Chapter 5 #2
It had been their thing since they were younger. Their Mom would wake them up early, make a quick breakfast, and they would head out to explore. Ayla loved picking out fresh produce and seeing what new vendors popped in. Dane used to tag along, but since he got older, he preferred to sleep in.
“He’s not going to go away otherwise.” Inari reached for a bag of apples and turned to the flower stand a few steps away.
She loved getting fresh flowers and filling the vases in the house with them.
Her favorites were white roses and baby’s breath combined.
With a green Von Dutch hat resting on her head, she kept it casual in ripped denim shorts that hugged her thick thighs, and a white crop top.
Being a bigger girl never stopped her from showing out when it came to her style of dress.
Most bitches couldn’t hate but often took notes.
“I knew he would do exactly what he’s doing.” Inari picked up a bouquet of roses and brought them to her nose to inhale. “These smell amazing, Laci.” She smiled up at the attendant nearby, arranging more peonies in a vase.
She was an older woman with auburn hair and warm, whiskey tinted eyes. In a simple pink pantsuit with white sneakers, she paused and moved closer to the table where Inari stood.
“Yes, they do. It’s the last one I have today, Inari. I have a little bit of baby’s breath set aside for you too.”
“You are a gem!”
“How is Dane?” Laci asked, pulling a small box from under a nearby table.
“Oh, growing like a weed. I can’t get him to stop eating. His ass is grounded right now, though.” Inari grimaced, still upset about the tattoo situation.
Not as unsettled as she was about how Dane spoke to her, though. He still hadn’t apologized either. Instead, he was walking around like he was mad at the world.
“Oh, what did my boy do?” Laci questioned, removing the bundle of baby’s breath from the box and placing it on the table.
“He went and got a tattoo. Without my permission, I might add.”
“Oh. He’s at that age. Isn’t he almost sixteen?”
“Sixteen is still not eighteen, Laci.” Inari shook her head. “Everybody acts like I’m overreacting or something. It starts with a tattoo. Then what? Smoking, drinking, selling drugs?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Laci spoke up as Inari dug around her crossbody bag for her wallet.
“I used to think that, too, until he came home with a damn tattoo!”
“Well, what did he get?”
Inari paused, hand still in her wallet as she stared sheepishly into the woman’s wisdom filled eyes.
She’d known Laci practically all her life and vented to her all the time about everything.
The two had each other’s numbers and checked in at least once a week.
Inari even popped up at the market solo sometimes if Ayla didn’t want to roll out of bed.
The two would park downtown and catch the streetcar over here to walk around and shop for fresh produce and whatever else the vendors provided that week.
“My name,” Inari revealed, watching Laci hide a smile.
“So, nothing outrageous like skulls or guns? He got his mama’s name as his first tattoo?”
“I sound ridiculous, right?” Inari dropped her hands at her side.
“You sound like a worried mother. It’s normal.
I know your son, though. He’s the same little boy who came around here to help me set up my stand before everybody got here.
When I go to his basketball games, he makes sure to come and greet me with a hug and kiss on the cheek, no matter who’s watching.
You’re raising him right, Nari. You have to know that. ”
“You know how to put some shit in perspective, Lace. You know that?” Inari simpered.
“It helps when you know the players.” Laci shrugged. “I’m sure your mama and daddy are looking down on you with pride. You have come a long way from that teenage girl who thought she knew it all. The world and everyone in it was your enemy for a long time,” she reminded her.
Inari reached for a few bills to pay Laci. Before she could pull them out, a whiff of a very intoxicating cologne stole her attention.
“Laci, put her stuff on my tab,” Moose’s deep, smoky voice requested.
Hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts, he felt her raking her eyes over his muscular arms, every inch covered in some kind of ink. Locs still pulled back in a barrel style, he glanced Inari’s way but reverted his attention back to Laci.
“Good morning, Morgan,” she greeted him by his real name, and Inari hiked a brow. “I have your arrangement right over here. It’s very nice of you to pay for Inari’s things.” Laci stepped away from the table.
“He’s just trying to make up for the fact that he permanently branded my son,” Inari voiced tautly. “I can pay for my own stuff.”
“Oh, he went to Morgan? Well, he is the best. That means he was in good hands.” Laci brought over a bright arrangement of orange, yellow, and white flowers to hand to him.
It was gorgeous, and Inari couldn’t help but wonder who they were for. Moose looked over at her smugly, and Inari’s nostrils flared.
“Really, Laci? You know him?”
“Of course I do. I’m Laci.” She snickered.
“He doesn’t look like the type to frequent the farmer’s market.” Inari skimmed him once again, this time, noticing the large reusable bag in his hand filled with what looked like produce, cheese, wine, and some more shit.
“You making a lot of judgments for somebody who don’t know me.” Moose tittered and shook his head as he nodded to Laci.
“Moose is a healthy eater. He gets all his produce from down here. He’s an investor in one of the largest farms around here, too, so he gets the discount price on everything.” Laci winked at him.
“Hey, you ready?” Ayla strolled over, out of breath as she paused at her sister’s side where she and Moose had locked eyes intensely. “Hey, Laci!” She waved at their family friend and smiled.
“Hey, Lala.”
“Definitely ready.” Inari finally broke eye contact with Moose, who once again shook his head and chucked his chin at Laci before stepping away from her booth.
“Thanks, Laci. I’ll see you next week.”
“You’re welcome, Moose. Tell Audiemar I said hello.”
“Here you go.” Inari held some cash out to Laci, trying not to watch Moose walk away.
The nigga was annoyingly fine, though. Now, she was curious as hell about him.
“Who was that?” Ayla nudged her from behind.
“The thug who tattooed your nephew,” Inari told her.
“Oh, he’s fine!” Ayla noted.
Inari turned her nose up and looked at her over her shoulder.
“What? The way you was looking at him, you think he is too.” She twisted the cap off the bottle of fresh raspberry juice that she’d copped at a nearby booth.
She got to watch them make it in front of her and everything. It was so refreshing as it went down her throat.
“I’m not taking your money, Inari.” Laci shoved her hand away. “If Moose said he got you, he got you.”
“I don’t know him. I don’t want him paying for things,” Inari argued.
“Aw, he paid for them?” Ayla gushed. “Don’t be rude, Nari! Mama wouldn’t like that.”
“Shut up, Ayla!” Inari hissed. “What I look like taking anything from him? He just came over here and got an obviously regular bouquet of flowers for somebody else. Who the hell he think he is, Casanova?”
“The flowers are for his mother, Jane.” Laci shook her head. “She died about five years ago. Moose visits her grave every Sunday with fresh flowers.”
“Wow.” Ayla pressed a hand to her chest. “And you were judging him. Shame on you, Nari.”
“Morgan and his brothers are different. Having them in your corner is not a bad thing, though. I know Dane messed up by not telling you what he was doing, but I’m sure Moose meant no harm.
He’s an artist. He’s been doing tattoos since he was eighteen.
I was just glad when he stopped putting graffiti up all over town. ” Laci snickered.
Rolling her eyes, Inari shoved the bills back into her wallet and tossed them in her purse. She picked up her flowers again after Laci had arranged them perfectly and turned to her sister.
“Let’s go.”
“Tell Dane I said hi!” Laci waved after them.
“Guess what?” Ayla rocked on her heels with a lopsided grin.
“I just got a hit on my resume I put out there last night. I’ve got an interview on Monday!
They are keeping everything undisclosed until the day of, but it sounds very promising!
I’d get to be a private chef for a family, but they want someone who can do a live in situation. ”
“You’re going to move in with some strange family and cook for them?” Inari questioned on their trek to where the streetcar could pick them up and take them back downtown.
“The money is good! I even get a sign on bonus. I can still pick Dane up, too.”
“I don’t know, Lala—”
“Don’t try to talk me out of this, Nari. We can’t live together forever.”
“Why not? You don’t like living with me and Dane?”
“It’s not that. Dane’s growing up. He’ll be going to college and moving out soon enough. You also need to get a life outside of Vintage Vault,” Ayla pointed out.
“So, you want to abandon me just like him?”
“Really, Inari!”
“That’s what I’m hearing, Lala. I have never complained about you living with me. I like that we can come home and be able to vent about our day together. Dane loves it too.”
“I’m twenty-four years old, Inari. You raised me to be independent, remember?” she challenged with a lifted brow.
Digging a bag of grapes from one of her bags, she plucked a few off the vine and into her mouth hungrily. The farmer’s market always left her starving. Now, she was going home to make cold cuts and wraps for them to eat.
“Whatever.”
“You could be a little more supportive.” Ayla sneered as they neared the street.
The streetcar was uphill, heading in their direction, so they were right on time.
“Excuse me? All I have ever done is support you. In every way,” she reminded her.