Chapter 20
Dominic
“See, they’re cute,” I stated, pointing at her toes.
She rolled her eyes. “They look like a ten-year-old’s toes,” she disputed, wiggling her daisy and rose-stickered toes at me.
I convinced her to let me paint her toes.
She was hesitant about it, but I promised her that I wouldn’t mess them up.
I had painted them all white, which she was happy about, but she wasn’t happy after I promised her that I was good with designs, and I had applied some press-on stickers on her toes.
“See, that means you’re still hip, and you’re not your age.”
“Dom!” she whined as she wiggled her toes again.
“What? You know I did my shit on those toes, woman,” I declared as I stood and set the sticker packet on the table.
“I’m taking these stickers off.”
“If you do that, you’ll mess up the white polish.”
“But we let them dry under the gel lamp.”
“Yeah, but still, I don’t think they were completely dry. It didn’t take that long.”
“That’s not how it works. It’s gel polish, Dom. They don’t need that long.”
“A’ight. You’re gonna be the one who is walking around with the fucked up stinky toes.”
“You just don’t want me to take these stickers off, and—heyyy! Why my toes gotta stink?”
Shrugging, I replied, “I don’t know. Why are you asking me why your toes stink? They’re your toes, not mine.”
I peered at her from the kitchen and snickered. She was bent over trying to pull her toes to her nose to see if they stunk for real. I used to get her like that all the time when we were kids.
“My toes don’t stink!” She stood up from the couch and headed back to the bedroom. My phone rang, and I headed back to the living room and grabbed it off the table.
“Hey.”
“Boy, where you at?”
“I’m at the cut.”
“You said you were gonna come through, Dom. Wassup? You bailing on me?”
“No, Joaquin. I’m just trying to relax things around here before we roll that way.”
“Well, you know Mamá won’t eat until everyone is here. She’s not letting us eat without you, and I’m starving. And everyone’s waiting on Charly’s mac and cheese. It’s not Thanksgiving without the mac.”
“Nigga, why you gotta be so extra? Who is there, anyway?” I asked, clearing my throat as Charly appeared at the hall entrance.
“Everybody. The usual. Our parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins . . . your brother.”
I sniffed. “Yeah, a’ight.”
“Then come on, flow through. You don’t have to stay for long. I mean, just an hour tops to say you flowed through.”
“I’m coming. I’m not about to miss out on my favorite holiday with my favorite peeps because of one asshole.”
“Knock that shit off, Dom. I’ve been talking to him already. That’s all we’ve been doing this last week. You’d be surprised about how much responsibility he’s taking over that situation.”
“Yeah, that’s with you. His ass ain’t said shit to me.”
“Nigga, if you whupped my ass the way that you did his, I might not have anything to say either,” Joaquin replied with a chuckle.
“Yeah, a’ight. Let me get dressed, and we should be rolling through in about an hour.”
“A’ight. I’ll let Ma Dukes know.”
“You do that.”
“Don’t forget the mac and cheese, Dom.”
“I won’t,” I replied, chuckling.
I ended the call, and Charly released a low exhale that had her shoulders slumping. “Time to pay the pied piper?”
“Time to pay the pied piper,” I acknowledged.
I walked out of the kitchen and to her. Pulling her into my arms, I rested my chin on her head.
“Listen, I haven’t had a chance to really talk to anyone since all of this went down.
I’ve heard what Avriella had to say, and I’ve talked to my parents, but I haven’t talked to a lot of other people.
I don’t know what the temperature is out there, but if it’s anything other than what my dad and cousin are saying it is, then we’re bouncing.
I’m not about to kiss anybody’s ass, and I’m not about to subject you to anything uncomfortable. You feel me?”
She nodded. “I do,” she replied in a voice so soft that I barely heard her.
I kissed the top of her head, smacked her on the ass, and declared, “A’ight. Let’s get dressed so that we can roll out.”
Charly wore an oversized off-the-shoulder camel-colored sweater with light blue distressed jeans and thigh-high camel-colored boots. She held my hand tightly as we climbed the steps to my family’s home.
“Chill, baby. Everything’s good,” I reassured her as I gripped the doorknob with one hand. I leaned in and kissed her nose before I kissed her lips.
“Man, if you don’t get your soft ass in here, boi!” my cousin, Jaquez, greeted me as he pulled the door open out of my hands.
“Wassup, boi!” I returned his greeting, freeing my hand from Charly’s and giving him a one-armed hug as I pounded his back. We had a way of saying boy down south that sounded more like “bwoy.”
“Long time, no see,” he stated when he pulled back and looked me up and down.
“Yeah, not since your ass ran off to the Big Apple for your music career. I heard your latest CD. You hitting, my nigga!”
“I’m tryna do a li’l sum’m sum’m.” He turned to look at Charly and then cupped his fist to his mouth. “I know this ain’t Ms. Charlyse.”
“Hey, Jaquez,” she greeted him fondly.
My cousin left Cherokee Springs five years ago and had only been back twice. Both times I was in prison, so I hadn’t seen him at all, which meant that Charly probably hadn’t either.
“You’ve grown up. I heard you and my boy here was kicking it . . . but seeing it is different.” He looked back and forth between us.
I felt Charly tense behind me, but before I got to say anything, Jaquez nodded. “That’s what’s up. It’s about damn time, man.”
I dapped him up again and replied, “Thanks, G. Where’s everybody at?”
“Nigga, this yo’ house. You know how y’all do it. Everybody’s here and there and everywhere. All the ladies are in the kitchen though.”
I led Charly through the hallway, still clinging to her hand. Before I faced anyone else, I needed to get the two toughest cookies out of the way: my mama and grandma.
“Dios mío!” Abuela exclaimed dramatically when we stepped into the large kitchen. She was the first to set eyes on us, and as a result, she caused everyone else to turn around and notice us.
“Charly! Where have you been? I’ve been calling you, and you have not answered any of my calls. If it were not for Dominic, I would have thought you were dead. How can you do that to me? I’m getting up in age,” Mamá declared in rapid-fire Spanish.
I nudged Charly with my elbow, and she poked her bottom lip out.
“I’ve been telling her to call you, Mamá,” I tattled. Mamá kissed Charly’s cheeks, pulled her in for a hug, and then held her back again. “Let me look at you. Has he been treating you well? Mi pobre pequena.”
“She’s not a poor little baby, Mamá. Charly’s a grown woman.”
“She’s my little baby. I promised Tammy that I would take good care of her child. That was her only request of me before she went on to be with the Lord,” Mamá continued.
My aunts and my abuela clucked their tongues, and all eyes turned on me. “Why are y’all looking at me that way? I haven’t stood in the way of you taking care of Charly.”
“No, you have not, hijo, but you and your brother have caused this girl great distress,” Mamá stated as her voice almost became a growl.
“How did I cause her distress? I’m not the one who—”
“Dom, baby, it’s okay,” Charly muttered, resting her hand on my wrist with a smile.
“Mamá, Dominic is a good man. He loves, protects, and provides for me. He knows what I need, and he’s quick to make sure that I have it.
He listens to me, and though sometimes he loses his mind where I’m concerned, it’s all out of love. ”
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me that. I know that I raised a good boy,” Mamá declared and grabbed my cheeks.
“Mamá,” I groaned.
She gripped Charly’s hands in hers and stated, “Don’t you ever stay away this long, and you either, hijo, no matter what the problem is.” My mother pointed a finger at me.
“I won’t, Mamá.”
“Go on and see your father and your brothers. They’re in the family room,” she stated, waving a hand at me.
I reached out for Charly’s hand. “Come on, baby.”
“No, she’ll be fine here with us ladies. Trust me, I’ll take care of her. Charly’s family,” Mamá insisted when she saw my hesitation.
I pressed my hand at the back of Charly’s neck and pulled her close. We shared a sweet kiss on the lips before my mother, abuela, aunts, and female cousins sighed or said, “Ahh, they’re so sweet.”
I headed out of the kitchen and down the hall to the family room. I could hear the loud cheers coming from the open door, and I knew they were all watching the big game.
“Put your money where your mouth is. Y’all already know the Eagles are about to swoop down and snatch the Jaguars up by their necks,” Uncle Chris shouted as I cleared the doorway.
“Man, please. The Jaguars are gonna rip the Eagles’ necks out,” I declared.
Everyone turned toward me, and cheers went up from my male cousins and Joaquin, who jumped up and rushed me. He slapped me on my back and pulled me close. “Wassup, boi!” he greeted heartily.
“You, my G. Good to see you, Bro.”
“Glad you came through,” he whispered as we rocked. My big brother released me, and I greeted my cousins before I greeted Uncle Chris and then my father.
“Maybe now we can get something to eat. Your mama knows you’re here, boy?” my daddy asked.
“She knows. She just kicked me out of the kitchen, so I don’t think you’re about to get anything to eat any time soon, old man. Looks like you can stand to miss a meal or two or three,” I declared, rubbing his slightly extended belly.
My father chuckled and looked at Uncle Chris. “This young buck’s got jokes, Chris.”
“He ain’t lying,” Uncle Chris stated as he worked on a chicken bone.
“I thought you said y’all hadn’t eaten yet,” I stated, looking back at my brother Joaquin.