Chapter 13 #2
“Let me make this abundantly clear,” I said, looking around at the men I loved dearly.
“And when I’m done, I’m not saying this shit again.
I am an adult, okay? A fucking adult. Every single one of you have my location, so you could see where I was.
Most of you knew who I was with, and four of you knew how to get there.
This right here, . . . this is gonna stop.
This is my life, and I will spend time with a man if I want to, whenever I want to.
That’s not up for debate. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave my property.
I have work to do, and some of y’all have responsibilities to take care of. ”
“Jaeda Janelle,” Deuce said, his frown deepening.
“Goodbye!”
I pushed past them and went into my house, putting on all the locks. Today wasn’t going to be the day to fuck with me.
It was Sunday, and that meant family dinner with my dad’s side of the family. Hopefully, I didn’t get cornered today, at least not by my brothers. I prayed that going off on them yesterday would put an end to this shit.
At least my day started off good. I woke up to a dozen red and white roses being delivered to my house from Quaid. The attached card read a simple message: Just because I thought of you.
That had me all smiles.
It felt good to be thought of. I was already looking forward to the next time I got to see him. With both of us working from home, that wouldn’t be a problem. I could see us working together some days.
I drove my pink golf cart up to the family house where my grandparents lived and parked it along with the others. Hopping off, I headed inside. The first person to greet me as I walked into the kitchen was my grams. I spoke to my aunts and Maddie before heading into her arms.
“Hey, sugga,” she said, pulling me into a hug.
“Hey, lady. You have it smelling good in here.”
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You know how I do.”
“How’s Grandpa?”
“Same old, same old, chile. He’s up in that room, watching his shows.
The man almost gave me a heart attack this morning.
You know he doesn’t sleep well most nights.
I woke up, and he was standing over me booty butt naked, just staring at me, talking about he was ready for his bath.
Chile, I almost punched him in those old, wrinkled balls. ”
I stifled a laugh. “Grams, you better leave my grandpa alone, now.”
“He better leave me alone.” She giggled.
“Seriously, though. I vowed to take care of him in sickness and in health. I got my ass up and gave him his bath. You know he tried to cop a feel on me? It shocked me, honey. We haven’t been intimate in so long.
I almost gave it up,” she added with a laugh.
“If he’s ever in his right mind and wants me, I’ll supply that need. ”
She made jokes, but it was just her way of dealing with his diagnosis. Grams always said you had to laugh to keep from crying, and real niggas didn’t cry. Rebecca Dillinger might look sweet, but Grams still had that savage in her.
“Are you okay, Grams?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her.
She smiled softly and cupped my face. “I’m here, baby. Every day is a journey with that man, but he’s mine to care for. I have no complaints.”
“You’re a strong woman.”
“Oh, I know. So are you.” She kissed my cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“All right now, get on outta my kitchen.”
I laughed, knowing that was coming. “I’m gone.”
I walked out to the sunroom where my girls were with the babies. I didn’t know who I wanted to snatch up first. Since Salima was nursing Liam, I went for Marino.
“Hey, fat man!” I said, nuzzling his chubby cheeks.
He gave me a gummy smile.
“Did you miss your TiTi?”
Shar smacked her lips. “TiTi must not see the rest of us sitting here. Hey, bitch. You get some head and don’t know how to act.”
Salima, Romi, and Renay all started talking at once. Well, I guess that was one way to enter the chat. Shar waved her hands to calm them down.
“Y’all, she called me asking how to ask him for it, and he heard her. That man took the phone and told me that she was going to call me back.”
“Really, Sharina?” I asked, sitting down with my nephew.
“Really. Don’t act like you didn’t come creeping in here late yesterday afternoon after spending all night with that man. My husband said you damn near cursed them out.”
“Your husband exaggerated. And anyway, y’all need to get a handle on y’all’s men. The next time they congregate at my house to check me, I’m shooting somebody.”
Renay snapped her fingers. “Okay for the head giving you a lil gangsta. Look at you.”
Again, I rolled my eyes. “I may be a little green, but I’m not as innocent as y’all think.”
Renay snorted. “Can’t be if you were out here kissing your brother’s wife.”
I scoffed. “That was one time. And she wasn’t his wife at that point. And!” I pointed at Salima. “They have kissed before.”
Salima’s mouth dropped. “Now how did I get in this?”
I shrugged. “I thought we were stating facts.”
Renay smirked. “You just been getting around to all of brothers wives, huh, Sharina?”
Shar kissed her teeth. “Don’t do that. I’ve only ever pecked their lips. I’ve never made out with them.”
“So who’s the better kisser?” Romi asked.
I blushed. “Quaid. That man’s mouth, . . . my goodness. If I could have it all the time!”
“I guess you’ll be the next one we hear yelling from across the yard,” Shar said, giggling.
“Wait, who is that loud?” Renay asked cackling.
“Mia!” we all said in unison.
As if on cue, my sister came bopping into the sunroom with a smile on her face and a big ass hickey on her neck.
“Hey, y’all,” she said, scooping Marino from my arms.
“I guess you and Titan made up,” I mumbled.
“Says who?”
“Girl, you didn’t see that big ass hickey on your neck this morning?” Renay asked, pointing.
Her eyes widened, and she instantly tried to cover it with her hair.
“We’ve seen it now,” I said, crossing my legs.
“Mind the business that pays y’all,” Mia said, sitting down with Marino.
Salima rolled her eyes. “At this point, you might as well pay us because you make your business our business every time you tell us about that damn man.” She pointed at Romi and Renay. “Please get y’all’s future sister/cousin in-law. I’m passing her off ’cause, baby, we are tired of the fuckery.”
Mia scoffed. “You married my brother. Clearly, you love fuckery.”
“Aht, aht! My husband is a good man. He’s just not all the way there.”
That made all of us laugh because damn if it wasn’t the truth.
My father often told us stories of how he was when he was growing up, but he was nowhere near as bad as my brothers.
I didn’t know where they got that shit from.
After sitting with the girls for a while, I ventured outside to get some fresh air. Everybody was doing their own thing.
There was a game of spades going on. Some were watching a game on the huge flat screen under the covered patio. The kids were running around chasing each other or playing on the jungle gym.
“You not speaking to your old man?”
I turned to see my father behind me. I playfully rolled my eyes as I went into his open arms.
“I don’t know who is more dramatic, you or your spawns.”
He kissed my forehead. “I didn’t like the way you spoke to me yesterday.”
“I wasn’t speaking to just you. That went for everybody.”
“I ain’t everybody. I don’t care how grown you get, you are my baby, and I’ll always worry about you.”
“Daddy—”
“I don’t like this lil nigga, Jaeda.”
“You don’t know him.”
“I know he’s got you spending the night and shit. You ain’t gotta tell me, but I know some shit happened. You look different.”
I palmed my face. “Oh my God. Please, not this conversation.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “You really like him, don’t you?”
I crossed my arms and nodded. “I do. He gets me. Everything that makes me different from this family, he gets. I feel seen, Daddy.”
“I see you, baby.”
“You do. I won’t take that from you. You’ve made me the most comfortable in my skin and my abilities. Daddy, you’ve spared no expense to make sure I could flourish to my full potential. I’m forever grateful to you for that. But I’m not that same Jaeda. Y’all have to let me grow into a woman.”
He frowned deeply. “I don’t like that shit.”
I laughed. “Well, that’s not really up to you, sir. And it certainly isn’t up to your sons. You’re gonna be missing a few kids if they don’t get off my ass. You got that vasectomy. You can’t make any more. You better cherish those heathens.”
“Not too much on my boys. They are just protective of you like I taught them to be.”
“I think you overdid it.”
“Apparently not. They haven’t scared this nigga off yet.”
“Daddy!”
He chuckled. “A’ight. I’ll let up. For real this time.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“How about you invite him for dinner next Sunday?”
“Mom already told me to invite him to dinner with her and Hershel.”
“Too bad. She’s gonna have to share. I’m sure he can handle two dinners.”
“All of y’all at once is too much. He’s gotta meet you in doses.”
“If he can handle your brothers, surely he can handle the rest of us.”
“You want me to throw my man to the wolves?”
He clutched his chest like he was in pain. “Don’t say that shit.”
I shook my head. “I cannot deal with this version of you. You need to get a woman, Daddy. When you’re single, you meddle. As a matter of fact, where is Maddie? Go tell her you want to get back together.”
He waved me off. “Just make sure you have that nigga here next Sunday, Jaeda. Don’t make me have to pull up on him.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Have you met me?”
I folded my arms. “Fine.”
My father smiled and kissed my cheek. “That’s what I like to hear. This should be fun.”
Without another word, he walked away. My head dropped back, and I groaned. If this dinner went south, I might only have the memory of Quaid’s good head left.
Fuck. My. Life.