Chapter 3 #4
“She’s bringing Navy with her so we can finally meet her… have you met Navy?”
I knew about Don’s fiancée before he even knew who she was. Navy’s family and mine were cool with each other. I used to live on Navy’s grandparents’ block when I was
younger. My moms and Navy’s grandmother went to the same church and knew each other.
Back then, everyone looked out for each other. Especially when you were from the islands. Brooklyn was sacred because it was the Caribbeans within the states. It didn’t matter if you were Jamaican or Guyanese like Navy’s family, you just looked out for one another.
My uncle Chef and Ro used to run together before Chef went to prison the first time.
I heard the stories of how they used to cut up in the same Brooklyn streets me and Khaos walked.
Ro decided to go legit while my uncle said he would stay in the streets until they gunned him down or put a needle in his veins behind the wall.
“Yeah, I know her family.” I replied and kissed my God daughter’s temple, as she continued to give her father the stink eye.
“Brooklyn really is small… anyway, she’s going on Zoya’s birthday trip with us. You know that’s next month and us girls are going away.”
Meer looked at his wife. “We know, Sug. How many times you and B gonna throw it in our faces?”
“Anjo said she not going.” Sim said like the shit was the truth.
He whispered something in his wife’s ear, and Blair for a slight second was reconsidering the whole girl’s trip. Capri calmly walked over toward them and yanked her best friend away from her husband.
“Aht Aht, you not about to even do that… don’t let his ass hold you captive.” She shook Blair, who laughed.
Blair slowly turned to look at her husband, who was eyeing her like a fucking lion did a gazelle. “Simmy, you working against me?”
“Never, my love… wanna work with you. Need that second baby boy, right?” He licked his lips, as Blair was silently unraveling by looking into her husband’s eyes.
Capri balled her best friend’s lips up and pulled her over toward where she and Meer were standing. “Ain’t no fucking babies happening until after this trip… I need this damn trip.”
Meer kissed his wife’s forehead. “No more babies this way either, right, Sug?”
“Right, Meer Cat.”
A black Range Rover pulled onto the block and parked at the end. I watched as everyone watched the truck intensely, waiting for whoever to reveal themselves. Capri skipped down the block when Zoya stepped out.
I watched her, every part of her, as Capri hugged her and she tensed up, patting her best friend’s back like she was an orphan that needed love. She was dressed down in a black maxi dress, samba adidas sneakers, and a bucket hat pulled down low. Her hair was blown out and hung down her back.
Navy got out the passenger side, while Zoya continued talking to Capri and opening the back door. I watched as she continued to hold conversation while she fucked with something in the back. When she backed away, a Cane Corso hopped out the backseat and sat at her feet.
She held his leash, and rubbed his head, while Capri rubbed him. He looked at Zoya, paying close attention to her.
“When the fuck did she get a dog?” Quasim asked.
“She adopted it because it was gonna be killed or some shit.” Meer shrugged, while we both looked at him. “What? They always running their mouth on the phone.”
Cherry had found comfort on my shoulder for her nap. Baby walked over here with her dog, as she stared at me with a smile fixed on her lips.
“Hey Meer and Sim,” Zoya greeted.
“What up, Zoy? How you?” Sim looked down at her dog, as she got closer. “His ass don’t bite, right?”
Zoya laughed. “Not unless I tell him… he’s friendly.”
“Fuck that friendly shit. If a dog has teeth, they gonna bite.” Meer added.
“Never said he didn’t bite… I said he’s friendly.” She corrected him.
Sim hesitantly put his hand down for the dog to smell him, and then he softly rubbed his head, and the dog allowed him.
“You couldn’t get no cute dog like Beretta? You had to get some beast, huh?” Meer chuckled, and she shrugged.
“Hi, Gerald.”
“What’s up, Boobie.” I winked, and she blushed, as I continued to hold my God baby in my arms.
“Navy Bleu!” I heard Peach squeal, as she ran from the ice cream vendor, over towards Capri who was walking over our way with Navy.
Capri looked at her stepdaughter, confused. “You know her, Peach?”
“I watch all her YouTube videos… she’s the reason I wanted to go to Chicago for my birthday that year!” She jumped up and down, while Navy smiled and extended her arms.
Ryder rushed into her arms. “Did you ever get to go?”
She nodded her head. “My daddy took me… it was so fun too.”
“Aww, I love that you went and had fun, sweetie.”
“Peach, what flavor?” Elijah hollered at her.
“I’ll be right back!” she screeched and took off toward her cousin, while Navy smiled at her.
“Leave it to Don to get engaged to a celebrity,” Zoya teased her.
“I just talk shit and travel.” Navy shrugged and smiled.
“This is my sister-in-law, Navy Bleu. This is Meer, Sim, Gerald, Blair, and Capri, who you just met.”
Navy waved. “Hey everyone and Gerald,” she teased, knowing that her ass only called me Goon.
“You do birthday parties? Peach seems to love you, so I may need to book you.”
Capri looked at her husband. “Baby, she’s not fucking Barney.”
Meer shrugged, still looking at Navy. “I’m still trying to book his ass too… Cherry loves him.”
Navy laughed. “That’s Jett, my security.” She pointed to the tall and buff man standing down toward Zoya’s truck.
Every member of the Caselli family had security, even if they didn’t know. I found that out when I was sleeping outside of Zoya’s old spot. Even knowing it, that shit never made me go home; I continued to sleep out there because my job was to protect her – always.
“You brought Bando! Lemme go get Beretta, you know that’s her boyfriend!” Ryder ran back over with her ice cream in her hand and then ran toward the tattoo shop.
“His name is Bando?” Quasim laughed.
“Not too much on my baby… that was his name when I rescued him.”
Elijah took a bite out of his ice cream like a nut case and looked at Bando. “All I got is a stupid cat.”
“Aye don’t call Pyro stupid… you have to force her to sleep in your room,” Blair called him out.
“Sorry, mom.”
“Who?”
“Mommy.” He playfully sulked, because he wanted to be the cool kid on the block.
Blair kissed his cheek. “Now go and do whatever because Des is coming to pick you kids up soon.”
“Okay.”
Ryder came back out with the yorkie in her arms. Beretta was spoiled, and she knew it. Damn dog had high ass standards, but when she saw Bando, she became excited and nearly jumped out of Ryder’s arms.
“See, she loves him.”
Bando’s little nub of a tail started to shake crazy, and they both smelled each other’s butt and became excited. “She bullies him so bad too, and he loves it.” Zoya laughed.
Ryder took his leash and held it like Zoya showed her. “Careful, and don’t bring him near all those people,” she directed Ryder.
“Okay, Zoy.” She smiled, as she held him.
Bando was well trained because he could have dragged Ryder down the block, but he walked beside her, stopping to look up at her to see his next command.
“Let me go ahead and change her diaper before my dad comes to pick her up. Ya’ll need to also decide what we getting into tonight too.” She looked behind at us, as she carried a sleeping Cherry toward the barbershop.
“I’m trying to get into you, Sug,” Meer muttered while following behind his wife. “Peach, be careful with Cujo.”
“Meer?” Baby called.
“Hmm?” He turned around.
“Fuck ya.” Zoya held up her middle finger, and Meer laughed, while jogging to catch up with his wife.
Blair and Quasim were leaned against his bike, while Navy looked at her phone. “Let me call Don.”
She went to call Don while my baby stood there. “Where’s my hug, Ms. Lawyer?”
Zoya laughed. “Oh, I’m Ms. Lawyer now?”
I watched as she came over with her arms extended, and wrapped her arms around my neck, as I held her in my arms, kissing her neck. “You Boobie for real.”
“Baby Cakes, Boobie, I cannot keep up with you, Gerald.”
“It’s Boobie.”
She giggled and stepped back. “Until it becomes something else.”
“What’s good with you, baby? You taking care of yourself?” I pulled her back, giving her another hug, squeezing her.
She would never admit it, but I could feel her melting in my arms as I continued to hold her. “Same thing. Work, work, and some more work.”
“Not listening and taking any time for yourself, eh? What I tell you about that?”
She fixed her hat that had gotten messed up while we were hugging. “Trying, G.”
“What can I do to make sure you’re not trying and actually doing?”
Zoya had this cute, innocent smile that she did.
I learned that when she was nervous, or feeling something, she messed with her nails.
Taking her pointer finger and rubbing it against the back of her thumb.
I watched her powder pink nails pick with the skin on her thumb as she tried to respond to my question.
“A massage under the Burj Khalifa, but we all can’t have what we want, right?” she snickered, as Capri called her over toward the barbershop.
I pulled her back quickly. “You can get whatever you want with me, Zoya… you know that, right?” I searched her eyes, and even though her mouth wouldn’t allow her to say it, her eyes told me that she knew it.
“Later, G.”
I watched as she walked away and heard snickering behind me. “I remember when you had me gone like that, my love.” Quasim said.
Blair kissed his lips, and removed herself from his grip, because Capri was calling her too. “No, I remember you running from me and giving me mixed signals.”
He tried to grab her, and she quickly backed up. “Damn, it’s like that?”
“You know it’s the truth, but I’m a girl that knew what you needed before you knew it… I applied the pressure.”
“And I didn’t apply nothing?”
She blew him a kiss. “You always apply pressure, my love.”