Chapter 24 Dreaux Davis
dreaux davis
. . .
“I’m glad you could make it. Come on in,” Nadira greeted us.
She lived in a nice area, and her house was bigger than I expected.
It seemed like the perfect family home to grow up in.
A part of me wanted to turn around and walk back to my whip, but Peace gave me a look to let me know she wasn’t playing.
If I weren’t so nervous, I would have laughed at her.
I couldn’t believe she was tryna boss up on me.
“Thank you for having us. The food smells delicious,” Peace complimented.
I removed my shoes by the door and placed them on the shoe rack with all the others. There were several other cars outside, which was another reason I wanted to leave. Being surrounded by a bunch of strangers didn’t sound very appealing to me.
“I can give y’all a full tour after we eat because I know everyone is hungry. This is one of the family rooms, but only the adults are allowed in it. I love my grandbabies to death, but those couches are suede.” Nadira joked as she led us down the foyer of her home.
I heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen, and my nerves settled in. Peace must have read my thoughts because her tiny hands locked in with mine before we stepped into the room.
“Momma, your wayward son ate a wing and didn’t say a single prayer.” The pregnant woman from the church shouted.
“I love how you forgot to mention the wing you ate. That’s crazy.” Her man replied.
“Well, now that everyone is here, I’m going to pray over the food. Before we get started, I want to introduce you all to someone. This is my son Dreaux and his girlfriend, Peace. They will be joining us for dinner.” For some reason, I expected an outburst or some shock, but no one seemed surprised.
“What’s good, bro. I’m Jameer, and this snitch over here is my wife, Namoni. It’s nice to meet you finally.” He offered his hand for me to shake, and I obliged.
“I’m Nazeem. I’m the baby of the family, but as you can see, I’m the most handsome of all y’all niggas.”
“Man, get out of here. If we’re being honest, you’re last on the totem pole because Dreaux and I look alike. I keep telling you that you’re the milkman’s baby. Light-skinned Keith Sweat ass nigga,” Jameer shot back.
I chuckled as the two of them went back and forth. The exchange wasn’t as awkward as I expected, and I was grateful for that. The rest of the family introduced themselves and shook hands with Peace and me.
“It’s nice to meet, y’all. I won’t comment on the looks because I don’t think anyone in this world is more handsome than me.” I quipped.
“See! He fits right in. I think you’re pushing it with the looks, but I’ll let you slide,” Nazeem conceded.
“The man just met you all, and you’re already showing him that you don’t have any home training. At least try to pretend you have a little sense.” Nadira scoffed.
“The two of you can take a seat at the table. I’m gonna say a prayer over the food, and then we can eat.”
Peace led me to the two empty seats at the table. The conversation at the table was casual as they talked about football and their favorite teams. Nadira stood in front of her seat and asked us to bow our heads as she began to pray.
“Lord, we thank you for another day that was not promised to us. Thank you for carrying us through the day and covering us with your protection. Thank you for being a prayer-answering God and bringing my family together. As we gather together, I ask that you bless the food for the nourishment of our bodies. We ask all these things in your name. Amen.”
“Amen.”
The food was spread across the table, so everyone took turns passing the dishes from left to right. I wasn’t too keen on eating from everyone’s kitchen, but all of the food smelled delicious, and my stomach was growling.
“Why do you eat your chicken like that?” I asked Peace, noticing she still had a lot of meat on her bones.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong with the way I eat chicken?”
“You eat like our daughter. I know you see all that meat left on it.” I held up the chicken bone so she could see it.
“Are you judging me, sir?” She clutched her chest dramatically as I shook my head.
“You two have children?” Nadira inquired.
“Yes, we have a daughter. Her name is Promise,” Peace replied, pulling out her phone to show her a picture.
“Oh, wow. She looks just like you when you were this age.”
Her comment struck me as odd, and I couldn’t keep my thoughts inside.
“How would you know?”
The table grew eerily quiet, and I felt Peace’s hand on my knee. I wasn’t saying it to be rude, but she wasn’t around, so it didn’t make sense to me. Nadira placed her fork down and placed her hands in her lap.
“I guess I should address the elephant in the room,” she said with a sympathetic smile on her face.
“When I met your father, he was slightly older than me, and I was instantly smitten. When he told me about his woman, it threw me off, but I went along with it. I was young, dumb, and ignorant of the real world. We were all together for a while until your father and I grew closer. Doniese wasn’t happy, and she retaliated by lacing my weed with cocaine.
I became addicted, and my life went downhill after that. ”
“When I got pregnant, I did everything I could to get clean, but those drugs had a hold on me. When I gave birth to you, your father put me up in my own place, and we attempted to co-parent. Eventually, we started messing around again, and things took a turn. An anonymous tip was called into CPS, and the police were notified. They found baggies of cocaine in your diaper bag, and they took you away.”
“I tried to get you back, but they were the better family on paper. Dantae brought over some papers and told me they were an agreement for joint custody, but he tricked me. I had no idea I was signing over my rights, but no one believed me. After I lost you, I went back to drugs and remained an addict until my brother forced me into a facility so I could get clean.”
“So let me guess, you got better, started a new family, and decided you didn’t need the little bastard you gave away.” I retorted. My appetite evaporated as I got up from the table.
“Wait!” She yelled before I could leave the room. I hesitated to turn back around, but then I heard Peace’s voice in my head telling me to hear her out. Against my will, I reclaimed my seat.
“You have every right to feel the way you do. Trust me, when I asked God to reunite us, I was fully aware this wouldn’t be an easy road. Allow me to answer your questions, and then you can decide whether you want to get to know me.”
Peace reclaimed my hand the moment I sat back down. I wanted to be receptive to what Nadira had to say, but I wasn’t sure if I could.
“By the time I got completely clean, Dantae and Doneisha were married, and you were happy. I spoke to a few lawyers, and they all said a custody battle would be difficult to win, and it could be harmful to you because you were older and hadn’t been around me in years.
I didn’t want to cause you any pain or disrupt your life, so I made the decision to let them raise you.
Do I regret my decision? Of course, I do.
It’s a decision that has haunted me for years, but I made the choice, so I had no choice but to deal with it. ”
“When I gave birth to Nazeem and Jameer, I was clean, but still broken. I married their father, and he tried his best to love my pain away, but there was a void no one else could fill. I’m not expecting you to welcome me back into your life with open arms, but I would love the opportunity to get to know you and your family.
I’m happy to go at your pace and on your terms. ”
“I appreciate you for filling in the blanks, but I don’t know how to process this,” I admitted.
“Take all of the time you need. The ball is in your court.”
The rest of the dinner went smoothly, and we kept the conversation light. After we finished eating, the ladies remained in the kitchen, and the men headed out to the deck. Since Unc was a pastor, I opted to wait to smoke my blunt.
“I know Momma said you could take all the time you need, but I hope you know that only applies to her. We have too much time to catch up on, and I don’t want to hear any excuses,” Jameer warned.
“What he said. I’m having a fight party next week, and I expect your ass to be there,” Nazeem insisted.
“I don’t have a problem with that. As long as I’m free, I’m down.”
“Good. You didn’t have a choice, but I’m happy to know I don’t have to put you in a headlock or no shit like that. My bad, Unc.” Nazeem apologized.
“What your brothers are trying to communicate is that we’re family, and we would like to build a relationship with you. We spend a lot of time together, and it would be nice to have you accompany us.”
I appreciated them for being welcoming. It would take a minute to adjust, but it felt good to know they wanted to include me.
“Before we officially start this whole brotherhood thing, I just have one question.” Nazeem gave me a mischievous smirk, letting me know he was about to say some bullshit.
“What is it?”
“Does your baby momma have any sisters? Cause baby girl is finer than frog hair. She looks like she tastes like some gourmet chocolate. A little Godiva or Ferrero Rocher.”
“Yo! What kind of country ass shit is that?” Jameer cackled while I contemplated whether I wanted to beat his ass or not.
“I’m gonna let you get a pass because we’re still in the beginning stages of this whole brothers thing, but don’t get your ass beat.
Let this be the last time you look at my woman in any way other than a sister.
I’ll fuck some shit up behind that one. My bad, Unc.
” I wasn’t used to being around Pastors, so I never had to filter myself.
“No apology needed. You don’t have to filter yourself around me. As long as you aren’t being disrespectful.”