Chapter 14 #2
Each brother was tasked with bringing something.
Every Thanksgiving it’s the same. I get fresh fish from Phat Fish.
Quintus is in charge of the steaks, Deuce gets liquor, Tre grabs pies, and Ace brings the turkeys.
We have a traditional Black American thanksgiving with Nigerian dishes in the mix and we eat a lot.
“You see this shit?” I ask my brother.
“I didn’t know they rented cabins this size. I wonder how many bedrooms it has,” he says.
“Shit, a lot.”
“Did you change your flight?”
“Yeah, we leave out of CFA at eight tomorrow. We’ll land in Hawaii at two o’clock Friday morning their time; six o’clock here.”
“And she has no idea that you’re proposing?”
“None, unless you told Sis, then she knows for sure.”
“I didn’t tell her. I wouldn’t ruin this for you, bruh.”
“’Preciate it. It just gotta go right. My baby can’t have no half ass proposal. Her ex nigga fucked things up with her bad and I’m going to right all those stupid wrongs and give her the marriage and life she deserves.”
“All you gotta do is love her, bruh. It’s that simple. Love her and talk shit out. I can’t believe my wild ass brother is getting married.”
“Shit, I had to. My lil bruh already showed me up and beat me to the damn altar. I have to do something,” I tease and we both laugh.
He grabs the cooler and bags from his ride and I get our cooler and two overnight duffels. I leave our luggage for the trip inside. When we make it to the main entrance, Ace opens the door and grabs one of Quintus’s bags.
“Wait until y’all see this shit,” Ace says in awe.
As soon as I walk in, I understand the amazement in Ace’s tone.
This shit is banging. From the small foyer, we walk right into a huge theater room and Shuga’s favorite movie is on the screen.
She watches Soul Food every Thanksgiving, which means we watch it too.
Everyone is sitting in the theater chairs and all the luggage is in the corner.
“Put your bags over there. We can’t pick rooms until everyone is here.
Shuga’s rule,” he says while shaking his head.
“That’s right,” she says as she walks into the room from the right.
“I texted everyone. Alami and her friend are ten minutes out,” she begins and Deuce interrupts.
“You letting her bring a nigga here?” Deuce asks with a frown.
“She said her friend didn’t have a place to go for the holiday and asked if they could come. You know I don’t like anyone to starve on Thanksgiving, so I told her they can. I didn’t ask if it was a boy or a girl, and if it’s a boy, you are going to be nice,” Shuga warns.
“Nice after I school the lil nigga,” Deuce says.
“Facts. She has brothers and he needs to know that,” I add.
“Brothers and nephews,” Hassan adds.
“Is this what Niya has to look forward to?” Shuga asks while shaking her head.
“What?” Niya asks.
“Nothing, lil cuz. You not getting a boyfriend until you are thirty,” Hassan says.
“My daddy said twenty-five,” Niya counters in her little sassy tone and we all laugh.
“That’s right, baby girl. Twenty-five,” Quintus says and Sis playfully pushes him in his side.
“TJ is outside,” Tre says.
“And Travon and Deric are at the gate,” Shuga says. “I just don’t know about Twon. He didn’t answer yet.”
“He’s coming and bringing his new girl,” Hussain says.
“We have enough room for everybody,” Shuga says with a huge smile. She absolutely loves when all of us get together.
“Where’s the kitchen? I can take these coolers,” I say.
“Not yet. Wait for everybody. Just sit and calm your nerves,” she says and I shake my head.
“You and yo’ rules. You do know we’re grown as hell,” I tease as I sit.
“No matter how old you get, I’m still the momma.”
“You gotta do what Nana says,” Niya says.
“That’s right, princess. You tell your uncles,” Shuga says.
“See,” Niya gushes.
A few minutes later, Travon and Deric enter, followed by everyone until the whole Bako gang is here.
Thursday’s friend is her homegirl and not some knucklehead, so none of us have to put the fear of Bako in her.
Once everyone is seated and quiet, Shuga pauses the movie and stands in front of the huge screen.
She is so damn excited her entire round face is lit up.
“I’m so glad we can all be here for this. Family is everything to me and having us all under one roof and waking up under that same roof is going to make this Thanksgiving even more special. My dream is to make this happen every big holiday,” Shuga begins.
“So you’re going to rent this out every holiday?” Ace asks.
“No, because I own it. Well, actually, we own it. My name and you and your brothers’ names are all on the deed.”
“You purchased this?” Quintus asks, although we all clearly heard her.
Shuga bought this for us!
“Yes. I did last month. It’s ours. A space big enough for all of us.
My dream is to have our monthly Sunday dinners here, Thanksgiving, our summer barbecues and any other holidays you all agree on.
I know you have your own families, or will be having your own families one day, but any holiday you can spare, I would love it. ”
“Oh my God,” Kyrah utters in awe.
“This is ours?” Tre asks. “And you’re going to keep the house?”
“Of course. I raised you and your brothers in that house. That will forever be my home. It’s ours along with this one, our vacation home,” she explains.
“So if it’s ours, we could like be here for spring break? Hassan asks.
“You and your cousins…family. This is not a party house,” Shuga says.
“Nah. They won’t be using it without one of us here,” Ace jumps in, shaking his head.
“Pops, we wouldn’t disrespect it like that,” Hassan says.
“We’ll see,” Ace says.
“We can talk about it after everyone gets comfortable in your rooms and settled. There are eleven bedrooms. This level has three: one with a king-sized bed, another with a set of queen bunk beds, and one with a futon and two full sized beds. The latter for the girls—Niya, Alami, and your friend. Behind this theatre room is a game room with a pool table and video games and an indoor swimming pool.”
“Aw shit, we got a pool,” Hussain utters.
“Can I go to my room now?” Niya asks excitedly. She really loves her little auntie. I swear she thinks they are the same age.
“One second, sweetie. Let your nana finish first,” Mireya tells her.
“The beautiful kitchen, family room, and dining room are all on the next level. My bedroom is up there along with four others. All the rooms on the second floor have king sized beds and private bathrooms. And last, on the top level, are the other three bedrooms. Two have king beds and one has two full beds. There’s another living room with a small bar up there with two large sectionals.
Someone can sleep on those too. There’s plenty of room.
Oh, I almost forgot, around that corner,” she says, then motions toward the corner she’d appeared from. “There’s an elevator.”
Not too many words are said because I honestly think we are all just shocked. This cabin is not only big as fuck but it’s nice and Shuga bought it for us.
“Oh! I want to ride that. Mommie, can I?” Niya asks and Shuga’s smile gets bigger.
“Yes, but it’s not a toy,” Mireya says.
“You can ride up with me now and help me find pizzas to order. With all the prep and cooking we have to do tonight, I’m not cooking anything,” Shuga says.
“We’ll order the pizza,” Kyrah volunteers.
“Oh well, thank you. Boys, get the coolers up there so I can see what you got,” Shuga says before turning toward the elevator. “Come ride with me, princess, then you can come back down by yourself.” Niya jumps out of her seat.
“Any special requests? I’m just going to order five or six pizzas and wings,” Kyrah says and I chuckle.
“Baby, the twins can eat one each. We need a little more than that,” I tell her.
“Okay, eight,” she responds with a titter.
“Um. Can we get one with chicken? I don’t eat beef or pork,” Thursday’s little friend asks in a low tone. Thursday introduced her when they got here but I don’t remember her name.
“Okay. We can do that. I’ll order as soon as we get in our room,” my baby says.