Chapter 9 #2
“Did you really grab the food?” PJ huffed, turning in the front seat to look at me.
“Sis, I just paid over fifty dollars for one large pizza and eight wings… hell yes, I grabbed the food. Y’all nasty asses don’t have to eat it. Brooklyn and I will as soon as y’all drop us back off.”
“What happened back there, Zoo?”
“Ugh, fine time to ask that. You weren’t worried when you took off running.” I shook my head at Brooklyn.
“If my cousin running it’s for a reason. I’ll find that reason out later and now is later.”
“Someone complained about the office door being locked. I told Pen to shut up and tried to stick one of those loose socks I saw on the desk in her mouth, but she smacked it and me! When she did that, I fired off in her ass. Like Pops, bang, bang, bang. Straight hard, deep strokes, you feel me, cuz? I’m guessing they didn’t like that either because they really tried to break the door down then. ”
“As long as you came, fuck them.”
PJ and I looked at Brooklyn like he lost all the sense that God gave him. “As long as he came?”
“Yes, Baby, we don’t bring our kids to the party and don’t let them come out to play.”
“See... I knew we were really kin. Sometimes, I used to wonder bout chu’ but now I see we really do think alike,” Zoo stated while looking at Brooklyn through the rearview mirror.
“Well... well... well... look at the psych ward patient, calling the other psych ward patient slow.”
“Too far man, too far. You know I ain’t over that shit yet.”
They argued the entire way back home. While PJ and I sat there listening and laughing. Probably both having the same thoughts of, is this how the rest of our lives are going to be?
brOOKLYN
For the first time in weeks, I woke up with a clear head. No dreams, no thoughts of my girl leaving me, or none of that shit. It felt good to have fifty percent of my sanity back. The other fifty needed to stay gone.
Looking at the clock, and then how comfortable my girl was snuggled up in my arms had me wanting to not get up.
Knowing I needed to handle some business, I kissed her on the forehead and got up.
My mama would be calling in a few to make sure I was on time to take her to the doctor.
My dad always did it but since I’d been slacking on making sure she was good, I told her I’d pick her up.
"Hmm,” Bri groaned while stretching out more in the bed. With her eyes still closed, she rubbed my side of the bed.
When she didn’t feel me there, she quickly sat up and looked around the room.
I smiled at how she looked hurt and confused until she laid eyes on me.
Bri’s face relaxed at the sight of me and that made a nigga feel good.
Knowing I could bring that calmness to my girl without doing shit but being there was enough for me to want to give her the world.
My presence was enough for her but to me, she deserved more than that.
She deserved to get the best part of me, not the broken me.
If I had to go to therapy until I released all of my demons that lay dormant inside of me then I’d be in that muthafucka every day, stretched out on the couch.
Telling Dr. Holiday how Zoo stole my girl in kindergarten and I stole his at his sixteenth birthday party.
Nigga had me fucked up thinking I was going to forget that shit.
“Where you going, Baby?”
“I have to take my mama to the doctor and you have to get up because you and PJ have to go to Sin’s to start planning Naomi’s baby shower.”
“Uggh, that’s right. They better not get pregnant again, ain’t nobody got time for this.”
“Don’t be like that.” I walked over and kissed her cheeks.
“When it’s you, you’ll want the help, too, so play nice.
You don’t have to do that ‘til later but I have some shit set up for you. Your driver will be here at noon to take you to get this wig split.” My fingers tussled her hair around her head.
“Then, you are going shopping because these hips been spreading and those jeans getting a little tight on the ass. I can’t have my girl going around here looking like her pants been painted on. ”
“Let me find out you are controlling and want to pick my clothes for me.”
“Now you know better than that. I’m far from controlling or insecure. I just don’t want you to get a yeast infection.” She grabbed the pillow from behind her and hit me with me.
“Really, Baby?” Bri giggled as I threw my body on top of her to pin her down. She hated being tickled because it made her snort. “Stop,” Bri dragged out while bucking her body to get me off her.
“You lucky I have to go or else I’d be sliding in that thang.”
“That’s why it’s called a quickie. Be quick but still hit dat shit.”
“You trying to be like Naomi?” I asked her.
“No, Baby, I'm good on that right now. It’s still stuff we have to do together like really date each other. Get all of the trips and shit out of the way and just enjoy each other before we add anyone else into the equation. Not saying life stops when a child comes but our people are old, they not trying to babysit.”
“They won’t have to. Our shorty coming everywhere with us. From Paris to Africa, they will be right there experiencing that shit with us. Ain’t shit stopping.”
“If it happens, it happens. We not planning anything, though. I still have a career that requires me to be very active so let’s hold off on you shooting the club up right now.” Laughing, we both climbed out of bed and started getting ready for the day.
“It took you long enough,” my mama fussed when I walked into her room. “I could have been in here croaked over waiting on you to pull up.”
“Stop it, you know I was going to be here.”
“I did not, that’s why I called him over.” She pointed to Zoo walking in with her coffee and some nasty oatmeal. I was wondering why his truck was sitting in front of the house.
“Here you go, Auntie.” He threw his head up at me. “Sup, cuz, you’re late.”
“Nigga, I'm on time. Don’t you got yo own mama to take care of?”
“You jealous?” When he sat down and started feeding her oatmeal, I almost smacked that shit out of his hand. “Calm down, you can ride with us. I don’t mind.”
“Ma! Tell him to leave,” I let out.
“I told you he need those anger management classes again.
“It’s ok, Baby. I love when my two favorite men fight over me.
Let’s me know that I’m loved. Don’t be mad at Zeus because it’s been several mornings when he has stopped by to check on me, make sure I take my medicine, or just to make sure that I am good.
When he got out of the hospital, the first person he stopped by to see was me.
I’ll always appreciate him for that and you should, too.
When you were worried about losing your girl, he was over here making sure your mom was good so you wouldn’t lose her, too.
Now say thank you, then go over there and get my shoes so we all can go.
Zeus said I could ride in his loud truck today. ”
Seeing the excitement on her face made me drop the attitude I had. When we left out of the house, I helped her climb into Zoo’s big-ass truck.
“We good, cuz?” Zoo asked me before we got inside.
“Yea, we good. Thank you for looking out for her. I dropped the ball.”
“No, you didn’t. I caught that shit for you.
We’re family so when you were having a fucked-up time getting your head together, I handled this.
I know you’ll do the same for me. Now get in the truck, Auntie wants me to pull up at her chemo appointment, fast, to make my pipes roar as she say.
She’s trying to make the other women jealous of her. She’s funny as hell.”
“Yea, she is.”
“Hurry up, Lil’ Bertha appointment is the same time as mine. I want to make sure we pulling up together. Her son be pulling up in a car with some spinning rims. Country tail self.” Laughing, Zoo and I hopped in so she could quit complaining.
She hadn’t smiled this much in a long time and Zoo was taking it all in, too.
I loves my family for real. It’s good when they can see where you are lacking and step up instead of letting you drown.
I didn’t see that shit at first until mama just broke it down.
All I saw was this nigga trying to take my mama away like he didn’t have one.
“There she go. Speed past them, Zeus. You don’t have any smoke or something you can blow out the back?”
“Auntie, what type of truck you think this is? Even if I did have smoke and nitro in this, it would be used to get away from the police not to make an old bitc—” he stopped once he saw the look mama was giving him—“not to make an old lady jealous.”
“Forget that, what you say about running from the police?”
“Huh?” Zoo tried to act like he didn’t hear her.
“Yea, ok. Let me get out of this truck with you criminals. My husband will pick me back up.”
“That’s the biggest one of all, you are safer with us,” I told her, making her mean mug me now.
She pranced inside of the building and fake spoke to Lil’ Bertha like she wasn’t just talking about her. When we saw she was inside, we pulled off. My stomach was growling, so I prayed this nigga was about to find some food.