Chapter 30 Jahlil
“Alright, Drew, you’re on dishes,” Jahlil stated as he moved from the kitchen table to the kitchen sink.
He was sure to ruffle the top of his head before moving away.
While he had to parent Andrew, he always wanted him to remember at the end of the day, he was still his brother and he’d love him regardless of the mistakes he made.
He hoped to show him in his own journey of manhood, that you were always more than your mistakes.
“Aight,” Andrew replied, stuffing another bite of the French toast in his mouth. He was on his third helping and if Jahlil had left any on the plate, he would’ve ate that too.
“You did a good job,” Jahlil complimented, watching Emani and Sanaa use the markers for coloring and not chain smoking. “Who knew you could cook and not just pick out the pot. Aunt Violet is going to have a time with this.”
“She’s going to cuss me out,” Andrew stated with a mouthful. He swallowed and mocked his aunt. “All this time I’ve been here slavin’ over these pots and you can magically make a damn meal?”
Jahlil laughed. “You forgot, ‘you’re fuckin’ ass’.”
“I didn’t. I promised E I wouldn’t cuss because of Sanaa so no,” Andrew assured as he stood up and gathered the plates left behind.
“So Emani makes y’all stop cussing and I’ve been trying to undo it and no one listens to me?”
Andrew joined his brother at the sink and started to wash the dishes. “You’re not Emani. She just has it. Like naturally and not forced, like she who shall never be named again.”
Jahlil gritted as he laughed off the bitter thoughts. He couldn’t house those anymore. Bitterness would hinder the blessing he prayed for on the nights he held his infant daughter in his arms and wept. “I’m not too arrogant to say I messed up.”
Andrew shrugged his shoulders. “I’m learning we all mess up. It’s how we bounce back. That’s what makes us men, right?”
Jahlil snickered. “That’s what makes me a man. You’re still a boy coming into his own shit. But yeah. That’s what makes you or breaks you. Tell me…how you plan on bouncing back?”
“I talked to E this morning and she said y’all did a lot of illegal stuff to keep me.”
Jahlil corrected. “Her more than me. She did a lot for us. She really sacrificed herself and delayed her dream to make sure I could play ball, do school, and keep you. She’s fuckin’ amazing.”
“Yeah. So because y’all probably could’ve gone to jail and I almost did, I’m going to listen to you. It’s clear you know more than I do.”
“I’m not even going to hold you,” Jahlil responded to Andrew’s statement. “I’m a little salty that E comes in here and the house falls in order.”
“You shouldn’t be salty. That’s just what she does. Without her, it’s been chaos,” Andrew shared. “You moving her in?”
“That’s the plan, why?”
Andrew smirked. “I was going to ask if I could stay with her if you weren’t.”
“Oh shit,” Jahlil hooted. “Y’all really don’t like me.”
Andrew laughed. “Nah, bro, we love you. Look at Sanaa.”
Jahlil looked at the two, comparing pictures.
“When is the last time Sanaa wasn’t off the chain? It’s Emani. Like I said, if it ain’t E, it’s not going to ever work. And lowkey, you owe her your life.”
“You ain’t lying about that. She’s an angel.”
“For sure,” Andrew buzzed.
After they finished washing the dishes and putting everything back where Aunt Violet designated, Andrew watched as Jahlil made his way to the couch where Emani and Sanaa were now cuddled up, watching a show that was age-appropriate.
Darting around him, Andrew jumped on the couch next to Emani and cuddled up next to her.
“That’s my woman,” Jahlil protested as Andrew laughed and shrugged, and Emani wrapped her free arm around him.
“She can’t be your woman. You didn’t even ask her right,” Sanaa huffed before pointing to the other end of the couch. “There’s room over there.”
“Whew, you run a strict program,” Jahlil spoke, gently tugging at Sanaa’s ponytail after rounding the back of the massive couch. “I don’t care that y’all hogging her, she gets to sleep with me.”
Andrew frowned his face and Sanaa groaned. “So you can be kissin’ all night? No thank you. Doin’ too much.”
“My biggest hater is my kids. That’s wild. I got to go anyway.”
The trio looked at him in one motion. “Where you going?”
Jahlil threw his hands up playfully. “God forbid I want to do hoodrat shit with my hoodrat friends.”
“You got a hoodrat friend right here,” Sanaa spoke, referring to Emani. “No ‘fence.”
Emani laughed. “None taken. But she’s right. I’m right here.”
“It’s cool when they do it, when I do it, I get my door taken off the hinges,” Andrew muttered, earning him a pop across the head. “Ow!”
“That didn’t hurt, nigga,” Jahlil quipped. “I got some shit to handle with Carson.”
Emani’s brows furrowed and Jahlil shot her a knowing look. “You don’t need my help?”
“Nah, My Rose,” Jahlil muttered into her skin while pressing his lips against her forehead. “Y’all chill out. Figure out what we’re doing for dinner.”
“We already got it,” Sanaa announced. “Aunt Violet is coming and we’re making tacos.”
Jahlil smirked down at Emani, remembering their last night of tacos. “Whose idea was that? Daddy loves tacos.”
“I asked for them,” Andrew shared with a curl of his lips.
“Daddy, I’m going to give you the best taco ever,” Sanaa announced, making Andrew groan and Emani muffled a giggle.
“What the hell you groaning for? You ain’t had no taco,” Jahlil murmured.
“Drewy eats tacos all the time,” Sanaa continued, making Emani’s head drop back. “I eat tacos too. I like them with a lot of cream on them.”
Jahlil dropped his head and Emani covered her face, trying to recover.
“I’ll make sure you have enough sour cream on yours. Let’s finish this movie,” Emani spoke through breaks in her laughter. “And you, be cool?”
“You know me, baby,” Jahlil spoke.
“Mmhmm. I know you, Savage. Be cool,” Emani replied, wanting assurance. Jahlil kissed her face as an answer.
“Love y’all.”
“Love you too,” they chimed as he walked out the door just as Carson pulled up.
Jahlil was dressed in a pair of black joggers and a white tee.
He didn’t have any intentions on causing physical harm to anyone today.
Mental and emotional stress were still on the table as major players though.
It was only right. For all the games Malik and Emani’s so-called best friend played in her face, Jahlil and Carson were coming to collect on the winnings.
He climbed inside and settled into the passenger seat. Carson wore an amused smile on his face.
“What you do?” Jahlil asked.
“You’ll see. I need your baller ass to have plausible deniability. Get our girl’s shit. I got a moving truck meeting us there,” Carson informed. “Emani’s been bankrolling everyone’s life, now they’re going to have to figure the shit out.”
“Thanks for watching out for her while I was away,” Jahlil stated, gratitude filling his words.
“Away? Come on, man. Don’t thank me for doing what I’m supposed to do.
I knew where she needed to be. And you know E.
You can’t tell her what to do. You just got to let her work that shit out.
Stay close. We family. I’m going to always look out for y’all.
Don’t ever thank me for being your brother. But fuck up again…”
“Yeah, I know. You taking her. Nigga, I’ll have to shoot you,” Jahlil stated with laughter. “I’m laughing but I’ll kill you and hire Ashton to be my alibi. You know that little nigga will sell that shit.”
“And the fee is managing every penny you make now until you die.” Carson laughed. “You know the nigga really got a mind of a financial genius he just a troll.”
“And that’s our brother. Even if he fucked up apples for me for the rest of my life,” Jahlil joked.
When the pair pulled up to the house Emani once called home, Carson led the charge up the stairs to the front door. The moving truck was backing in and Carson was flipping through some papers.
Janet yanked the door open, a frown on her face. “What do you want?”
“A few things,” Carson started with a coy tone as Jahlil leaned on the stone wall adjacent to the front door. “First, your eviction notice. Being that person who is leasing the residence isn’t allowed back-”
“My son is the owner of this house,” Janet confidently stated. “And your whore’s things are in a pile in the back. He’s moving his family in. I’ll put them on the curb.”
Janet went to close the door and Jahlil put his foot in the door and shot her a warning look.
“Your son isn’t on the lease. See right there,” Carson pointed to the lease agreement he’d advised Emani to sign from their agency over buying a house with Malik when he floated the idea months after dating.
He didn’t trust Malik, and with good reason.
“Emani Rose Wheaton, leasee. C&E Properties, leaser. The person who leased the property no longer wants to, so you, your son, and the lady with the boy need to be out of here in twenty-four hours.”
“Boy, fuck you, I’m not going nowhere until my son comes home and tells me – hey!” Janet shouted, as Carson stepped in. “I didn’t say you could come in.”
“It’s my property. You don’t have to say shit. If I were you, I’d get to packing. Or I could have the cops show back up and throw your shit out. I’ll be sure that shit hits the blogs as fast as her arrest did. It’s up to you, momma.”
Janet glowered and whisked to get her phone. “This is unbelievable. She cheats on him with the likes of you two and we have to leave. I don’t think so.”
“The likes of us?” Jahlil questioned, rumbling in laughter. “Ion share. She’s mine. You might want to be grateful that this nigga is as stand up as he is. He’s the type to fuck a nigga’s bitch in the nigga’s bed.”
Janet huffed. “You’re disgusting.”
“I’m pretty sure E bought a house for that boy’s momma.
What’s that, like a three bedroom? Y’all can fit in that right?
” Jahlil asked, following Carson up the stairs.
The movers came in behind them and all Janet could do was gripe, groan, moan, and fuss about the life she thought her son was providing.
Emani had been the veil for Malik far too long and now that the house of cards was falling, she had no one to blame but Malik.
“Malik, boy, if you don’t answer this damn phone!
Your bitch and her bitch ass friends are putting us out!
Something about this house is in her name and it’s leased.
You’ve been gone since last night, you need to come home and fix this!
” Janet shouted into the phone while the movers moved around her to get everything Carson designated as Emani’s.
The saving grace for her was that everything she purchased went through an account Ashton handled and everything was labeled and kept track of.
Jahlil grabbed her furs, jewels, and bags knowing Mailk was too cheap to even look at the tag.
As far as clothes were concerned, he had Derrick working with a buyer to replenish her closet.
By the time the two were done, there was nothing left but Malik’s clothes, some hangers, and a few plates.
When Jahlil returned home, the trio was knocked out on the couch under the blanket while the TV played a Halloween classic.
Aunt Violet was in the kitchen unpacking groceries and quietly humming to herself.
“You staying for tacos?” Aunt Violet quizzed after the two finished putting everything away.
“Nah, the house is the quietest it’s ever been. I’m going to let them have some much overdue family time,” Carson stated.
Aunt Violet smirked. “The queen is home and the house got in line immediately. The kids aren’t fighting. The little one ain’t cussing. Looks like I can go get my groove back.”
“Don’t get carried away, Auntie,” Jahlil sounded off. “You don’t know how to come back after being in the streets.”
“Sure don’t. Remember the nigga she was talking to? Nigga looked like a teenior citizen,” Carson said with a shudder. “Shiny ass skinny jeans and shit.”
“It was one time and I was drunk,” Aunt Violet defended. “We were on vacation.”
“You was on something,” Jahlil grunted. “Nigga tellin’ me he was about to drop a mixtape and needed a few dollars to get his shit mastered. What Sanaa call him?”
“An alphabet rapper,” Carson quietly laughed. “Talkin’ about he raps like ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ, yeah, yeah, 1234567.”
Jahlil doubled over in silent laughter. “Baby girl called that nigga Count Rapula.”
Aunt Violet waved them off. “I can’t stand you niggas. Don’t let me get started on the women you two bought around.”
“Aight, aight,” Carson said, holding up his hands. “I’m cooling out. I’ll hit y’all up. Enjoy family time.”
“Thanks, bro,” Jahlil said, dapping him up.
“Any time. You know I like shit like that,” Carson said with a smirk. He saw himself out, leaving Jahlil to take in the peacefulness of the house. They hadn’t had this in years and he welcomed it. “When did you sneak out of here?”
“I figured since Emani was back, I could sneak out and get my maintenance.”
He frowned at Aunt Violet’s statement. “What old man you got paying for your shit, woman?”
“Don’t matter, it’s not you. You got a woman to take care of. I’m not bothering you with that,” she commented, making him roll his eyes.
“Yeah, you enjoy whoever that nigga is for right now. You always come back to daddy,” he joked.
“Boy, I’ll knock that head off your damn shoulders,” she huffed, swatting at him with a spatula. “Daddy my ass.”
“Aight, cool out. Cool out.”
“You play too damn much,” she huffed again, as he retreated out the kitchen into the living room. She smiled at his back, happy that finally, joy was returning for him.