18. Hammer
HAMMER
Ididn’t think there would ever come a day where I’d see my brother act crazy over a woman, but I sensed today would be that day.
He was already feeling some kind of way because Raheem kept canceling the meetings to sign them papers.
Today, Ariel posted a few pictures of her and Cujo together, but it wasn’t anything overly romantic or no shit like that.
She didn’t even show his face, just his arm and side profile in two of the pictures and his chest while he was at the grill, talking shit and joking with her.
Apparently, her soon-to-be ex-husband was still following her because, not too long after she posted the pictures, he started blowing her up. Cujo wasn’t known for his patience, so I knew if Ariel didn’t block him or get him to stop calling, Cujo was going to take matters into his own hands.
“I don’t know about this, bae,” Merci said quietly as we watched Ariel pace and argue with her ex.
“I think Raheem is a little more comfortable than he should be because Ariel convinced our brothers not to beat him up. Well, technically they were going to, but he had the police waiting when she went to get her things. Since then, she’s been able to keep them under control.
I think he thinks it’s going to be the same case with Cujo. ”
“And it’s certainly not,” I said quickly through my laugh. “Jojo ain’t the kind of man who can be contained. Once he’s tired of your sister going back and forth with her ex, it’s a wrap.”
Merci sighed as she nestled herself more into my chest. We were all outside while Cujo grilled the last of the meat.
We’d all eaten already, but I was sure we’d knock out the rest before the night was over.
Just being here with him and Ariel was an unexpected plot twist. Even without my brother telling me he cared about Ariel, his actions proved it every day.
“Well, for Raheem’s sake, I—”
“Aye!” Cujo damn near barked, causing Ariel to jump slightly as she tightened her grip on her phone. “Tell that mane he can simmer down or address me since I’m the problem. You ain’t finna keep going back and forth with no grown-ass man while you in my presence.”
I flung my head back, already knowing it was about to be up.
“Um, I have to go, Raheem,” Ariel said sadly. I knew this shit was a lot on her. Cujo didn’t tell me her business, but he’d made it clear a few times he was hoping he could get his hands on Raheem because he was making the divorce unnecessarily difficult.
When he continued to talk, Cujo walked over to her and gently took the phone from her hand. He put the call on speaker, and all you heard was a loud-ass nigga yelling about Ariel disrespecting him.
“Aye, bruh,” Cujo said calmly, and his voice must have caught Raheem off guard because he shut up immediately. “What problem do you have with Ariel posting pictures with another man? If I’m not mistaken, you cheated on her, didn’t you?”
“That ain’t got shit to do with you!” Raheem yelled. “At the end of the day, she still my fucking wife! I don’t take too kindly to her disrespecting me! I got family online seeing her with another man. That shit makes me look flawed as hell.”
Cujo laughed. “Boy, you sound like a damn fool. If anything makes you look flawed as hell, it’s the fact that you cheated on your wife.
And even after that, you couldn’t be man enough to give her a quick and easy divorce.
You drawing that shit out like she was the one in the wrong when it’s you.
Now, I ain’t her brothers. If I put a target on yo’ head, she ain’t gon’ be able to take it off.
You need to relax yaself and find something safe to do, ’cause yelling at Ariel ain’t it. ”
Raheem yelled even louder, to the point where I couldn’t even understand what he was saying. Cujo didn’t make it any better laughing at the man. All I could do was shake my head as I sipped my beer and watched the foolishness unfold.
“Aye, mane. I’ma tell ya straight like this. I’on argue and do that back-and-forth shit. You can pull up and fight for ya wife, or I’ma block ya ass on her phone. How you wanna handle this shit?”
“Send me the address!”
Cujo’s head shook as he smiled. “Sending it now.”
He ended the call, and Ariel’s pleading for him not to send Raheem the address did nothing to sway him.
Ariel didn’t like violence of any kind. She was the kind of woman who believed fighting was ugly.
The type to not want to risk breaking a nail.
I think that made her liking my brother even more hilarious, but they did say opposites attract.
“Oh God. Please don’t tell me you’re going to actually give him your address,” Merci said. “Why would you do that?”
Cujo looked at her, truly confused by her question. “It ain’t like he can beat me up, and even if he did, I would kill ’im.”
“Straight like that,” I added, knowing I wouldn’t even have to jump in. I probably would anyway, though. That was just how we were for each other.
“Jojo, please don’t do this. I don’t want you in my bullshit,” Ariel pleaded with tears in her eyes.
“Nah. He wanna act like this The Color Purple and fight for his love, so I’ma let him do that.”
He went back to the grill and tended to his meat like he hadn’t just told a man to pull up on him to fight.
I could tell Merci and Ariel were nervous, but I sparked a blunt and continued to enjoy the weather and music.
It was Raheem’s funeral if he pulled up.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop my brother if he got his hands on him, and honestly, I probably wasn’t going to try to.
I liked seeing him like this. The protection.
The loyalty. The passion. He was usually only like this for my mama and me, so it was refreshing watching his heart work for someone else.
Less than thirty minutes passed before Raheem was pulling up. Ariel’s pleading meant nothing to Cujo as we made our way toward the front yard. As soon as I saw Cujo take his shirt off and hand it to Ariel, I smiled.
Raheem hopped out the car like he was really about to do something, and he was a true example of how ego and adrenaline could fuck a person’s life—and their face—up.
“Now what was all that shit you were talk—”
Before Raheem could even finish his statement, Cujo’s fist was connecting hard as hell with his jaw. I heard that shit crack and flinched when he hit the concrete. Cujo standing over him with his hands on his hips, shaking his head in disappointment made the situation funnier than it truly was.
“One hit, and you sleep already, Raheem? You ain’t no fun.”
At that point, I couldn’t hold my laughter in anymore.
While Ariel tried to wake Raheem up, Cujo casually picked him up and carried him back to his car.
He put him in the passenger seat and asked Ariel where he lived so he could drop him off, but she said she’d take him.
Initially, Cujo wasn’t cool with that, because he didn’t want Raheem waking up and taking his shame and anger out on her, but Merci offered to ride behind them so she could take Ariel home.
I wasn’t cool with that either, but I trusted that if some shit went down, Merci would call before Ariel would.
“You sure you trust him enough to let her be in the car with him?” I asked Merci.
“Yeah. Raheem tries to act tough, but he’s not crazy. He would never put his hands on her because he knows my family will literally kill him.”
“Well, now he knows she got another crazy nigga riding for her, and he got a brother with some screws loose too. Hopefully this will motivate him to go ahead and sign them papers.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” she said, pulling me down for a quick kiss before they headed out.
As Cujo and I made our way back to the backyard, I said, “You really like that girl, don’t chu?”
“It ain’t like that,” was what he said, but I saw him fighting back a smile. “I’m on that behind her because she’s a sweet girl, but nah.”
“You might can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me, big brother.”
“There’s honestly nothing going on between us. No sex. No kissing. Nothing romantic at all. We’re genuinely just friends.”
“I didn’t ask you that,” I argued. “I said you like her. You can like her and still be her friend.”
Sighing, Cujo shook his head.
“She’s too young for me. I think she’s only like twenty-eight.
Plus, she’s getting the divorce, but she ain’t purged herself of that nigga yet, and I’ll end up killing his ass.
And she doesn’t want to jump into a relationship right after her divorce is finalized, which I can respect.
I don’t want anything serious either. It’s too much work making me make sense to a woman.
I’on have time for that. I dip in pussy when I need it and have companionship when I want it. That’s it.”
“I hear you. I do. About it all. But I want you to have and experience what I have with Merci. So even if you don’t have it with Ariel, I hope you love yourself enough to give yourself the chance to have it with someone else.
” Gripping his shoulder, I made sure he looked at me when I said, “You deserve that. Just as much as I do. Life ain’t got to be hard for us no more, Cujo.
That shit is dead now. Enjoy your life, and enjoy whatever Ariel has to offer. ”
“I hear you,” was what he said, with an attitude at that.
I laughed and took it because I knew that was the best I’d get. Usually, he’d say he wasn’t on that or that he was good, so this had to be progress toward something.