15. DaVinci
15
DaVinci
G azing out of the floor to ceiling window, I studied River as she sat at the shore with the waves crashing against her feet. We had been in Seychelles for two days, and she still hadn’t acknowledged my existence. Lake did his part by getting her there, but I knew she was pissed that I was there as well. We had a family dinner last night that she chose to leave the moment she saw my black ass sitting at the table.
“Go talk to her,” Clo wrapped her arms around my waist and peppered kisses across my back.
“Baby, I don’t—”
“Vinny,” she walked around and stood in front of me. “Don’t think, just do, remember?” She stood on her tip toes and kissed me a few times. “Go.”
Expelling a troubled sigh, I ran my hands over my waves and then slid the patio door open. Taking the stairs down that led to our private beach, I attempted to calm my nerves. Next to Clo, River was the most important woman in my life. She was the only other person in the world that could make me nervous. Her back was turned to me, so she had no idea that I had walked up or was standing there. Or so I thought.
“DaVinci, please just stop,” her voice came out shaky.
“I can’t do that, Ri,” I countered, glad that she was at least talking. I took a seat on the white sand next to her. “You’re my only sister. I will go to hell and back for you and you know that.”
She kept her face turned away from me, but I could see that she was aimlessly staring at the ocean as if it had the answers to her problems. “Some days, it feels like I’m already in hell.”
That broke my heart, but I had to keep my emotions in check so that this conversation could be as productive as possible. Hesitantly, I reached for her hand and covered it with mine. When she didn’t pull away, I gently wrapped my fingers around her hand.
“I’m not gon’ pretend to know what you’re going through, River. If you feel like you’re in hell, I’m coming in after you to pull you back out,” I assured her with my voice cracking as a few tears fell. Ever since I got married to Clo’s ass, tears seemed to be a normal thing for me. “I’m sorry.”
Her head snapped in my direction, and I saw she had tears of her own. She scooted closer to me and laid her head on my shoulder. All bets were off at that point. The tears fell from my eyes rapidly while I hugged her tightly and rocked her back and forth.
“Why did he do that to me?” She sobbed hard with her entire body shaking.
Scraping the skin above my upper lip with my bottom teeth, I sniffled and held her a little tighter. “I don’t know. I won’t lie like I understand it. That shit was sick, and it wasn’t your fault, River. Whatever you think, however you feel, just know that none of it was your fault.”
Returning the gesture, she wrapped her arms around me and sobbed. I wanted to absorb every ounce of her hurt so that she never had to hurt again.
“I love you so much, River, and I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry that I reminded you what happened,” I apologized after my tears slowed down a little.
“It’s not your fault, Vinny. I needed to know it. I needed to face those demons,” she spoke quietly.
“You don’t have to face them alone. Whatever you need from me, I’m here. Even if you just need to scream. We can scream. You wanna do that right now?” I offered.
She giggled and tapped my chest, finally looking up at me. “No, I don’t wanna scream, but if I ever need to, I know where to find you. Lake told me you paid for this trip too, so thank you.”
“You never have to thank me, big head,” I kissed her forehead. “I’m glad you’re still alive, River.”
“Me too. Now, I know you, so I want you to know that me trying to take myself up outta here wasn’t your fault. Don’t carry that guilt with you. Mentally, I just couldn’t process anything and since he’s already dead, I took it out on you. That wasn’t fair to you, and I apologize.”
“Your apology isn’t necessary either. As long as we’re good, then that’s all I’ll ever need in this life, Riv.”
The sound of the waves was the perfect silence filler as we sat there holding on to each other. I was happy when me and Lake made up, but I was beyond ecstatic now that River and I had. I knew that sooner or later, Lake and I would get back right. Our egos tended to keep us at odds for longer than we really needed to be. With River though, we were never at odds, so it scared me shitless to even think that she would never talk to me again.
“Finally!” Lake’s ignorant ass shouted from behind us.
Turning slightly, I saw him walking in our direction with Blaise in his arms. I chuckled and stood up, helping River to her feet as well.
“Y’all gotta watch him real quick while I go kill Brooke,” he huffed, shoving Blaise into my arms without my permission. “Happy to see that the trio is back together though.”
“What did Brooke do?” River quizzed, her voice laced with confusion and concern.
“This muthafucka talking about she going out with some African ass nigga that she met this morning. Her and that nigga got me fucked up!”
“Says the nigga who wanted to bring thirty bitches to fuck on this trip…” I reminded him, pulling my chain out of Blaise’s mouth.
“That’s me . I can do that. This my birthday trip. It’s supposed to be about me!”
“Us,” River corrected.
He sucked his teeth and waved her off. “Whatever. Me, us, doesn’t matter, all I know is she think she getting some mandingo dick tonight and that shit ain’t happening!”
Ri and I exchanged glances before we both broke out into a deep laughter.
“Awh I see. Y’all think it’s funny that my baby momma ‘bout to get her pussy broken by another nigga?” His eyes angrily shifted between both of us.
“Lake, you better leave whoever that man is alone. He African, he might put a lil’ hex on you,” Riv teased while still laughing.
“And I’ll put a lil’ bullet in his ass,” he frowned and then turned around, rushing off as fast as the sand would allow him.
River stuck her arms out. “Give me Blaise. You go stop him because you know how him and Brooke can get.”
I nodded, fully aware that Brooke was a livewire when she wanted to be. Generally, she kept shit cute and calm but if Lake pushed the right button, then they’d go at it like two boxers fighting to defend their title. Things never got physical between them but that was usually because someone was there to break them up. I can’t say with 100% certainty that Brooke wouldn’t throw a punch or two to shut Lake’s ass up.
Following in the direction he’d headed, I tried to remember which villa was his and Brooke’s. It took me twenty seconds to figure it out when I heard their raised voices. Stepping up onto their patio, I slid the door open and walked inside.
“DaVinci, you better get your brother before he ends up floating in the damn ocean!” Brooke demanded once she spotted me coming into the living room area.
“And who gon’ put me there? Brooke, you sound crazy as fuck!” Lake shouted as I stepped in between them.
“Maybe my new boo,” she teased with a satisfied smirk on her face.
Lake lunged in her direction, but I pushed him back. “C’mon. Come take a walk with me.”
“Y’all always taking her side! Nah, fuck that! ‘Cause the second I walk out, she think she going to see the African booty scratcher!” He fumed, staring directly at her.
“Aight, well, lemme talk to Brooke. You step outside, cool off for a minute while I talk to her,” I tried to reason with him.
His nostrils were so damn wide, I could see all the way to China in there. That told me he was livid, and it was somewhat impossible to get him to chill when he was on that level. It seemed like they were in the longest stare-off until he yanked away from me and went outside like I asked.
“I don’t want to hear it, DaVinci,” she immediately dismissed me, going into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of tequila.
“Brooke, this is supposed to be a chill family trip,” I complained, sliding a hand down my face in annoyance.
“Tell that to Lake! He started this shit when he asked me last night if he could bring some bitch in here to fuck. Around our son?!” She rolled her eyes, pouring herself a shot.
“Lake said you be cool with that kinda shit.”
Her eyes popped right as she lifted the shot glass to her lips. “Cool with what ?!”
“Y’all fuckin’ bitches together.”
“I barely want to fuck Lake, so do you really think Ima fuck a bitch with him?” She threw back the shot and grimaced as she swallowed. “I’m so sick of his finicky ass. One minute he wants me all to himself, the next he don’t care what I do, and then the next he wanna be disrespectful. If he wants to fuck twenty bitches in a day, DaVinci, that is his prerogative, but to suggest bringing a strange bitch around our son? He got me fucked up.”
I loved them both, but I really didn’t want to be mixed up in their bullshit ass drama. I was finally out of my own, so the last thing I wanted was to be added into some shit that had nothing to do with me.
“You’re right, I’ll talk to him about that. In the meantime, please don’t go get dicked down by the mandingo ass nigga. Please,” I pressed my hands together and shook them in a pleading manner.
Rolling her eyes again, she prepared herself another shot. “There isn’t even a mandingo nigga for me to go see. I just said that shit to piss him off the way he pissed me off.”
Shaking my head and laughing, I retreated from their villa and returned to the beach, finding him and River still there. River agreed to walk Lake back to the villa, just to make sure he didn’t instigate another argument. I promised to come check on them after I went to see what Clover was up to. Being away from her too long made my fuckin’ skin burn.
“Baby,” I lowly spoke, walking into the bedroom of our villa and seeing her laid out across the bed with a towel half-way covering her.
From the steam that was escaping the bathroom and the smell of her strawberry body wash that permeated the air, it was obvious she had just taken a shower. The shower must’ve made her tired because baby girl was knocked out. Part of me wanted to get a lil’ taste of my favorite flavor, but I decided to let my baby sleep.
Sending a text to Lake and River, I made sure they were straight before taking my clothes off and taking a shower myself. We had an entire day planned tomorrow to do some sightseeing and shopping around the island, so the rest was much needed. Plus, I was still jet lagged like a muthafucka, and I’m sure Clo was too. I went into the kitchen, grabbed a cup and filled it with ice, and sat it on the nightstand. Ensuring everything was locked after my shower, I repositioned Clo Baby on the bed and cuddled up with her.
“Bae?” Her sleepy voice filled my ears just as I started to fall asleep.
I kissed the side of her face. “Yes?”
“You and River good?”
“We’re perfect, mamas. Thank you for the push and giving me the courage to go talk to her,” I honestly expressed. Had it not been for Clover at that exact moment, I probably would’ve stood there for hours watching River. “Are you good? You need some water or ice or anything?”
“Ouu, bae, please, if you don’t mind, can you get me a cup of ice?”
“Mmhmm,” I sat up slightly, picked up the cup and handed it to her. “Here you go.”
“You already had this in here?” She sat up as well and looked at me.
I laid back down and nodded. “Yup. I told you that you are going to have a stress-free pregnancy, Clo. That means, as your husband, anticipating your wants and needs. That’s why I bought all of them damn cookies and cream bars to bring with us. That’s why I pick out all of the green Skittles in the bag and eat them before I give them to you. Whatever I have to do to ensure a happy, healthy, and smooth pregnancy for you, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
“Damn I got lucky as hell with you,” she murmured, swiping away the few tears that had ran from her eyes. “I love you so much,” she leaned down and kissed me.
“I love you, too. Now hurry up and eat yo ice so we can lay down and play footsies and go to sleep,” my eyebrows playfully furrowed together.
Simpering, she shook a few pieces of the crushed ice into her mouth and then passed the cup to me. I placed it back on the nightstand and she returned to her fetal position, nestling her body into mine. Sprinkling kisses on the back of her neck and shoulder, our feet rubbed against one another until we fell asleep. I could sleep so much more peacefully knowing that everything was finally how it should be.
My wife was healthy and happy, my siblings and our bond was stronger than ever, and I no longer had my mother breathing down my neck about bullshit all the time. There wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t miss Randall, but we are all living on borrowed time. His time ran out sooner than I would’ve hoped for, unfortunately. I was grateful for the time I did have with him and all of our memories. Now, I had my daughter’s birth to look forward to. And the day Lucky Rose Pierre made her entrance into the world was gonna be the greatest day of my life.