Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Kas and Yanna were hand in hand as they knocked on the door of Nouri’s newly purchased Henrico County home.
It didn’t take much for Nouri to decide he wanted to stay in Virginia.
There was no way he could leave his boys so soon, and he loved living in the same city as Maya again.
If he was being honest, being close to Layla gave him solace as well.
A few seconds passed before Nouri opened the door, stepping aside for Kas and Yanna to enter.
“You really need to put some plants in here, artwork or something. The place don’t have to look this damn masculine,” Layla complained, walking throughout the living room with a glass of wine in her hand.
A look mixed with shock and guilt covered her face as she noticed two of her children had entered the home.
“Oh, h-hey baby boy… ladybug. I thought y’all weren’t supposed to be here for another half hour or so. ”
“H-hey, mumma. I’m sure you didn’t think we’d be here yet. What the hell you doing here?” Suspicious eyes trailed the length of his mother, twisting his face at what he saw. “And why the hell you so comfortable? Where yo shoes at? Why you drinking? Nouri, you trying to get my mumma drunk?”
“Ooh, Kas, this ain’t they first time doing this either. That’s Layla’s favorite wine over there.” Yanna added, pointing out the bottle of red wine she knew Layla preferred.
“How many times you been to this nigga house, mumma?”
“And what y’all be doing?”
“I do believe I’m the parent in this situation. Just like I stay out of y’all business, I’d appreciate if y’all would stay out of mine.”
“Mumma Lay, you got business with your baby daddy?”
“Shut the hell up, little girl. Ain’t nothing going on with me and Nouri.”
A hearty laugh fled Nouri’s chest witnessing the interaction.
“Ain’t shit funny.”
“Aye, you gone learn to watch that mouth, little nigga.” Nouri pointed a finger at Kas.
“Not him trying to be a parent.” Yanna giggled, prompting Nouri to turn his attention to her.
“And you must be Jaiyanna.”
“I am.”
“Nice to finally meet you. LaLa, now I see what you mean when you say they’re the same damn person.”
“Told you.” Layla shook her head, taking a hearty gulp of her wine.
“Who the fuck is LaLa? Man, hell nah, what time is my sister getting here because I’m liable to snap on yo ass today.”
Again, Nouri laughed at his son’s antics just as the doorbell rang. “That must be her right there.” Nouri went to open his front door, allowing Maya and Logan to enter.
“Hey, daddy… oh, how you doing, Ms. Layla?”
“I’m alright, beautiful. Good to see you again, good to see you too, Logan.”
Everyone engaged in a round of greetings, Maya gushing over Yanna’s huge baby bump as Nouri poured them all glasses of wine…
sparkling cider for Yanna. Kas made Nouri pour him something a little stronger before standing in the middle of the living room.
He looked down at his watch just as they all heard the sound of a car door closing.
“Even though I got about three bones to pick with you right now, I got a lil’ surprise for you.” Kas informed.
“For me?”
“Yea, for yo sneaky ass,” Kas replied as three light knocks sounded against the door. He took the liberty of opening it himself and heard both his mother and father gasp. Onyx stood at the entrance with Troi by his side and Kian in his arms. “Sup, Nyx?”
“Sup, bruh. Hey, mumma.” Onyx greeted as he stepped in.
“Hey, my big baby. This sure is a pleasant surprise.”
“You don’t even need to be bringing up surprises, mumma. Nyx, wait until I tell you about her…later though.”
“Yea, later.” Onyx noticed how comfortable his mother seemed to be in Nouri’s home and got a good idea of what Kas would tell him.
Shaking away that unwanted thought, he greeted and hugged Maya, and dapped Logan.
Then pulled Yanna in for a hug as well. Nouri was the last person he approached, and it was intentional.
For a moment, they just stood there. Father and son, perfect strangers, damn near identical twins.
Onyx’s eyes were stern, but the bit of sadness that rested behind them was still evident.
Remorse and rumination lingered on Nouri’s visage while he tried to force the emotion threatening to spill from his eyes at bay.
Nouri cleared his throat, choking back tears when Onyx held his hand out for him. “Nouri.”
“Son.”
“Let’s just stick with Onyx for now, yea?”
“O-okay.” Nouri nodded as Kian began to whine and writhe in his father’s arms. He’d been restrained for too long and wanted to get down so he could explore the foreign home. “And who do we have here?”
“Ki, quit that whining, lil’ boy. Look, this yo papa man, say hi.”
Layla had tried to hold it in, but hearing Onyx refer to Nouri as Kian’s papa tore her emotions apart. Tears falling from her eyes seemed to have a domino effect, and soon all the women were in tears. Little Kian continued to whine, attempting to climb down.
“Can I?” Nouri asked Onyx, holding his arms out for Kian. Onyx nodded and placed Kian in his grandfather’s arms. Nouri bounced him gently, speaking to him in Farsi. As if he were spewing magic words, Kian instantly stopped crying and laid his head on Nouri’s shoulder.
“I’ll be damned,” Onyx murmured.
“Wow. Can we take him home with us?” Troi said it jokingly but was also dead serious. Not even Layla could calm Kian so quickly.
Nouri continued to speak Farsi to Kian, simply letting him know he was his papa and although he’d gotten it wrong with his father, he hoped he could get it right for him. Stroking his plaits, Nouri told him he wasn’t going anywhere and hoped he had the chance to be a part of his life.
“You will,” Onyx answered, causing Nouri’s neck to snap up.
One thing he’d tried to teach his son before he left was how to speak Farsi.
What Nouri didn’t know was that once he left, Layla made sure Onyx continued to learn the language.
Onyx, in turn made sure Kas learned, even though he wasn’t quite as fluent as Onyx.
Nouri’s eyes lit up, knowing that although he’d essentially abandoned them, his sons still held on to a part of him and his heritage.
“Hey, I understand you don’t want to know me.
But you have to understand that I want to know you.
My grandson and your wife too. I know I really fucked up, and you had to grow up long before your time, but—”
“You’ve apologized to me once, and that was enough.
My brother wants you to be a part of our lives.
My mumma wants you to be a part of our lives.
My wife wants Kian to know his grandfather, to know his auntie Maya and Uncle Lo.
So, for them, I’ll try. I can’t promise to be like Kas’ friendly ass right off the bat, but I will try.
That’s about all I got for you right now. ”
“That’s all I can ask for,” Nouri responded, eyes misting and heart swelling with content. Father and son pulled each other in for a hug, and if only for just that moment, everything seemed right in the world.
Yanna squeezed Kas’ hand, knowing that he wanted nothing more than for this moment to happen.
He direly wanted to build a bond with his father, but he wanted his brother, the man who’d raised him, the man who’d taught him everything, to be okay with it too.
Kas returned her sentiment, silently willing himself not to cry like his mother and sisters.
“Um, I hate to be the one to bust up the merriment or whatever, but what is cooking in that kitchen? It smells so good my stomach is growling.”
“Oh, it should be just about done. I was only expecting five guests, but there should be plenty to go around. I made Baghali Polo ba Mahicheh.”
“Who?” Yanna questioned.
“It’s a Persian dish,” Kas answered.
“Rice, fava beans, dill…” Onyx called off.
“… And Lamb shanks,” Maya finished.
“Gotdamn,” Nouri caroused. Eyes traveling between his three offspring. “All my kids in here showing their Persian roots is liable to make a nigga real emotional. Let me go ahead and prepare the food before I embarrass myself. Lala, you want to give me a hand?” He asked Layla.
“Who the hell is Lala?” Onyx questioned.
“Dawg!” Kas bellowed. “It’s some funny business going on, and I don’t like it.”
“Because why she got a nickname?”
“Exactly!”
“Oh, both of y’all let it go,” Layla fussed.
“Yea, yo mama been Lala ever since… hell, since a few days after I met her.”
“But that’s a story for another time.” Layla didn’t want Nouri talking about the start of their relationship, because he was cheating on his girlfriend at the time. She and Maya were cool, and she didn’t want stories of how her father cheated on her mother to change that.
“Don’t worry, I know the story already. My mom is happily married now, and she ain’t thinking about Daddy. Plus, it’s not my business to be getting upset about.”
“Nah, still, we don’t need to hear that shit.”
“Watch your mouth, Nyx. Nouri, come on and let’s fix this food.”
“Onyx, Kas, y’all trying to go on the back real quick?” Logan asked, inviting the men outside to smoke.
“Hell yea,” Onyx replied. “Ki, be good for yo mumma while I go outside for a minute,” he advised his son, but little Kian was already following his grandfather into the kitchen.