Page 18 of That Fire

“Naw. That don’t mean she hasn’t met a man somewhere else.”

I nodded.

“Just text her or call her. When y’all were together, I could see how happy you both were. The day of the wedding . . . the way y’all just blocked out the world . . . I get it. Call her, man.”

He patted my shoulder, then went back inside. I got in my ride and mulled over his words. I could reach out to her since the last time we spoke, she reached out to me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Hey, Liyah. I just wanted to check on you. How’s everything?

I backed out of my parking spot and headed to the liquor store, which was only a road before hers. When I got there, I noticed the place was hopping. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I was sure Dad didn’t give a fuck. As long as those bottles were leaving the shelves, he was happy as fuck. I chuckled as I thought about the big ass Kool-Aid smile he probably had on his face. Nigga was probably in there dancing and shit.

I grabbed my to-go container and when I got to the door, I could hear Pimp C. I slowly shook my head and made my way inside to see him rocking with a bottle of Grey Goose in his hand. I had to laugh. His ass was so damn predictable.

“Crown Royal! What’s up, playa?”

I laughed again. Whenever I came to the liquor store, he called me Crown Royal. He said they didn’t name me after the alcohol, but I didn’t believe that shit with as much as he loved Crown. I was surprised that wasn’t my full name.Ghetto countryasses.I slapped hands with a couple of customers who were grooving right along with him and made my way to the office. I set my food on the desk, then checked my phone to see if Aaliyah had responded.

Maybe I’d pissed her off, because she hadn’t responded yet. I clicked her contact information and called her. I listened to the phone ring, then go to voicemail. When it beeped, I said, “Hey, Liyah. I just wanted to check on you, baby. I’m sorry for going silent on you. Call me back.”

Instead of focusing on why she wasn’t responding, I sat at the desk and got the computer booted up and ready for inventory. There was some preliminary shit I needed to do before we even started the process. We always inventoried the expensive shit first, because it tended to move a lot slower than everything else. Only Hendersons bought that shit. Every now and then, Mr. Red, Mr. Zayson, or Mr. Legend came through and scooped that shit up.

My dad was the most supported Henderson, besides my aunts at the diner. Everybody loved Jasper Henderson. He was the life of any party. He loved to clown and joke around. Plus, he was the damn plug. I still didn’t know where he was getting his weed from, but everybody hit his ass up for some, even Mr. Legend.

They still had the family smoke sessions on Fridays, and that shit would be lit. Everybody that came was guaranteed to be high as fuck, whether they were smoking or getting a contact high. I tried to be there nearly every Friday. I always left early though because I had shit to get into . . . usually Aaliyah.

My dick hardened at the thought of her hot pussy. The way that shit gripped me every time, felt like it lassoed my damn heart. Aaliyah was passionate like me and loved sex. Growing up in a house like mine, you either loved sex or hated that shit, no in between. Ashanni and I definitely loved it.

Unbeknownst to her, I got in a few fights defending her love for it. People loved to talk shit about her. Ashanni could be one of the sweetest people in the world unless she was pissed off. She didn’t tolerate bullshit. Otherwise, she would give someone the LV shoes off her feet. I loved that about her.

Biting the bullet, I decided to text Shani to see if she’d heard from Aaliyah.

Hey, Shani. I hope your day is going good. Have you heard from Aaliyah? She isn’t responding to me.

I opened my box of dirty cabbage and dove in. The smell had started getting to me. Aunt Chrissy fucked this cabbage all the way up. It was cabbage, ground beef, shrimp, and sausage. I didn’t need anything else with it, other than a piece of cornbread, whenever she made it. I updated a few forms as I ate, waiting to hear from Shani or Aaliyah.

My phone buzzed, and I looked at it to see a message from Shani.

Hey. I’ve been waiting for you to ask, because I’ve wanted to tell you for over a week now. I was just trying to respect the fact that you were trying to get her out of your system. She did another DNA test, only to find out that he wasn’t the father either. I truly think y’all should do another one. She’s so depressed. She’s been in the house for a week and quit her job.

My heart sank. She was like the third person to recommend we do another test. If this other guy wasn’t the father, then it had to be me. She couldn’t havethatmany possibilities within that time frame.

Thanks, sis. I’ll try to call her again.

Instead of calling, I sent her a text.

Liyah, please talk to me. I know you probably feel like I deserve your silence, and I believe I deserve that shit too, but I need to know if you okay. Please.

I ate my food, then went back to the computer to get the forms ready for inventory. My mind wanted to be with Aaliyah though. She was suffering. My natural instinct was to go to her and comfort her. I called Bali’s office instead.

“What, nigga?”

I frowned and looked at the phone. “That’s how you answer your office phone?”

“I have caller ID. What’chu want before I hang up.”

“Damn. I wanted to see if you could do a DNA test.”

“For you and Liyah? I can do it and send it off. I don’t normally do that shit though.”