Chapter 10
It didn’t take long for Boogie to get home. When Chloe called and told him Sweetie needed him, he dropped everything to be there. It didn’t matter that he had some blocks getting hit because of Vernon Bishop’s ol’ bitter ass. Sweetie meant more to him.
When he stepped into their guest room and saw Sweetie’s head in Chloe’s lap and his baby crying, he saw red.
“What happened?” he asked as he walked over to the bed and grabbed Sweetie from Chloe. He held her to his chest as she cried. Boogie looked at Chloe, waiting for an answer. When she called, she only said that something was going on with Sweetie’s family. She didn’t say what.
“Her grandmother isn’t doing so well. Her father won’t let her go say goodbye.”
Boogie was so over this petty shit. “Fuck that. Both of you, come with me.”
He turned and walked out of the room and through the house in search of the rest of his family. They were in the living room.
“We need to talk,” he announced as he walked into the room with Chloe and Sweetie following behind him.
He pulled Sweetie into him and rubbed her back while she sniffled.
“What’s wrong?” Tandy asked as she eyed Sweetie with worry in her eyes.
“Pops, we need to call a meeting with the Bishops. This shit is out of hand, and I’m not gon’ keep entertaining any of this. It’s time for y’all to squash the beef.”
“Son, if you can get Vernon to agree to a meeting, then I’ll be there. He’s the one that’s been stuck on this shit.” Zander leaned back on the sofa and draped his arm on the back of the couch behind his wife.
“Did something happen?” Denzel asked for clarification. He was the type to get all the facts before getting on board with something.
Boogie squeezed Sweetie into his side. “This shit is just takin’ a toll on us. Sweetie wants to see her granny before she transitions, and he won’t allow it. I’m hoping if we can negotiate a truce that she will be able to say her goodbyes and have some damn peace. This shit is so stupid.”
Boogie tried hard to keep his irritation at bay, but the shit was hard. Sweetie’s tears could fuel World War III as far as he was concerned. And her smile could induce world peace. She controlled everything in his world, and he didn’t think she even realized it.
Denzel glanced at Sweetie as Chloe sat next to him and put a hand on his thigh. He pulled his wife into him and nodded at his brother. “I do agree that this shit is stupid.”
“Been stupid,” Tandy mumbled. Zander tapped her thigh with a slight chuckle. Tandy shrugged. “Just sayin’.”
“It doesn’t matter. He’ll never agree to it,” Sweetie said as she wiped her tears.
“Call him,” Boogie said. Now that he had his family on board, he was ready to talk to the source and handle this shit.
Sweetie’s eyes grew wide. “And say what?”
“Nothin’. Let me talk,” Boogie responded.
“Maybe you should let me handle it,” Denzel offered.
Denzel was a lot more levelheaded, but Boogie felt like this was something he needed to handle. He ignored his brother and nodded at Sweetie. “Call him.”
She shook her head but in disbelief, but she pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped on it for a second. She put in on speaker, and an automatic voice sounded, letting them know that Vernon had blocked his own damn daughter.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered. Boogie heard the pain in her tone, and it made him want to put Vernon Bishop’s head through a wall.
“Call your mom and see if she can get him on the phone,” Boogie said. He wasn’t about to give up. If he had to knock on Vernon’s front door unannounced, he would.
Sweetie sighed and tried her mom’s phone. It rang on speaker for a second before her mom answered.
“Hey, Sweetie. Nothing’s changed. He’s refusing to let you come say goodbye.
” Valarie’s voice broke on the last word, and Boogie’s heart slightly softened toward her.
As of right now, every one of her family members was on his shit list, but he reminded himself that Valarie was in the process of losing a parent.
He couldn’t imagine what that felt like.
“I know, Mama. Do you think I could speak to him? Maybe let me try?” Sweetie asked with hope dancing in her voice.
“I don’t know, honey. Every time y’all talk, it ends in a screaming match. I don’t know how much more of that I can take.”
Sweetie closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “Then stand up to him, Mama. He’s always dictated every fuckin’ thing. She’s your mother. I’m your daughter. Let you tell it, when his mama died, you were ten toes down for him. It’s his turn to return the favor.”
Silence filled the line before Valarie whispered, “Fine. I’ll go get him. He’s in a meeting with your sister.”
They waited with bated breath for a few minutes before Vernon’s gruff voice blared through the phone. “What the hell are you callin’ your mother and bothering her for?”
“Daddy—”
“No. You’ve done enough, Sweetie. You need to grow up and do right by your bloodline, or you need to cut ties. I sure have,” he said, his voice sounding like a growl.
“Vernon!” they heard Valarie hiss in the background.
Boogie grabbed the phone and did his best not to go off. “Mr. Bishop, this is Boog—Darren DeLuca. I’m here with Sweetie and my family, and we’re calling to see if we can sit down and come to some kind of understanding.”
Silence stretched before Vernon exploded. “How dare you speak to me! How dare you—”
“Now hol’ up now.” Zander was up and by Boogie’s side in an instant. “You ain’t gon’ talk to my son any kind of way, nigga.”
“You! How dare you—”
Vernon’s words were cut off by a voice through the phone. “Enough!”
Valarie had clearly taken Sweetie’s words to heart because she cursed that man out from hell to heaven.
Eventually, their voices faded to the background, and a feminine voice filled the line. “Sweetie?”
“Audra?” Sweetie sniffled. Boogie’s poor baby. Her tender heart couldn’t handle all this drama. He hated that she even had to be a part of it, but they needed to get their families on board with their relationship. He wasn’t about to spend an entire lifetime like this.
“Tell Boogie we agree to a meeting. I’ll make sure Daddy is there.
This shit has gone on long enough, and I’m tired,” Audra said.
Boogie liked her already. He remembered her from school, and she always seemed cool.
He knew she and Sweetie had a rocky relationship, but he wondered if that had more to do with the strain their father caused on them than anything.
Boogie spoke before Sweetie could. “Bet. Let’s meet at the Mediterranean restaurant on the south side.
The one on Lamont Street. Mutual territory.
I’ll make sure it’s shut down for us, and y’all can bring as many security guards as you want.
We’ll do the same, but no weapons are allowed inside. Sound fair?”
“More than fair. Is an hour okay? I don’t mean to rush, but if there’s any way we can get Sweetie here to see my grandmother today, then that would be great.”
“I agree. An hour is perfect.” Boogie disconnected the line, and everyone stared at him. “What?”
“I’ll be damned. You managed to pull off something I ain’t been able to do in over three decades. Proud of you, Son,” Zander said as he clapped Boogie on the back.
Denzel stood. “Let’s just hope they ain’t on no bullshit.”
“They can act up if they want,” Boogie said with a shrug. At that point, he was with whatever.
Everyone dispersed to prepare for this monumental meeting. When Sweetie and Boogie were alone, he pulled her into him by her waist. “You okay?”
Sweetie shook her head before she leaned into him. It seemed she didn’t have any words, and he honestly didn’t blame her. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say during this impromptu get together. All he knew was his future banked on the outcome of this meeting.
Normally, Boogie loved Mediterranean food. It was too bad they weren’t there to eat. Maybe one day the two families would be able to break bread, but he doubted that night would be the night.
Ultimately, he was on a mission. First, he wanted to make sure Sweetie could say her goodbyes to her granny. He also wanted peace going forward. All he could do was pray to God that things turned out in his favor.
When they walked into the restaurant after being searched for weapons, he noticed the DeLuca family was already seated at a large table in the middle of the restaurant.
Sweetie squeezed his hand, and he put his arm around her for comfort.
He knew that seeing her family right now was probably unnerving.
Vernon Bishop had aged. He had white specs in his beard, and his head was bald. The way his face screwed up when he spotted Boogie’s family instantly pissed Boogie off.
Valarie sat next to him, and Boogie could tell she was tired. She had puffy eyes and looked like she would rather be anywhere else. He appreciated that she took the time out to be here. It meant she really wanted Sweetie to see her granny, and that meant the world to Boogie.
Audra was last. She sat next to her mother and looked all business. She wore a navy pantsuit and had her hands folded in front of her as she peered at the DeLuca family.
When they reached the table, Tandy was the first to speak. “Valarie, it’s good to see you. I’m so sorry to hear about Ms. Lucille. Give her my love.”
Valarie offered Tandy a smile and a small nod. Boogie could see the ghost of a of friendship there, and he felt bad that they had to be torn apart because of two stubborn ass men.
Denzel walked up to Audra and held his hand out to her. “Nice to see you, Audra. Been a while.”
“Since graduation. Nice to see you too,” Audra said with a smile.
“This is my wife, Chloe,” Denzel said, gesturing to Chloe.
“Love your pantsuit, girl. You’ll have to let me know where you got it from,” Chloe said as she shook Audra’s hand.
Audra giggled. “I’ll write down the information for my personal shopper after this meeting.”