Chapter 5 #3
“And you act like I’m eternally indebted to you because of it!” Ayla belted. “I’ve never been ungrateful and always pulled my weight too. Dane is just as much my responsibility as he is yours. I helped raised him, didn’t I?”
“I’m not about to argue with you about this.
” Inari threw her hand up. “It’s bad enough I decided to see Danilo today.
I have to bring all this shit up to Dane and let him choose if he wants to see this nigga and give him his time.
And I hate that shit! Do you understand how hard it is for me to see Danilo and have to compromise with this nigga after everything? ”
Ayla wanted to respond, but the streetcar pulled up.
Inari hopped on first and took a seat in the very back.
Deciding she didn’t have anything left to say, Ayla took a seat in the middle and set her bags beside her.
She wanted to be excited about something for herself for once.
She felt so obligated to Inari and Dane that she put her own dreams on the backburner a lot of the time.
She could have finished culinary school sooner if she could go full time and not have to worry about working.
Inari always said if you don’t work, you don’t eat, though, and she’d instilled that same work ethic in Ayla.
Without their parents in the picture, they were all the other could ever count on.
She’d made her own sacrifices for Inari that she swept under the rug, starting with after school activities.
She couldn’t play volleyball or run track because she had to be home to tend to Dane so Inari could go to school and run the trap and accomplish her goals.
She used to tell Ayla she was helping her now, so her future would be a little easier.
While she didn’t expect a handout from her sister and chose to work, she was tired of giving up every aspect of her life to her.
Sometimes she wanted some shit for herself.
The hour and a half trip back home was quiet.
Nothing but seventies songs filled the airwaves as Inari drove and Ayla stared out her window.
Donny Hathaway sang about a little ghetto boy, and Inari’s hands gripped the wheel tighter with the cadence of his voice.
Ayla was young when their parents died, but she knew better.
She’d never place the knowledge of that burden on her baby sister.
When they reached the house, the two stepped inside, and Dane emerged from the living room.
“Where y’all been? Why you been gone so long?” he asked, stepping forward to help them with their bags.
“You know it’s Sunday. We always end up at the market longer than intended,” Inari voiced, peering around at the spotless home that smelled like the carpet deodorizer she used when she vacuumed. “Did you clean up?”
“What else was I supposed to do?” He shrugged, holding her bags by the handles and peering inside at the contents. “Did y’all bring some of those cheesecake squares from Miss Ann’s booth?”
“Yes. She made 7Up cake slices too,” Ayla told him.
“Bet.” Dane grinned.
“We need to talk about something.” Inari shot a glance at Ayla.
“I’m going to head upstairs.” Her sister started toward the wooden steps nearby.
“What’s this about? Is it about the tattoo again?” Dane sucked his teeth and walked to the kitchen with Inari on his heels.
“I’m still very much mad about that, but no. It’s not.” She shook her head and dropped her purse on the table.
In need of a cold drink, she marched over to the fridge and grabbed a mini-Corona bottle.
She loved her wine, but she’d never been much of a hard drinker unless it was tequila.
On a hot day like today, a chilled brew did the job, though.
Grabbing her bottle opener, she popped the top off and took a gulp.
Dane set her things on the table and pulled out the container with the desserts in them.
“So, what’s up?”
“Wash your hands, first of all,” she warned, joining him at the table.
He did as he was told before coming back to join her.
From her expression, he could tell it was serious.
His mama didn’t shield him from anything, but Dane knew there were things she kept to herself.
About her life, his father, among other things.
He picked up a small cheesecake square with a strawberry drizzle over the top and popped it into his mouth.
“You sick or something?” Dane frowned.
“No.” Inari took another swallow of her beer and shook her head. “It’s about Danilo.”
“What about him?”
“He was released,” Inari revealed, leaning forward.
“When?” Dane questioned.
“Recently, I guess. He showed up at my job the other night when I was leaving. He wants to see you. If that’s something you want.” Inari twirled her beer bottle on the table.
Dane reclined in his seat across from her, slowly chewing on his second bite.
Inari watched him taking her in before looking off to the side.
She’d raised him, but Danilo still had an influence over Dane that maybe even he wasn’t aware of.
There was a possibility that she wasn’t all the way wrong about her fear of him turning into his father.
Hell, she was no angel either. Dane was kept shielded from a lot, and that was in large part because of Ayla.
Inari could admit she relied on her sister far too much as a child.
She was one herself and didn’t have a soul she could trust. Mira helped her get money, and on some level she banked on her, but she knew from firsthand experience that she would as quickly help you do some dirt then use it against you for her own benefit.
“What you think?” Dane’s voice dragged Inari from her thoughts.
“It’s not about what I think,” she quipped. “I have arranged to see him later.”
“Why?” Dane sloped forward again and leaned into his arm on the table.
“Because I set aside some cash for him while he was locked up. Something he could come home to.”
“Why would you do that? I thought you couldn’t stand him.”
“Not because of who he is, but because of what he did,” Inari voiced in frustration. “For leaving me to hold shit down when I had no idea what I was doing. I was forced into a lot of shit to keep us all together, and I was the same age as you.”
“I know you might not have liked it, but you did what you had to do, Ma. Look at us now. Ayla ain’t gotta be out there on the pole or doing no ratchet stuff.
I can go to school and get my education and play ball without stressing about bills.
You helped us do that. So, I don’t want you worrying about that.
You deserve to be happy, to have a life outside of the auction house and us.
Don’t you ever think about that?” Dane queried.
“It’s been a long time since I have,” she whispered, dropping her eyes to the table.
“I mean, I guess I can see him.” Her son shrugged. “See what he’s on. You gon’ be cool with that?”
“I just want you to be careful, and don’t set your expectations too high,” she suggested. “I’ll give him your number, and you two can decide what to do from there. I won’t interfere in your relationship with him unless I feel like it’s going to harm you in some way.”
“That’s fair,” Dane agreed.
A couple of hours later…
“Damn.” Danilo whistled, peering into the bag Inari handed him.
“That’s half a million,” she rounded up for him, leaning against her black and white Mercedes SL Maybach roadster.
Arms tucked across her chest, legs crossed in front of her, she watched Danilo grin and lick his lips.
“I also put some in a trust for Dane when he’s twenty-five and Ayla too. The rest I put in other stocks and investment properties. I’m building a private collection, which I will use to stock my own auction house in the near future,” she explained.
Danilo was impressed. He always knew Inari had some grit and hustle in her, but he had no idea she could boss up the way she had.
She was smart enough not to be flashy. Keeping their family home and renovating it was perfect.
Her car was probably the most expensive thing she’d ever purchased, and she only pushed the Mercedes when she felt like flossing.
Her Lexus truck was her everyday ride. She’d earned it all as far as she was concerned and refused to feel bad about it.
“I appreciate it, Nari. Real talk. I know you mad at me and resent me for getting jammed up, but you holding it down lets me know I did right by choosing you to have my son.”
With a blank stare, Inari scoffed and pushed herself off the car.
It was some backhanded shit if she’d ever heard any.
She’d spent years without Danilo, and that put a lot into perspective for her.
It was both a blessing and a curse. She’d never say she regretted Dane, but having him so young forced her to grow up.
Danilo going to jail put her in a position of adulthood that she had to roll with and figure out without any real guidance.
Mira only loved what she could do for her, which was make money.
“I talked to Mira.” Danilo’s voice broke into her thoughts, and he picked his head up to look her in the eye.
“Oh, yeah? How’s she doing?”
“She’s good. I talked to her about putting me on.”
“You just got out of jail, D. Really?” she tested, a frown carved into her face.
“How does this work exactly? Dane agreed to see you and give you a chance, by the way. I told him I would give you his number, so you two could figure that out, but if all you’re doing is setting him up for further disappointment, don’t even fucking bother. ”
“Whoa.” He reached for her arm when she turned to pull her driver’s door open, making her face him. “I ain’t that same nineteen-year-old out here, Nari. I did my time, and I didn’t waste it while I was in there either. I ain’t stupid.”
“Sounds pretty fucking dumb to me. I just gave you half a million dollars. You mean to tell me you can’t find something else to do?”
“Not something that pays this fucking good.” He aimed a finger at the bag.
“It won’t be what you’re used to, but so what, Danilo? Is that all that really matters to you? What about our son? He barely knows you—”
“Yeah, and you didn’t exactly help keep us in touch over the years,” he mumbled.
“You’re not about to put that shit on me!” Inari spat. “I was still a fucking kid! I couldn’t risk coming to see you and people asking me questions. I did everything I could to keep me, Dane, and Ayla out of the fucking system!”
“I know.” Danilo sighed. “I ain’t dissing you.”
“It sounds like you’re trying to lay blame at my feet. Make that shit make sense. It wasn’t just Mira putting money on your books, contrary to what you believe, and when you did call, I talked to you. Might not have been no jailhouse romance like you wanted, but what the fuck did you expect?”
“You right, aight. I don’t want to keep going back and forth about it either. Can I have my son’s phone number, please?”
“Give me your phone.” She held her hand out, and he placed his device in her palm.
“Don’t do anything to get yourself removed from his life again, D.
” Inari typed Dane’s number in his contacts and saved it before peering up at him.
“I mean anything. I don’t want you so much as jaywalking when he’s around.
It’s bad enough he went out and got this damn tattoo without telling me. ”
“Oh shit, his first tatt? You know I was sixteen when I got mine.”
“Yeah, I’m aware,” she grumbled. “I let his ass have it, too.”
Danilo chuckled and shook his head.
“What did he get?”
“My name,” Inari told him.
“That’s what’s up.” He bobbed his head. “From what I know, he’s a good kid, though, Nari. You ain’t gotta worry about him turning out like me. Unlike my situation, he got a good mama. You kept him from the streets because you already knew they would eat him up. Can’t be mad at that.”
“Whatever you’re doing out here, be careful. The game has changed. So have the players.”
“That’s the thing, you know more about this shit than me at this point. When I went to Mira, she said the only way she would put me on is if you came with me.”
“Well, that’s not happening. I got too much to lose this time, and unlike when I was fifteen, I don’t need the money. So, tell Mira thanks, but no thanks.”
“It wouldn’t be a permanent situation, Nari. Just long enough for me to prove to her that I can do this shit.”
“It’s not my job to help prove anything, D. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.” Inari climbed into the driver’s seat and shifted into drive, so she could pull off.
Danilo stood with his feet in the gravel, staring after her as she drove away.
She might have said no this time, but he’d have to figure out a way to pull her back in.
Not just for him. Mira made it clear she needed someone solid who knew how to flip work effortlessly, and Inari checked all the boxes.
He didn’t necessarily want to pull her into it either because he felt like Mira was shading him.
She thought Inari could out hustle him and must have forgot who the fuck he was.
One way or another, he was going to remind motherfuckers in Ree Heights who he was.
He spent all that time in prison, thinking about getting right and making things work with Inari and his son.
He wasn’t going to give that up for anybody.
Inari would also see that he was about his shit this time around.
So, he had to get with his crew and figure some things out.