I disconnected the line, then glanced at Chasity. “There you go. Your problem is solved. Just so we’re clear, I am denying service today, and in the future, which is my right as the business owner.”
She huffed. “Pril, it’s been years. I don’t have any beef with you. I think we can be mature enough for me to do busi?—”
My raised hand stopped her. “Let me stop you there. Maturity has nothing to do with it. You are out of your rabid ass mind if you think that it is alright for the mistress of your ex to think you would do her nails. There is no reason for you to be here period, and you know that.”
Chasity rolled her eyes but tried to recover to keep her little innocent act. “That’s fine. I will go to the other nail tech. I do want to ask you a quick question.” She glanced down at the ground for a moment, then at me. “Has Derrick reached out to you?”
Now my laugh was loud. “Yeah, I knew there was more to this pop-up. Sweetheart, if you have to ask another woman about what your man is doing, then you might want to reconsider the whole marriage thing. I’ll be damned if I ask the next bitch about my damn man days before my wedding. It tells me that you think he’s on some fuck shit. If you think it based on his track record, he probably is.”
“Whatever. I already have the address to Polished Vibez. She was recommended to me also.” She turned on her heels then walked away. She didn’t get too far before she stopped then turned to me. “Oh, and just to be technical. I’m not a mistress because you were never a wife like I’m about to be.”
See now!If I grew wings and bopped this bitch on the head, I would be wrong. It was clear she wanted to throw her impending wedding in my face. That was cool because I genuinely didn’t give a fuck. When you had a man like Tafari, no other man would ever matter.
Chapter 5
Tafari
Some Time Later
Where You Going With It . . .
“Boy, no! We ga have to find you a lil one, Troy. These chicks outcha wild,” I said to my cousin through my laughter.
It was Sunday. I was at my restaurant with my father, uncle, cousins, and Vince. This was a usual Sunday thing for us. It was our decompression from the last week and the good vibes to start the beginning of the next week. Drinks, food, and vibes . . . that was what it was all about.
Troy had just told us about a date he went on last night. My cousin, Jordan’s younger brother, wanted to be in a relationship, but he hadn’t had much luck. I’ve told him that I thought he looked in the wrong circle for a woman. This nigga expected to find love in clubs.
Troy shook his head. “At this point, I just ga let one of y’all lil ones hook me up. I can’t deal wit’ these Easter egg head ass girls anymo’. You ask dem a question, dey open dey mout’ and all the jellybeans fall out. I hate fuckin’ jellybeans. Dey over sweet and hurt ya stomach jus’ like des fake ass females outcha.”
There was a break of silence before we all chortled. My dad leaned forward on the table. “Nephew, Easter egg head doe?”
“Yeah, man. You gotta find their asses like you’re on a hunt. When you find dem and open ’em up, you always disappointed. Shit, I jus’ want da golden egg like y’all niggas.” Troy sounded so discouraged. That was tough.
I patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Cuzzo. You ga find ya one. I was where you are befo’ Pril walked in here fa Jordan and Nicole’s engagement party.”
Vince’s glass tapped the counter. “What you doing with that, Man Man?” When I glanced at him with confusion, he elaborated. “You ga marry Pril, or dis just some lil play shit?”
My face drew back. “Da hell you mean is des some lil play shit? Boy, don’t fuckin’ play wit’ me. Pril Jasmine Blinds is gonna be my wife.” I reached in the pocket of my cargo pants and pulled out a small box, then placed it on the counter. “Dat shit ga happen sooner den later. I got one conversation ta have first befo’ I ask her.”
My daddy was the first one to grab the box to open it. He stared at the rings for a beat before his head lifted and his eyes focused on me. His eyes were soft as he chuckled, then said, “I hustled hard ta get dis engagement ring fa ya mama. When I asked her, I promised her on dis ring and God dat I would give her da fucking world. I busted my ass ta make sure I could do dat fa you and ya mama. Boy, you betta stand on dat same promise dat I put on dis ring.”
He passed the ring to my uncle, then it was passed along to the next person. When I told my mama that I was going to ask Pril to marry me, I felt like she was more excited than Pril would be when I asked her. I never imagined in a million years that my mama would give me the same ring that my daddy proposed to her with. When my daddy originally gave the ring to my mama, all of the stones were cubic zirconia. Over the years of their marriage, he switched out the stones for real ones until all of them eventually were diamonds. He presented the ring to heragain before their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, and they had a vow renewal for that anniversary.
With confidence in my eyes and certainty in my tone, I responded to my daddy. “I promise you, Daddy. I’ma give her everything she want and da stuff she didn’t know she needed.”
A Few DaysLater
Momma, May I . . .
I had never been so nervous. When I asked Miss Meriland to dinner, she didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation. A part of me thought that she knew what it was about from the jump.
California Dreaming was her favorite restaurant, so that was where I took her. Pril’s mother was the only parental figure that she had. From what my baby told me, her father was a deadbeat ass nigga who wasn’t about shit. I never understood deadbeat ass fathers. I grew up around men that took care of their children. If you were a deadbeat, then you couldn’t be around me and mine. I didn’t mix with fuck niggas.
“So, are you going to tell me the reason you asked me to dinner? I know it wasn’t to have aimless conversation,” Miss Meriland said after she put her fork on her plate. We’d already eaten our main course.
I placed my fork down on my plate then cleared my throat. “Yeah, yeah. Um, I invited you to dinner so that I could ask you a very important question.”
I took the ring box out of my pocket and set it on the table. Before I could say another word, she grabbed the box from the middle of the table. Her eyes glistened when she opened the box. In a mumble she said, “my baby, my baby, my baby.” A tear fell when she looked at me. “So, you wanna marry my baby girl?”
