrapping up things.”
“Good. We need her here as soon as possible. Solana, you’ll be in charge of helping Hailo get acclimated.”
“Me? Why me?”
“We all have roles in this family, Sol. You know that,” Uncle Lucas informed her.
“So I have to make nice to the whore who gives it up to strangers breaking my best friend's heart?” Solana quipped, delivering an unfriendly stare. I knew her loyalty was to Kyerra, but I thought her love for me would trump all the smart comments she let roll out.
“That’s what we’re doing now? I wouldn’t have been there if you didn’t beg me to take you out.”
“I wouldn’t have had to if everybody would stop treating me like a child!” Solana erupted, but I was done listening to anything she had to say.
“Enough! Hailo will need somebody to show her the ropes. That’s where you come in, Solana.” My father interjected, trying to regain control of the conversation. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way let’s enjoy dinner.”
Sundays had always been about family for as long as I could remember. No matter what happened, we all made time to be here unless it was something beyond our control. Tonight was no different. We sat around the table and spent quality time I wasn’t interested in being a part of.
After dinner, I walked outside to smoke and debated texting Kyerra. I knew I needed to let it go, but shit was moving so fast that I didn’t have time to process it. One day I woke up with a girlfriend, and on the same day, I went to sleep with a baby and a wife on the way.
“Is Hailo good?” Mack asked, joining me outside. I knew it was only a matter of time before he checked in. I had been too quiet for his liking at dinner, a role he usually occupied.
“Good as can be, I guess. Getting on my fuckin’ nerves.”
“She wasn’t getting on your nerves when y’all were making love in the club. Where’s all that energy now? She was cool enough to fuck with but not have your kid?”
“I don’t take family lightly. It’s nothing I won’t do for the ones I fuck with. I don’t want to be betting on the wrong horse. Feel me?” I took another pull of the blunt and exhaled the smoke because I needed the marijuana to reveal my next thought. “I didn’t do shit wrong, but I’m fucked up about Ky. She caught a stray from my bullshit, which doesn’t make a nigga feel good. The last thing I want is to end up like Lucas and Sophia.”
“You knew the rules before you started playing, Gi. You can’t complain about it. All you can do is stand ten toes down and pray it works out with Hailo.”
“Who the fuck said I wasn’t?”
“All this whining you’re doing, I didn’t know which route you planned on taking,” Mack joked. Not being there for Hailo and our child was never an option.
