Everybody turned to look and when Jacob saw CJ, he said, “Hell yeah. That nigga sneaky as fuck. I saw his ass creeping out the house the other night while Mama and Pop were probably sleeping.”
“I mean, he about to start his first year in college. He shouldn’t have to creep though. I’ma have to talk to Mama about that,” Jess said.
“Naw. Mama right. It was two in the morning, and he was leaving. We were normally coming in. Only one reason you leave the house at two in the morning, Jess,” Jacob said, then kissed Mekayla on the side of her head. “This woman will have me jumping out a third-story window to get at her. So I get it, but nigga damn.”
We all laughed as Mekayla side-eyed him.
“I know that’s right, sis!” Mya said, giving her a high-five.
When Remy sat next to me and grabbed some chicken, he said, “What’s up, y’all?”
When everybody just stared at him, he frowned, looking just like a product of Mayor Storm Henderson.
“Why the fuck y’all looking at me like that?”
“Uh-huh. I can see that nigga gon’ be trouble,” Brixton said. “He tall, got the long hair like Marcus, and the attitude of his daddy. Yeah, it’s gon’ be trouble in big city Nome.”
Everybody laughed, then spoke to him. When CJ sat, they all spoke to him as well. They never got to eat with us, because they were usually in school. Remy still had one more year. CJ planned to go to Lamar or TSU. He hadn’t made a definite decision yet, since he didn’t get a scholarship. He was going into business with his dad, and I believed I knew why.Women.
When Uncle Jasper, my dad, and Uncle Marcus walked in, they were already arguing. We all rolled our eyes as we watched them go back and forth. They went to the counter, and Aunt Jen said, “A’ight, bad asses. Hush all that noise.”
They all smiled, pushing each other to get to Aunt Jen. I swore they were like big ass kids when they were together . . . which was all the damn time. Bringing my attention back to my baby, I asked, “You wanna go look at where our house will be? We gon’ live right next door to Kingsley.”
“Of course. I would love to.”
I smiled at her and kissed her head. She brought her fork of red beans and rice to my mouth, and I took it. My gaze didn’t waver until I saw somebody approaching us. When I looked up, I saw it was her sisters. Ayzjohnna and Tas’zhane were standing there smiling. So I said, “What’s up, y’all? What y’all doing out here?”
Iesha turned around, and said, “Hey, y’all! Come on so you can meet Aunt Jen and Aunt Chrissy.”
“Hey, Seven. We had to come see what all the hoopla was about. Iesha brags on this place all the time,” Taj said.
“First of all, girl, ain’t no hoopla. That shit is facts. The Hendersons don’t fuck around.”
Taj giggled. “Iesha said the exact same thing. I swear, y’all two were meant for each other.”
She slowly shook her head as they walked away. When they did, Maui sat next to me. She leaned against me, and I frowned. “So because your man ain’t here yet, you want affection from me?”
“Shut up for once, SS. I just wanted to say how proud of you I was. Yes, we argued a lot and still do sometimes, but I love you. I’m sure I speak for the twins also. I was not confident in you and Iesha making it, but after I started seeing the changes in you, I knew she was the one. Not saying that you are anywhere close to being perfect, but you’re perfect for her now. Y’all look perfect for each other, because I’ve noticed the changes in her too.”
I kissed her forehead. “Thanks, Maui. I love you too. Na move. You making me itch.”
She pushed me and went back to her seat next to Ashanni. I smiled slightly, feeling grateful for her lil ass. Whenever the twins gave me a hard time growing up, she tried to balance shit out by being positive. Even when she had to get at me about something, she always lifted me after she figuratively slung my ass to the ground.
I looked around and was grateful for all the family being together again. We had better enjoy it now, because the war was just beginning. Just because we won one lil battle, didn’t mean the shit was over. When they came back, they were gonna come harder.
Mr. Shy burst through the door in his suit, and I took a deep breath. Peace never lasted long around here. I just hoped he wasn’t here about no bullshit. Everybody was staring at him. He was huffing a lil bit, so my dad said, “Spit that shit out, nigga.”
When Mr. Shy smirked, I knew we were okay for now. “We get our day in court. Seven get ready, nigga. The government finna get they asses handed to them. Me and Sidney got three months to prepare. We finna fuck those bitches without lube. Y’all feel me?”
Everybody clapped and cheered as Mr. Shy went to the counter to get something to eat. Iesha sat next to me and intertwined her fingers with mine. “And it begins. I need you to be aware of your surroundings at all times.”
“You got that, baby.”
I glanced at her sisters, and Ayzjohnna looked like she was about to orgasm when she bit into that mac and cheese stuffed chicken. When I chuckled, Iesha turned to see what I was looking at. When her eyes met her sister’s, Ayzjohnna slowly shook her head. Her mouth was full, but she was happy as hell.
“See! I told y’all!”
“You was right. I can see we gon’ be here at least once a week,” Taj said.
