Chapter 12
Providing Peace
SIX FUCKIN’ MONTHS.
Those three words stuck in my head for days. I knew that shit wasn’t that long, but damn, I was ready to be in a fly ass suit, see her walking down the aisle to me, give her a baby.
Islah wanted a fall wedding. She voiced to me over dinner one night. I agreed, but like I said before, I wanted to make her my wife already.
I was zoned out, thinking and working, when my alarm went off to order Islah her lunch. I put my sketchpad down and picked my phone up to send off the order when Keith walked in.
“You good, boss?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, laying my phone back down on the desk and leaning back in my chair. “Just life, man. Amir is finally with me full time. Islah has been waiting, planning. She wants to get married in six fuckin’ months.”
Keith took a seat.
“That's good amount of time, nigga—”
“I want to marry her now,” I said, cutting him off. “I am ready for the shit.”
Keith laughed. “What the fuck, Lo. Y’all came back from y’all engagement trip to bullshit and just got the nigga outta your hair.”
Keith grabbed the blunt from behind his ear, lit it with the lighter from the keychain on his waist, then passed it to me.
“You need this, here nigga.”
I took the blunt from him and pulled on it, thinking about what he said, and what Islah said the other day.
“You’re right,” I said, passing the blunt back to him. “We haven’t enjoyed shit cause of that clown ass nigga.”
Keith nodded. “Fasho, enjoy shit with ya lady, man. Be happy, get Amir used to the changes, then y’all can do y’all big one cause trust, a nigga got his suit ready.”
I laughed as Keith passed me the blunt back and walked outta the office, then I turned in my seat and got back to working on a design, but my mind kept drifting to Islah.
I put my pen back down and picked my phone up, giving my cousin Katie a call.
“Wussup Cuz?” I said as soon as she picked up.
“Nothing Lo, I heard you was around the way a lil’ bit ago, you damn sure didn’t stop by.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know Cuz. I’m sorry, you know I be handling business, but I need a favor from you if you are free tonight.”
“You know I got you, Cuz. What do you need?”
A smile came across my face, and I hopped on the computer, booking shit.
“I was tryna see if Amir could stay with you tonight and you drop him off at school for me in the morning?”
“Yeah, everything good?” she asked.
“Yeah, tryna do somethin’ for my lady tonight.”
“Aww! I heard you were engaged, congrats! But yeah, I can watch him. Bring him on over when you ready.”
“Good look, Cuz, I know he gonna be happy to see you and be around the way for a lil’ bit.”
I hopped off the phone with her and got my shit together. That nigga Gio really got me outta character. Had me acting like the streets that made me for a lil’ minute, but now, I needed to get back to the nigga I was when she first met me.
I set some things up that I knew would surprise her and put a smile on her face. I had some people in motion for me, but I still had to do my part.
I did some research on some shit to present to her later, knocked out a custom necklace for her along with the other shit I needed to get done, then dapped Keith up before I headed out for the day.
After leaving the store, I stopped at the Gucci store and picked me and Islah something up for the night.
Once that was done, I headed across town, trying to get past the school traffic that was already starting to pile up to get Amir from school. That nigga was outside talking to a group of his friends. I revved my engine, making him look back with a smile.
He dapped his lil’ niggas up and hugged a couple of lil’ girls. He walked over to my car smooth, walking just like me, with a smile on his face and his wood brush in his hand, brushing his waves as he opened the car door.
“Wussup Pop?”
“Wussup son, how was your day?”
“It was good,” he said, putting his seatbelt on. “Passed a quiz from last week.”
I nodded and reached my hand out, dapping him up.
“That’s my fuckin’ boy!”
As I drove, he told me what work he had to do for the night.
“So listen,” I said, cutting into him still talking about his day. “I’ma take Islah out tonight, and you gonna stay wiz your cousin, Katie.”
“Oh, yeah, I like going over there.”
I already knew it.
“Well, I’ma take you to get some clothes, and then I’ma take you to get some food, wherever you want to go.”
He leaned back in the seat like he already had a list ready.
“Bet. I want steak, lobster, mac and cheese, and I need a cut.”
I glanced over at him.
“Man, ya shit look iight for now.”
He pointed at his brush. “It looks iight because I keep up with my routine.”
I shook my head and checked on Islah’s location and saw she was still at work.
“Iight lil’ nigga, I got you.”
We left his school, and I eased through traffic. I ordered my young blood his food and bounced my head along to the music.
We made the first stop to the crib, letting him run in and grab what he needed, then we hit the strip where I knew he liked to shop. I sat back and watched him pick a couple of fits. He moved like he knew his pops had money.
That shit made me smirk to myself because I wasn’t stopping him.
After he copped what he wanted, we moved along to pick up his food.
“Wussup with Islah?” he asked.
“She is at work. I am taking her on a lil’ date tonight.”
“That’s cool,” he responded, looking out the window. “I like her.”
“I am glad you do.”
Amir nodded.
“Since she has been around, this is the most I’ve seen you smile.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He might have been right about that, but I was glad to show my son when you fuck with somebody hard, they bring happiness outta you. The complete opposite from when I was with his mother—a nigga stayed mad.
After that, he went to talking about basketball, some game he wanted, and a teacher he swore was out to get him.
I kept listening while keeping an eye on Islah’s movement.
Once we made it around the way, we stopped by Sammy’s for a quick cut.
The barbershop was kinda busy when we walked in. I dapped up the niggas I knew while Amir slid into Sammy’s chair, telling him how he wanted his shit like he was a professional.
“Boy, you’re ten talkin’ like you pay rent, grown, or some shit.”
“I know what I want,” Amir shot back.
That made everybody in the shop laugh.
I took a seat against the wall and watched while Sammy got to work.
“Aye, Lo,” one of my niggas called out. “I heard you was getting married.”
I smirked. “Yeah, in a couple of months.”
The shop nodded like they were all a part of the conversation.
“I just know that shit is gonna look like a royal hood wedding.”
I laughed. “It’s gonna be whatever my lady wants it to be.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to be,” Sammy added while lining Amir up. “I bet she has binders and notebooks all over the place, and a team of girls putting shit in her ear like it’s their day.”
I laughed. “Hell yeah, but I don’t mind the shit, as long as she is happy. To be real with y’all…I am ready to do it—”
“Really nigga? How long y’all been together?” my nigga asked.
“A few months, but I don’t care about none of that shit. I know what I want, and that shit ain’t changin’.”
My niggas nodded. They might have thought I was jumping the broom a lil’ fast, but they weren’t gonna speak on that.
I leaned back in my chair and relaxed. Keith texted me about some work shit. I handled that. My niggas texted me about adding another chain to his order and sent the money for that. I put it in the book.
Everything was falling into place. The only thing I needed to do was keep things afloat.
About twenty minutes later, Sammy finished Amir’s cut. That nigga was quick to reach for the mirror and eye Sammy’s work like he hasn’t been cutting his hair since he was a jit.
Sammy looked at me, laughing, and I did the same.
“That boy gonna be a monster when he gets older.”
Sammy and the rest of the niggas in the shop agreed.
“I just needed to make sure it was clean,” Amir said, handing Sammy back the mirror. “One of the girls on the cheerleading team said she liked my waves.”
The shopped laughed, all the niggas remembering them days.
I paid Sammy, and we walked out. That nigga was all in his phone, feeling himself.
“Man, I am ready to buss this food down,” Amir said, hopping into the car.
I laughed and pulled off from the barbershop and drove a few blocks over and parked in front of Katie’s house.
I helped him grab all his things and walked him to the door.
“She gonna take you to school, and I’ll be there after.”
Amir nodded. “I got you, Dad.”
A few seconds later, Katie came to the door, happy to see us, wrapping Amir in her arms as he walked inside.
“Damn Cuz,” she said, looking Amir up and down. “That nigga turning into you, ain’t it.”
I dapped and hugged Amir before he disappeared into the house, going to find his cousins.
“That’s how it’s supposed to go, but I’ma holla at you later, Cuz, thank you.”
As I was walking outta the house, I got an alert on my phone. Islah texted me and told me she was on the way home.
I hopped in my car and made my way back to the other side of town, picked up some flowers and a bottle for later, and got to the crib before she did.
I took my clothes to the room and laid them on the bed, but hers?
I took the petals from one of the roses I bought and laid them all over the island, then placed her boxes on top of them.
I turned on the music and had some soft jazz playing in the background.
I checked her location and saw she was stuck in some traffic, and I used that time to get myself together.
By the time I heard the front door open, I was buttoning my last button and spraying my cologne.
“Love…Love?” I heard her calling me.
I walked outta the room smooth, all-black fit on. My dress shoes were shining just as bright as my chains. My cologne lingered as I walked around, along with my blunt.
She looked good as she sat at the island, looking at me with a smile on her face. Scrubs fitting her just right made me lick my lips.
“Wussup, mamas, how was work?”