Scotty
The New Normal . . .
Lashonda was dead, not by my hands, but by my request. If I had to be honest, she died a long time ago in my heart. It was hard to admit that about the woman that gave you life. She gave the definition of why some children needed therapy.
One thing that I didn’t count on was the effect that her death would have on me.
Foolishly, I thought it would just be a blip in my atmosphere, but it wasn’t.
I mourned this woman that had been damn near horrible to me.
She never gave a fuck about me. Shit, when we used to go to the little ice cream shop, I thought that was on something genuine.
Now I knew that it was just a ploy for her to get a paycheck.
Since I left Chicago, Killian called or texted me every day. I shouldn’t even say called. He video called me. I asked why he didn’t just call. “Now that I have the chance to connect with you directly, I won’t take that for granted. I want to see your face when I talk to you.”
He and Logan cleaned up the Lashonda situation.
I thought that they would get rid of the body, but they didn’t.
They put her in a place that she would be found.
The police chalked it up to a junkie that got caught up, and it ended in death.
When they called me as her next of kin to report her death, I took the news like any estranged son would.
I wasn’t devastated, and I couldn’t fake like I was.
Blake and I took another short trip to Chicago to have her body cremated.
There was a rose garden that my mother spoke about a lot when I was a child.
She told me that it was the place that gave her peace, so I figured that would be where she wanted her ashes spread.
My girl suggested that I call her mother, brothers, and sister that I now knew she had.
In my mind if they hadn’t talked to her in this many years, there wasn’t anything for me to inform them about.
Afterall, I wasn’t even supposed to know that they existed.
“Baby, Ace just pulled up,” Blake called out from the dining room.
When I suggested that we invite Ace to dinner, I thought it would be at a restaurant.
Blake suggested that we have it at her house.
I moved in with her a little over a month ago.
It wasn’t a hard push to let Blake cook, because my girl could cook.
Steak, garlic potatoes, and asparagus were on the menu.
“I’ll get the door,” I told her.
Yeah, I was nervous about this dinner. When I found out that Ace was my cousin, it changed things in my mind.
He was a cool little dude. Before this family tie was revealed, we had a mentor-mentee relationship.
Ironically, now that I knew he was my cousin, I felt somewhat more obligated than I did before.
My feet moved me toward the door when the bell rang. With my hand on the door, I took a deep breath. When I answered the door, Ace stood there with a nervous smile and a bottle of wine in his hand.
“Um, my mom told me that I should bring a bottle of wine for the lady of the house since she cooked dinner.” He chuckled. “She’s kinda old school like that.”
I tittered. “It’s cool. Blake, come here, baby.”
She came around the corner with a June Cleaver smile. If you didn’t know her like I did, you would have thought that she was an angel with her pencil skirt, heels, and blouse on. “Hey, Ace. Is that for me?”
Her ass was overly excited about the bottle of wine. It would be funny, but I knew it was genuine. She took the bottle after Ace stepped inside, then gave him a hug.
I loved that she wanted all of this for me.
She encouraged me to talk to Killian more than anyone.
At first, I didn’t want to. After a conversation with Pop Travis, my perspective changed.
He helped me understand that I really had nothing to lose by allowing Killian into my life.
Based on his past actions outside of not being actively there where I could see, he had always made sure I was taken care of in some way.
He did have a point, but it was still hard to know that he was there in the shadows while I had to deal with a fuck ass mother.
Everything from the apartment that I lived in to the connection to Logan.
Now it made sense why I got such a good fucking deal.
Oh, and a week after I met Killian, I got a large deposit into my bank account from him.
The note on the transfer was rent. Grady laughed at the sentiment and said at least I got my rent back that I paid when I was younger.
“I hope you’re hungry, man. Blake cooked her ass off tonight,” I said before my lips blessed her cheek with a kiss. My titter under my breath came when she rolled her eyes.
After we sat down for dinner, we prayed, then dug in. Blake made the best steak that I ever had. We ate in silence for a few minutes before I decided to get a conversation started.
“So, Logan’s son and Killian’s nephew, huh?” I cut into my steak after I made my statement. What else was there to say?
Ace wiped his mouth before he spoke. “Um, yeah. I was surprised when they sat me down to tell me that you were Killian’s son. I never saw that shit coming. The crazy part is that Unc always talked about a son, but he never said who it was.”
My brow arched. That was news to me. It was like I found out something new about Killian every other day. They weren’t necessarily bad things, but damn. “Oh, he talked about me? Did he ever say why he wasn’t in my life?”
Ace paused for a moment before he responded.
“When I asked where you were, he just told me that he couldn’t be in your life, and it was best at that time.
I didn’t push it after that. I know it might not mean much, but Uncle Killian is really cool.
I know the kind of man that he is. If he couldn’t be in your life, I know that he felt like he had no other choice. ”
He was right; it didn’t mean much. “I appreciate you telling me that. Look. I don’t want you to think that I have beef with you or any shit.
What I got going on with Killian and Logan even, I know has nothing to do with you.
If you want to, you can come back to the shop.
I never told you that you had to leave.”
I glanced at Blake, who sat there with a smile. Her ass was more concerned with our conversation than her food. Typical Blake. She was nosy as fuck, but in an inconspicuous way.
The smile that Ace tried to hide slipped through his expression. “I know, but I didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for you and shit. I know the news was a lot, so I wanted to give you space. I’d love to come back, though. I miss it.”
“Hell, the shop misses you. Customers have come in looking for you to wrap their vehicles. When I offered to do it, those fuckas told me that they preferred you to do it.”
All of us laughed. Blake cleared her throat. “You should have seen him with his puppy face. His feelings were hurt.”
I sucked my teeth. “Man, stop putting on. I wouldn’t say that my feelings were hurt. I was just like let me find out that my lil cousin is better than me now.”
Ace’s smile didn’t try to hide that time. It dawned on me at that moment that I addressed him as my little cousin. It wasn’t intentional, but it did feel natural.
“Okay, well, if it’s cool with you, I can come back tomorrow. I’ve been doing some research on new wrap techniques. I told my dad, and he bought me a few cash cars to practice on,” Ace told us.
That sounded like something that Logan would do. “Oh, that’s what’s up. You’re going to have to show me those new techniques. The grasshopper has become the teacher.”
A Little Time Later
Time For Two to Become One . . .
“Nigga, calm down.” Grady laughed. “I’ve never seen you this damn nervous. You know he’s cool as fuck.”
I was on a video call with him while I waited for Pop Travis to arrive at the restaurant.
Tonight would be another night that changed my life if it went the way that I wanted it to.
This wasn’t the first time that we had dinner, but the conversation tonight would be different than any other that we’d had before.
I shook my head because Grady was right. I wasn’t sure why the fuck I was so nervous. “Man, you act like I’ve had this kind of conversation before. I’ll remember to tell your ass not to be nervous when you have the same conversation.”
“Shit, first, I have to find a woman that’s worthy of my time. These hos are different nowadays. All of Blake’s friends are damn married, so I’m out here living a hard life with no fucking love.” Grady sounded so damn pitiful.
My laughter came from the pit of my stomach. “Nigga, if you want love, stop fucking with hos. You know a ho when you see one, but you still fuck with them. Now you want to complain about it. That’s asinine.”
We would go out, and Grady would meet women. Not even ten minutes after a conversation with them, he would say that they were hos. That didn’t stop him from fucking with them, though. It was crazy that he thought he would get different results while he did the same things.
He huffed. “Man, I know, but damn! Hos are just fun when you want to fuck. I’m gonna get my shit together because this shit is tiring.” The truth in his words was felt.
In the distance, I saw Pop Travis at the hostess stand. “Aye, let me go. He’s here.”
We said a few more words before we disconnected the call. I stood when Pop Travis approached the table. “What’s up, pop?”
We hugged. “What’s up, son? How you doing today?” After I assured him that I was cool, we sat down. “I talked to your dad earlier. He’s gonna be in town next week for some business that we’re thinking about partnering in.”
“Yeah, he told me yesterday when I spoke to him. He mentioned something about buying a house down here. I’m not sure why he’s doing that.” My shoulders lifted toward my ears.