Capri 3.5 (Season Three: Delgato Family: Capri)

24. Capri

capri

. . .

A couple of months later…

I rummaged through the fridge looking for my leftovers that I knew I had stored in here. My mouth was watering bad for the brown stew fish, plantains and rice and peas my mother had made for me.

“Now where in the hell is my damn plate,” I muttered with damn near my whole body in the fridge.

I was eight months pregnant and my stomach was huge. How I was able to move around and maneuver was beyond me. It took Peach and Meer to help me up off the low ass bed in our bedroom. Added with the fact that all I did was pee and pass gas all the time. As beautiful as pregnancy is, nobody spoke about the back pain and how much you felt like your entire bottom was going to fall out at every minute.

As hard as it was to get to the bottom floor and then my food not being here, I was ready to flip my shit and this entire fridge over.

“Pretty wings…pretty wings…” I heard Meer singing as he came in from the garage.

He had a rag hanging from his back pocket, and I’m pretty sure he was working on a new bike that he had bought. It was an auction, and he went and bought it because it needed some work. He was so certain that by next summer he would be able to restore it and we would ride it together.

“Meer, did you see my food?”

“Those leftovers that were left on the stove... I tore that shit up this morning,” he nonchalantly replied and washed his hands.

Had he been paying attention to me he would have saw me nearly pass out while having to lean on the fridge to catch myself. “You…you what?” I stammered.

Meer turned around and that’s when he noticed the tears falling down my face. “Sug, why in the hell are you crying?”

“Quameer, you are so damn selfish… you ate my food and didn’t even think if I wanted it. I’m carrying this baby, peeing every second and can’t even roll over without help and all I wanted was the food my mother made me and you ate it!”

At this point, he wasn’t concerned about washing his hands, he was more concerned with me as I sobbed like a full-on baby, knocking over the fruit basket and throwing a tantrum. My emotions and hormones were all over the place and Blair constantly reminded me.

Meer tried to come near me and I snatched my hand away from him. “Daddy, I think that part of the…” Peach’s voice trailed off when she saw me so distraught. “Suga, what is the matter? Why is she crying, Daddy?”

“I’m alright, Peach… I’m always going to be good. Me and this baby is gonna be good as we starve to death because we didn’t eat anything today.” I pushed past Meer and headed toward the steps.

“Suga, you said the food was making you sick and you were sick of it… I ate it. Now you crying over the food.”

Quameer was fighting for his life with my hormones and the constant crying episodes. He had never experienced this and neither have I. We were both experiencing something for the first time.

“Well, Daddy… you don’t ever eat a pregnant lady’s food, even if she tells you to eat it.” Peach looked at her father, her hand on her hip.

He looked down at her. “And how the hell do you know, Peach?”

“My aunties all had babies… they would cry all the time and say they feet hurt. Your feet hurt, Suga?”

“So bad,” I whimpered to Peach like she was my mama and was going to make everything all better for me.

My mother was just over here yesterday and had rubbed my feet and legs down because they were swollen and I was in pain. I couldn’t get comfortable and felt like once I did comfortable, I had to get up and pee.

“Come here, Sug… let me rub them down again.”

I looked at him and squinted my eyes. “I don’t even want you to touch me. Any man that would remove food from his daughter’s mouth is not my man.”

“Yeah!” Peach cosigned and held my hand as we slowly made it back up the steps, and gave her father the evil eye.

“How in the fuck…” I heard Meer say as he went back into the kitchen and looked in the fridge like his ass didn’t demolish my food.

Peach had helped me get back into bed and I pulled all my pregnancy pillows around me and got as comfortable as I could before turning the TV back on. I grabbed my work laptop and opened it up while Peach went to change her clothes so she could climb into bed with me.

Brian had stepped into the role as an assistant district attorney, while I took over as district attorney. Since Rich was murdered, I was able to be appointed into his role until the next election. Even then, Devon said that he would make sure that I won the election to remain DA. Brian kept me updated on things and would email or call whenever he needed a signature. So, as much as I wanted to call it maternity leave, my work laptop remained next to me and my phone was always on.

Peach jumped in the bed and came right over toward me, lifting my shirt up to kiss my stomach like Meer did every morning. “Hey Rayce Ann… can you kick for me?”

My doctor had showed her how to jiggle my stomach a bit to see if she would kick, and Rayce was over it. She was mad her father ate our food and I was up here pouting instead of finding something to eat.

Peach was doing much better now that her schedule that she had become used to was back to normal. She spent time over here and she spent time over with her mother, so she was always back and forth.

Morgan and Martin were still missing persons and knowing Menace, we would never know what happened to the bodies. I was good with that, knowing that Morgan would never hurt another person or family again allowed me to sleep at night. That man was pure trash and deserved everything that he had gotten.

Brandi was singing a different tune these days because her ass went and got a job. She worked for some marketing firm, and she moved out of my townhouse and into a condo close by. Meer didn’t play no games when he said she needed to get her shit together because he wasn’t taking care of her.

As much as I knew how much Brandi hurt Meer and he wanted to be done with her, I did my part as his wife to make sure that he didn’t have to deal with her often. When it came to Peach and things that didn’t need to be ran by Meer, Brandi would text or call me. She realized her place in our lives and she played her role and hadn’t been out of line since.

“Want to take a nap with me, Peach?”

She snuggled up close to me and kissed me on the cheek. “Of course, Suga Mama.”

I laughed because ever since she started calling me that I had to show her Proud Family, and we had been binge watching all the episodes.

We both snuggled in my pregnancy pillows under all the blankets with the fan on us and were soon knocked out together. Smelling her strawberry shampoo in her curly hair always soothed me. Ryder Inferno didn’t realize how much I loved her with my entire heart, and how much I would do anything for her. Meer didn’t understand how much of a blessing he and Ryder had been to me in my healing journey.

I remember Peach using her father’s phone to call me on the days that he had her, and us talking about her day with me. How we would gang up on Meer so she could stay up later to talk with me. We still were ganging up on his ass too, and he secretly loved it. As I rubbed my stomach and Peach’s curls, these were my girls.

I smiled as I fell asleep.

Not much got me up and out of bed quick these days, but the smell of food had me rise out that bed like I was floating. Peach was no longer sleep beside me, so I rubbed my eyes and went to empty my bladder before taking the stairs one at a time.

“Mommy?” I questioned confused.

Since she was just over here yesterday, I wasn’t expecting her to be back this soon. She looked up from the onions she was cutting. “Princess, you need to be sitting down.”

“I got her, Ma,” Capone came from around the corner and now I was really confused. He held his arm out and I held onto it, while coming down the remaining steps.

“What are you doing here?”

He kissed me on the forehead and rubbed my stomach. “Damn, I can’t come and visit my favorite sister and niece?”

“I’m your only sister.” I winced because my back pain was a seven these days and there wasn’t anything that I could do about it.

My mother came around the counter and kissed me on the cheeks. “Meer called me and told me that you were hysterical about the food he ate, so he asked me to come cook for you.”

I smiled. “I was pretty dramatic earlier… I needed a nap.”

Capone snorted. “Nah. Erin got like that with Cooper… was crying because I dropped her milkshake. Called me everything but a child of God, even accused me of secretly loving dolphins.”

“She put you through hell with Cooper… cannot believe you want more,” I teased him because he had been on Erin for more.

“Hell yeah… I need another girl.”

“Cause Cooper is a mama’s boy… don’t be a hater, Winnie,” Erin came around the corner with Cooper on her hip.

He laughed as he kissed his wife’s lips, and Cooper slapped him away. “Yo, you a hater, Coop… why you being like that to Daddy?”

CJ ran around the corner nearly bumping into us, with Peach on his ass. “Give it back, CJ! I earned that hundred dollars fair and square!” she hollered.

“Hi Auntie!” CJ smiled up at me before he ran to avoid getting hit by Peach who wanted her damn money.

“Share the money or I’m going to take it back!” Cappadonna hollered behind them, and I laughed as he kissed me on the forehead. “Damn Baby Doll, she seems like she getting bigger each time I see her.”

“Well, thank you very much… I already feel like a whale. What are you all doing over here? Did I forget we were getting together?”

“Your husband texted the family group chat like you were dying.” He laughed.

I held onto the end of the banister and they helped me over toward the counter and held the chair while I eased up on the stool. “Where is he? I owe him an apology for the way I screamed at him.”

“Oh, you wanna apologize to me now?” Meer came into the kitchen, and his hair was freshly twisted and he had a fresh lineup. My mouth watered as I looked at my husband and now, I felt really bad.

“I’m sorry, Meer. You really ate my food though and it was all I wanted.”

He laughed and kissed me on the lips as he palmed my stomach. “I’m sorry, Suga. I got Ma here and she cooked all your favorites, the family here and we gonna chill tonight and do karaoke.”

I got so excited that tears misted my eyes. “And this time I got a ballad in me.”

I gasped. “Jaiden!” With the way I tried to jump down, Meer held me on the chair so he could properly allow me down.

I rushed into his arms and he hugged me tight. “You didn’t think I wasn’t coming home for the holidays?”

He kissed me on the head and then touched my stomach. “I never know with you… last I saw you were in Thailand with Elliot… didn’t think you would come home this year.”

I continued to hug him as I smiled at all of my family being in my home. This was exactly what I needed, and Meer had given it to me even though I cussed him out so bad earlier over food I said I didn’t want anymore.

“Hey Capri… you look so pretty pregnant.” I looked around Jaiden and Elliot was standing there.

“Hey Elliot, I didn’t know you came, too.”

“That’s why I got a ballad in me… for my baby.” He winked as he looked at Elliot, and she offered him a small smile.

It was something off with the two of them, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then again, Jaiden was grown and didn’t need his aunt fixing his life for him. I finally allowed Jaiden to go with Elliot to the store.

Meer came behind me and kissed me on the neck while everyone was chatting. “Go ahead and do it… promise she gonna be your best friend,” Cappy told him.

I was confused until I felt Meer’s hand lift my stomach up and I melted into his arms. “Meer… oh God… this feels good.”

He kissed me on the side of my face. “Capp told me this is what he did with Alaia when she was pregnant. Said Blair taught him this move.”

I laughed. “We should have continued our classes with her.”

Blair was booked and busy and her classes were so hot right now. A wife of one of the players off the New York Sonics had done one of her classes and made a video on it, and it went viral. Now, Blair had a bunch of wives and girlfriends of players wanting to book her classes or her private classes.

No matter how busy she was, she still made time for me whenever I had the time or energy. My girl was living her dream, and I wanted all of this for her. Her doctor added more chemo treatments to her treatment plans, so we were counting down until it was her last treatment.

They were probably going to kick us out with the way we were going to turn that place out. I closed my eyes as Meer continued to hold my stomach and we swayed in our kitchen. I never wanted him to place it back down because it felt too good to me in the moment.

“Oh man, I missed that feeling sometimes… felt like heaven when carrying Promise.” Alaia smiled as she looked at us.

Capp walked over and pulled her into him and kissed her cheek. “Love you, Joy.”

“Love you more, baby.”

Cooper was too busy trying to beat the hell out his father as he snuck kisses on his mother. “Coop, you gotta let your daddy kiss me.” She giggled and he got ready to slap his father again.

“I’m about to put it back down, Sug… okay?”

“K,” I agreed, not really wanting him to even move his hand from me because this was the first time I had felt comfortable in a while.

My mother came around the counter with a bowl and it was chicken and dumpling soup. She barely made it to me and my mouth already watered as I took the bowl from her. It was funny how early on in my pregnancy I barely wanted to eat.

Now you had to pray a damn bowl away from me because I wanted to eat everything. A bitch woke up hungry and went to bed thinking about what I was going to eat in the morning when I finally woke up.

“I remember when you used to dance for me like that,” Meer said, as I did a little dance when I took the bowl from my mother.

“Get her to the couch to put those feet up,” my mother scolded them, as I waved her off and walked to the couch with my bowl of soup.

Capella came into the house and had a cookie. “Gams and these cookies are the truth,” he came and sat down with me while the men went to the back to probably smoke.

My house, which was normally quiet, was complete chaos and I loved it. I remember when a quiet home use to scare me and I craved to have the noise I was hearing now.

“How have you been?” I looked over at my oldest nephew, knowing that he had a lot going on that he probably didn’t speak about.

He shrugged. “I really can’t complain… Shante having my baby and me and Aimee good.”

I choked on my dumpling. “What the fuck?”

Capella laughed. “I’ll put you on soon… no need to worry about that shit right now… me and Aim are in a good space.”

“Not together?”

“Nah. I wanna be with her, but she told me she needs space and time to think about it. I’m learning to respect that and give her the space she requires.”

“And therapy?”

Capella laid back further in the couch. “It’s going… I don’t like going because it makes me see how fucked up I really am.”

“Who knows where your future will lead you both. For now, being the best versions of you for that little boy is the goal.”

Rory came running into the house while Aimee chased behind him. “Let me clean your nose, please,” she laughed while he continued to run, amused that he was making his mother chase him.

I watched my nephew as he watched Aimee pick their son up and clean his nose before smothering him in kisses, and allowing him to clean her nose too. Both Capella and Aimee had been through so much that they deserved to just be free for a minute.

Not worried about their marriage, but focused on themselves. If it was meant for them to be, then they would be. I was a firm believer of letting something go, because if it was meant to be then it would come back.

“What up, sis’?” I felt Core kiss me on the forehead before he took a seat in the chair across from me and Capella.

“So, everybody just over here.” I laughed and continued to eat my soup.

No sooner than Core sat down, Mommy came over with a plate of food for him. “Thanks, Mama Jean.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “When are you going to bring some woman around? I want to see all my babies married off and happy.”

Me and Capella both choked as we looked at Core and waited for his answer. “Soon, Mama, soon,” was all he said and she was satisfied with the answer.

“Ryder and CJ, go on and get out my kitchen.” She went back to hollering, leaving us alone to sit and talk.

“When you gonna tell her that her baby boy wants two wives… this is gonna be good. She flipped her shit with me and Naheim… took her to be hollered at to come around.”

Core ate his food unbothered and shrugged. “This my life, Pri… Mama don’t have to understand it, but she will respect it or I won’t bring my wives around if they’re not respected.”

“As you should… but hold on… wives?”

He laughed, and as he was about to talk his phone started to ring. “It’s your girl right here.” I watched as he put it on speaker and continued eating. “What’s up, Geeky?”

“Um, babe… do you have insurance for this car?”

“I do.”

“I think I scratched the leather in the backseat with Estella’s car seat.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?” Skyler sounded panicked meanwhile it wasn’t no skin off his back that she had scratched his seats.

“Baby, those fuc… I’m on speaker?”

“Yes, your voice is coming through the car.”

“Estella in the car with you?”

“Uh huh.”

“The heck do I look like getting mad at you for scratching the leather. It can be fixed. Did you get her car seat in right?” He switched his language now that he knew Estella was in the car with Skyler.

“Yes.”

“Do you like being able to drive her to daycare and then to class, and work?”

“Yes, Core.”

He smirked. “Then why you stressing about something you know Daddy can fix.”

I could hear the smile in Skyler’s voice. “You swear you can fix everything.”

“With you and Jeffie I can.”

“Speak of the devil… that’s her calling me right now… call you back,” she said and quickly ended the call with him.

“They both stay doing that shit… fuck am I?”

“Just they man apparently, because I hang up on Meer when Zoya or Blair call me.” I laughed, as I watched him continue eating. “Have you met Estella yet?”

I got excited because I knew how much Estella meant to Skyler, and if they decided to be together, then that meant she would be a big part of their relationship.

“Nah. I don’t want to rush things. Me and Geeky still building so eventually it will be a time to meet her… I want her to be sure about shit before introducing her seed to me.” He chewed his food. “I just don’t like her traveling on the trains and shit with her, so I sent her one of my whips.”

I smiled. “I like the three of you together.”

“Yeah.”

“Goon on the phone!” Quameer came in from the back with the phone on speaker.

Me and Zoya were going to go and visit him together. As tough as Zoy was, she wanted me to be there with her and I was gonna be there. Considering she had to drive because Meer refused for me to get behind a wheel of a car.

“Hey Goon!” I yelled from the couch, and Meer came over and slumped down on the couch next to me.

“What’s good, Lady Inferno… I heard baby Inferno big as fuck now.” He chuckled. “You drinking that water?”

“All day everyday… she’s so big now.”

“Damn, I’m happy for the both of you… for real. By the time I’m home she’ll be big as shit.”

“Chill out, you gonna be home in a year and a half… if you behave probably sooner than that,” Meer told him.

Zoya worked her magic getting Goon’s sentence reduced. He was facing about six years, but she had called in some favors and had gotten his sentence reduced tremendously. With good behavior, he could be out in a year. We were hoping that he kept his head down and didn’t get into trouble.

“Behave yourself, Goon… cause your God daughter needs you.”

The line grew quiet. “Stop fucking with me you two.”

“Deadass couldn’t think of a better man to be my daughter’s God father… Quasim is Ryder’s God father, and I need Mr. Fuck You Meannn to be Rayce’s God father.”

“I ain’t gonna beat yo’ ass later… got a God seed to get the fuck outta here for,” we heard him talking to someone in the background.

“Goon, seriously?” I laughed.

“I ain’t gonna let lil’ mama down… I put that on me and Ms. Lawyer’s babies.”

Meer laughed. “Say it enough and the shit gonna be true… you see me… got this one knocked up and she bout to be knocked up right after she drop this one.”

“Oh, hell no… me, Blair, and Zoya gotta have time to enjoy our summer,” I protested, excited that I would drop this baby before the summer so we could be out.

Meer looked me in the eyes and puckered his lips and I kissed them. “You not gonna give me a son?”

“Maybe after the summer.”

“What if it happens before, Sug?”

“Meer, put yo’ brother on the phone… I ain’t trying to hear all this shit.” Goon laughed, and we realized that we had gotten roped into our own world.

After eating, I waddled my ass out in the back where my father, Capone, Cappadonna, Corleon, Quasim, and Meer were all seated around the fire. Soon as they saw me coming, they put their smoke out.

“Hey Suga Cane… all I saw was belly walking over here.”

I put my hand on my invisible hip and rolled my eyes. “Didn’t know you were much of a comedian, Daddy.”

Meer pulled me onto his lap, and I looked around at all of them. “How you feeling, Baby Doll?”

“Tired and scared… I remember when Alaia gave birth.” Alaia’s delivery was very traumatic. While both Erin’s pregnancy and deliveries were fairly easy, I often thought about Alaia. She lost the ability to have more children naturally, and I feared that for me.

“Not your journey, Baby Doll… I don’t want you stressing about something that’s not going to happen to you.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Cappy.” I looked around the fire and smiled because this was my family. These men would all give their lives for me. “Daddy… we handled Morgan.”

My brothers all looked toward my father who put his drink to his lips and looked back at us. “What you know about Dick-cent?”

Quasim choked on his drink when he called this man Dick-cent. “We know that the beef with him went all the way back in the day… we also know that it’s the reason he was going so hard after us.”

My father looked confused. “What the fuck does Vincent got to do with you both? I handled him, and he got me back good… I ain’t heard about his ass until he was running for Mayor… pussy boy.”

Capone and Cappadonna’s rule had always been to keep us away from what they were doing. It worked for a while for me until I ended up wrapped into everything. My parents only knew what we told them, which wasn’t much.

“You took someone from him so he took your freedom and status in the country, and that wasn’t enough so he decided to double back and fuck with your kids.”

My father shook his head. “All of that happened years ago… what I did back then was what I had to do. Me and Quinton aren’t proud of the things we did back then, but we not apologizing for the shit either. Morgan knew what he did and called for me, so Big Des answered… just like he called Des’s kids, and they answered… let’s enjoy our family together and not focus on the past.” He stood up, kissing each of us on the forehead before grabbing his drink and going back inside.

“He said everything and nothing at the same time. Your pops remain a damn mystery,” Quameer was the first one to speak.

“That’s Des Delgato for you,” Cappy said. As if they planned it, Cappadonna, Capone, and Corleon all three stroked their beards at the same time.

“That shit creepy,” Quasim laughed, as he shook his head.

We all gathered in the house and Erin held the mic ready for us to do karaoke. The winner won a thousand dollars, so everyone was taking bets on who was going to win.

“I’m not singing,” Quasim already let it be known.

“Meer can’t do it because that nigga can actually sing!” Capone called my baby out and I leaned forward.

“Aht Aht… don’t be mad because you and Erin be sounding like dolphin sex.”

Erin popped her lips into the microphone. “Well, since I got your atten?—”

“Erin, girl… enough!” Mommy yelled from the couch and we all laughed, because sis’ never wasted a moment to inform us.

“What? I was just going to say that I wanted us to all go on a vacation to Bali… they have an elephant sanctuary there.”

“Soon as I drop this baby… girl’s trip?” I yelled.

All the men boo’d us and we laughed because we knew damn well none of them was letting us go across the country without them. “Alright, Quameer and Capri are going first.”

“Sim, come on… for me,” Meer asked his brother, who finished his drink and shook his head.

I don’t know what he wanted him for, but he had been adamant on him doing this favor for him. Quasim walked in the corner of the living area, and flipped opened the piano.

“Get the fuck outta here, you know how to play the piano?” Cappadonna laughed and clapped his hands.

“The two of you are fucking puzzles,” Capone laughed while Erin sat on his lap.

Meer helped me off the couch and we stood near the piano. “Which song are we singing?” I whispered to Meer.

“I remember in Miami when Erin forced us to do karaoke.”

“I did not force you.” Erin laughed.

“Baby, you forced us,” Capone added.

“Like I said… forced. I sang this song because whenever I thought about it, I thought about Suga. I always said that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but you were always the right one.”

I smiled as I caressed his face. “Awe, Meer.”

“When I sung that song neither of us was in a place to be what we needed for each other, and it was still the wrong time and place, but you still were the right one. Finally, we’re in this place where it’s the right time and the right place… and you’re mine.”

Quasim started playing the piano and it was “You Can’t Save Me” by Sir. As much as “Pretty Wings” was our song, this was, too.

I watched Quasim effortlessly play the keys while his brother sang to me and was amazed. Those Inferno brothers were much more than motorcycles. They had so many layers to them and I’ve been peeling back Meer’s slowly but surely.

Peach came and hugged me as we both danced as her father sang to me. She rubbed my stomach and I smiled, my heart on the verge of exploding because I was so happy. I went so long not thinking I deserved this kind of love, and now I knew that I did deserve it, and I’m so glad that I was patient and allowed it to come to me.

It being my Meer Cat.