Chapter 11
dreaux davis
. . .
a week later
When we pulled up to the house, I could tell Peace was nervous.
I told her I would take her to have Sunday dinner with my family.
It was partially the truth. Except I left out the part about them being her biological family.
She seemed to hit it off so well with Ciyani and Janae that I thought it would be good for her to see the Grahams in their element.
We filled Messiah, Rule, and Wisdom in on what was going on, and they were all just as shocked as I was.
Rule and Messiah were Peace’s alleged brothers, so I figured it would be better if we did the DNA test with them before we told the whole family.
Messiah agreed, but I could tell he had a lot of questions about how it all happened.
He and Knowledge didn’t always have the best relationship, but he still loved and respected him.
I told them I would be bringing her, but we all agreed not to tell the girls until we were certain.
Dana decided to spend the weekend with her friends and her boyfriend.
Dominique and Danae wanted to go see a movie and hang out at the mall, so I dropped them off before we made it to Granny Lula’s house.
“Hurry up. I’m hungry, and I’m trying to get some mac and cheese before Messiah and Loyal’s greedy asses get to it.” I complained as Peace took her sweet ol’ time.
“You’re an asshole. You know that?”
“Assho!” Promise attempted to repeat her. Peace looked mortified while I chuckled because she had been doing it for weeks.
“See. You’ve got my baby out here cussing on a Sunday.
” I held baby girl in my arms as we headed towards the house.
I rarely felt nervous because of the life I led, but I was a little anxious as we walked inside.
Peace seemed so lost in the world, and I wanted her to experience the kind of love I knew they could give.
I greeted everyone as I walked into the house. The mouth-watering aroma coming from the kitchen lulled me into a trance. My mother rarely cooked when we were younger, so I never experienced family dinners until Justice invited me to join his family for dinner.
“Where is the bathroom?” Peace asked. I could tell her ass was trying to stall, but she had no reason to be nervous.
“It’s down the hall. Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done.”
“Is that my big, fine bonus grandson!” Granny Lula shouted as I stepped into the kitchen. The ladies were all in the kitchen together. Some were at the table talking, while a few others were fixing up the food.
“How are you doing, Granny?” I kissed her cheek, then peeked over her shoulder to get a peek at what she cooked.
“I’m alive and in my right mind. God is still in the blessing business.
How are you, baby? I only get to see you once every couple of weeks.
You ain’t that damn business that you can’t come and check on an old lady.
I don’t mind you coming to grab a plate on Sundays, but it would be nice if you could come and sit on the porch with me now and then. I won’t be here forever.”
I dropped my head in shame because I needed to do better. The Grahams were a second family to me, and they helped raise me as a kid. I owed them more than I could ever pay back.
“I’m sorry, Granny. I’ll do better.”
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me anything. Who is this cutie you’ve got with you?” Granny held her arms out for Promise, who went right to her with no hesitation.
“What’s your name, baby?”
“Pwomish.”
“Promise? Oh, what a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. Would you like a snack while we wait for the food? You like bread?” Granny walked her over to the counter, and the two of them split one of Granny Lula’s famous dinner rolls.
She put a little butter on it, and Promise smashed it as if she hadn’t eaten all day.
“Have they been starving you, baby? You can tell, Granny. I won’t say anything.” Granny pressed as she handed Promise another roll. Her greedy ass nodded her head, and I couldn’t do anything but laugh. Promise had everyone wrapped around her finger, and she loved every minute of it.
“That’s okay. Granny Lula is gonna fatten you right on up.”
“Hey.” Peace spoke lowly as she stood next to me.
Nervous energy radiated off of her, so I grabbed her hand in mine.
When Granny Lula turned to face us, her eyes grew wide as saucers.
Peace had been so focused on her phone that she missed it, but I didn’t.
Granny glanced between the two of us, then gave a warm smile.
By that time, Peace had finally looked up.
“Granny Lula, this is Promise’s mother, Peace.” Granny froze for a moment, and then she walked over to greet her.
“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Peace barely spoke above a whisper.
“How are you doing, sweety? You can call me Granny Lula or Granny. It’s up to you. You have the sweetest baby. She is so smart and well-mannered.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Peace! When did you sneak into this house?” Ciyani exclaimed, rushing over to hug her. Peace embraced her with the biggest smile on her face. The two of them talked for a moment before Ciyani pulled her over to where the other women were.
After an hour, we all ate until we were completely full.
The women were upstairs while the men gathered in the man cave.
The house we were at belonged to Justice’s father, Truth.
I considered him a second father because he and my father were so close growing up.
After my father was killed, Truth stepped up and handled everything for us.
He paid our rent for a year and checked in on us often.
When I told him I wanted to join his organization, he gave me the chance to prove myself, and after years of putting in the work, he passed it all down to me. He was as solid as they came.
“Pops, we need to run something by you,” Justice interjected as the men were talking. Everyone got quiet since the majority of us knew he was about to say.
“Okay. I’m a little scared because of the way y’all are looking at me. What’s going on?” Justice and I both gave each other a look before I spoke up.
“I met this girl a month ago, and I hired her to be my assistant. Her last name is Graham, and she told me that she met her father when she was younger, but then she never heard from him again. Her mother refused to tell her much about him and basically said to her that he didn’t want her anymore.
She showed me a picture of him, and he looked like a young Messiah.
We don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I’m pretty sure it was Uncle Knowledge. ”
“What’s her name?” Truth questioned with a stone face.
“Peace. She’s upstairs with the women.”
“You brought her here?” His tone was calm, but I could tell this wasn’t new information to him.
“Yeah. I wanted to come to dinner, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring her.”
“Does she know where she is?” I dropped my head when he asked that question, and he shook his head in disappointment.
“Fuck. Look, this is way more complicated than y’all know.”
“Wait a minute. Pops, you knew about this?” Loyal grilled his father as he stood up.
“Aye, sit your tail back down. You don’t know the full story.” Truth asserted.
“Then tell us what happened. We have a right to know.” Messiah interjected. His facial expression indicated that he was upset, and he had every right to be.
“Alright, I’ll tell you what I know. You guys may or may not remember, but a year after Charity and Serenity were born, Elantra got pregnant again.
Everyone was excited because the baby would be the tie-breaker, as they had two boys and two girls.
We threw a baby shower, but on the day of the shower, they were involved in a car accident.
The baby ended up dying because they were born prematurely. ”
“Knowledge was hurt, but Elantra took it the worst. They ended up having two more miscarriages shortly after, and she became depressed. The relationship became rocky, and I guess he met Renay in the meantime. I’m sure you can fill in the blanks from there.
The relationship was his escape, and things became intense.
Elantra found out about the affair, and she threatened to leave him. ”
“Knowledge sobered up and realized that he couldn’t lose his wife, so he broke things off with Renay.
Things were cool until after seven months, when she reached out and told him she was pregnant.
At first, he was excited because he loved being a father, but reality set in.
He didn’t tell Elantra about the baby until after she was born.
Elantra was devastated, and she wanted nothing to do with the little girl. ”
“Knowledge respected her stance, so he went to visit the little girl instead. Things seemed to be well for a few years until his silly ass started having sex with Renay again. Hell, I don’t think he truly ever stopped, but things got sticky when she got pregnant the second time.
God must have had a sense of humor because she and Elantra ended up pregnant at the same time. ”
“When Elantra found out, she kicked him out of the house for a few weeks. Knowledge cried and begged for her to take him back, but she refused. Somewhere down the line, Elantra was placed on bed rest because her pregnancy was high-risk. Knowledge stepped up and took care of her. They eventually decided to work things out, but Elantra wasn’t comfortable with the idea of him having another baby on the way.
Renay wasn’t as far along as Elantra’s, so he tried to make her get an abortion. ”
“Things got heated between the two of them, and Renay started showing up to their house and getting into arguments with Elantra. One encounter led to Elantra being rushed to the hospital, and she basically gave Knowledge an ultimatum. It was either the family he built with her or his other family.”
We all sat there in silence as we tried to wrap our minds around everything Truth told us.