12. Ghosts Leave Breadcrumbs
GHOSTS LEAVE brEADCRUMBS
“Hey, what you in here doing?” In a black silk nightgown and matching robe, Toni hovered in the doorway of Bull’s home office with her hands against the door.
She’d just checked on the kids to make sure they were sleeping. Leaning back in the brown leather chair, Bull stroked his beard, studying the picture in his hand before lifting his eyes to his fine ass wife. Hair still in deep wand curls, she sashayed in his direction in a pair of fur mules.
“Just thinking about some shit.” Bull tossed the photo on the desk and tapped his upper lip. “I got word from Eazy. Some crazy shit went down with him and Lotus tonight.”
“What you mean?” Toni paused and leaned against his desk.
“She ever tell you about her old boss?”
“Very little. I know she got involved with him at one point and ended things right before she got with Eazy.”
Bull nodded. “Yeah. I guess the nigga been on some bullshit. He attacked her at her apartment months ago. Calling her phone to the point she had to get her number changed.”
“What! She didn’t mention any of that.”
“I guess it all came to a head tonight. When Eazy met up with me and Jewel to discuss some shit, this muhfucka snuck into Lotus’s house. Eazy beat the brakes off that nigga. Sent him flying over that second story overlook.”
“Oh, my God! Is Lotus okay?”
“Yeah,” Bull assured her. “Her and the baby are fine. He just got her settled back at home after everything.”
“Thank God. I’ll have to call and check on her in the morning.” Relieved, Toni tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “You look like you got something else on your mind.” She picked up the picture off his desk of a teenage Bronx.
She’d recognize that smile anywhere. Breeze had the same one. Bull studied her face as she looked at the image.
“He was a baby right here.” Toni turned the photo to him.
“Yeah, he was,” he agreed.
“Why are you looking at this? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.” Bull took the picture from her. “Just trying to retrace his steps. Put myself in the frame of mind he had to be in when he pulled this shit off. I’m missing something, and I feel like I’m looking right at it.”
Bronx stood inside Ms. Ruby’s Chicken and Fish behind the counter in one of her aprons.
One summer they both worked there to help her out.
They didn’t even need the money; she was just good people, and they wanted to return the favor.
The Andrews family didn’t always have money, which was why Braxton was so dead set on keeping it.
Ruby was one of few who looked out for them back in the day when he and Bronx were toddlers until their wild teenage years.
Hell, Brenda even spent a summer or two there, waiting tables.
Suddenly, something clicked. With the image, Ms. Ruby, and his interaction with Shenai.
“This muhfucka.” Bull chuckled.
“What?” Toni frowned. “You figured it out?”
Bull looked at her with half a grin on his lips.
“Figured what out?” he teased.
“Don’t insult me,” she muttered, narrowing her eyes.
“I think I know where he put them shits.” He grabbed her by both hips and positioned her in front of him.
“Okay, and…”
“Everybody wants them,” Bull informed her, picking her up and placing her on his desk.
“Including Midas,” she surmised, draping her arms across his shoulders.
“Especially fucking Midas.” Bull stood between her legs.
“So, you’re going to use them to draw him out, then what? He is still Essence’s husband at the end of the day. You ready to take it there with her despite all your history? She might crash out.”
Bull didn’t respond.
“Bezai?” Toni prodded.
“I gotta do what I gotta do, T. For the greater good. Not just for us, but for her too. In the long run, this protects her as much as anybody else. It’s only a matter of time before he shows his true colors.
She might love him, but he don’t give a fuck about her.
” He grabbed her chin and stole a kiss. “Sometimes I hate you know a nigga so well, though.”
“Mmm, well, too bad,” Toni told him between kisses. “Just... do one thing for me.”
“What’s that?” he asked, hiking a brow and locking his arms around her.
“Come home.”
His expression softened, and he stroked her cheek.
His sweet, beautiful, fearless ass wife.
The way he’d grown to love her over the years still amazed him.
She grew into the type of wife and mother a nigga could only be grateful for.
A rare treasure. If he had to do this life shit with anybody, Toni was the only option.
“That’s it?”
“Whatever you’re planning. Whatever you think you have to do. Come home when it’s over. That’s it.”
“Always,” Bull vowed.
His phone suddenly went off on the table, and he frowned, studying the screen. Toni saw his expression and leaned in too.
“When the hell Taci learn how to FaceTime?” he asked, swiping to pick up.
Not only was Taci on with Summit in the background doing something in the kitchen while she sat at the table, but so were Kissa and Javon, Jewel, Rhema, and Eazy in a darkened room with the glare of a TV bouncing off him and Lotus sleeping against him.
“Yo, Taci, who gave you an iPhone?” Jewel asked.
“I got the plug,” she countered cockily.
“Let me fucking find out.” Jewel tittered, squinting at Rhema chatting with a doctor. “Rhem, who dat? Ain’t no Grey’s Anatomy shit going on up in there. I’ll come in there and knock all that shit over.”
“Jewel, the hell you know about Grey’s Anatomy?” his mother asked.
“They be fucking on there, Ma. All up in the hospital. Between surgery. In that on call spot—”
“Oh, my God.” Toni covered her mouth and busted out laughing.
“Lord, Rhema don’t have that man coming up to that hospital showing his ass.” Kissa shook her head.
“Yo, the fuck is this call about?” Eazy was growing a little irritable because they were blowing the high he was trying to catch with his blunt.
“I am here to formally invite all of you to the house on Saturday. We having a cookout.”
“Yo, Taci… Lotus needs to rest—”
“Ain’t nobody asking that girl to come over here and perform manual labor. It’s plenty of places for her to sit and be comfortable.”
“Ms. Taci, I kind of had plans,” Jewel argued.
“Cancel ’em.” She shut him down instantly.
“Ms. Taci.” It was Bull’s turn to try and weasel out of it.
“Bezai Andrews, don’t you Ms. Taci me. I’ve barely seen you, that wife, and those kids.”
“Baby, maybe folks don’t want to—” Summit intervened from the background and caught the evil eye from his wife. “Saturday it is. Around four,” he knelt and said into the camera for everybody to hear.
“That’s right. I am tired of this family acting like we got forever to fix shit. Now, one last time. I expect everybody here. And don’t be showing up emptyhanded.”
“Goodnight, Taci.” Eazy was the first to hang up.
Saturday afternoon…
The grill was smoking. Motown hits thumped from the big speaker on the back porch while Whistler and a couple of the ladies on the block line danced in the grass. With a cold Coors in one hand, and a joint in the other, he showed off his moves and grinded on a few of the ladies who allowed it.
Jewel bought cases of Cutwater and none of the old folks had ever tried them.
Now he stood on the sidelines, blowing a blunt and cracking up as they all got loose.
His girls and a few of the other neighborhood kids ran through the sprinklers in their swimwear and slid down the water slide while chasing each other in the small pool set up for them.
It was a good ninety-degree day as he looked around at the turnout.
Taci said a cookout, but he wasn’t expecting the whole block to show up.
Summit stood at the grill, poking and flipping meat over while chopping it up with a few other old heads.
Eazy, Javon, Bull, and one of Javon’s retired friends slammed dominoes on the table nearby as Bull and Eazy passed a blunt back and forth.
Taci and a few of her friends were inside with Kissa, preparing the sides, sipping wine, and talking shit.
Every now and then, you heard them laughing through the screen door and open windows.
“You wrong for exposing these old ass people to that, Jewel.” Rhema came up beside him, shaking her head with a plate full of food.
“They gon’ sleep good tonight, that’s for damn sure.”
He lowered himself to the porch step. She joined him, balancing her plate with one hand and digging into it with her plastic fork.
She’d swept her hair into a high ponytail and rocked a floral print halter style maxi dress with big, gold, bamboo earrings.
Jewel licked his lips watching her eat. Rhema felt his eyes all over her.
Hiking a brow, her lip curled, and she side eyed him.
“What?”
“I love you.” Jewel stole a quick kiss, tasting the flavor from her baked beans on her lips.
“What you do?” Rhema asked, dropping her fork to her plate and swallowing her latest bite.
“What you mean?”
“Jasiel Bailey, I swear to God, don’t fuck this up. We are in a good place. The best—”
“Girl, you crazy as hell.” He wrapped his arm around her. “You think I’m about to fuck this up after everything it took to get us here?” He pressed his forehead against hers.
“I love you too.”
“Jewel! Bring yo’ ass over here so you can get schooled!” Javon called from the table as Eazy got up to look for Lotus.
He’d been on her ass for days about relaxing and not doing too much.
She and Toni were currently seated under a tree full of shade in a tent to keep the bugs out.
Toni indulged in Cutwater too, but Lotus sipped her ginger, cucumber, and lemon water and chewed on the Bratwurst she’d just conned Summit into giving her as she waited for the ribs to come off.
The whole block smelled like charcoal, and she loved every bit of it.