Chapter 26
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
I was at Pressure’s crib, in the game room, kickin’ it with him and Renza.
The pool table was lit up, the air smelled like smoke and liquor, and the speakers in the corner was playin’ that old Jeezy mix.
A half-empty bottle of D’USSé sat between us, with dominoes clackin’ across the table every few seconds, and the vibe was right.
Pressure had a blunt hangin’ off his lip while Renza was talkin’ shit like always, laughin’ loud and wild every time he scored.
“Man, y’all niggas lucky I’m feelin’ good tonight,” Renza said, slammin’ a domino down. “You see that, right? Big six, bitch. That’s how I do this shit.”
Pressure laughed and poured up another drink. “Boy, as always, yo’ ass talk more than you win, and that’s sayin’ a lot.”
I leaned back in my chair and hit my blunt. “Y’all argue more than y’all play. Ain’t nobody keepin’ count but me.”
Pressure looked up, smirkin’.
The game room was filled with laughter and the sound of bottles clinkin’. It had been a minute since I laughed like this. It wasn’t no drama, no bullshit. Just me and my cousins, talkin’ about life and business, the same way we used to before everything got complicated.
Pressure leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “So, what’s next for you, ‘Lo? You done with that project or what?”
“Yeah, that’s done,” I said. “I’m workin’ on a few new moves, tryna’ expand the custom line with ‘Lo Motion. Might start doin’ more collabs. I got a few niggas in the industry tryna’ work with me.”
Pressure nodded. “That’s solid. You movin’ and steppin’ on shit. Niggas don’t even realize how many lanes we openin’ with all this shit we got goin’ on. Then, Renza talkin’ about openin’ a lounge next year too.”
Renza grinned. “Yeah, I’m callin’ it ‘Ren’z Den.’ Grown folks only. No broke niggas allowed, no weak shots, and no bum-ass music.”
Pressure laughed. “You gon’ end up drinkin’ all your own profits.”
Renza shrugged. “Nigga, I drink regardless.”
We all cracked up, and for a second it felt like old times, but then, I said some shit I couldn’t hold back no more.
“I’mma be outta town in a few days,” I said, lookin’ down at the dominoes. “Me and Toni goin’ to see a fertility specialist.”
Pressure looked up from his drink, brows raisin’. “Fertility specialist?”
“Yeah,” I said. “We been tryna’ figure out why she ain’t got pregnant yet.”
Renza smirked, leanin’ back in his chair. “Nigga, you sure it’s her and not you?”
I looked at him with a straight face. “Boy, shut yo’ goofy ass up. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with me.”
Pressure laughed. “You dumb as hell, Renza. Don’t nobody wanna hear that shit.”
“Nah, for real,” Renza said, still laughin’. “I’m just sayin’, you been goin’ raw since what, 2018? And she still ain’t popped up pregnant? Somebody in that equation ain’t workin’ right.”
“Yeah, and that somebody ain’t me,” I said, smirkin’.
Pressure leaned back in his chair, still smilin’ but lookin’ like he thinkin’ at the same time. “So, what you gon’ do if they tell you she can’t have no kids?”
The question hung there for a second. I took a drag from my blunt and blew the smoke out slow.
“I don’t know,” I said finally. “Ain’t somethin’ I even wanna think about. I can’t see myself with nobody else, and I damn sure ain’t raisin’ no kid that ain’t mine. That’s dead.”
Pressure nodded slow, his face serious now. “I feel that, but you know life be throwin’ shit at us we don’t plan for. You gotta make peace with whatever come outta that appointment.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there,” I said, grabbin’ my glass. “Right now, I’m just tryna’ make sure my wife good.”
Before anybody could say anything else, the door opened, and Blaqson walked in.
The whole room went quiet for a second. He had on all black, his chain gleamin’ under the lights, and a blunt behind his ear like always. I felt my whole mood shift soon as I saw him. My jaw locked up on reflex.
Pressure looked up like it wasn’t nothin’. “What’s good, boy? Thought you wasn’t pullin’ up.”
Blaqson dap’d him up, then Renza. Then his eyes found me. He ain’t say nothin’, but just nodded once before sittin’ across the table.
I leaned back slow. “You could’ve told me he was comin’.”
Pressure looked dead at me. “Nigga, I don’t need your permission to invite nobody to my fuckin’ house. If you ain’t pulled a damn gun on him, we wouldn’t even be here.”
Renza coughed into his drink, tryna’ hide a laugh.
Blaqson leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, starin’ at me like he was waitin’ on somethin’. The air was tight for a second, but I ain’t look away.
Pressure clapped his hands once, breakin’ the silence. “A’ight, so here’s what we not gon’ do. We not gon’ act like two hoes with hurt feelin’s in my damn game room. Y’all gon’ fix this shit today.”
Blaqson smirked, still lookin’ at me. “Yeah, I’m cool with that. I’m owed a fuckin’ apology anyway.”
I looked at him, my voice calm. “I don’t owe a nigga shit.”
Renza shook his head. “That’s a damn shame, bro. Y’all niggas actin’ like y’all don’t even know each other.”
Pressure dropped his dominoes hard. “Man, fuck all that. Ain’t nobody leavin’ this game room ‘til y’all squash this bullshit. I got some gloves if y’all wanna fight it out. Either way, it’s gettin’ handled tonight.”
I looked at him, smirkin’. “Go get them hoes then.”
Before Pressure could even move, Renza jumped in, holdin’ his hands up. “Nah, nah, nah, ain’t nobody fightin’. Y’all too damn old for that. Be grown men and talk about it.”
Pressure looked from me to Blaqson. “‘Lo, you know you was wrong for that shit. Just apologize and let’s move on.”
I shook my head slow. “Ain’t doin’ shit.”
Pressure sighed, pickin’ his dominoes back up. “You hard-headed as hell. Fine. Play the game then.”
So that’s what we did. We played. We drank. We smoked. But the tension was sittin’ heavy in the room like another person.
After a few rounds and another bottle, Renza started laughin’. “Man, y’all funny as hell. Y’all been glancin’ at each other all night like some old lovers that broke up and don’t know who gon’ say sorry first.”
Pressure burst out laughin’, slappin’ the table. “Yo’, you stupid as hell, boy.”
Even Blaqson cracked a small grin. I tried to hold mine in, but it slipped.
Blaqson leaned back, shook his head, then said, “Man, fuck it,” and extended his arm across the table.
I looked at him for a second, then reached out and shook it.
Pressure grinned wide. “Damn, bitches, now was that so hard?”
Everybody laughed. The air finally lightened, and the tension melted just enough for me to breathe again.
We spent the rest of the night talkin’ shit, laughin’, and drinkin’ like nothin’ ever happened. But deep down, I knew that even if we moved past it, that night in the kitchen would always stick with me. I knew I took that shit too far.
Still, for the first time in a long time, it felt like we was back where we was supposed to be. The Mensah’s and the ones close to us; strong, loyal and unbreakable, even when we was damn near about to kill each other.
That’s just what we was… Family. And family ain’t perfect, but when we fix shit, we fix it for real.