Page 4 of His Four Leaf Clover

“This is not the time, Dot. Damn, the girl ain’t even had time to process her feelings yet.” Diva rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. She loved her mother, but it took a lot to deal with her.

Dot never cared what she said and she would look you right in the eyes when she said it. But she was wise and she had a discerning spirit. She paid attention to the things that other people would have probably overlooked. She didn’t always speak on it right away, but none of her predictions had been wrong yet.

“Bitch, I said what the fuck I said. Now, we’ll get her laid to rest either way but it’s much easier when people got their shit in order. And it’ll be even better if she left that baby something behind to get her started in life. This is hard on everybody, but that’s what family is for. Where did Shantel keep all of her important papers and stuff? I know she moved around a lot, so ain’t no telling where her shit at.”

“I have all of Clover’s important documents but I’m not sure about a policy or nothing else. I’ll have to ask Tilly about that. I don’t even know where to start.” Diva dropped her head as more tears saturated the front of her shirt.

“I know it hurts to lose somebody so close to you, but we have to be there for that baby. I hope Tilly let her stay here. She’s too old to be trying to raise kids again. Don’t worry about nothing, I’ll talk to her when she gets here. Let’s just focus on laying her mama to rest first. This is all so heartbreaking.”

As soon as she said that, Clover was led into the room by Monty and Fonzo. They were in the room talking to her and making sure that she was good.

“Hey, my sweetie. Come here and give me a hug.” Dot opened her arms to embrace Clover.

“Get your overgrown ass up boy!” Hank frowned when Monty ran over and hugged her instead. Dot had him spoiled, so it was nothing for him to be found sitting on her lap on any given day. He towered over his grandmother but he was her big baby.

“Don’t fuss at my baby.” Dot kissed Monty’s cheek before he moved away and let her show Clover some much needed love.

“I don’t want to go live in the country.” Clover buried her face in Dot’s chest and cried.

“You ain’t going nowhere. Don’t you even worry about that. New Orleans is your home.”

Clover was born and raised in New Orleans and that was all that she really knew. She had aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides back in Georgia and she loved to visit them. They had fun when they got together but not enough for her to want to live there permanently. All of her friends were in New Orleans and Diva’s family was just like her own. She felt right at home with them as if they were blood. She grew up with them always being around, so it didn’t feel weird. Her parents did everything with Diva and Hank. They were like her second set of parents.

Hours later, Hank and Diva’s house was filled with friends and family who wanted to offer their condolences on Shantel’s passing. Tilly was serious about immediately getting on the road and she was there with some of their other family members before daylight. The drive was a little over six hours long, but one of her grandsons got her there in a little over five.

Thankfully, Tilly kept up with Shantel’s affairs after Corey passed, the same way she did with him. She did have life insurance and it was enough for Clover to get a head start in life if she did the right thing with it. Dot, being as outspoken as she was known to be, laid it out for Tilly right then and there about Clover’s living arrangements. As much as Tilly loved her grandbaby, she was too old to be starting over with raising kids and she readily agreed to let her live with Hank and Diva. She made them promise to visit often and call her daily. Shantel’s sisters were heartbroken over her passing but they all agreed that letting Clover stay in New Orleans was best. Diva was so grateful for that much and that made her feel so much better. Hank was happy too and seeing his wife smile was all that mattered.

Hank looked around at all the love that Clover was surrounded by and that was important, seeing as how she had just lost her last living parent. A few of her cousins drove down with Tilly and that seemed to be exactly what she needed. She was smiling and behaving like a normal child her age, even if it was temporary. He was happy that his sons were on board with her living there and embracing her like a sibling. Well, all but Dash. Hank was hoping that Clover’s living with them wasn’t gonna be a problem for his youngest because that was something that he would just have to get over. Dash seemed a little distant as he sat in the corner and played on his phone. He made it clear that he didn’t view Clover as a sibling like his older brothers did, and that was fine. Hank was hoping that his feelings would change eventually, but only time would tell.

“Shit!”

Diva dropped her keys just as she was trying to lock her front door. Her phone was ringing off the hook and she already knew who it was. She woke up late and she knew that Hank was calling to see where she was. Diva sat the two big gift bags that she was holding down and picked up her keys.

Once she locked her door, she put the bags on the back seat and was prepared to speed to her destination. As soon as she started driving, her phone rang again, displaying Hank’s number. He never even gave her a chance to say anything when she finally did answer for him.

“Where you at, Diva? I thought you said you were gonna be here at seven,” Hank said.

“I woke up late but I’m on my way. It’s only five after. They don’t wake her up until seven-thirty. I’ll be there by then.” Diva rolled her eyes as if her husband could see her.

“Them dizzy muthafuckas ain’t even answering the phone. Fonzo been ringing the doorbell for the last five minutes.”

“Alright. I’ll be there in a few,” Diva yawned as she replied.

“What happened like that for you to oversleep and still be yawning and shit?”

“Nah, nigga, you no longer have the right to question how I move.”

“I have every right as long as we’re still married.”

“Yeah, well, that won’t be for long,” Diva threatened, just like always. She and Hank had been separated for about six months and she was always threatening to file for divorce.

Over the years, Hank had become a heavy hitter in the dope game and was seeing more money than he’d ever seen in his life. He had chilled out for years but he jumped back in it headfirst when he decided that he wanted to open up a second location for his business. Diva was okay with it at first, but that soon changed. With more money came more problems and the streets didn’t have love for nobody.

Hank found that out the hard way when some lil niggas tried to rob him and his brother-in-law one night. They were looking for dope and money as if Hank rode around with the shit in his car. He wasn’t trying to lose his life behind no bullshit, so he was prepared to hand over the few hundred dollars of spending money that he had on him.

Denny was a hot head, so he had other plans. He pulled out his gun, ready to bang it out and that’s exactly what happened. He started shooting and it was pure chaos after that. He took down two of the three shooters, injuring one and killing the other but not before he was hit up a few times and left paralyzed from the waist down. By the time Hank pulled his gun, the injured man and the driver had sped away and left their deceased friend behind. Hank’s adrenaline was pumping so hard that he didn’t even realize that he was shot twice in the arm until he tried to pick Denny up and put him in the car.

Diva almost lost it and she wanted him to be done with the dope game altogether. Making fast money had cost them enough when Corey lost his life. She hated that her brother would be confined to a wheelchair for life but she was happy that he was still alive. Hank had a goal in mind and he swore that he was done with it once he reached it. Diva swore that she was done with him and their marriage if he didn’t keep his word.