Page 91 of Betrothed To Love

“I’m sorry. And how long ago was this?”

“A while. Almost ten years ago,” Giselle says.

“Oh.” The woman sighs loudly. “Ten years. So you don’t know?”

“Know what?” Giselle asks.

“Martin passed two years ago, an aneurism,” she says and damn. Giselle and I both raise our heads. Our eyes reveal our shock.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. My deepest, deepest condolences,” Giselle says sincerely.

“Thank you,” the woman replies, then there are a few long seconds of silence. “I’m sorry, why were you calling again?” Luckily, Giselle comes up with something.

“The conference is in a few months. I’m the chair this year and was just reaching out because I noticed we didn’t have his registration.”

“Oh okay…Well, you have a good day,” the lady says and Giselle ends the call.

“Wow,” she sighs.

“Yeah…wow!” I repeat.

“At least you know Richardson couldn’t have gotten the information from him. That’s leaves us, Kyrah, and Alex and none of us⁠—”

I complete her thought. “Would ever. I think Quintus is right. Richardson was bluffing.”

“And if he is, expose his lying ass,” Giselle says.

TWENTY-SIX

Deuces Bar & Lounge is centrally located in Diamond Falls. Originally the space had been a warehouse but Deuce turned into his spot. Playing off the existing high beamed ceilings, open space, and rustic look, he created a chill and modern space perfect for happy hour, a girls’ night out, and vibe spot to kick it with your boys. With sleek interiors, ambient lighting, plush seating, a huge bar, and reserved seating on the outer walls, Deuces has become a local favorite. Deuces even hosts local DJs and artists a few nights a week but mainly the state-of-the-art sound system supplies the music each night.

Among the reserved seating is Deuce’s private area. A group text to all my brothers has us all here but Tre. He didn’t respond and didn’t show up either. Deuce just stepped out to check on our food. The menu is small, with only five items: spiced sweet potato fries, jerk tacos, fried chicken sliders, sticky Hennessy wings, and boudin egg rolls. We ordered three of everything to share.

“So that nigga really ain’t gon’ show,” Shiro says while shaking his head.

“Looks like it and that’s fucked up. No matter what, she’s our sister,” Ace adds.

My text was about Alami. I decided to tell them about her even though we aren’t officially meeting until Wednesday when she comes by the office. With everything going on, I figured there’s no time like the damn present.

“Well, let’s hear it,” Shiro says. “I got plans tonight.”

“Nigga, you stay having plans lately. Who is she?” Ace asks and I smirk because I know it’s my wife’s friend Kyrah. My kyau insists on talking about them.

“Who says it’s a fucking female?” Shiro counters before sipping his drink.

“’Cause I know my brother,” Ace says.

“Nigga, fuck you,” Shiro says dismissively and Ace and I chuckle.

Deuce returns with two servers and all of our food. He slides into the extra long leather booth after placing the wings on the table. When all of the food is on the table along with the condiments, we each say silent prayers then dig in. Five minutes into eating, to all of our surprise, Tre joins us.

“Don’t say shit. I’m here. Pass me the rest of them wings,” he grits and I just shake my head.

“How you handling this shit with sis?” Ace asks.

“Yeah, that’s fucked up. That pale bitch said that foul shit on live TV. When I saw your ass get up, I thought we was about to see a beatdown on the damn news,” Deuce says.

“Nigga, I was there. He got his ass up and so did I,” Ace says.