Dick Contract
AN ASA YOUNG ORIGINAL
ASA
Spring, A Few Years Ago
What the hell is going on?
On the other side of the slightly cracked door, a spirited—as my mother would’ve said—conversation was in full swing. Raised voices, fast talking, loud laughter, and . . .
“All I’m saying is just tell me the truth, Dex? Did you cheat on me?”
Shit.
I peeked into the room. My siblings, their spouses, my nieces, my parents, my best friend Gemma . . . everyone was there. All eyes were on my poor, pregnant sister-in-law, Charlye. And her eyes were on her husband, my brother, Dex.
“Are you somebody’s daddy?” Char asked, her voice trembling with emotion.
“What the fuck you mean is he somebody’s daddy? What kind of fucked-up, bullshit-ass question is that, Char?”
Blake.
The mean one of the group. My sister had somehow mastered the art of not giving a fuck before she was eight years old and never had a problem backing it up with her fists.
And she didn’t care who it was. From the sounds of it, she was on one today.
Probably because her husband, Lennox, was out of town and wouldn’t be back until tonight.
“Damn, Blake. It’s not like this has anything to do with you. Why are you so angry? Dex can defend himself to his wife.”
Tristan.
The oldest and least likely to say anything.
The fact that he was even engaging was still weird as fuck.
Especially since he’d never been one to get involved in group discussions.
He’d spent much of our childhood being an asshole.
Never to me, though. He’d always made himself available to get me out of a precarious situation, but it was no secret that a few of my siblings couldn’t stand him.
“I’m not angry,” Blake grumbled. “And I’m sorry if it came out that way, Char. But the question is still legit. If Dex was living foul like that, I would’ve told you to leave his ass alone myself.”
“Maybe you should stay out of it, Baby Sis,” Tristan suggested.
The dramatic, “Ohhhhh,” my sister let out signaled it was about to get interesting. “I know you’re not telling me what to do, Fun Killer. And don’t think because you finally bought me a Bomb Pop after thirty years that I won’t cuss your ass out, too.”
Tristan chuckled. “So I can’t say anything to you?”
Wait, what?
My brother was many things, but he wasn’t a person who chuckled.
If anything, he scowled—when he was happy or sad, angry or apologetic, having fun and even sleeping.
I suspected his Jekyll-and-Hyde style transformation had a lot to do with Sasha, because damn .
. . Three years ago, he was fighting Duke in the backyard and actively avoiding all contact with most of the family.
Now, he was chuckling with Blake and mending the relationships he’d destroyed because of his anger issues.
“You can say it,” Blake said, practically singing the words, “but don’t be surprised when you catch this five-piece.”
“You’re crazy as hell for that, B.”
Duke.
The reason everyone was here and the least likely to give a fuck behind Blake.
If getting into some shit was a person it would be Duke.
Years ago, he’d lost everything and dipped.
It was so bad that Ma would cry every time someone asked about him.
For a while, I thought I’d never see him again.
But when he came home, he’d slowly and methodically rebuilt his life.
And tomorrow he was marrying Demi. He’d finally found his peace, and it was a beautiful thing.
“Move,” Tristan murmured.
“Come get your man,” Blake shouted, cracking up.
Sasha giggled. “Nah, sis, you got it.”
“Two things. Sit down because you look like you’re going to faint. That baby you’re carrying probably doesn’t appreciate all this noise.”
Bliss.
The sweet one and the complete opposite of her twin Blake.
Of all my sisters, I was closest to Bliss.
My mother once told me Bliss thought I was her baby doll, so she mothered me in a sweet, innocent way for years.
Then she became my cheerleader. Now, she was one of my favorite people, always rooting for me, always making sure everyone was good.
“Also, what is the issue again?” Bliss continued. “I’m confused. How old was the baby?”
Char shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe three. Four. Shit, he could’ve been a small five-year-old.”
“Okay.” Bliss sighed, rubbing Char’s belly. “Shhh, it’s okay. Now, do you really think Dex cheated on you and had a baby with some random woman?”
“Exactly. That math ain’t mathing, Char,” Blake added under her breath.
Bliss glared at her twin. “Stop.”
“What?” Blake threw her hands in the air. “You know I’m right. They just got married last year.”
“Or are you more concerned that he might have lied to you about a baby he had with some random woman?” Bliss asked, rolling her eyes at Blake.
“We were in the mall,” Char explained. “And we saw a little toddler with light brown skin, chubby cheeks, and beautiful, deep dimples. I told Dex that the kid looked like he could be his. Instead of assuring me it wasn’t, he just shrugged and asked me if I wanted a cookie.”
The room erupted again as each of my siblings asked my sister-in-law more questions.
I had to hand it to Char, though. She was holding her own against my loud ass family, probably because she’d grown up around us.
I almost walked in at that point. Not because I wanted to argue for my brother’s honor, but because I enjoyed watching everybody else freak the fuck out.
“Are we sure this is really a thing, though? I’m not saying it’s not possible, Char. But will say it’s not probable.”
Paityn.
The voice of reason in any situation. Her soft touch could simultaneously soothe and heal. My oldest sister was seven years older than me, but she’d been more of a second mother than a sister. Always on hand to offer advice and a strong hug to anyone who needed it. Just like Momma.
“And even if that baby is a Young, it’s not my baby.”
Dexter.
The calm in every room, the family counselor. I could count on one hand the number of times Dex lost his temper, and even now that he was in the hot seat, he’d still maintained his composure in a way no one else could.
“I mean, he looked like y’all,” Charlye shouted. “And you didn’t even say he wasn’t.”
“Because I didn’t think you were serious. Why would you automatically jump to the conclusion that it’s mine?” Dex asked.
Char’s shoulders fell. “Because I—”
“He’s right,” Duke interrupted. “Dex is the last person who would have a kid he didn’t know about.”
“That part.”
Dallas.
The third triplet. Duke, Dex, and Dallas shared a womb, so they had a different bond with each other.
It surprised me that she hadn’t added her voice before now.
Quiet wasn’t like her. And she was always up in everybody’s business.
Even after she married Preston, she still terrorized us in the family group chat.
And don’t forget to text her ass back. She didn’t think twice about hunting us down and showing up unannounced.
But she was also a fixer, the one you wanted on your side when shit got fucked up because she wouldn’t stop talking and maneuvering until she got the charges dropped. I knew that firsthand.
“Char, I’m not saying that you didn’t see what you saw,” Dallas added softly. “But it’s not Dex. You know better than that. If anything, it’s Duke.”
“Wow,” Duke responded. “Really, DD?”
“I’m just sayin’,” she responded.
“Dallas,” Demi chimed in then. “Now you know . . .”
“I’m sorry, boo. I know this is the last thing you want to think about during your wedding week. And I promise I’m gonna be there for you, even if Duke is a nasty-ass ho.”
“Sit yo’ ass down,” Duke muttered, shoving Dallas playfully. “I only have one kid I didn’t know about, and you already know why. I’ve never been out here waving my dick around without protection.”
Ma gasped.
“My bad, Ma,” Duke mumbled. “But it’s the truth. If that kid looked like us, it could just as easily be a baby someone adopted because one of your daughters got pregnant and hid it.”
“You tried it,” Blake said. “Like any of us could hide a fuckin’ baby bump in this family.”
“I know y’all like to joke about my cussing jar but Blake? Babe, you need to check your tone. And give me my money. You too, Duke.”
Speaking of my mother . . .
Victoria Young could strike fear and relief with one look.
Momma rarely raised her voice, and she never had to.
We all knew when to fall back. As for the cussing jar, we’d basically paid her car note for the last decade because we had to drop cash every single time we let a shit, damn, muthafucka, and ass fly.
Blake emptied her pocket. “I’m sorry.” She grabbed three hundred-dollar bills from her purse and gave them to my mother. “I’m paying ahead.”
“Thank you,” Ma chirped.
“Anyway, I feel like my question to Char and my comment to Duke’s ass were valid,” Blake said.
As if on cue, the room dissolved into another heated discussion.
Nothing too serious, but lines were drawn.
#TeamDexWouldNeverDoThat or #TeamMindYourBusiness.
Unfortunately for Char, no one thought Dex had a secret baby.
But because my family was my family, they couldn’t just let it be that.
Every single one of my siblings hated to lose, so it had become a competition of who was right.
“Alright, that’s enough,” my father’s soft, yet loud voice rose above the fray. He stood, dropping the Sunday paper on the coffee table. He’d been working the crossword puzzle while everyone was losing their minds. “This isn’t helping anything.” He glanced at Charlye. “Charlye, come here.”
Char inched closer to my father. “Yes?”
Dad smiled at her, squeezed her shoulder, then pulled her into a hug. “I understand, and I know what’s going on here.”