Chapter 23
CHRISTIAN
“In what world can’t you defend yourself? My client is a hunter. His hunting rifle is always in his vehicle. Secondly, this is an open-carry state, or does that only apply to the white folk?”
“Watch it, Mister Berotte,” the judge said.
“I’m just saying. Had it been the other way around, we wouldn’t even be here. The police would have taken a statement from the man and sent him on his way, calling him if they had more questions. You can say what you want, Your Honor. You know I’m right. He deserves to walk after watching the footage obtained by Missus Taylor. It’s clear that Mister McAlister was about to stab him.”
“Mister Berotte, I won’t have you behaving this way in my court. Watch the way you talk to me, or I will throw you out of here.”
My eyebrows lifted as Shy shrugged his shoulders. That nigga didn’t give a fuck if he knew he was right. He was more professional when he was talking to the family. However, I knew the judge had pissed him off. He was trying to remand SS. He didn’t have a record, not even a traffic ticket, and he didn’t want to set bail.
“Well, since you thinking about doing it anyway, I may as well say what I want. Missus Taylor can pick up where I leave off. She knows how to be nice nasty. I don’t. I’m going to be one or the other. When I’m passionate about something or know who and what I’m fighting for, I don’t hold back. Rest assure, I won’t stop until you get snatched off the bench.”
“Are you threatening me, Mister Berotte?” the judge asked and stood from his seat.
“Threatening? Me? Threatening you? Naw, Your Honor. I’m telling you exactly what I’m gon’ do. They aren’t threats. They are promises. You only holding our client because he’s black. You’re a disgrace to the justice system. Period.”
“Bailiff, escort Mister Berotte out of here.”
“You ain’t gotta escort me. I will gladly walk out of here. I refuse to allow you to use race to determine this case. Racists don’t belong in a court of law. You won’t be here much longer. Get acquainted with what I look like. I’m gon’ be coming at you from all directions. Take that how you want it.”
He yanked his tie off and stormed out of the courtroom as the entire family stood and clapped. SS was sitting there looking defeated though. Suddenly, the twins started chanting. “Let him go! Let him go!”
Before long, we were all getting thrown out of the courtroom. Mr. Berotte set the tone, and we didn’t hesitate to follow that shit. Mrs. Taylor remained calm, sitting there watching everything unfold. She was very observant, and I knew she was going to use everything that happened to her advantage. I was starting to think that their strategy was planned.
As we sat on the bench outside the courtroom, Mya leaned into me. “Yo’ family is rowdy as fuck.”
I chuckled. We were definitely that, especially when it came to each other. Everybody was here, including family friends, Legend, Red, Zayson, Aston, Shylou, and Philly, along with their wives and children. None of them were considered friends anymore. They were family. There had to be over fifty of us in the courtroom, all the men and boys standing along the walls, allowing the women to sit.
I was surprised they even allowed all of us in there. It was full of niggas in there, and the moment made me think of Fred Sanford when he said in the courtroom, “Look at all these niggas in here! It’s enough niggas in here to make a Tarzan movie.”
I had to quickly divert my thoughts, or I would have laughed inappropriately. They were trying to railroad my cousin, and we weren’t standing for it. We’d fuck around and have Al Sharpton, Shaun King, Jessie Jackson, and whoever else here fighting for my cousin. Shiiiid, we’d get lil shawty from H-Town that set it off on what’s her name. Bleach blond, bad built, butch body. Auntie Maxine would have to roll through too.
This judge obviously didn’t respect the Henderson name, but I was beyond sure Mrs. Taylor was in there, professionally tearing him a new asshole. Uncle Storm was pacing right in front of us with his hands clasped together. I’d never witnessed him be so nervous and quiet. His mouth was always going, but this had him fucked up.
Aunt Aspen and Uncle Jasper had been doing their best to keep him from completely breaking down. He’d even gotten to the point where he was blaming himself for passing down his temper to his kids. That shit had all the women and Grandpa crying. What SS did had nothing to do with his temper. My nigga was protecting himself. Had he not shot that bitch, he would have stabbed him, possibly killing him. I was pretty sure that was what Sidney was in there arguing.
I wrapped my arm around Mya and laid my hand on her belly. She was seventeen weeks, almost eighteen, and I couldn’t wait for my baby to make his or her arrival. We were almost halfway there. “How you feeling, baby?” I asked her.
“I’m okay. I can feel the baby moving. If you put your hand in the right spot at the right time, you may feel the movement too.”
She smiled. She was doing her best not to say ‘it.’ I told her just because we didn’t know the sex of our baby yet, didn’t mean she should call him or her it. My baby wasn’t an it. She giggled and agreed that what I said made sense. She was sure to say ‘he or she’ or ‘the baby.’
I loved the way she fell into this relationship with me. Although we had a slight pause, in my heart, I knew she was all in. We spent a lot of time together. My pop had gone on a few appointments for me so I could spend as much time with Mya as possible. I wanted to make sure she was secure in my love for her. I wanted her to know that there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her, no matter the cost.
I kissed her head and continued to rub her belly. When the doors opened and Sidney and SS walked through them, we all cheered. The McAlisters didn’t look happy at all. I wanted to say fuck them though. I understood they were hurt because they lost a loved one, but that shit was his fault. Their anger was displaced. They needed to direct that shit at Courtney’s ass. She was still locked up and was going to be arraigned next.
They were charging her with conspiracy to commit a crime. I was pretty sure she would have a court appointed attorney, and they would probably railroad her ass, especially if she had this judge. I almost wanted to sit in to see what they would do to her, but at the same time, I didn’t want to see her ass. My temper would have me getting arrested at the sight of her. I’d jump hurdles to choke that bitch.
We made our way to SS, and the look of relief on his face made me smile. I shook his hand and hugged him. “Is it over?” I asked.
“It is unless they find anything they need to question me about. I wouldn’t have shot him for nothing. He wasn’t about to stab or kill me though. Fuck that.”
I gave him a one-cheeked smile. Nigga was a Henderson through and through, but he was definitely Storm’s son. “Why were you in the south end?”
“This lil honey dip I know that works at Sonic live over there. I was making a run through.”
I rolled my eyes. “This is my ‘lil honey dip,’ Mya,” I said, mimicking his voice. “Mya, this is Seven, but we all call him SS. He’s a junior, but Unc didn’t wanna call him SJ.”
I slightly rolled my eyes as Mya smiled and shook SS’s hand. “Nice to meet you, and congratulations on beating that charge.”
“Nice to meet you too. Thank you.” He looked back at me and said, “You better be glad you got to her first.”
He scanned Mya’s curves as I frowned and pushed his ass. He laughed then hugged me again. I pulled away from him and put my arm around Mya as Uncle Storm said, “We turning up tonight at the barn, Henderson style. Eight o’clock, y’all come get fucked up… well, except Mya, Nesha, and the pet cougar’s daughter,” he said to fuck with Vida.
Aston and Vida were family friends, and Vida was Syn’s biological mother. Ever since Vida got with Aston, Unc had been calling her his pet cougar. She was nearly twenty years older than her husband, but nobody could tell that shit. Vida was fine as hell. She glared at Uncle Storm then shot him the finger.
He smiled big and winked at her. I slowly shook my head and put my arm back around Mya. She smiled at me and said, “I’m loving my new family.”
“Good. Those muthafuckas crazy, but we ride for each other. That now includes you, baby. Let’s get out of here.”
“Let’s. I’m gon’ turn the fuck up tonight. The doctor said I can have a glass of wine every now and then.”
“Fuck that. Hell naw. Not gon’ happen. Get it out yo’ head.”
“Well, damn.”
“You know damn well if you get a taste, you’re gonna want more than you’re supposed to have. It’s best not to have any. You ain’t finna have my baby all underdeveloped because he or she already an alcoholic in the womb.”
“Shut up!” Mya yelled then laughed.
I laughed, too, and escorted her out of the courthouse to the SUV. We were going to be a family, and I couldn’t wait to make that shit official.
“Christian, you and Mya’s table is over there.”
“With all the balloons?” I asked Aunt Tiffany.
“Yeah.”
“It’s hot out here. If those muthafuckas start popping and shit, I’m coming straight to you.”
“Hell no you ain’t. That shit was your mama idea. Take that attitude straight to her ass. I dare you.”
I chuckled and slid my hand over my waves. “Oh, well, Mama know what she doing.”
“Uh huh, nigga. That’s what the fuck I thought.” She turned to Mya and said, “Hey, sweetie. Sorry for not speaking right away, but yo’ nigga distracted me. Ol’ salty ass.”
She hugged Mya as they laughed then went to the house to help Mama and Aunt Jen with the food. We’d decided to have the gender reveal at my house. Mya was so damn uncomfortable these days. I wanted her to be able to go lie down if she wanted to. Her feet were already swelling, and she was only twenty-two weeks.
It had been a month since she’d been here. We’d gotten everything moved and put where she wanted it. Most of the furniture was donated to different shelters. At first, she wanted to hold on to it, but I had to convince her she didn’t need to plan for if we didn’t work out. If I had to hold her ass hostage until we worked shit out, I would.
Her dad approached us and grabbed her hand, helping her to her seat as I went to the kitchen to check on my mama and aunts. When I walked in, my mama said, “Nope. Get out of here and go be with your baby. We got this in here.”
I chuckled and shook my head then went and kissed my mama’s cheek. She and Aunt Jen worked so hard to keep the family gatherings popping. As I headed outside, I received a text message. When I saw Avery’s name on the screen, I took a deep breath.
Hey, Christian. I just wanted to check in and say hello. I heard congratulations are in order. You’ll make an amazing father. I’m sure of that.
I took a deep breath again and decided to respond. Hey. Thank you.
I slid my phone back into my pocket and made my way to my baby. Before I could sit though, I saw AJ walking through the patio door. I smiled slightly as Rylan and Jakari froze. He looked just like J and our dad, so there was no mistaking who he was. I wanted to believe that we’d all forgotten he even existed.
When Avery went to court and was convicted, he wasn’t born yet. My mama surely wasn’t trying to have a relationship with his mother. He came to me and smiled. I’d gotten Mya to get his number from his sister so I could invite him. His sister had finally told him what went down and had somehow gotten Mya’s number to tell her about it. He went off on his mother and moved out to live with his sister. He’d also distanced himself from Avery. I hated that they had kept that shit from him.
When I reached out, he was extremely receptive and looking to establish a relationship with his brothers. Of course, I’d talked to my mama beforehand to make sure she wouldn’t be uncomfortable. She’d smiled big and hugged me tight. She said she expected Rylan to be the one to do that, not me. But since my talks with Karima and Serita, I had to put things into perspective. AJ didn’t have shit to do with any of that. Just like us, he was born to a fucking pedophile.
I shook his hand and brought him over to Jakari and Rylan. Before I could even introduce him, J said, “My fucking twin. What’s up? I’m Jakari, the oldest.”
They shook hands. “I’m Avery, but these days, I prefer being called AJ.”
J hugged him, and then Rylan did the same. “I’m Rylan, the youngest of the three of us. Nice to meet you, man.”
AJ nodded then turned to me. “Thanks for inviting me. My sister went to Beaumont to shop until I was ready.”
I nodded as my mama approached. His eyes widened at the sight of her. I knew that he knew who she was because I looked like her. When she got closer, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. He was dark complexioned, but his face turned red. I chuckled at how flustered he was.
“It’s nice to meet you, baby. Welcome to our family.”
He hugged her tighter, and I couldn’t help but admire my mother and how gracious of a woman she was. Taking him in as her own… a son of her ex-husband… a child who was conceived while they were still married. She was amazing. When he pulled away, he asked, “What’s your name?”
“Mama.”
AJ broke down as he fell against her. I took a deep breath and hugged both of them. Jakari and Rylan joined us. I could see Mya snapping pictures with her phone as she and her dad looked on. When we pulled apart, my mama wiped AJ’s cheeks.
He quickly did so too. “I’m sorry… Mama. I didn’t mean to break down on you. I just… after everything I know now, it felt like I no longer had a family, other than my sister, Amelia. Going from thinking you had the world to being enlightened with the truth is messed up. It’s a tough journey. I know it’s the past, and maybe I’ll get over it, but it feels good to know I have people I can lean on while I work through my issues.”
My mama leaned against him and hugged him around his waist.
“Okay, everybody! It’s time to eat!” Aunt Tiff yelled. “And y’all hurry up because I’m anxious to see if this baby is a boy or girl.”
My mama laughed and grabbed AJ’s hand to lead him to the food. Everything was set out buffet style. I turned to Mya to see she was standing from her seat and yelled, “I got it, baby.”
She nodded and smiled then sat back down. When I turned back to go fix our plates, I nearly ran into Karima. “No, you don’t. I got it. It’s already fixed. Go sit by your baby.”
I chuckled and headed back to the table to do as she said. When I sat next to Mya, she smiled. “Thank you, Karima!”
It seemed as if Mya went deaf after Karima set that plate in front of her. I chuckled, watching her salivate over the barbequed sausage, chicken, and venison, along with the rice dressing, baked beans, green beans, and potato salad. I wanted to fuck with her and take her plate before she could start eating, but I knew baby girl would literally try to fuck me up if I did.
By the time we were done eating and had greeted everybody that showed up, Uncle Jasper came over with a hunting rifle. “Since we like to hunt and shit, I thought we could use this. You just have to shoot at that target in the pasture, and the color will splatter all over it. What you hoping for?”
“I don’t know. I don’t guess it matters. I’m just happy I get to be a father.”
“I feel you on that, man. Well, go on over there before Tiffany has a fit.”
I chuckled as I glanced back at her. She was standing there with her hands on her hips, watching us. I tilted my head so Mya could join me. “You want me to hold it with you?”
“Naw, baby. The power may take your shoulder off. I just want you next to me.”
“Oh. Well, you must be a good shot if they got you shooting a target.”
“Mm hmm. You ’bout to find out.”
She smiled and fixed her eyes on the target as I lifted the gun. Everyone else was doing the same, anxious to see what we would be having. I lowered the gun. “You know, I think we gon’ wait.”
“Nigga, if you don’t shoot that gun, I’m gon’ shoot yo’ ass,” Aunt Tiff said.
I chuckled as I lifted the gun once again. Instead of fucking with them again, I went ahead and shot out the target. When pink covered it and pink powder filled the air, I smiled big. After laying my rifle on the ground, I turned to Mya and picked her up.
“We’re having a princess. She is going to be spoiled to death. She’ll be the only girl on my side of the family.”
Mya laughed. “Well, she’ll be the only grandchild on my side. I can imagine we’ll be driving to Mesquite quite a bit for them to spend time together.”
I kissed her lips and lowered her to her feet. “You know, speaking of driving, you can’t have my princess in that busted ass car.”
Mya frowned hard. I knew she loved her car, but that shit had seen better days. She put her hand on her hip, prepared to give me the business, until KJ blew the horn on her new emerald-green metallic Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680. I’d gone all out because she deserved that shit. The way she’d been writing and releasing these books, she deserved the best reward I could afford. When it was all said and done, this shit was gon’ set me back a couple hundred grand, but she was worth it.
Her eyes widened, and her hands flew to her mouth. “Christian! I know you fucking lying!”
I chuckled as tears fell down her cheeks. Mr. Andre whistled as he stared at it. “Daaamniiiit!” he said right after.
I slowly shook my head as she ran to me and hopped in my arms. After kissing her lips, I said, “You running the wrong direction. Go check that shit out. I can’t have you rolling around Nome, looking like you work for the Hendersons.”
She laughed and ran to her new whip. As she looked around it then got in, I took a deep breath and glanced at Mister Andre. He gave me a nod of encouragement. I looked over at my pop, and he did the same.
I made my way to the driver’s door. She was in the seat, wiggling and giggling. I chuckled. “Now what I was saying earlier was that you can’t be rolling through here looking like you work for the Hendersons, when I want you to be one. Our baby is a Henderson, I’m a Henderson, and it’s only fitting for you to be one too.”
I went to my knee and pulled the ring from my pocket. I opened the box to reveal a five-carat beauty. Mya’s tears were falling uncontrollably at this point. “Mya, I want you to be my wife. We’re already a family, but I need this between us to be official. Plus, when you driving this shit, you need some bling on your finger when it rests on this fancy ass steering wheel. I know it’s somewhat soon, but you know I’m impatient. I need you in my life. Your aura, your love, your sex appeal… I need it. All of it.”
She swiped the tears from her face, but before she could respond, Uncle Storm yelled, “It ain’t too late to run, track star!”
She laughed and playfully glared at him. “Yes, Christian. Besides our baby, there is nothing I want more.”
I slid the ring on her finger then stood and loved on my wife-to-be. This was perfect. Everything had worked out the way it was supposed to. We went through some shit to get to this point, but every moment was worth it. As everyone crowded us, showering us with love and congratulatory hugs, I knew I had finally become the man that a woman deserved… one that knew how to provide, protect, and most of all, love.