Chapter 6
SIX
“Are we still waiting on Ace?” Tre asks as soon as he walks out of my kitchen with two Bleu Mountain Brews in his hand. After handing one to Deuce, he sits at the table.
“No, he just hit us in the group text. Sade isn’t feeling good. He’s staying at the crib with her,” I tell him.
“I hope she’s okay, but at least, we can play Spades now. The rules for the five card draw shit was sounding like too fucking much,” Deuce says. “Spades, I can play. We partners?” he asks Quintus.
“Hell nah. Your ass can’t bet books for shit. I got Shiro,” Quintus says.
“Nigga, you already know it was me and Quintus against you two,” I say, then my doorbell chimes. “That’s the food.”
I ordered wings and pizza for tonight. The last two years have been a lot for us.
Our parents, who we all thought would be married forever, got a divorce.
Shuga found out Asali had been cheating for more than half of their marriage and we discovered we had a sister, Alami.
In Hausa, her name means she was born on a Thursday, so that’s what I call her.
Aside from our new sister, we also discovered that our Shuga is the infamous painter, Nina Wright.
She’s practically a damn millionaire and we had no fucking clue.
Too much has been happening and I wanted to make sure things stayed strong with my brothers.
So I started card night. We still have Sunday dinner once a month at Shuga’s but that’s with all of the family.
My card nights are just for the original five.
We drink, smoke, talk shit, and occasionally play some damn cards.
When I close the door after getting the food, Deuce’s big, greedy ass is standing behind me ready to grab it. He takes the bags with the wings and leaves me with the pizza and mozzarella sticks. We walk the bags into the kitchen, and after washing his hands, he attacks the food.
“Ay. This nigga bout to eat it all. Y’all better come get some,” I say and Tre and Quintus join us.
After we fill our paper plates with wings, pizza, and mozzarella sticks, we spread out on the two sectionals in my living room. I love a good blunt, so before I take a bite of anything, I grab a preroll from my stash book on my table and fire up.
All of us smoke except Ace. He’ll light a cigar every now and again, but that’s it. Me, Tre, and Deuce blaze all the time and Quintus only smokes during shit like this. Because of my little niece and his now pregnant wife, he never smokes at his crib or in his ride though.
I hit the blunt a few times then Tre reaches for it. I gladly pass it then kill my first slice of pizza. By the time we finish most of the food, we have smoked two prerolls.
“What happened to the game?” Quintus asks.
“I’m still down to play,” I say. “But I need something from you first, bruh.”
“What’s up?” Quintus asks.
“I need you to ask your people to find Kyrah’s ex-husband,” I admit.
Ever since she told me about his bitch ass, I can’t stop thinking about popping the nigga in his shit. I know what he did happened in her past but that shit last week wasn’t. He hurt her again and now I’m not going to rest until I hurt him. Some things about me never fucking changed.
“She can’t find him?”
“Nah. I need to find him.”
“What happened?”
“Last week, she finally told me why they got divorced,” I reveal.
“The nigga put his hands on her?” Deuce asks.
“Nah, if it would have been some shit like that, I would have found and fucking bodied him by now.”
“So why you need to find him? I just need to know if I need to be on standby for legal representation.”
“Bruh, you always on retainer for me,” I say.
“Shit, for all of us,” Deuce adds.
“Right. So I’m not worried about that. I just need to check him. They divorced ’cause he was fucking her sister.”
“What kind of bitch ass simp shit is that?” Tre asks, not expecting an answer.
“She found out her sister was pregnant by the nigga last week and that shit hurt her all over again, so now he’s got to see me,” I continue.
“And what do you plan on doing?” Quintus asks.
“Yeah, what exactly?” Tre asks, sounding even more concerned.
“Fuck him up. That’s it. Maybe ten years ago my answer would be different, but I’m not that same wild and dumb ass nigga no more. Y’all can kill the fucking worry in your voice.”
“I’ll get my team on it Monday. If he’s here or in CF, I should be able to get you something in a few days,” Quintus says.
“Bet. ’Preciate it,” I say then stand. When I go to the kitchen to grab a trash bag, Tre walks in behind me.
“You sure you not gon’ do something dumb? We got the shop and you ain’t been reckless in a minute,” he says.
“Bruh, trust me. The most I’m gonna do is knock his ass out. After that fuck shit with Ace, I’m not taking any penitentiary chances unless I really have to.”
“A’ight,” he says while nodding, choosing to believe me. While in the kitchen, he grabs another slice and I get the bag. In the living room, I grab their empty plates, bottles, and trash. “Did you tell Sis about Matika?” Tre asks.
“Who is Matika?” Deuce asks.
“Do I want to know ’cause I can’t keep shit from my wife and she stays trying to talk about you and Kyrah?” Quintus asks as he shakes his head.
“Some girl I fucked way before my baby. I don’t even remember fucking her, but of course she remembers me. This nigga hired her. She’s the new receptionist,” I say.
“Like I knew you fucked her,” Tre scoffs.
“So she’s at the repair shop?” Deuce asks.
“Front desk. She’s been there a week,” I say.
“Then you gotta tell Kyrah, bruh. That shit won’t look good if she finds out from anybody but you,” Quintus says.
“I’m not fucking her now. Plus, she was before I was with Kyrah.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Quintus says.
“See, this is exactly why my ass stays single and only fuck with the females I know. With new chicks come new rules and problems. Y’all niggas can have that,” Deuce says.
“What females? Yo’ baby mommas?” Tre asks because Deuce has three boys by three different women. “That shit’s more dangerous than new chicks. Me and TJ momma co-parented and that’s it. Fucking her would only bring a complication in my life and I don’t need any complications,” he adds.
“Nah. My baby mommas know what’s up,” Deuce says.
“Keep telling yourself that, my nigga,” I say.
“At least I don’t have to worry about hiring someone I fucked by mistake,” Deuce counters. “Unlike you, I haven’t been generous with my dick in the city.”
“It wasn’t that many, nigga,” I counter. “Plus, I’m only giving my dick to one woman right now and that’s my baby.”
“Bruh, it was enough that you can’t remember them all,” Tre says with a chuckle.
“Nigga, you just mad no one wants to fuck with yo’ mean ass,” I tell Tre.
“Nah, bruh, I’m not mean. I’m just choosy 'bout my shit. Unlike you niggas, I’m not trying to be lovesick and shit behind no female.”
“If you’re talking about me, I’ll be that. Lovesick and happy as hell,” Quintus says.
“This nigga,” Tre scoffs and Deuce laughs.
“Be happy, lil bruh. Fuck Tre’s mean ass.
He ain’t been right since Solene,” Deuce adds, bringing up Tre’s kryptonite.
Solene was his homegirl when we were kids but we all knew he was lowkey in love with her.
They never crossed that friendship line, and when she dipped out of Diamond Falls, he got with TJ’s mom Ashanti.
When Tre’s face tightens, Deuce changes the subject.
“We on Shiro anyway. He’s the one hiring his jump offs and shit. ”
“Man, I deaded that with her already. I talked to her the day Tre hired her and she’s been cool since. Plus, I told her it wasn’t nothing and can’t be nothing and she ain’t brought it back up. It’s not a problem.”
“Yet,” Deuce says. “I don’t fuck with nobody at the club and I don’t hire anybody I done fucked with because problems will come.
Trust. She applied for that job at your shop looking for you, and if she says she didn’t, it’s cap.
You forgot her, right? That means you probably didn’t call her ass either,” he says, shaking his head and I don’t respond.
“See… Yeah… Problem, nigga. Fire her ass tomorrow.”
“Firing her is your call, but definitely tell Kyrah,” Quintus says.
“Are we playing Spades or are y’all niggas gone keep bumping your damn gums for the rest of the night? Matika ain’t a problem and my baby don’t need to know about every female I fucked before her,” I grit then grab another blunt. “Y’all blowing my damn high.”
“It’s all fun until it’s you and your lady, then you get all salty and shit,” Quintus says.
“Can’t say two words about Kyrah and him. Nigga be bout to cry,” Tre says, adding his usual bullshit.
“Y’all just blowing my damn high about telling her shit that don’t matter.”
“It matters. Trust me. Tell her,” Quintus urges. “If she’s your one, you better.”
“She is,” I insist.
“Damn, you didn’t have to scream that shit,” Deuce says, then stands.
“Man, fuck you,” I scoff.
It’s the first Sunday in September, which means it’s Sunday dinner.
It’s not even seven and almost everyone’s here because Shuga made our favorite, her version of the traditional Hausa stew, Zongo, with oxtail meat.
It’s served with rice, boiled eggs, and fried plantains.
Because my six nephews can eat a whole damn pot by themselves, she cooked two big ass pots.
“Reya and Quintus are pulling up now. I wonder where Sade is. Ace and the twins are here,” Kyrah says. She came over yesterday when I got off work and stayed.
“Ace says she’s coming, just late,” I say and Shuga sucks her teeth.
“We’re not waiting on her to eat though. Everyone knows what time Sunday dinner starts,” Shuga says before walking back into the house. As usual, we are all out in the solarium for dinner.
“What’s up with Shuga and Sade? Last Sunday dinner I swore I saw her roll her eyes at Sade but thought I was tripping. Shuga likes everybody and always smiles, but with Sade, it’s a little different. I know you heard Shuga suck her teeth.”