Chapter 1 #2
I burst out laughing. It was a weekly thing with that man.
He had it bad as hell for my mama and didn’t care who knew that shit.
It had always been like that too. It became so bad that four years ago, he bought a house on the same street as my mother.
Yes, they lived six houses down from each other.
“Act like, Dad? Did you really say act like? Man, my mama is not fuckin’ with your rolling stone ass on no levels.
You have a better chance of getting back with Derrick, Aaron, or Karla’s moms.” I continued to laugh at the thought of my parents together.
It was something I just couldn’t see happening.
When my father put his beer down and rubbed his hand down his bald head like he had waves to smooth out, I knew he was about to be on one. I was convinced that what attracted my parents to each other was their sharp ass tongues. They didn’t give a damn what came out of their mouths.
“First, I was never with them females. I don’t regret my kids, but them hos caught my young ass up. Second, yes, I said act like. You can believe whatever your mama tells you, but I know better. She can act like I didn’t break her back less than three weeks ago if she—”
I jumped up from my seat. “Nope! I don’t want to hear that shit. I’m about to go talk to my mama.”
He laughed at my back as I started my trek toward the door. “Tell my baby mama I said hey. Ask her what my code to her front door is since she acting for you, Son.”
“Yo, you childish as hell, old man. Just childish as fuck.” I walked out of his house, hating that I laughed at his antics. That was Orion, and I knew that shit.
I walked into my mother’s house and immediately smelled cinnamon and sweet potatoes. “Ma, I know you’re not making Karla a sweet potato pie. That girl can make her own pies.”
Sure enough, she was at the island in her kitchen with her mixer going. Someone would’ve really thought that Karla was her blood daughter, the way she spoiled her. “Euri, get out of my business and stay in yours. Yes, my baby called and said she wanted a pie, so I’m making her a pie.”
When I was twelve, I started bringing a five-year-old Karla to my house.
Her mother was trifling as fuck and only had her with the hopes that it would keep our dad.
When it didn’t, she moved on to the next nigga and neglected my sister.
Our father got custody of her when she was six years old.
My mother stepped in to help our dad because, according to her, he didn’t know anything about raising a little girl.
Karla’s mother still came around, but it wasn’t a consistent thing.
“Alright, Ma. You wonder why her ass is spoiled. Since you’re making them, please make me one if you don’t mind.” I sat at the seat on the other side of the island.
Her head popped up at me with her eyes tight. “I know you see six shells behind me on the other counter. Don’t play with me, Euri.”
I didn’t initially see the shells. When I did, I had questions. I had three siblings, so that accounted for three of the shells and another for myself. I assumed one was for my mama, so who was the sixth for? “Ma, who is that last pie for?”
Her ass stopped adding stuff to the mixer.
Marsha was gorgeous for her age. She and my dad had the elixir to the fountain of youth.
That shit was a double-edged sword when it came to my mama though.
Her ass liked to be outside, and these young niggas had suga mama fetishes that I didn’t mind shooting out of their asses.
“I see you’re still in business that doesn’t concern you.” She shook her head with a soft giggle. “If your nosy ass must know, it’s for your father.”
A shirt could’ve hung off my brow. “Oh, we makin’ Dad pies now? What he do to deserve a pie?”
“Lil’ boy, why are you here? I know it’s not to ask me about damn pies and your daddy.” She was clearly tired of my inquisition. “What the hell do you want, so you can get out of my damn house? I got pies to make.”
All I could do was laugh at her ass. “I came over here to tell you that we won the bid for the townhouse development. All the contracts were finalized today.”
Her scowl disappeared, and a beautiful smile replaced it. “Oh my God! Look at Him continuing to bless you.” She rushed around the island to wrap her arms around me. “Didn’t I tell you if you left those streets alone, what was meant for you would come?”
“Yeah, Ma, you did. Karla banged those numbers out to make the partnership beneficial to us and the developer. This is going to change the game for us,” I confirmed.
When I started my company, I offered my mother a percentage of it, but she refused it.
We went back and forth about it. Eventually, my father and I came to the agreement that I would give him a slightly bigger share, which he would give to her under the guise of that baby daddy always looking out for his baby mama shit.
With that, my father purchased her the house five years ago.
In hindsight, that was a setup for him to buy a house nearby.
“I’m so proud of you, Euri.” She kissed my cheek. “Where your big-headed brothers at? The better not be out there causing a ruckus.”
My brothers were also close to my mother. Derrick’s mother, Kisa, was a cool chick. She wasn’t always, but with time and maturity, an understanding was gained. Aaron’s mother, Gia, died when he was twenty. She had been sickly all her life, so she welcomed my mother’s presence in their lives.
I sucked my teeth. “Now, you know it wouldn’t be them if they weren’t somewhere causing a little bit of hell.” I lifted my arm to check my watch. “I’m supposed to be meeting them in a few hours to eat at Gloria’s Kitchen.”
“Lord, I still am amazed that she has not expanded that restaurant to more than the one. I used to eat there before your ass was born. It was one of my and your father’s favorite places to go and a hangout spot,” she told me.
The dreamy glaze in her eyes told me she was reminiscing about something or someone.
Let me fuck with her. “Aw, you thinking about your sneaky link Orion?” I held in my laughter.
“Get the fuck out of my house before I get on demon time with you. You’re going to need to throw salt over your shoulder after I get done with your ass,” she warned. “Don’t make me have to tell you again, black boy.”
I stopped fucking with her. When she called me black boy, that meant that the jokes were over. I shared my father’s deep, dark-chocolate skin tone. “I’m out, Ma. Let me know when I can come pick up my pie.”
Her mean ass didn’t even respond. She just waved me off. I still walked over and kissed her cheek before I left. I needed to go home to take a nap. I would need one if I planned to get up with my overly active brothers tonight.
Gloria’s Kitchen…
Annoyed wasn’t the word I wanted to use to express how I felt in the moment.
Vexed was more appropriate. One thing my brothers loved was getting a reaction out of me.
When I walked into the restaurant, I wanted to immediately walk back out.
My brothers neglected to tell me that we would be dining with guests of the female variety.
That wasn’t the overall problem. The problem was who they chose to have with them.
“Hey, Euri,” Cece greeted as soon as her eyes landed on me.
She was a chick that I used to fuck with off and on for a little second.
The pussy was cool, mouth better, but her attitude left much to be desired.
I didn’t like rude, unruly ass females. Any woman who intentionally drew attention to herself using her bad attributes, I didn’t want in my space.
The only seat available at the table was the one next to her.
I could tell by the smirks on my brothers faces and the other bitches around the table that the seating arrangement was intentional.
Well, they had me fucked up. I took the chair and moved it to the other end of the table to sit on the end. “What’s up, Cece?”
“Damn, it’s that serious that you can’t sit next to my homegirl?
” One of her big-neck, bucked-back, turnip-green-smelling friends asked.
The whole crew was the pass-around type of females that had to go in for pussy rejuvenations every six months because kegels just weren’t enough to tighten their endless tunnel pussies up.
My head slowly swiveled in her direction. “How’d that last rejuvenation go? I heard from the fellas that they’re starting not to take like they used to.”
I got my sharp tongue honestly. I didn’t like people who fucked with me, because I tried my very best not to fuck with others. My attention shifted to Aaron, who sucked his teeth.
“Man, you ain’t have to go there,” he said. “She probably just needs to find a new spa or some shit.” But I’m called the asshole of the brothers.
Cece giggled like their asses weren’t on a buy two, get one free Groupon for those shits.
At that point, I wanted to order my food, eat, then get the hell on.
In the morning, I wanted to go to UNCC and CPCC to speak with my old professors to let them know I would be having some opportunities available for their students.
“Hey, y’all. My name is Bruqlyn. What can I start you all off with to drink?” A soft voice came from my side.
Damn! Bruqlyn was fine as hell. Her hair sat on top of her head in a bun. She had a small frame, but from what I could see from how she stood, she had a little plump ass. I was considered a big nigga because of my build, height, and the fact that I worked out daily.
“Damn, take a picture. It might last longer, nigga,” Cece quipped. “Yeah, you can get me an Arnold Palmer and a water.”
The rest of the table gave her their drink orders. I was the last one. “Yeah, let me get a lemonade and water, sweetheart.”
Her cheeks rose with her smile. “I can do that for you, handsome. I’ll be back with y’all drinks in a minute and some cornbread.”
Yeah, that ass is nice. I didn’t take my eyes off her until she was out of sight. “Aye, you know her?” I asked my brothers. I didn’t go in here a lot, but they practically lived here. I ordered and had it delivered often, but I wasn’t a fan of sitting in restaurants.
“Oh my God! You’re really asking about that bum bitch. Her ass works here and the grocery store on Park Road in the deli. Fuckin’ bum,” Cece said with a turned-up lip.
I was caught between disbelief and irritation at her bold ass nerve.
“My bad, Cece. Remind me where you worked again.” I clapped my hands once.
“Wait, you just braid hair here and there and strip to keep money in your pocket, but stay below the income bracket so you don’t lose your government benefits. ”
Cece had two kids. I wouldn’t call her a bad mother, but she made questionable decisions that could make one believe otherwise.
She did have a gift of braiding hair, but her customer service sucked ass better than she did.
She had a reputation for taking deposits, canceling, and not returning the deposit.
If she did make it to the appointment, her ass was late, stayed on the phone, stopped multiple times, and on multiple occasions, had someone come to her little suite to fight her over a nigga.
Customers weren’t feeling that shit at all.
Her bright face reddened. Yeah, if she knew what I did, she would shut the fuck up. I didn’t give a damn if ole girl worked four jobs. That told me that she was out here doing something for herself.
Moments later, Bruqlyn returned with a large tray of drinks and bread. She passed out the drinks with a smile. I could tell she felt Cece and her homegirl’s eyes on her. I appreciated that she kept it cute. “Are y’all ready to order, or do you need more time?”
“If we were ready to order, then we would tell you that. Don’t rush us.” Cece loved to bark, but I’d seen her get mauled a few times because that bark was all she had.
Bruqlyn glared at her for a beat before she let out a light chuckle. “Not too much, chick-a-dee. It’s not on the menu, but I don’t mind giving you these hands as a complimentary dessert.”
“Oh, shit!” Derrick put his fist to his mouth. “Lil’ mama with the shits. Cece, you know your favorite pastime is getting beat the fuck up. I would chill.”
That was worth laughing at to the point that Bruqlyn giggled before she told us that she would be back to take our orders.
My brothers and I talked about random shit.
I wanted to tell them about the contract that I signed, but I knew better than to talk about cheese around rats.
The girls talked shit about Bruqlyn. When she came back, we gave her our orders, and she said that she would have them out.
Like she said, our food came out shortly, and she refilled our drinks. The entire time, she kept a smile on her face. She smelled good when she excused herself to lean over me to grab my cup. “You smell good,” I absentmindedly said.
I saw the smirk when she stood to her full height. “Thank you. You smell good yourself. I’m going to let y’all eat and come check on y’all a little later.”
We ate and had light conversation. My conversation stayed focused with my brothers. I wasn’t sure why they told these chicks to come. When Bruqlyn came back to ask how we wanted the checks, my brothers didn’t even pay for the bitches’ food. That shit was tragic.
After we paid her, she grabbed some of the dishes off the table and wished us a good night. Once again, I watched her until she was out of sight. “Damn, Bro. Let me find out that you got a lil crush,” Aaron jested.
“Shit, I might think I do. Miss Bruqlyn is beautiful,” I said as we all stood to leave. I had a feeling I would be here a little more often than normal.
We all walked out together. My brother was in the middle of telling me something about his book cafe he recently opened.
Aaron was a book head and loved to read.
When he got his degree in literature, everyone was shocked because of his street essence.
He was the type to pop a nigga, then throw out some Horatio quote over the dead body.
“Wait! I know this bum bitch doesn’t live in her car! Wow!” Cece’s loud outburst drew our attention like I was sure she wanted it to.
In the parking lot toward the back of the restaurant, there was a nice van with the side door open.
There was lighting in the van, so you could see inside where Bruqlyn sat at a small table.
She glared at Cece. “I don’t live in my car.
I live in my van, dummy.” She rolled her eyes, then asked, “Is there something I can do for you, goofy?”
She wasn’t ashamed of her living situation. Something about that made me want to get to know her even more. From the look of the inside of the van, she had a nice setup. My eyes drifted to the top of her van. Wait, are those…