18. Kingsley
KINGSLEY
“Maybe we can have a proper Sunday dinner this time. Kingsley’s dad is a whole thug in these streets,” KJ said to Treasure.
She chuckled.
“Shut up, Kendrall. Go worry about why Mama in there fussing at your son.”
He looked toward the kitchen and slowly shook his head when we heard Cassie say, “Get your butt out of the way!”
He walked away, and Treasure and I chuckled.
It had been two weeks since Treasure and I had reunited.
Everything had been going smoothly. It was like nothing had ever happened.
She’d been spending the weekends with me, but we saw each other every day.
It was her idea to retry Sunday dinner with my family.
“Thanks for giving us another chance,” my dad said.
“You did nothing wrong to need a second chance, Mister Henderson. That wasn’t on you.”
Dad smiled and returned his attention to Katrice.
She was such a beautiful baby. Mama said she looked just like Karima did as a baby.
As we sat quietly, Roselynn approached Treasure and lifted her hands.
I smiled slightly as Treasure’s eyebrows lifted.
She picked her up, and Rose just stared at her for a second.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Treasure said softly.
Rose smiled, then laid her head against Treasure’s chest. The way her face lit up as she gently stroked Roselynn’s head was beautiful.
I rested my hand on her thigh, and when she turned to me, I could see the tears in her eyes.
She wanted children so badly, and those muthafuckas stole that from her.
I made up in my mind that after I actually proposed to her, we would talk about adoption and if that was an option for us.
As she talked to my niece, my phone vibrated.
I pulled it from my pocket as Treasure looked on, to see a message from Seven.
I rolled my eyes. This nigga was always on bullshit.
I noticed my dad had pulled his phone from his pocket as well.
As he read, a slow smile fell on his lips. That prompted me to read my message.
Everybody is meeting up at the family barn at 7. I’m finally making this shit right, man. I’m proposing to Iesha. You know you in the wedding. You, Royal, Ace, Kane, PJ, Mythic, Carter, Red Squared, Remy, and Ryder J. This gon’ be the wedding of the century. See you at Seven.
The nigga would want us to be there at seven. Conceited ass. Looking over at Treasure, I asked, “Can you stay until tomorrow?”
She frowned slightly. “Yeah. What’s going on?”
“Seven is proposing to Iesha tonight at seven,” I said and rolled my eyes.
She giggled. “Wow, that’s great. As far as what time he’s doing it, I expected it.”
Roselynn sat up and stared at Treasure, then said, “Preeeetyyy.”
“She sure is, huh baby girl?”
It was hard to believe that she was already three years old, almost four.
These kids around here weren’t staying babies long.
Katrice was already four months old, along with Royal’s twins.
Maui and Mythic’s son was seven months old, and Ashanni’s baby girl was almost a year old.
Carter and Bali’s son was already over a month old.
Mya, Noni, and Milana were due within a couple of months of each other.
There were more than enough kids around here to spoil, and I was pretty sure none of their parents would object to us babysitting.
“Thank you, Rose. You’re pretty too . . . just like a flower.”
Roselynn smiled and hopped off Treasure’s lap and ran to her dad. “Her say I’m pretty, Daddy.”
“I know, my little flower. I heard her.”
He smiled and winked at Treasure as Roselynn ran to the kitchen. When KJ sat next to Rhodes, Kane said, “You got a handle on your bad ass son?”
KJ chuckled, then shot him the finger as the doorbell rang.
It was probably Kambel. She was the only one not here.
Kane hopped up and went to the door, and not long after, I heard Kambel yelling.
I frowned, and we all stood, including Treasure.
I glanced at her, making sure she was good.
She walked toward the door before I could.
“What the fuck, Kane? I trusted you!”
“Kambel, I swear I didn’t know! You had to have given it to me. How else would I have gotten it? You the only woman I’ve been with in over a year. I need to go get checked.”
She lowered her head, and said, “Fuck!”
Treasure wrapped her arm around mine. I noticed she did that when she was feeling emotional or nervous.
“Kane, what’s going on?”
He turned to me, then looked back at Kambel. She broke out in tears, and Treasure ran to her and hugged her. “What’s wrong, sis?”
Kambel looked around, seeing that my entire family was all in their business. I supposed she trusted everyone with whatever she had to say. She cleared her throat as Karima approached her and grabbed her other hand.
“The only other man I was with, besides you, is Crew. I’m HIV positive.”
My eyes closed, and my heart fell to my feet. That nigga Crew had fucked up Kambel and possibly Kane too. Fuck! Silence fell on the room. Treasure wrapped her arms around Kambel, hugging her tightly. When I heard Treasure’s cries too, I went to them and gently rubbed Treasure’s back.
Kane walked over to Kambel and grabbed her hand. “We gon’ get through this, Kam. I’m so sorry. Had I stood up to him—”
“It’s not your fault, Kane. Although I was scared, I should’ve said no. So, I’m sorry. If you’re not positive too, then I have to let you go. There’s no way I would want to give this to you.”
“HIV doesn’t have to be a death sentence. We gon’ figure this out. Okay?”
She pulled away from Treasure and went to his arms. Treasure came to me, and I wiped the tears from her face.
They needed time alone to talk, so we all left them to it.
Kambel’s bombshell cast an awkward silence on the house.
I understood how Kane felt. Had Treasure contracted that during her attack, I didn’t think it would have stopped me from wanting to be with her either.
I was willing to bet that Crew knew he was positive, judging by all the shit he put my brother through.
They were going to need serious counseling.
Dad was sitting in the chair with his eyes closed, rocking Katrice.
When the doorbell rang again, I rolled my eyes.
We didn’t need any more bad news. Mama went to the door.
When I heard, “We came to make the party better than what it was,” I knew it was Uncle Jasper.
He couldn’t have come at a worser time. He walked into the room where we were, followed by Uncle Marcus, Uncle WJ, and Uncle Storm.
My dad stood from his seat and greeted all his brothers.
KJ, Rhodes, and I followed suit. The women had all gone back to the kitchen, with the exception of Treasure. She was glued to my side.
“How you doing, niece?” Uncle Jasper asked.
“I’m good, Uncle Jasper. Hey, Uncle Mayor, Uncle Marcus, and Uncle WJ,” she said.
They all hugged her one at a time as I noticed her phone lighting up on the couch where she’d left it. Once she sat back down, I pointed to it. Her eyebrows lifted slightly, and she picked it up as my dad asked, “What are y’all doing here?”
“We’re going to trial. He won’t plead out. They also found the video,” Treasure said as everyone stared at her.
Uncle Mayor sat next to her and grabbed her hand. “Because of this beautiful woman going to that courthouse and identifying him, along with making our attorneys aware of even more incriminating evidence, he won’t ever see the light of day.”
My dad looked confused. He apparently didn’t remember why Treasure had anything to do with it. Before anyone could say anything, realization shown on his face. “Treasure . . .” he started.
“He was there when I was tortured. He was practically calling the shots. He never touched me. He made threats, but I guess I somehow tucked him away and focused on the ones who were abusing me. Everything he said, I’d somehow associated with Vanessa.
When I saw him, it all came back. That was why I had the reaction I had.
I’ll have to testify when he goes to trial.
Plus, I informed them that everything was recorded on Vanessa’s phone. He had possession of it.”
“And we will all be with you every step of the way,” Uncle Marcus said. “Plus, I have something I want you to see. I did this specifically for you. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know. I just felt led to do it. I got Jen and Chrissy’s approval.”
I frowned slightly, trying to figure out what he was talking about. He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to Treasure. She carefully opened it, and her eyes widened as she looked it over.
“I mean, I know you gon’ probably be here to stay. So instead of following Kingsley around or staying in the house, you can have your own thing going on.”
When Treasure started crying, then stood and ran to him, I was beyond intrigued.
Uncle Marcus hugged her as his face reddened.
I picked up the piece of paper she dropped to see plans for a bakery, right next to the patio of the diner.
My eyebrows lifted. I was shocked because Uncle Marcus didn’t even know Treasure like that.
He knew she was a baker like her mother, but he didn’t really have a personal relationship with her.
When she released him, she said, “I’d been warring with myself on whether I was ready to get back into making treats and desserts. I made Kingsley some strawberry cheesecake cookies last weekend, and my soul felt at peace. You doing this is confirmation that it’s time. Thank you so much.”
The ladies were all standing at the entrance, smiling. Cassie even had tears falling.
“You’re welcome. Hendersons don’t fuck around, so this ought to be ready to go in a couple of months. I’m pretty sure your mom will help you get everything you need.” He pulled an envelope from his back pocket. “This is startup money.”