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“This shit gon’ be nice,” Hassan complimented, rubbing his chin as he looked at the sketch Elite had created.
Hassan ordered a customized red diamond bracelet for his wife’s Valentine’s Day gift that costed five million dollars. Red diamonds were the rarest of all, and pink diamonds were a close second. It didn’t surprise Elite that Hassan decided he wanted pink diamonds for his little princess. Thanks to Elite’s quick thinking, he convinced Hassan to get it in the form of a charm bracelet, so she’d be able to expand and add to it over the years. With how much it was going to cost, she’d get more wear and value out of it that way with time.
“Man, say. I’ma need baby girl to do a photo shoot with that junt on so I can put her on my website. She’ll be the first to ever get a pink diamond charm bracelet with carats that big. It’s gonna take me some time to find a broker for them, but I’ll hit you up when I do.”
“Fa sho’. I can’t wait to see it in person. Charms carved out of pink diamonds?” Hassan’s head shook as he whistled. “Ain’t nobody as cold as you with this jewelry shit.”
The two shook hands as Elite smiled in pride.
“I ’preciate that, brother. For real.”
“Always. You got an estimate on Vanna’s bracelet yet?”
“Yeah. Hers will be delivered on the twenty-first, so it’ll be ready for pickup by the seventh.”
“Perfect. How’s the wife?”
Squeezing the back of his neck, Elite kept his emotions from covering his face.
How was the wife?
He honestly didn’t know.
Jacintha was holding something back. Elite just didn’t know what.
Things had been boring between them and Elite didn’t care too much because it was a sign of their contentment. She seemed to be getting frustrated, but instead of putting forth the effort to change it, Jacintha was just pouting and complaining. It was Elite’s nature to try to fix everything around him that was fucked up; however, his marriage was different. He couldn’t commit to trying to overextend himself to fix a problem when he wasn’t even sure what it was. If his wife was willing to meet him halfway, it would have been easier for him to invest in them, but as of right now, that was easier said than done.
“She’s good,” Elite replied. “You know she started her own jewelry business online?”
“Yeah, I believe Black mentioned that. She does Cuban chains and the name plate necklaces, right?”
“Right,” he agreed. “And them big ass hoops with names in them too. She got a bougie-hood ass following that loves that shit.”
They both chuckled as Elite put his sketchpad up for the evening.
“That’s what’s up. I think Black’s getting ready to do an order with her for all his kids’ initials on it.”
“Tell ’im I said good lookin’ out. She don’t want to build her brand off my name, so I’ve been trying to let her do her own thang.”
That was one thing he loved about his wife. Jacintha had been a kept woman the entire length of their marriage, but after her last birthday, she decided she wanted to open her own business. Before Elite, she didn’t really have great interest in jewelry, but that changed between his gifting so many pieces to her and her becoming just as fascinated by their beauty as he was.
Jacintha had gone to college for social work, and while Elite admired that, the market for it was horrible. The jobs she could get in her field didn’t pay what she was worth, so she opted out of working altogether. Other than age and new priorities, Elite didn’t know what caused her to want to make her own money all of a sudden. With him as her husband, there wasn’t a need Jacintha had that he or God couldn’t meet.
The more he talked about her, the more he wanted to see her, so Elite decided to surprise her and pick her up for dinner. He took Hassan’s deposit, and they made small talk for a few minutes more before heading out. After locking up, Elite headed home. He wasn’t sure if Jacintha would be dressed or not, so he checked to see if he could make a reservation at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Like always, her daughters preferred to be at her parents’ house instead of at home with them. Though Elite tried to develop a close bond with them, their father’s immaturity and insecurity made that a bit difficult.
He'd moved to Washington when they were three and had been in and out of their lives ever since. At the moment, he was in, and he spent almost every conversation he had with them, making sure he reminded themhewas their father… whether he lived in Memphis or not. Now, anytime Elite tried to lead them, or even ask them to do something, they were quick to tell him he wasn’t their father.
They didn’t take into consideration the fact that Elite was the one providing for them and protecting them, or that Dedrick hadn’t seen them over the past year. What eight-year-old really could? Dedrick promised to come home for Christmas and didn’t, nor did he send them gifts like he said he would. It was Elite who went out on Christmas Eve to get additional gifts for the girls on his behalf. For now, he’d let it ride. What he did for them, he did out of love. When they were older, they’d be able to judge their father rightly for themselves.
Determined to make things right for all of them, Elite took the initiative and carried the load as a man. All he could do was pray his wife followed suit and put forth the effort he needed to feel loved and wanted by her as well.
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Since Elite wanted to surprise Jacintha, he parked in the driveway instead of opening the garage. He made his way into their home quietly. As he neared their bedroom, his intentions shifted. The closer he got to the door, the more he realized his wife was on the phone. She wasn’t just on the phone; she was on the phone with a man. Elite knew because her voice was lower and softer when she was speaking to a man, and she kept giggling. Gritting his teeth, Elite tried to decide if he wanted to listen in on her conversation or make his presence known.
Elite hadn’t considered the fact that his wife was cheating because he’d made it clear to her how important faithfulness was to him. After what went down with his parents, Elite honestly didn’t know how he’d react if his wife cheated on him. Jacintha promised to be faithful and to leave if she felt the need to cheat.
