Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
When Symphony opened her front door and saw a delivery guy standing there holding a vase filled with flowers, her eyes widened.
The long-stemmed roses were absolutely gorgeous.
It was going to be embarrassing telling him he had the wrong house, because who would be sending her roses? Before she could speak, he smiled.
“I’m looking for Dr. Simmons.”
“That’s me.” Her eyes darted from his face back to the flowers.
“Can you sign right here for me?” he passed her a clipboard, and she smiled as she realized the flowers were actually for her.
“Thank you so much,” her smile grew as he passed her the bouquet.
Symphony couldn’t wait to open the envelope and read the card. After closing the door, she placed the vase on the entry way table in her foyer. Anxiously, she removed the envelope.
Thanks for not holding my ignorant ways against me and being a dope doctor. Shorty.
Nasir.
“Wow,” she chuckled. “Wow, wow, wow.” Symphony was speechless.
That was the very last thing that she expected.
For a full minute, she stared at the flowers in a state of shock.
He had good taste. That was for sure. She could look at the arrangement and tell a pretty penny had been spent.
She didn’t care if the flowers came from the grocery store.
The gesture would have been appreciated all the same.
But to know he spent a nice little coin had her stunned.
Symphony clutched the card and took it upstairs to her bedroom.
Mason could be nosey as hell. She wasn’t sure if he knew Mario’s brother’s name, but she didn’t want to take any chances.
It was hard to believe that he sent flowers to every doctor that treated him, but she refused to read too much into it.
Maybe he wasn’t an asshole after all. She didn’t have a way to thank him aside from going to his home, and that wasn’t an option.
She told him to come back in two weeks, so she could make sure his lungs were all clear, but Symphony wasn’t sure if he’d keep the appointment.
Once the card was tucked away, she descended the stairs. As her foot hit the last step, Mason came in from playing basketball at a neighbor’s house. “Those are nice,” he glanced at the flowers. “You got a boyfriend?”
“No,” Symphony laughed. “Why do they have to be from a boyfriend? Why can’t they be from a friend?”
Mason’s shoulders hiked into a shrug.
Symphony decided to change the subject. “I don’t know what I want for dinner. I have some turkey burgers, but I kind of want to make pasta. Then again, I kind of want shrimp tacos from the Mexican spot we like. What are you in the mood for?”
“It doesn’t even matter. Grandma has been staying out late for the past few nights, and I’ve been surviving off Ramen and Hot Pockets.
All of that sounds good to me as long as it’s not cooked in a microwave.
” Sonya didn’t do a lot of eating out so since being with her, Mason had gotten used to home cooked meals.
Unlike most teens, he mostly preferred home cooked meals over fast food.
“Staying out late?” Symphony’s face scrunched. That didn’t sound like her mother. “Staying out late doing what?”
Mason once again shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I heard her talking on the phone one night, and she said something about a casino. I don’t question grandma, and she doesn’t offer any answers. I’m about to take a shower.”
Symphony stood frozen in place as she watched her nephew walk up the stairs.
Her chest felt tight. The casino? That was the reason her mother needed to borrow money.
How was that any better than Monique asking for money?
She knew that when it came to addiction, there was always a chance of relapse.
However, Symphony truly thought that losing everything once before had been enough to scare her mother straight. Obviously, that was wishful thinking.
The situation with Monique had them both stressed.
Symphony could look at her mother and tell that worrying about her oldest child had taken its’ toll on her.
But why couldn’t she see that gambling wasn’t going to make it better?
As long as she had a job and a place of her own, her mother would never be homeless, but when did it stop?
When did adults start making better decisions for themselves?
Willingly, they let their lives go to shit and depended on someone else to pick up the pieces for them.
Symphony was pissed, but she couldn’t confront her mother.
As difficult as it would be, she had to keep it inside because she didn’t want her mother to get mad at Mason for telling her business.
Symphony hated the way she shut down when she became worried, anxious, or upset.
Just that fast, her notion to cook went out the window, and she knew they’d be eating tacos.
She wanted a glass of wine so bad, she could taste it.
But if she used alcohol to cope, how was she any better than Monique and her mother?
Symphony walked into her living room, sat on the couch, and put her face in her hands.
All she wanted was peace. Peace in her family and peace in her life.
She didn’t bust her ass all those years in medical school to one day just quit, but if she had it her way, she’d get married in the next two years, then take a year off to have a baby.
It was difficult to focus on her happily ever after, when she spent so much of her time and energy cleaning up other people’s messes.
If her mother needed to borrow money from her, then she damn sure wasn’t winning when she went to the casino.
Symphony didn’t want that to be her business or her problem, but deep down inside she knew that if her mother lost enough money, she would be expected to go to the ATM and save the day per usual.
Blak eyed his reflection in the floor length mirror.
It was the first time in his life that he’d ever worn a tux.
He had to admit that he looked fly as fuck.
As did his cousins. When he had relatives like Block, Lethal, and Brazil he didn’t need friends.
Block was going to be his best man, and Lethal, Brazil, Mario, and his homeboys, Rico and Jug were going to be his groomsmen.
“You sure you want to do this?” Block walked up behind Blak as he stared at himself.
“Yeah. Why not? I think the pros outweigh the cons for sure. It’s not like I’ll fall in love and marry a broad on some real shit anyway.” Blak sounded confident, but his own words made his gut churn.
It had been a week since he came in Averi twice.
He hadn’t reached out to her, and he wasn’t sure why.
Something told him that she had taken a plan B pill and wouldn’t have his child if he paid her to.
Something also told him that if she didn’t have his child, she’d stand on business and leave him alone like she kept saying she was.
Blak had every reason to believe that she wasn’t talking just because she had lips.
He’d get over it. Blak had never been lovesick a day in his life, and he doubted he would choose now to start.
He liked Averi, and even if he did it in a fucked up way, he tried to make it so she’d be a constant in his life.
If she really didn’t want to deal with him any longer, he’d have to accept that.
“As long as you’re sure,” Block asserted.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better. Yo’ black ass was looking ashy and weak as fuck a few days ago.”
Block stuck his middle finger up causing Blak to laugh. Block walked over to where Brazil was sitting looking lost as hell. “Bro, you been looking like you swallowed a rock all day. When the test results come back?”
“The lab tech said it would be today or tomorrow. If she’s mine, what the fuck am I gon’ do?” Brazil looked to his brother for answers.
“You gon’ handle yo’ scandal,” Block replied with conviction. “If that’s yo’ blood, you gotta step up and be there for her the way your pops has always been there for you. There isn’t another option.”
“Me with a newborn though?”
“Nigga, you know moms is gon’ be there around the clock. And if she needs a break, you can hire a nanny. You have the support and the means to take care of a kid. Stop acting like the world is over because you might have a child.”
Brazil kissed his teeth. “I’d like to see how you’d act if you were told right now that you had a kid that had already been born.”
“I’d do what I had to do,” Block replied confidently. “I don’t have to worry about that though because I use condoms,” he smirked.
“I do too. I don’t run up in shit raw. I’ve been trying to piece together moments from that night, but I’m drawing blanks. I know I for sure put a condom on though.”
“It could have broken. I’ve had a chick take the condom off to suck me off then try to hop back on the dick without me putting another condom on.
I can’t be for sure something like that was the case with you, but chicks can be ruthless.
And most chicks know when they’re ovulating.
I bet somehow someway; she took advantage of how drunk you were. You still don’t know how she died?”
“I googled her name, and the news article said that she was in a high-speed chase with a guy that was running from the police. The chase lasted for ten minutes before he crashed into a tree going more than a hundred miles an hour.”
“Damn.”
“This shit is crazy,” Brazil shook his head.
Lethal came over in his tux. “Bro, if she’s yours, it’s gon’ be cool. You have mom and us. Pops will be home next year. Shit, you better go ahead and lock down a chick, so she can play step mama.”
Lethal’s words made Brazil frown. He wasn’t going to get a girlfriend just so she could help him raise his child.
If Kera had truly done what Block was accusing her of, he was going to side eye women more than he already did.
If he did have a daughter, he’d have to figure shit out on his own.
Getting with a woman, just so she could help him out didn’t seem like something he was interested in doing.
Once the measurements were taken, the men removed their tuxes and left the store.
Brazil’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he removed it.
Seeing that he had an email from the lab company that he took the DNA test at made him hold his breath.
He opened the email and read over the words with a racing heart.
“She’s mine.” His tone was low, but his brothers heard him.
“Word?” Lethal asked with wide eyes. “Damn. So, what’s next?”
“I guess I have to wait for ole girl’s lawyer to reach out to me. She’s probably going to tell me to come get my daughter expeditiously. Man, I have a game in two days,” Brazil sighed. “Bro, what the fuck?”
Block shook his head. His brother wasn’t taking the news well at all, but there wasn’t anything that could be done about it. Unique had been proven to be his. Anything less than figuring this thing out was the wrong answer. He had a niece, and Brazil was a father. Damn.