Page 30 of His Four Leaf Clover

“Yeah, ok, your words ain’t matching your feelings boo.”

“Well, at least I can accept when a nigga don’t want me.”

“Monty ain’t got no muthafucking chains on his wrist. That nigga chose to stay there and pay all the bills because he wants to. My money is mine to do whatever I want. Them hoes can have him in the daytime because he sleeps home every night. And you talking all that shit but you out here shopping for the same party. Where’s your invite, hoe?”

Caprice didn’t realize how loud they were getting until she noticed people staring at them. She was embarrassed but she wasn’t about to let Sade keep trying to play on her. Her cousin had a body count that she wouldn’t be able to catch up to in a lifetime. And none of them niggas cared enough to wife her hoe ass. It wasn’t the first time that she and Sade had it out and it more than likely wasn’t the last.

Truthfully, they were just looking for love, something that seemed to elude them both. She hated to even think it but she knew that it was only a matter of time before they stopped fucking with each other. Caprice fell out with her other cousin that she used to hang out with and she was closer with her than she was with Sade.

“Nah, not my family in the mall bout to throw hands, huh?”

Both women turned around and were shocked to see their cousin, Trent, standing there smiling at them. They probably saw him three to four times a year and that was pushing it. His father came around to see their grandmother but, most times, he was alone. Trent’s mother didn’t really want him and his sisters socializing with the family and they barely did.

Both his parents were well off and acted as if their family was beneath them. Caprice’s mother, Linda, didn’t go around the family anymore either since her father died. She blamed her mother-in-law, Hattie, for her husband taking his own life. Linda tried her best to help her husband with his mental illness but his mother made it almost impossible. She never accepted that their grandfather had a condition and it was even worse with her son.

When Capice’s father killed himself, his insurance policy wasn’t worth anything. By then, Hattie had blown through the lawsuit money that she got from their grandfather and she couldn’t help them. Linda had always been a stay-at-home mom but she had small children that she had to care for. Sadly, they lost their home and had to depend on public assistance. They struggled for years until Linda got a job working for the state. It paid decent money, and she was able to move them to a better area.

Once she remarried, things got even better but she vowed to never depend on a man again, even if it was her husband. That’s why she was always fussing at Caprice for relying on Monty to pay the bills. As much as she hated to admit it, her mother was right.

“Boy, bye, it ain’t like y’all fuck with this side of the family anyway.”

Sade rolled her eyes in disgust. Trent was batshit crazy just like her grandfather and uncle. She never forgave him for drowning her dog when they were younger. And just like always, their grandmother made excuses for his craziness. His parents offered to replace the pet, but Sade and her sibling were scorned. They didn’t even want a dog anymore. She remembered Trent laughing uncontrollably when one of their uncles got the dog out of their grandmother’s bathtub to take it outside. His parents were financially stable but no amount of money in the world could fix their son. Trudy was born into money so she never took on her husband’s last name. She made sure that her daughters and son had the Latimer last name as well, even if hers girls did hyphenate it.

“Nah, we’re family. It’s always gon’ be love with us.”

“I’m going to the food court, Caprice. Call me whenever you’re ready.”

Sade walked away without even waiting for her to reply. Seeing Trent always triggered something inside of her and she hated being around him. His cheating, hoe ass mama always acted like he was normal but her uncle, Melvin, knew better. They’d been sued and almost lost their house and businesses over Trent’s psychotic ways. He’d violated multiple restraining orders because he couldn’t comprehend when a woman didn’t want him anymore. All it took was one date and he was ready to get married and start a family. And he had no problem putting his hands on a female if things didn’t go his way.

“Who you in here with?” Caprice asked once Sade was gone.

“I’m by myself. Who am I supposed to be with?”

Caprice wanted to say a therapist and a doctor but she refrained from letting her thoughts be spoken out loud. Trent should have been in a padded room with a jacket that allowed him to hug himself. Instead, he was walking the mall like he was just as sane as everyone else.

“Shit, you know your mama don’t allow you to be out of her sight for too long. I’m sure she’s tracking your phone right now.”

“I’m a grown ass man. I don’t have to tell my mama where I’m going or what I do.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Caprice laughed, pissing him off.

He hated to feel like he was being laughed at and he was ready to lash out at her until something much more important got his attention.

***

“Come on nah, Boobie. How many pairs of shoes do we need? I thought we agreed to wear the Gucci kicks,” Clover fussed as she and Dash walked in the mall with their daughter. Kardi liked to ride the mobile animals that they let parents rent for the kids. She would stay in the mall all day just so she could stay on it as long as possible.

“We are wearing the Gucci kicks but we need something for the day after.”

“We’re not even doing nothing the day after and we have two other pairs of shoes if we do.”

“Stop complaining, Lucky. I didn’t say all that when you had me at the perfume counter for almost two hours.”

Candles and perfume were Clover’s love language. Dash had shelves built in one of the rooms in their house just to store all of her items. She had everything color coordinated and in its proper place. He never went in there because all those sweet scents gave him a headache. It was like Clover’s little shrine and she treated it as such.

“We all got three pairs of the same shoes and we still haven’t figured out what we’re wearing.” Dash loved when they dressed alike, even if it was just the same shoes. He had a huge presence on social media and they were all over his page. He had over two hundred thousand followers and they knew Clover and Kardi if they didn’t know anything else. Hank got a lot of business from social media and he had his son to thank for that.

“I always leave that part up to you.” Dash smiled while kissing her lips. Clover was his and Kardi’s personal stylist and she never missed.