Dominic Royal #2
“Nah,” Dique said, buckling Amour into her car seat.
“We act like you the mother of a Royal, that’s what…
. big fuckin’ difference.” He got in next to her, still grinning.
Amour hummed something in the backseat while playing with her little pink iPad, with her legs swinging.
Keondra turned her head toward the window, watching the Miami roll on by like she missed being outside.
“So where we headed again?” she asked, still focused.
“To the house,” Dique said.
She furrowed her brows. “What house?”
“Our parents,” he said, smirking as he scrolled his phone. “Time for you and Amour to meet Candy D and Pops.”
Her head snapped around fast. “What?”
Dique shrugged it off. “Man, don’t look so scared. Candy D don’t bite unless you give her a reason.”
“Boy, I seen the way y’all talk about her. Y’all act like she the damn mafia mother or somethin’. I don’t think I’m ready to meet her. I would’ve worn a different dress and not one huggin’ my damn curves.”
“She kinda is,” he told her. “And she gon’ have questions, so don’t get slick. Pops might be cool, but Ma? She gon’ read you like a Bible… and ain’t shit wrong with that dress,” he said turning around to look her up and down. He slowly licked his lips and shook his head.
Keondra folded her arms, pretending she wasn’t nervous while also pretending she didn’t see that. “I’m not scared. I’m just sayin’… this ain’t no regular meet the parents type situation. I don’t even like niggas mama’s with their phony ass.”
“Watch yo mouth,” Dique warned, looking her over. “You meetin’ royalty, baby. You better keep that Carmen polish on. Don’t slip back into hood habits and get kicked out when you barely just made it in.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Boy, please. Carmen said y’all mama already done heard about me.”
“She heard,” Dique said, grinning wider.
“But she gon’ see for herself now. You gon’ be alright.
Pops gon’ love Amour soon as he see her.
He soft on grandbabies cause they been wantin’ one for a long time,” he retorted.
I could see Keondra trying to act unfazed, but her knee kept bouncing.
Dique noticed it too and chuckled. “You nervous, huh?”
She side-eyed him. “I’m not nervous. I’m just thinkin’ about how extra your mama might be. I met some real extra mamas, and they never liked me.”
Dique started laughing again. “You right about that. She gon’ talk loud, she gon’ hug you tight, and she gon’ make you eat a plate whether you hungry or not. What you see is what you get.”
Keondra cracked a real smile then, shaking her head. “Y’all better not leave me hangin’ in there.”
“Nah,” Dique replied, taking her hand quick before she could pull away. “We got you. You part of this now.”
The streetlights flickered across the windshield as we pulled onto our parents’ side of town. The houses got bigger, the lawns got cleaner. Amour pressed her face to the window when the gate came into view. “Daddy, they got a big house!”
“Yeah, baby,” Dique said with a proud grin. “That’s Grandma and Grandpa castle.”
Security waved us through. The driveway curved around a big fountain with water shooting high in the middle.
Ma dukes’ house glowed like gold in the night with warm lights shining through the tall windows.
The front door open, just enough to see her silhouette standing there in a silk robe and diamonds.
Even from a distance, her presence was strong. She’d been waiting.
Dique whistled low. “Man, she already at the door. She probably been pacin’ since I called.”
Keondra exhaled hard. “Lord, this about to be somethin’.”
I parked and killed the engine. “Yeah,” Dique said, stepping out, adjusting his hoodie. “Welcome to the Royals.”
The front door was already cracked when we stepped out the truck.
The sound of old R she carried herself like she owned half of Miami.
Every ring, every chain, every look said money and held memories.
“Ma,” I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
She swatted at me playfully. “Don’t ‘Ma’ me, boy. You and your brother think y’all too busy to eat at home unless y’all are trying to hide from somebody.” Then she spotted Keondra standing in the doorway and raised her brow. “Oh… this must be Keondra.”
Before Keondra could even open her mouth, Dique stepped forward, with his hand on Amour’s shoulder. “Ma, this my lil girl right here... Amour.”
Ma froze for half a second. Then her whole face softened. “Well, ain’t you just the prettiest thing in Miami,” she said, crouching down with a big smile. “Come here, baby. I’m your grandma.”
Amour looked at Dique first for permission. He nodded his head, and she ran right into ma’s arms, giggling when she scooped her up like she’d been waiting her whole life for it.
“Oh, she smell like baby lotion and love,” ma said, with her eyes watering just a little. “Lawd, she got them Royal eyes too.” She looked up at me, grinning. “You see this, Dom? You an uncle now.”
I reached over, and tickled Amour’s side. “Hey now, Grandma got you spoiled already, huh?” I told my lil niece. I couldn’t lie, it felt weird having a niece. We didn’t have many kids around us, but I might as well have gotten used to it. I loved her already.
Amour laughed, hiding her face in ma’s shoulder. “Grandma funny.”
“That’s right, baby. Grandma real funny when you do what she say,” ma said, winking. Then her eyes snapped back to Keondra, who still stood quiet by the door, clutching her purse like a shield. “So, you the mama, huh?”
“Yes ma’am,” Keondra said, stepping forward with a small smile. “Keondra. It’s nice to meet you.”
Ma gave her one of them up-and-down looks at first. Then she smiled, a slow but real one. “You look better than what I expected. Sit your fine self down. You hungry?”
“Uh… yes ma’am.”
“Good. I don’t raise boys that keep women hungry. Y’all get in here before my food get cold.”
We followed her inside, and the warmth of the house wrapped around us like it always did.
The living room was lined with family photos of me, Dique, O’Shynn, even old Polaroids from back when Pops still rocked that gold tooth and Kangol.
Pops came out of the back hallway right on cue.
He still moved like he owned whatever room he entered too…
tall, silver neat beard, chain tucked, and eyes sharp behind his reading glasses.
“Well damn,” he said with a grin. “If it ain’t the prodigal sons and you must be Amour.”
Amour’s face lit up again. “Hiiii.”
Pops bent down and shook her little hand like she was grown. “You got some strong genes in you, sweetheart. You gon’ run this family one day.”
Keondra smiled, nervous but charmed. “Hi, Mr. Royal.”
“Pops,” he said simply. “Mr. Royal make me sound like I’m signing checks. You welcome here.”
Ma clapped her hands. “Everybody come eat!”
We stepped into the dining room, and the vibe hit different. Keondra looked at all the food with her eyes wide. “This is nice,” she whispered.
Ma heard her though. “Baby, this ain’t nice. This is family and we don’t do regular.”
Dique sat next to Keondra and leaned back in his chair with Amour on his lap. “You good?” he asked Keondra in a low tone.
She nodded, smiling despite not feeling too confident in herself. “Yeah. I’m good.”
I took my seat at the head, next to Pops. Ma sat across from me, tapping her nails against her glass like a judge ready to start court. She looked from Amour to Keondra to Dique.
“So,” she said, with a slow grin. “Now that I finally got all my babies under one roof, y’all gon’ tell me why the streets are talking and why my phone has been ringing off the hook? And don’t nobody try to play me dumb. I’m not your average mama.”
The room fell quiet for a second. Dique looked at me. I leaned back in my chair, calm as ever. “Ma,” I said. “We’ll talk about that after we eat.”
Ma leaned forward, with her eyes narrowing with a sly smile. “Mmm hmm. I figured as much.”
She lifted her fork and pointed it at Keondra. “You hear that, baby? These boys always got something cooking. You better keep your eyes open and your prayers strong if you’re going to be a Royal woman.”
Keondra gave a small laugh and nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
“Good,” Ma said, turning back to her food. “Now pass me them greens before I start asking questions y’all ain’t ready to answer.”
The table relaxed again, with laughter kicking in and Amour reached for a biscuit with both hands like it was a golden egg. For a moment, it felt like peace, which was a rare thing in our world, but we all knew peace around here never lasted long.