Page 27 of That Fire

“Y’all nasty asses belong together.”

I chuckled and said, “See you next time.”

When I got to the front, they gave me my appointment card for my next visit. Royal was to the side giving blood. Once he was done, we left the confines of the office space to see those people were gone and so was Mayor Storm. Mr. Kenny and WatchfulEyes were still there though. Mr. Kenny gave Royal a head nod and me a quick smile. He was always so quiet.

After getting to the car, Royal helped me inside, then walked around to his side, constantly looking around, checking our surroundings. I appreciated him for that. As he did so, I saw Karima and her husband headed inside, probably going for her checkup. There were so many pregnant Hendersons. It had to be in the well water. Christian’s wife was pregnant again and so was Milana. Including me, it was six or seven of us walking around here pregnant.

Royal got inside, and asked, “My place or yours?”

“Can we go to mine? I left clothes in the washer.”

“Absolutely.”

He grabbed my hand and gently caressed the top of it with his thumb. “We’re having a boy and a girl. I suppose you’re done after that then, right?”

I smiled softly as I thought about my previous assumptions. Turning to him, I gave him a tight smile. “I will have more if you want them, Royal. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby. What if I want five kids?”

“Then I guess I’ll stay barefoot and pregnant around this bitch.”

He laughed loudly, then leaned over to kiss me. After pulling away, he remained quiet. He took a deep breath and smiled. “I don’t want five, but I may want another. It depends on the personalities of the two that are coming.”

“They are active inside, or at least our little boy is. We will see once they are outside.”

He backed up to head to my house. His phone lit up as he pulled out of the parking lot. I could clearly see his dad’s picture on the screen. And just like that, the smile fell from his face. I knew he was thinking about that shit with his brother. For justan hour, he was able to concentrate on the joys of being a father. That bullshit wasn’t on his mind.

He silenced the call. “I’ll call him when we get to your place and get you settled in for a nap.”

I only nodded my acceptance of what he said. I needed a nap. Hopefully, he could figure things out with his brother, but for some reason, I felt like it would get worse before it got better.

Chapter 9

Royal

“I’m tired of his shit. He needs to learn respect. After I shut his shit down, he followed me outside, insulting my lady. I don’t give a fuck who it is . . . They gon’ catch a fade anytime they speak negatively about her. If he really loved and respected me, he would respect her.”

“I wasn’t saying you were wrong, Royal. I was just trying to figure out what happened,” my dad said. “Crew just said you pushed him to the ground and punched him.”

“That just proves that nigga was being shady if he can’t tell the truth. Is he home?”

“Yeah, he’s here.”

“Good. Don’t let him leave. I’m on my way.”

I ended the call and checked on Aaliyah to see she had fallen asleep. I refused to wake her up. I could tell the extra weight of the babies was draining her, especially with how hot it had gotten outside.

I hopped in my Escalade and made my way to my parents’ house about a mile away on FM 365. We were about to get this right and out in the open. If he tried to deny anything, I would call Kingsley. He witnessed how the shit started. If he sat thereand lied about everything, I was probably gonna knock his ass out this time.

When I pulled up, I saw that he, Mama, and Daddy were outside. I hopped out of my SUV right as I put it in park. I didn’t even bother killing the engine. I didn’t plan to be here long. My dad didn’t play around about squashing shit, but I didn’t know how quickly I would get over him calling Aaliyah a ho. His pitiful feelings were hurt because she was with me. He was on some fuck nigga bullshit, and my parents didn’t raise fuck niggas.

When I got close, he turned his head the opposite direction as my dad frowned, peeping that shit. My mama’s hand was on her hip, and she looked like she wanted to go upside that nigga’s head. After climbing the few stairs, I slapped my dad’s hand, then hugged my mama and kissed her cheek.

“Crew.”

“What’s up,” he said without looking at me.

“So you can’t face me now? You over here running your mouth but leaving out the bullshit you did.”