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She knocked before pushing the door open, and the scent of oregano, garlic, and a host of other spices made her mouth water. Dani and one of the servers were serving dishes filled with barbecue wings, baked ziti, Caesar salad, and garlic bread.
As if on cue, Journey’s stomach growled.
“Hey,” she said as she entered. She was getting ready to close the door behind her but spotted Egypt rushing toward it.
“Hey, ladies. Come on in,” Dani said, giving her a hug before turning to Journey. “How you doing?”
“I’m hanging in there.” Journey hugged her back. “Thanks so much for hosting the impromptu get-together. I really appreciate it.”
“Glad to do it. I know if it was me, you’d do the same.”
That was true. One thing about their small group, they were there for each other whenever needed. Dani was new to the wives’ club, but she had fit in immediately.
“I hope you’re hungry. We have plenty of food, wine, and even some hard liquor, just in case.”
Hamilton’s wife, Dakota, and Angelo’s wife, Zenobia “Zen” strolled in a few minutes later. As they all fixed their plates, conversation flowed easily. The stress that Journey had been carrying around for the last twenty-four hours started to fall away. She was so grateful for her sister-friends, her tribe, and she was glad that they could come together.
“Sorry I’m late, ladies,” London, Mason’s wife, said as she entered the office. “My little one didn’t want me to leave and used all of her tricks to try and get me to stay home.”
London, known as “Tiny” to her husband, breezed in wearing a soft pink sweater under a denim jacket and hip-hugging blue jeans with a pair of pink stilettos. She definitely didn’t look like a mother of five. Journey didn’t know how she managed. The woman couldn’t have been more than 5’3” and a hundred and twenty pounds, but the stay-at-home mom ran her household like a pro.
After hugging everyone, she sat at the table next to Journey. “How are you holding up?” she asked.
“I’m all right. I appreciate you guys coming out tonight. I just needed some sister love.”
“Girl, we should be thanking you,” Dakota said, pouring more wine into her glass. “It felt good leaving the kids with Ham. Although I’m sure by the time I get home, the house will be a wreck, and at least one of them will have a tummy ache.”
Hamilton and Dakota had two kids under three and a fourteen-year-old son from Hamilton’s first marriage. Dakota was another amazing lady. The former stuntwoman was a total badass with a black belt in tae kwon do. While raising kids and running her household, she owned and operated a dojo and taught self-defense classes.
As Journey glanced around the table, she wondered how all of her friends managed to balance family time and a career. They made it look so easy, rarely missing cookouts, birthday parties, or anything that involved their Supreme family. Yet, she acted as if she couldn’t even take time to spend with a husband and daughter she loved to death.
“I need you to tell me your secret,” Journey said before thinking. She was embarrassed that she was the only one who couldn’t seem to do it all. “I don’t know how to balance work and family.”
Egypt snorted. “You only see what I want you to see. I can’t tell you how many days in a week I go home and feel like I just can’t do anything else. No dishes. No laundry. And don’t even get me started on sex. I love my big man to death, but he already knows that I’m not giving up the cookies every night.”
Dakota chuckled. “And girrrl, don’t get me started. Being a wife, mother, and businesswoman means I juggle a lot of balls on a daily basis. Trust me when I say I drop more balls than I keep in the air. There are days when I don’t know if I’m coming or going, and I can’t tell you the number of times I wanted to run away from home.”
They all laughed at that, including Journey. She hated the idea of anyone struggling with responsibilities like she was, but she had to admit it felt good to hear she wasn’t alone.
“Well, since Geneva isn’t here, I’ll pretend I’m her,” London said with a wicked grin, and Journey rolled her eyes. They all knew her sister would be talking plenty of trash.
“I’m not sure I want to hear it,” Journey said.
London’s grin grew larger. “Too bad, because someone has to fill the spot of talking crazy. Let me see, what would she say….” London tapped a manicured finger against her chin. “Oh, I know, she’d sayfuckhis brains out, and if that doesn’t work, sit on his face.”
Everyone roared. That was exactly what Geneva would say, probably word for word.
“If only that was the problem,” Journey said when she finally stopped laughing. “Interesting enough, our sex life is amazing. My problem is trying to juggle work and family. Just when I feel like I’m handling everything, I get bombarded with work, and then my home life suffers.”
“Yeah, you have been missing out on a lot of family time,” Dakota said.
Journey was sure she wasn’t only talking about home life but also Supreme’s family. They were all just as close as if they were blood relatives. Now that she was thinking about it, she was closer to the wives than some of her cousins. They were a lifeline of sorts.
Yet, lately, she’d chosen work over all of them.
The thought was jarring, sending her heart plummeting to her feet.
“I have to do better,” she said, rubbing her temples. “I can’t keep going like this. Otherwise, I’m going to lose everyone I love. Laz has already lost hope. He might even leave me.”
