Chapter 50 #2
“Grab a table, keep your eyes on him,” Cairo stated as he roamed deeper into the restaurant. “You let him get away from you, you’ll be rapping in a mall between your shifts at the Shoe King.”
“And they better be good raps too,” Kairo-Palmer replied, leading East to the arcade. “You got pennies?”
Cairo laughed to himself as East dug in his pocket and pulled out some change. He moved through the space until he reached the kitchen where Pepe was wiping down his prep station. “Ay, Azul, what’s good?”
Pepe popped his head up and grinned. He took three full steps and wrapped his arms around Cairo. “C4!”
Cairo matched the energy and hugged him back. “Good to see you, blue.”
Pepe released him and lightly punched his shoulder. “Good to see you, nigga. I see you big and scary now.”
Cairo laughed. “I didn’t have shit to do but lift weights. This spot is dope as hell.”
“Yeah, well, there’s a small little lady who had a vision bigger than I did,” Pepe spoke up, pointing to the menu overhead. “C4 special is the biggest seller. Make sure you marry her.”
“I’m getting there,” Cairo stated. “She really looked out.”
“More than looked out. Anything and everything attached to you is thriving,” Pepe stated, looking out the window. “I’m just happy I get to watch it. You know a lot of us don’t make it out. We got to look out.”
“For sure,” Cairo nodded, watching East and his son battle. “It’s the least we can do for all the lives we destroyed.”
“Nigga, we?” Pepe asked with laughter in his voice. “You blew niggas up.”
“Eh, faulty wiring,” Cairo said with a shrug. “So, I saw that investment you’ve been paying back even after she said it was good. I had the bank send everything back. Put it back into our neighborhood.”
“How ‘bout we do that shit together? Lucci Day is coming up, I’m trying to flood the whole hood with that C4 special,” Pepe offered and Cairo nodded. “Still got the food truck. I’m just not selling drugs out of it no more.”
“I’m down. Matter of fact, put it all on me,” Cairo stated as Fahaad walked in.
“Aight bet,” Pepe stated. “Handle your business, I’ll have the food out.”
The two exchanged another brotherly hug before Cairo exited the open kitchen and went to greet Fahaad, who was watching East and Kairo-Palmer battle it out for first place. East switched controllers with the toddler mid-game to give him the lead.
“I got an email with a contract,” Fahaad stated.
“How does it look?” Cairo asked.
“I forwarded yours to you. His looks unreal. Three albums with a chance to renew after completion of the third. A return of master’s after seven years of each album.
Proceeds for all tours not under El Jefe’s umbrella.
Out the gate, he’s set up to soar. It’s just up to him if he’s going to leap,” Fahaad stated.
“How much are you asking for?” Cairo asked.
“Same shit I offered you, fifteen. I’m not trying to be rich and greedy. I want to watch y’all succeed and know I did everything in my power to help y’all get to your moon.”
“I appreciate it. Truly,” Cairo replied, before getting East’s attention. “Ay, Kai, East come on.”
The two exchanged words and a fist bump before joining the men at the table.
Kairo hopped up in the chair next to his father and began to color.
Evidence that Kamilla had done a great job of integrating their child into social settings.
Also, his familiarity with the staff proved that while he was gone, Kamilla took Kairo everywhere he would’ve.
“Hey, what’s up, I’m East Way P. Easton Pitcher to my mother,” East introduced.
“Fahaad Simons. I hear great things about you,” Fahaad shared. “You get C4 to give you the nod of approval, you got something special.”
“I mean I’m aight,” East stated with a shrug, trying to mask his excitement.
“Let that shit out, nigga,” Cairo urged. “Deprogram yourself from masking that feeling.”
East let a smile freely form over his face. “Look, Fahaad. This has to work out for me. It’s all I got.”
Fahaad nodded his head. “You hungry?”
“I’ve been in that apartment doing nothing but writing. I need rap. Like I breathe. If I don’t have it, I’m going back to prison. I can’t do that shit again.”
“I hear you. So this is simple. You say yes, you sign the contract, you have creative control, one of the best producers I’ve ever encountered, and I’ll do everything in my power to get you to take off,” Fahaad stated.
“But for how much?” East asked. “I don’t want a 360 contract, and I need to able to say what I need without you controlling every step.”
“You’re a grown ass man, East. I’m a guide.
But I won’t let you turn into a junkie or a puppet.
No drugs, no bullshit. I’ve been there, done that.
That leads you, me, and everyone rooting for you nowhere.
You can’t quit; I won’t let you. Saying yes makes us family.
On Azul, I don’t leave my family behind…
” Fahaad’s words trailed off for a moment recalling Jesipi’s final moments and the weight he carried with him.
East spotted it the same way Cairo did all those years ago. “You know he has a son…whenever you ready to tap into that, you should. But as for me, I’m with it. I trust C4, so I’m inclined to trust you.”
Fahaad bobbed his head. “Aight then, today you eat something more than corn nuts or whatever you’ve been surviving off of. Tomorrow, we hit up the lawyer to review your contract in full.”
“Who’s paying for that? The lawyer?”
“Me. I’ll recoup out my fee. Right now, the focus is on this new chapter and never going back to the streets. Can you promise me that and not do what this guy did?” Fahaad half-joked.
Cairo dryly chuckled. “I didn’t like go out my way to fuck this shit up…I just did what needed to be done.”
“We not getting into none of that right now. Anyway, we good or you getting on a bus back to The Port?”
East slowly bobbed his head before his eyes bounced over to little man coloring. “Ay, little KP, what you think?”
Kairo-Palmer was focused on his drawing, barely looking up at East. “You can be a getting’ money blue, or you can be an ain’t got no money blue. It’s up to you, my boy.”
“Which one are you?” East asked, his brow raised in humor with how much he was a balance of his late grandfather and his dad.
“I’m forever a gettin’ money blue. Duh, use your big head, man,” Kairo-Palmer replied, making the table erupt in laughter.
East looked back at Fahaad and said, “I guess we got a deal.”
“Good, I need my cut,” Kairo-Palmer added.
The group of men broke bread and discussed the future for all of them. The sound for East’s album out of the gate and how he was going to present himself to Lucci and the rest of the team. Cairo was honored to just have a seat to watch this young man’s pivot as well as having his son watch his own.
After the business was handled and Cairo and Pepe got into a playful squabble over the tab, everyone headed their separate ways. Cairo arrived at Nate’s with the Black Panther-themed duffle bag in tow. Kairo-Palmer took off in front of him like he owned the place and shot through the house.
“Layna!” he shouted. “What you doin’!”
Nate laughed to himself, hearing the eruption of noise between children. “There goes the neighborhood. Baby C4 is about to tear up my house.”
“And for that, I apologize,” Cairo stated strolling in. “Thanks for keepin’ him.”
“You’re never going to thank me for lookin’ after my godson. I love that kid,” Nate stated. “Aight, now give me the word. I’m still filming bullshit or we up?”
Cairo gave him a half grin as the kids ran out the room laughing hysterically. The source of their chaos was the limbs of the dolls Nate bought.
“You’re a sucker,” Cairo stated, capturing his running son and sitting down. “Ay, man, stop tearing up your cousin’s dolls.”
“She did it. Cracked ‘em like crab legs,” Kairo-Palmer shared, making Nate and his dad drop their heads in silent laughter.