4 #2
As usual, Dash nodded in agreement as his girl was being placed on a pedestal that she didn’t deserve to be on.
Caprice couldn’t wait to report back to Clover’s cousins to tell them everything that was being said in their absence.
Clover drank the last of her coffee before she finally felt good enough to get out of the black Bentley that she’d been sitting in for the last half-hour. She had a customized green one just like it, but everyone knew how much she hated to drive.
“You need to just take the day off, baby. Make sure everything is good and leave,” Dash said as he looked over at her.
They had a lot of help from their families with Kardi’s party, but Clover was a perfectionist when it came to their daughter.
She had to make sure that everything was done exactly how she wanted it.
Between that and her online classes, she was barely getting the proper rest.
Dash tried to take as much pressure off of her as he could.
He wanted his baby’s party to be perfect and drama free.
Unfortunately, some of Clover’s cousins came all the way from Georgia with the bullshit.
Dash, the same as Clover, was born and raised in New Orleans.
He was a city boy but he liked to go visit his family in Georgia as often as he could.
It was almost like they were celebrities in the eyes of their families with their accents and designer clothes.
Dash and his brothers often sent some of their male cousins the latest shoes and they were always appreciative.
Clover did the same with some of her cousins, but a few of them just didn’t fuck with her.
Aside from jealousy, Dash never knew why.
As long as they kept their hands and comments to themselves, all was well with him.
“I would have if Irie was here but she took off today, remember?” Clover reminded him.
Just like Clover, Irie had a degree in early childhood education.
She was done with school so she was good with her bachelor’s degree and declined to go back when Clover did.
She managed the nursery, but Iva was there running things in her absence.
Irie rarely took off, but all three of her kids had appointments.
They were all at different times so she decided to take the entire day off.
Usually, their mother, Cherelle, would handle things like that for her but she had an appointment herself.
Iva swore that she was done with school after she got her high school diploma but she ended up going to cosmetology school instead of a traditional college.
She fell in love with locs at a young age and she was an amazing loctician.
She kept Clover’s hair on point as well as her own.
Diva had just started her loc journey about a year ago and she loved the convenience already.
“Damn, I forgot all about that. Well, go on inside. I’ll bring everything in for you.”
Clover had to stop and grab some more afternoon snacks for her babies since Diva was busy preparing for Kardi’s birthday party the following day.
She usually did things like that in addition to helping Dot prepare breakfast and lunch.
Since Dot owned the lot on the side of her bar, that was where the party was being held.
Dash rented tents with fans to keep the guests cool since it was so warm outside.
They had a lot for the kids to do including face painting, games, and a spacewalk.
Hank and his brother were boiling seafood, but the rest of the food was being catered.
“Morning, bestie. Special delivery for you.” Iva smiled when she saw Clover walk into the daycare. She pointed to a huge green and white flower arrangement that was sitting on the counter. She snickered when Clover looked at the bouquet and frowned.
“I know his stupid ass didn’t come here to drop that off.”
“I don’t know. It was already here when I got here.”
“Is he slow or what?” Clover’s daycare was opened from six in the morning until six in the evening. She doubted if a florist was open that early, so they had to be hand delivered by the person who bought them.
“Just be happy that your crazy ass man ain’t with you.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Dash came walking into the daycare carrying a few bags. Iva discreetly took the card out of the flowers and stuck it in her back pocket.
“Who sent you flowers, Iva? Let me tell big bro that he might have some competition.” Dash smirked when he looked over at his brother’s ex. Iva smiled awkwardly, hoping that her expression didn’t give her away. Dash would have torn some shit up had he known that the flowers were for Clover.
“I’m too cute for your brother. Apparently, he likes seahorses since he’s dating a bitch who looks like one.”
Iva was a dark chocolate beauty with a feisty attitude and foul mouth to match just like her best friend.
Monty had been after her since they were teens, and she finally gave him a chance.
He was in love with Iva but he fucked up when he got locked up.
Dash and everybody else knew that they were gonna get back together, but it was taking longer than they thought.
“You and Monty need to stop playing and work that shit out.”
“Fuck Monty and please feel free to tell him that I said so.”
“I’m not even getting into all that. Where you want me to put this stuff at, Lucky?” Dash asked while looking at Clover.
“Put it in the kitchen. I’ll put it up in a minute.”
“Alright, I’m going to make sure Diva got everything ready for my baby’s party.”
“No, Boobie, let Diva handle that. I need you to get everything to the school on time. Hank said that he’ll go with you if you need help.”
Diva and Clover had made some snack bags for the kids in Kardi’s class. She also had some cupcakes and ice cream cups for her class to help celebrate her special day. A few of them were gonna be at the party, so they were gonna be celebrating twice.
“I got you, baby. Call me if you need anything. If not, I’ll see you at six.” Dash gave her a kiss before he headed back to the front.
Once Dash left, Clover walked around and greeted her staff and the kids that they looked over.
She loved kids and being around them gave her more joy than it probably did the average person.
She was an only child but she often fantasized about having siblings.
She had friends but it just wasn’t the same.
Moving in with Diva was the closest that she’d ever come to having big brothers and she married one of them.
She didn’t want that for Kardi but she wasn’t ready for more kids just yet.
After putting the snacks away, Clover headed to her office to view the cameras.
She shook her head when she saw a black Audi with heavily tinted windows pull up before sunrise.
A tall, muscular built man with a light caramel complexion and a low wavy cut stepped out of the truck and placed the huge bouquet of flowers in front of the door.
He put an envelope in the slot out front, and she was curious to know what was inside.
Trenton Latimer was a dude that Clover dated off and on when her and Dash were going through their divorce.
His mother, Trudy Latimer, was actually her divorce attorney and that was how they met.
He was at his mother’s office one day when she went for an appointment, and the rest was history.
Trent was cool, but Clover never lied to him.
He wasn’t the only one that she dated and he knew that Dash was never too far away.
He was a gentleman and cool to spend time with but he wanted more than she could give him.
Clover wasn’t about to waste her time and nobody else’s with promises of a relationship.
Her and Dash broke up all the time but it never lasted very long.
They both wasted their time dealing with other people because they always found their way back to one another.