Chapter 16 #2
“You heard her. I don’t know why she said that shit, ain’t like she’s gonna drink anything.”
I laughed. “It’s cool, Jade isn’t either.
” My eyes went from Jade’s face to her abdomen as she sipped from the mug in her hand, scrolling through her phone.
She was paying me no attention, which was good because I was sure my eyes looked all misty and shit.
The thought of her carrying my baby had my heart trying to escape my chest. It was just some things as a man you experienced differently than others.
“Why not?” he asked.
“’Cause she’s not. I need you to take a ride with me this evening if you’re up to it.”
He laughed. “Nigga, I’m always down for taking rides. It’s your square ass that never jumped off the porch.”
“Man, whatever. I’ll see you around six or seven.”
“Hold up man, damn. I called you for something while you tryna rush me off the phone.” He spoke into my ear while I soft scrambled Jade’s eggs with cheese.
I laughed. “What, nigga?”
“Shit, I forgot. I don’t fucking know. I’ll remember tonight.”
I laughed. “Alright.” We hung up seconds later and I felt her eyes on me. When I looked up, Jade was peering at me like she was confused about something.
“What’s up?
“I’m just wondering when you eat. You’re always cooking and damn sure feeding me.”
Laughter escaped my lips while I continued mixing pancake batter.
“I eat when I feed you, I do so much tasting while I cook, but baby, I eat. Plus, I’m like most cooks.
I’ll eat the shit out of somebody else’s meal, hence why we’re going to my brother and Harlem’s tonight.
Sis can cook and I have every intention of eating. ”
Jade laughed. “Good. I can tell you’re gonna hover and I’ma curse you out a few times.”
Joining in on her laughter, I shook my head. “You’re right; I am. The fact that you don’t be eating for real unless I cook and you love to stress yourself out. We ain’t doing that at all, love. I’m all for shutting your days and shit down just to feed you and make sure you good.”
“To make sure I’m good,” she repeated.
“Yeah. Not only in here.” I pointed to my chest. “But also, up here and everywhere else.”
She was cheesing overly hard at that statement. “Good, because I have every intention of doing that for you as well.”
“I’ma hold yo’ fine ass to that too.”
True to my word, I spent the day with my baby, keeping her close while we ran errands and I even let her drag me through the fucking outlet.
We went by her apartment as well and I could tell seeing everything bothered her.
No matter how much assuring I had done, her moving in with me was happening soon.
Baby or not, I intended to wake up and go to sleep next to Jade for as long as God permitted.
When you found that person for you, that one that made everything worthwhile, you didn’t overthink it or put a time limit on it.
You did whatever was necessary to protect and provide.
“Yo, I know you don’t be on no hood shit, but you gotta go in here and crack his skull with a computer monitor or something,” Kinga said as soon as we pulled up in front of the computer nigga’s storefront. Unlike my brother, I wasn’t amped. I wanted to get this shit done and get home to my lady.
“And why I gotta do that?” I asked, already planning to put my hands on him.
“To get your point across. Shit, to keep it a buck, I’ma keep this trunk open ’cause he one of those nerdy types. He’ll probably talk himself into it.”
I was about to get out of the car, but my brother’s hand on my wrist stopped me. “Nah, place is about to close. We’ll catch his ass leaving.”
I nodded and rested back in the passenger seat, watching through the glass as ol’ boy seemingly prepared to leave.
Another fifteen minutes later, he was putting his jacket on and grabbing something.
He then cut the lights out and moved toward the back.
Seconds later he returned to the front, and he was at the door, pulling it open to leave.
He looked around a few times before he turned to lock the door.
Once he was done, he turned and walked off.
There was no car for blocks, so he was either taking a bus or walking.
“You trust me?” Kinga asked out of the blue.
“Yeah.”
“Then watch this.” He didn’t even look at me before he mashed his foot on the gas, speeding up right in time to catch ol’ boy crossing the street.
All that could be heard was his body rolling under the car before this fool reversed and backed over him.
What got me was when he sat there for a minute—car on body, eyes straight ahead.
When he finally decided to pull off, he spoke. “You wouldn’t have done enough, and knowing your kindhearted ass, he still would have been breathing.”
I laughed. “Man, fuck you. We can’t all be a lunatic.”
“Well being a lunatic gets rid of problems before they arise. That being said, I’ma be whatever I need to be to keep peace. With peace I know my wife sleeps easily and so do I.”
I nodded in agreement, looking out of the window as he drove us back toward his house. “True. Speaking of peace, or lack thereof, that detective came by my house today.”
Kinga sighed. “I told you, there isn’t anything to worry about. Stick to it and she’ll move around. If not, I’ll have her ass handled.”
A brief silence filled the car, my mind knowing what he meant.
My brother wouldn’t touch a woman, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t pay somebody else to take care of it.
He just was who he was. He handled the cleanest and dirtiest of things without a second thought, because he protected peace.
Kinga never went looking for trouble, he instead handled it when it came his way.
That was why he had been my only call that night.
Though he was a hothead, he carried himself better under pressure than anybody I knew.
My brother handled things… regardless of the spectrum they landed on.
“So, when were you gonna tell me I’m about to be an uncle again?” His question had me looking in his direction. “She didn’t drink the wine. Meaning I’m about to go home and Harlem is gonna be faced.”
I chortled. “Shit, I was trying to process it myself, you know?”
“Understood. But I’m happy for you. Finally moving past all that darkness into happier pastures. You deserve this though, bro.”
“Do I?” I asked, glancing over at him. His eyes were trained ahead on traffic.
“You do and I swear I’ma tell you that shit till you finally believe it.”
By the time we made it back to the house, it was much later than I intended, but my baby girl and Jade were waiting on me.
Well maybe not waiting, because Jade’s easily tired ass was asleep while Aja lay on her lap staring into her Switch.
The sight had me in my feelings, not in a bad way at all.
In the sight before me I saw a future far ahead of the past I had been living in.
Yeah, I fucked up, but I was no longer able to live in that fuckup.
I now had everything I needed to move forward.