The Owner of My Soul Vol 1: Prologue, Chapter I and Chapter II
PROLOGUE
3 YEARS LATER
Almost three years have passed since that beautiful
moment. Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better, I was surprised.
Tierra began walking at 5 months, which scared the hell outta me. Her first
words were “Daddy” before she turned 2 months. Her one-year birthday party was
off da grid map, fa shizzle. Now being two years old, her vocabulary is so
advanced. Reminds me of myself when I was a lil baby. She’s almost completely
potty trained, so she’s making her way to underwear. Monique and I are doin
fabulously, may try to have another child. Will, C-Lo (Chris), DT (Andre), and
myself all still live together with our wives and children. Will and Beyonce
named their daughter Karla Danielle Smith. Chris and Latoya named their son
Damion Rozell Lopez. Andre and Yvonne named their son Jermaine Evant Thompson.
We always call him JET.
Business-wise, everything is goin off da chain.
Will and I began our business by opening 10 department stores to compete with
Wal-Mart. He owns the five on the west side and I own the five on the east.
Each store is either as big as Wal-Mart or bigger. Each one is a supercenter
that’s open 24 hrs, has a large grocery store, and offers everything. When I
say everything, I mean EVERYTHING!!! It’s like a mall. We called the chain Da Zone and looking
to open more across the city and nation. Each store also has its own gas
station, auto center, and car dealership. The only cars available for purchase
are SJ models. Yea, Dad and Uncle Tevin are in the car making business. Go
figure.
The entertainment industry caught more good
performances from us. Starting with the small screen, we started a few series
that were rated best shows on TV. Those series are still goin on today. We took
over the box office once again, releasing five movies. First was our first
horror movie called Twin
Demise. Remember, a script was bein formulated last you heard. We both were
the killas. Our weapons were swords, flamethrowers, and a twelve-gauge shotty.
We won Best Horror, and Best Villains. Next was our comedy called Blaze it Up. That won
best Comedy and Will won Best Actor. Afta that, we released our first movie
that pitted us against each other called Torment. This two-part movie raked in the most money
out of all our releases because everyone wanted to see us go against each
other. It won Best Picture, Will won Best Villain, I won Best Actor, and we won
16 other awards. Our two action movies released afta that. One being called Demon Tribune. In this movie, we were demon
slayers. It won a few awards too. Our final release was the much anticipated Cross
Fire II. It won 20
awards and all type of shit. This is the earnings list:
1. Twin Demise- Opening Day- $25
billion, Total of $35 trillion.
2. Blaze it Up- Opening Day- $22.8
billion, Total of $33 trillion.
3. Torment- Opening Day- $204.34
billion, Total of $740 trillion.
4. Torment II- Opening Day- $456.8
billion, Total of $990 trillion.
5. Demon Tribune- Opening Day- $19.2
billion, Total of $27 trillion.
6. Cross Fire II- Opening Day- $238.9
billion. Total of $856 trillion.
As for my basketball career, things are goin better
than ever. I was the #1 pick overall and Will was #2. We both went to the
Cavaliers. Since our arrival, we’ve already won two championships, becoming the
first team to ever be undefeated in not just one season, but two. It has been
said that the past 3 seasons were the most competitive seasons in NBA history.
The next 10 years will be even more competitive. At least, that’s what they
say. Chris and Andre have already led the Browns to two Super Bowls after being
drafted #1 and #2. Things are goin so well that now I actually believe things
can’t get any better. Hell, with the roll I’m on, I doubt things can start to
turn bad. You’ll see that I’m beyond wrong.
CHAPTER I
FAMILY MAN
Sunlight
brightened my room on a beautiful Saturday morning. I opened my eyes and looked
down at my beautiful wife lying on my chest. I kissed her forehead. She moved
and started rubbing my stomach.
“Morning,
baby.” I said to her.
“Morning
to you, too, sexy.” Monique said to me. I kissed her on the lips. She smiled
and laid her head back down on my chest. I then heard Tierra call for me. “Your
daughter wants you.” She joked.
“You’re
just mad that she neva calls you.” I joked back.
“Ouch
baby, talk about a low blow.” She said, smiling. I smiled, kissed her and went
into Tierra’s room. “What’s wrong, Angel?” I asked her.
“I
go potty.” She replied.
“I
see... I can smell ya.” I joked. “What you been eatin stink bottom?”
“I
not stink. You can’t smell me.”
“Uh
huh.” I lifted her up and tickled her. She laughed and said “uh-uh.” I laid her
on the bed and started changing her diaper.
“I’ll
eventually go in a potty during the night.” She said.
“I’m
sure you will. Gotta minimize your drinking at night.”
“Yes,
sir.”
“Iight,
I’ll regulate things for ya. What kind of pull-up do you want?”
I
laid out her options and let her choose. She picked one out and handed it to
me. I put it on her and picked her up. We went into my room. We got on the bed
and looked at Monique. She was knocked out cold.
“Mommy
sleepin?” Tierra whispered to me.
“Yea,
Mommy’s rude. I say we wake her up.” I suggested.
“I
agree.” Tierra got up and started jumping on the bed. “Wake up, Mommy.” She
yelled. Monique popped up and grabbed Tierra. She started tickling her. Tierra
laughed and laughed.
“Say
uncle.” Monique told her.
“Never.
Daddy, help!” She said, still laughing.
“As
you wish, princess.” I grabbed Monique’s arms and let Tierra tickle her.
Monique laughed hysterically.
“Uncle,
uncle, you win.” She said, still laughing. Tierra stopped tickling her and
started doin her victory dance.
“Break
it down, do what I taught you.” I told her. She did her dance and threw her
arms across her chest.
“Who’s
my bitch?” She said. I was rollin. Monique wasn’t feelin that.
“Don’t
tell me you taught her that?” Monique asked.
“What?”
“I
don’t want her talking like that.”
“Awwww,
well, you don’t have anything to worry bout. Tierra knows not to say it.” At
that moment, there was a knock on my door. I got up and answered it. It was
Will, Karla, and Beyonce. “Will, my nigga.”
“K-Dawg,
my….dogg.” I gave him dap.
“What’s
goin on pimp?”
“Shit,
just livin.” I looked down and picked up Karla. I gave her a big hug.
“Hey
sweetie, how’s my niece today?”
“I’m
fine,” she replied with innocence, “how are you Uncle Kenny?”
“I’m
iight.” I put her down. Netta is ova dare. Y’all can go to her room.
“Otay.
Tank you, Uncle Kenny.” She said, smiling.
“You’re
welcome baby.” I watched her and Tierra run in the room. “So, what brings you
to my side of town?”
“We
bout to hit da mall and wanted to know if you rollin.” Will asked.
“Let’s
find out.” I looked at Monique.
“I
don’t see why not.” She replied. “When are y’all goin?”
“Like
5 mins ago.” Beyonce said.
“Iight,
do y’all mind watchin Tierra while we get dressed.” I asked.
“Depends,
how long y’all gon be?” Will asked.
“We
won’t take long.” I said smiling. I started getting my clothes out and laying
em on the bed. Monique was already in the bathroom. I went in and got
undressed.
“Took
you long enough.” She said as she peeked outside the shower.
“I
had to make you wait fa something.” I got in the shower with her. She embraced
me.
“Thank
you.” She whispered.
“Fa
what?” I asked softly.
“Making
me the luckiest woman alive.”
“Well,
I do what I can.” I smiled and looked into her eyes. Water glistened all over
her body. I bent down and kissed her as passionate as I could. As we got into
it, I picked her up and wrapped her legs around me. Carrying her, I sat down
and let her do her thang. Unfortunately, she was kinda loud.
“Aye,
nig, quit beatin dat shit up and come…” Will yelled. Before he finished, I
yelled back to him.
“One
big nut, comin up.” I joked. I finished up. She got up and kissed me.
“No
matter how many times we do it, it’ll always be magic.” She stated.
“Yea
that you can still stand is magic.” I joked.
“Ha,
ha, ha, very funny.” We continued showering.
We
got out the shower and dried off.
“Baby?”
“Yes,
Mo?” I continued greasing my scalp.
“When
are we going to integrate accounts?” I stopped and looked at her.
“Excuse moi?”
“You
heard me. When are you goin to add me to your account?”
“Ummmm,
I don’t know.”
“You
did have intentions on doin that, right?”
“Not
really.”
“Why
not?”
“It’s
a difficult process, there’s a lot of paperwork, and legal stuff to go
through.”
“Just
to add me to your account?”
“Yeah,
my account is very complex. We’re lookin at a 7 day process.”
“You’re
kidding.”
“Nah,
I’m serious.”
“I
still want to do it though.” I paused and then continued with my scalp. “Please
baby, can you think about it?”
“Yea,
sure, why not.” I finished my scalp and trimmed my goatee. “Why do you want to
integrate, anyway?”
“Why
not? It’ll make us feel more married than we are.”
“If
you say so.”
“Could
you do it for us?”
“Iight.”
I kissed her and left the bathroom. I sat on my bed and began getting dressed.
Will sat next to me.
“Your
daughter is something else.” He said to me. I smiled and nodded.
“You’re
right about that.” I looked at Tierra as she played with Karla. “She’s my
world. My new reason for livin.”
“We’ve
been married for 3 years, any problems?”
“Nope,
you?”
“Not
a one.” He looked down at his feet and back at me. “Has Monique asked you about
adding her to your accounts?”
“Yea,
befo I got out hea.” I told him.
“Beyonce
asked me this morning. Whatcha thank?”
“I
told her I’ll think about it, but there’s really no chance in hell.”
“I
feel ya, Dad always warned us about doin that.”
“Ya
dig. Although Ma is on all of his stuff.”
“True.
I’mma wait it out. I’ve been getting bad fillins lately.”
“You
too, nigga? Shit fa da past couple nights, I’ve been getting nuttin but bad
fillins. All I know is the future will change.” I told him.
“Fo
sho.” I stood up and put on my pants. “You know C-Lo and Dre will be back
tomorrow night.” He said.
“Yea,
afta their game in St. Louis
“Well,
Dre wants us to have a barbecue for their welcome home get together.”
“How
cute.” I put on my shirt and threw on some smell good. “Aye, dawg, any signs
you get, don’t ignore them.”
“You’re
treadin water, pimp. I’m not spinnin on air, I’m very aware of a lot of thangs
that’ll decipate.” He replied. I nodded. Monique finally came out the bathroom,
fully dressed.
“Did
you get Tierra dressed?” She asked me.
“Bout
to now.” I said as I finished tying my shoes. I stood up and looked at Tierra.
“Come on, Netta, let’s get you dressed.”
“Ok.”
She said. She jumped up, ran to me, took my hand, and led me to her room. “I
chose what I wanna wear.”
“Iight
let me see it.” She showed me a short set that I bought her last week. It had
Lola and Bugs Bunny on it. The shirt itself was white and the shorts are pink.
The ears of Lola and Bugs are outlined with real diamonds instead of glitter.
“I
also wanna wear these shoes.”
She
pulled out a new pair of pink and white Reebok Classics that I bought her a
month ago. She hasn’t worn them yet.
“Sounds
good to me, sweetie. But let’s try saying that in proper grammer. Don’t want ya
turning into your illiterate father.” I said.
“I
would like to wear these shoes please.” She said with a big smile.
“That’s
my girl.” I grabbed her clothes and took her hand. We went into her bathroom.
“What you do in daycare yesterday?”
“I
wrote a story.”
“Is
dat ri?”
“Yep.”
She put up her arms as I took off her shirt.
“You
wrote a story and haven’t shown me yet?”
“I
was goin to show you during Daddy Time.” She said smiling.
Daddy Time
is the time me and her have every weekend except during the basketball season.
We do anything she wants to do, no ifs, ands or buts.
“Why
you didn’t show me last night then?” I said, smiling.
“We
were having fun.” She got completely undressed and hopped in the tub. “It’s not
proper to interrupt fun with a story. That’s just mean, man.”
I
laughed and said, “How right you are. Ok, well I want you to read it to me
tonight.”
“Ummmm,
I don’t know.” She said giggling.
“You
don’t know?”
“Nope.”
“Well,
ya better figure it out quick, little girl.”
“I’ll
think about it.”
“Oh
you’ll think about it, huh? Fair enough.” I started washing her.
“You
wanna know what’s it about?”
“Of
course.”
“It’s
about you silly, billy, crunch bar.” She said. I started laughing.
“Why
am I a crunch bar?”
“I
don’t know. First thing that came to mind.”
“Fine
then, you’re a Milky Way.”
“Uh-uh,
you’re a Milky way.”
“Nope,
I already said you are.” I finished washing her. “Iight, you’re all clean and
smellin good. Time to get out.” She stood up. I wrapped a towel around her and
picked her up. “Are you ready for your test?”
“Yes,
sir.”
“Aight.
What’s your full name?”
“Tierra
Annetta Johnson.”
“What’s
my name?”
“Kenneth
Day’quan Johnson.” She started putting on her underwear.
“Good.
What’s my number?”
“(440)510-6971.”
“That’s
my girl. How old are you?”
“3
years old.”
“When’s
your birthday?”
“Ummm….
August 21, 2103 .”
“What’s
your social?”
“357-
I do-not know.” She laughed, as did I due to the fact she said it like anyone
would say their social. She lifted her arms to put her shirt on.
“I
didn’t expect you to.”
“I
want to though.”
“I’ll
write it down for you.”
“Thank
you. I bet you I’ll know it by next weekend.” She proclaimed.
“Bet,
what you givin up?”
“If
I win, you have to get me that $600 play set I want.”
“If
I win?”
“Then
I don’t get any Christmas presents.”
“Deal.”
We shook hands. I grabbed her stool so she could brush her teeth.
“Where
we goin, Daddy?”
“To
the mall.”
“Which
one?”
“Prolly
Lake City
“I
like that one.”
“Good,
cuz that’s the one we’re goin to.”
She
finished brushin her teeth.
“All
done.”
“Iight
lets go put your socks and shoes on.” She got down from her stool, put it
against the wall and grabbed her shoes and put em on.
“Good
so far. You finally have them on the right foot.” I teased.
“Don’t
make fun of me.” She said, smiling. I watched her tie her shoes and smiled as
she did em right.
“That’s
my gurl.” I picked her up and kissed her. “L’eggo.” I put her dirty clothes in
the basket and went into the living room. Monique and Beyonce were in the
kitchen. Will and Karla were playing peek-a-boo. “Aye, yo, let’s bounce.” I
grabbed my keys and stood by the door. I watched everyone go out and looked at
Tierra. “Remember how to lock the door?”
“Yes.
I press this button and this one.” She pressed the buttons and the door closed
and locked.
“Good
deal.” We got on the elevator and went to the car. “Which one you wanna ride
in?” I asked Tierra.
“That
one.” She pointed to my brand new 2108 Mazda RX-Dub. It was black with a black
leather interior. Personally my favorite car.
“Excellent
choice my dear.”
I
unlocked the door and started the car with my remote key starter. I put her in
her car seat and opened the door for Monique. She kissed my cheek. I closed her
door and got in on my side.
“Iight,
let’s get this thang rollin.” I said as I pulled out into the courtyard and
waited on Will.
“I’mma
follow you, pimp.” He yelled to me.
“It’s
on.” I yelled back.
I led the way to Lake City Mall, which is a
half hour away from us. Lake City was located on the far east of Cleveland
“What
were we comin here for?” Will asked Beyonce.
“You
were talking bout getting anotha TV at the SJ store.” She replied.
“Fa
sho.”
“Uh
oh, electronics upgrade.” I stated. “Looks like we’re goin to be spending a
grip of money.” I said to Monique.
“That
reminds me, we need to go grocery shopping.” She told me.
“Fa
sho.”
We
finally made it into the mall and went straight to the SJ Superstore. Yea, you
guessed it. SJ Enterprise has an electronic store chain. Over 500,000
worldwide. The only place you can find and buy movie theater size screens.
“Baby,
you and Will can do this. I wanted to get Tierra some more clothes.” Monique
said.
“Didn’t
you get her clothes yesterday?” Iasked.
“Yea,
but I need to get her more short sets.”
“Sure,
by all means.” I looked at Tierra, “go with Mommy, Netta. Daddy has to do some
shoppin.”
“I
wanna stay with you.” She whined.
“Awww,
I know, baby, but you have to go get some clothes. Don’t worry, I’ll come get
you.”
“Otay.”
I kissed her and put her down. Monique took her hand and walked out the store.
“Let’s
do dis.” Will said to me.
I
nodded and we went to work. I bought a 200” in wall TV with state of the art
entertainment systems. It included 25 cordless speakers, 5 sub woofers, DMD
Player, digital media storage (downloads and records all digital media types), MP3
player, video camera, and Direct TV. I also bought 3 notebook computers by SJ
Enterprise. Each computer has a DMD player/RW, hard drive space equivalent to
600 billion GBs, untouchable speed and beautiful picture resolution. Since SJ
Enterprise now owns Microsoft, Windows is still used. I also bought a Nintendo
2106, X-Box Dime, SJ GT, Game Boy Superior (2 of em), 50 games each, and a new
cell phone. I also got Tierra a 10’ x 10’ in wall TV. It all came up to about
$30 million. All to be delivered and installed at 1630.
We
left the store and headed to the fountain in the center of the mall. I called
Monique.
“Babe,
how far along are you?” I asked her.
“We’re
bout to head that way in a minute.” She replied.
“It’s
on.” I hung up wit her as Will sat next to me on the bench.
“What
else is there we should get?” He asked me.
“Clothes
and shoes?”
“Got
too many as it is.”
“Then
nuttin.” At that moment, my eyes locked on to the most beautiful eyes I’ve seen
in a long time. “What the fuck?” I said to Will.
“What?”
He
then noticed what I was lookin at, but locked eyes wit the one she was walkin
wit. These two gurls were fine as hell. They had the total package, especially
sexy lips. They approached and stood right in front of us.
“Kenny
Johnson?” One of em asked me.
“Will
Smith?” The otha asked Will. We nodded.
“Damn
baby, I didn’t dream of you being this sexy up close and personal. My name is
Candi. I’m a big fan of yours.” She extended her hand to me. I shook her hand
gently and looked into her eyes.
“Nice
to meet you.”
“Please,
the pleasure is all mines.” She smiled. I couldn’t do nuttin but smile back.
This woman is straight gorgeous.
“So
what can I do for you, baby girl?”
“Well,
I’m glad you asked.” She sat down next to me. I turned towards her. “I realize
you’re married with a beautiful daughter. It’s not that I’m tryin to break up a
happy home, but you’re so damn sexy. You don’t have to say anything, just take
this.” She handed me her card. “Before you think negatively of me, I’ve never
been this outspoken. I’m not even that experienced. This is no trap, baby boi,
just a lil fun.”
“I’m
sorry, baby girl, but I can’t do it.” I told her.
“Just
hold on to that number. You can call me ANY time you want.” She stood up,
leaned over and looked me in the eyes. Her cleavage was nice to look at. “I’ll
be waiting for you.” She kissed my cheek and whispered into my ear, “Call me.”
As
they left, I watched the jiggle in Candi’s ass. Hmmmm, Will called my name
twice, but I was gone. He then nudged me.
“I
aint lookin at her ass.” I said.
“Good
to know, but I didn’t ask or can care less. I’mma hold on to this for a rainy
day.”
“Shit,
you? It’s already in my cell phone.”
“I
might have to bang that out.”
“Aye,
chill, chill, here come the gurls.” He turned around and saw them comin our
way. Monique had 3 big bags in hand.
“Daddy!!”
Tierra yelled as she ran to me.
“Hey,
youngsta.” I picked her up and kissed her. “You have fun with Mommy?”
“Yes,
I have 3 outfits.”
“That’s
it, just 3?” I looked at Monique.
“No,
baby, there’s actually 35 outfits I got for her.” She clarified.
“Word.”
I looked at my watch. “Well, it be 1345 now. My equipment will be at the crib
in 2 hours. What y’all wanna do?”
“I
would like to eat.” Tierra said to me as proper as can be. I smiled in
appreciation.
“Me
too.” Karla agreed.
“Food
we shall have. Whatcha want?” I asked.
“Ummm,
I want pizza, fries, and ice cream.”
“So
do I.” I agreed. I looked at Monique. “Whatcha want?”
“I’ll
have what y’all are havin.” She replied.
“Bet.
L’eggo to da food court.” We all walked to the food court. Monique held my hand
as I held Tierra, talking to her. “What do you wanna do when you grow up?”
“I
wanna be the first girl owner of SJ Enterprise.” I laughed.
“Is
that ri?”
“Yep.
I wanna be just like Grandma and own my own company.”
“You
know, she started that. Don’t you wanna start something?”
“I’on
know. I think so.”
“You
don’t know?”
“Nope,
sure don’t.” A brief moment of silence.
“Do
you like you’re room?”
“Ummm,
yes.”
“How
would you like it to be changed?”
“That
would be nice.” She replied.
I
nodded in approval. Another moment of silence passed.
“Daddy,
how long is Daddy Time tonight?”
“How
long do you want it to be?”
“I
wanna read my story, watch Aladdin, and play video games.”
“Sounds
good, baby girl.”
We
finally made it to the food court. We went to Anthony’s Pizza and ordered 2 XL
pizzas w/ pepperoni and extra cheese, a dozen cheese sticks, fries, and 2 dozen
hot wings. We grabbed a table and waited. I put Tierra in a chair next to me.
“I
need your honest opinion.” Monique said to me.
“Wassup
baby girl?”
“My
father wants me to run his new clothing line next month. It targets women with
body.”
“Uh
huh. What do you actually need my opinion on?”
“If
I should do it or not.”
“You’ve
been talking bout workin wit yo father for years. You finally have an
opportunity. What’s holdin you back?”
“The
fact is he has told me that there will be a lot of traveling involved.”
“How
much traveling?”
“About
2 weeks each month. Some months less, some months more.”
“Interesting.”
“Is
it possible we could actually work this out?” I then heard our order called.
“Sounds
more like you want my permission and not just my opinion. Hold that thought.” I
said as I started to stand.
Will
and I got up to get our food. We split the order in half. I put the food on the
table, got our drinks and sat back down.
I
continued, “This is the way I see it. I have basketball to worry about pretty
soon. In fact, we’ve been claimed to be the underdogs this year. Startin afta
Tierra’s birthday, I’m goin to be busy. That’s me, though. I’ll watch Tierra as
much as possible and if I can’t, I’ll have my mother watch her. If you want to
do this, by all means, do it.”
“Are
you sure?” She asked.
“Would
I tell you to if I wasn’t?”
“No,
you wouldn’t.”
“Why
do you travel so much anyway?”
“Presentations,
advertisements, shows, and openings. I’mma be traveling across the world.”
“Good
stuff.”
“So
I have your permission?”
“Fa
sho.”
“Thank
you sweetie.”
We
got back to the house with a half hour left before my equipment was to arrive.
I carried Tierra to her bed. The poor girl was knocked out. I kissed her and
closed her door. I then heard a truck outside. They were early, which is
wonderful. I met em downstairs and led em up.
“Iight,
I took the time to make the space. All ya have to do is install.”
“Yes
sir.” They immediately went to work. By 1730, they we’re done. “Alright, sir,
the details of your satellite are as follows: You have 125 movie channels, 150
music channels, 7 BET , 5 MTV, 50
cartoon stations, 75 pay per view channels, all local channels, and the rest
that you’d get with cable. The extra things you wanted are the NBA, NFL and MLB
season pass. All of this comes to a total of 1235 channels. You have 3
receivers. The receiver in your daughter’s room has your parental controls. Your
monthly bill is $345.”
“That’s
less than I thought.”
“You
have special discounts.”
“I
love discounts.”
“Now,
your internet is provided by SJ Networking. That is $10 a month. As for your
speakers, they’ve been set up accordingly and you’re all set.”
“Thank
you, sir.”
“All
I need is your signature here, here, and here.” I signed it and handed him a
grand.
“Keep
the change.” I told him, knowing it was free installation.
“Thank
you, Mr. Johnson. You have yourself a good day.”
“You
too, sir.” I let him out. Monique walked in seconds later.
“What
the hell?” She said as she saw the TV. I turned around.
“Where
you been?”
“I
was talking to my sister.” She looked absolutely astonished. “You’ve been quite
the busy one.”
“Yea,
well some thangs up in hurr just wasn’t cuttin it, ya dig?”
“I
see.” I had all my new video games hooked up to the TV. “So what are you bout
to do now?” Monique asked me. I walked to my bed and lied down.
“Sleep
sounds good.” I said as I closed my eyes. She walked ova to me and lied next to
me. I wrapped my arm around her.
“I
love you, Kenny.” She whispered to me.
“I
love you too.” I kissed her, passionately.
When
I woke up an hour later, Tierra was lookin right at me.
“What’s
wrong, Netta?” I asked her.
“I
wanna lay with you.” She said.
“Come
here, Angel.” She climbed into bed and lied on my chest. I kissed her forehead
and went back to sleep. I woke up two hours later to my phone ringing.
“Kenny,
whatcha doin?” Ma asked me when I answered.
“Chillin,
catchin me a couple Zs. What it is?”
“Your
father wanted me to tell you that he needs those documents.”
“He
said he was goin to pick em up.”
“Yea,
he’s on the way. He should be there in like 10 mins.”
“Iight.
Where you at?”
“I’m
at home. How’s everything?”
“Simply
divine.”
“That’s
good. How’s my granddaughter?”
“She’s
good. She’s sleeping now.”
“I
thought you were goin to bring her by?”
“You
said you had to work.”
“I
did, but as you can see, I’m not working now.”
“Yea,
my bad.” I smiled and looked at Tierra. “That’s my baby though. I don’t know if
I can let her go. She’s so adorable.”
“She
looks more like you then Monique.”
“Yea,
but she does have a few of Mo’s features.” I looked down at her. “At least I
think she does.”
“True,
but Tierra favors you more.”
“A
lil too much. Sometimes I think I had her all on my own.” I told her.
“I
think that sometimes too. You know, when I had your brother, people used to
think the same thing about him and your father.”
“I
remember that. KJ sometimes would get upset on how often he heard that.”
“Yea,
well, I had to tell him that he better get used to it cuz it wasn’t goin away.
But KJ’s problem wasn’t the fact he looked like Kevin. It was the fact you were
more like him than he was.”
“You
think so?”
“Oh
yea. Me and KJ talked about it a lot. I told him that it wasn’t goin to change
anytime soon.”
“Not
anytime in his lifetime.” I stated. “I was exposed to Dad a lot more than he
was.”
“Yes
you were. Tierra is somethin though. She’s modeled after you in so many
different ways.”
“I
agree.”
“Does
Monique still get jealous about how close y’all are?” She asked.
“You
have no idea. She sometimes has the mind set that she knows Tierra and what she
likes. Of course, I prove her wrong and it kills her.”
“She
has no choice but to get over it. Hell, after I left your father, when I came
back, I knew you were already gone. All I could do was try to establish a
different relationship with you. You’ve been there for Tierra since birth. She
missed Tierra’s birthday last year for whatever reason and Tierra hasn’t really
gotten over that.”
“You
think so?”
“Of
course. If you pay attention, you’ll see that Tierra doesn’t look at Monique
the same. Remember when she was 8 months?”
“Yea,
she didn’t really come to me that much.”
“She
wanted to be around her mother as much as possible. As you can see, she knows
that you will always be there for her so she neva wants to be away from you.”
“You
have a point.”
“Trust
me, sweetie, Tierra means as much to you as you do to her. You’re a very good
father, don’t forget that. Don’t make the same mistake as Kevin did raising
y’all.”
“You
mean don’t get caught up in work?”
“Exactly.”
I heard a knock at my door.
“Ma,
I’mma call you back. Dad’s here.”
“Iight
sweetie. Love you.”
“Love
you too.”
I
hung up the phone. I looked down at Tierra and smiled. I slowly picked her up
and lied her down next to Monique. I kissed her cheek and went to go answer the
door.
“Dad,
what it is, what it be like?”
“What’s
da biznazz?” He replied. I gave him dap.
“I
got those documents for ya.”
“That’s
what’s good.” We sat in the living room. “Now before we get into us as a whole,
how’s Da Zone doin?”
“We
surpassed Wal-Mart so badly, it’s like they don’t exist. We’ve sold a total of
6,000 cars, and made over a trillion dollars in the first quarter.” I told him.
“Damn.
How’d y’all do it?”
“I’on
know. We just did what you taught us. They worked pretty good I guess.”
“I
see. Iight, so tell me what we lookin like.”
“Iight,
here’s the glitch. R&D has confirmed release of protein shakes, creatine,
and 3 other performance enhancers by 17 Sep of this year.”
“Right.”
“Now,
that law suit on the faulty computer from Chicago
“Good
stuff.”
“The
deal on Whirlpool has been agreed to for $74.5 billion.”
“That’s
what I’m talking bout. Now what are our earnings for the second quarter?”
“For
Cleveland
“Damn,
that’s what I’m talking bout.”
“We
only spent $20 trillion.”
“That’s
it?”
“Yes,
sir.”
“What
about pay roll?”
“Pay
roll came out to $100 trillion.”
“Meaning
we’ve spent $600 trillion, half being on pay roll in the 2nd quarter?
Damn we’re good.”
“You
want to know the best part?”
“What’s
that?”
“Those
figures are just our products. That’s not including Uncle Tevin’s.”
“What?”
He was shocked. “What product made most of that?”
“Your
TV and laptop. The prices and quality were too good. People were buying them
together in huge quantity.” I told him.
“Now
what are our combined sales?”
“For
the 3 products combined, being the desktop computer branch, SJ GT branch, and
our networking branch, our total earnings is figured at $23.067 quadrillion.”
“Hot
damn.”
“Stock
went up $1,000,000; construction made $580 trillion, and everything is still
rising.”
“Amazing.
That’s off da chain.”
“You
did a hell of a job.”
“Well,
making you head of R&D and the Sales department definitely did the trick.”
I
paused and looked at the papers again. I skimmed through it and smiled.
“Shit.”
I said casually.
“What?”
“I
made a mistake.”
“Uh
oh. What the hell did you do?”
“I
gave you all the figures from last month. Not the total quarter.” I had a smile
on my face. “For the quarter, we made $250 johnsonions. All together, SJ
Enterprises pulled $59 john-smithion. Putting us at $300 john-smithion for the
year.” Dad was speechless. This is the most we’ve made in 3 years combined.
“When
you and Will take over, y’all will run the world.”
“We
learned from the best.”
“Now
you’re exceeding the best.” He grabbed the papers, “did you sign these?”
“Yea,
at the bottom.”
“Good
shit.”
“Dad,
can I ask you something?”
“Wassup?”
“Why
did you put Ma on all your accounts?”
“Cuz
I knew I’ll be with her for the rest of my life.”
“I
hope so.”
“I’m
becoming an old man. I ain’t got time to be chasing ass anymore. Besides, your
mother is still gorgeous. More than bitches half our age.”
“Yea,
I can’t disagree with you there. But aren’t you afraid that you might do
something that will cause her to leave you again?”
“You
don’t see it, but things are different with me and you mother.” He lied back
against the couch and perched his leg up on the coffee table. “See back then,
we used to fight a lot on shit that I kept from her.”
“You
mean you had secrets?”
“Not
necessarily just secrets. Just things that I should have told her but didn’t. I
was still set in my ways. So we got into shit a lot and I always come out
lookin like the bad guy. Pretty soon it all boiled over and she left me.”
“How
are things now?”
“Now
things are completely different. When we argue, it’s almost not even an
argument. It’s purely a discussion.”
“What
do you mean?” I wondered.
“Well,
last weekend we were supposed to go out. I got off work so late that the
restaurants were closed. I mean she got completely dressed up and everything.
Normally, she’d blow a gasket. I didn’t call or anything.”
“Oh
yea, she would be hot.” I agreed.
“I
walk in with roses and apologize. Not even with a raised voice she simply asked
why I was late. I tell her and she asks why I didn’t call and I tell her
that….the entire time, I’m waiting for her to blow up and it never comes.”
“Do
you know why it didn’t?”
“I
asked her. She said because she understands things a lot better than before.
She knows how busy I can be with work and your career and everything. She just
made me promise that I would at least call her. I mean I haven’t did that in
years…be late and not call, ya kno?”
“Yea,
I feel ya.”
“I
mean it’s things like that. I know for a fact I will not leave this woman. I
put my life on it.”
“How
do you know she won’t leave you?”
“It’s
in her eyes. I’m her everything and she knows it. She knows there will never be
another man like me. The only one that is like me is you.” He said.
“I
see what you mean.”
“So
why did you ask to begin with? Let me guess, Monique wants you to add her.”
“Yea,
she does. She asked me this morning.”
“Don’t
do it. It takes a month to process it all but she’ll be entitled to half of
EVERYTHING if and when y’all divorce.”
“We’re
not goin to divorce.”
“Really?”
“Yes,
really.”
“Do
you honestly feel that way?”
“I—”
I couldn’t really answer it.
“When
you look in her eyes, do you get the feeling that you’re her everything?” He
asked.
“I—”
I thought about it. “I used to, but not anymore.”
“Listen
to me, Kenny. Within the next couple of months, you may have a change of heart
and divorce Monique for someone else. Just to give you a heads up and all. Keep
your eyes peeled for her.”
“For
who?”
“All
I can tell you is someone from your past whom I’m very fond of.”
“What?”
“Yep,
she’s comin back and when you see her, you may leave Monique. So, I suggest not
doin anything irrational.”
“Well,
if you say so.”
“I
know so, pimp.” He looked at his watch. “I guess I should head back to the
crib. By the way, who is receiving all your assets?”
“Will.”
“I
know that, nigga, but whom is behind him?”
“No
one.”
“Maybe
you should put Tierra for now. Just in case you and Will have been takin out,
all yo shit goes somewhere, ya dig?”
“I
feel ya.” He stood up and walked to the bed. He looked at Tierra.
“There’s
no doubt that’s yo child.” He said shaking his head in amazement.
“Yea,
you’re right about that.” I agreed.
“Is
she anything like you?”
“She’s
more of me than Monique. She’s smarter than I ever was at her age.”
“Is
that possible?”
“I
didn’t think so, but it happened. She already has a dream of being the first
female owner of SJ Enterprise.”
“Out-freakin-standin.”
“You
should hear her talk. You can almost have a 100% complete intelligent, adult
conversation with her. It’s amazing.”
“Have
she asked you where babies come from?”
“Not
yet, but when she does, I’ll explain it to her just like you told me.”
“With
pictures and everything.”
“No
doubt.”
“Good
man.” He started walkin to the door. “Ya know I neglected to tell you. You’re
goin to soon have anotha niece.”
“Stop
playin.”
“I’m
dead serious.”
“Who
is actually pregnant?”
“Tracie.
She married the quarterback on the Browns. You’re the first to know.”
“Oh
yea, I know who you talkin bout. How far along is she?”
“Bout
two months.”
“Damn,
tell her I said congratulations. How do you know it’s goin to be a girl?”
“I
have a feelin.”
“Wow.
I don’t know what to say.”
Tracie
was the type that really didn’t want kids. For her to have one, that’s
unbelievable.
“You
marinate on that a lil bit. I’ll see you at the office on Monday.”
“Yes,
sir. I may come in tomorrow night and do a few inventory checks and place some
orders.”
“Good
idea.” I gave him dap. “Keep up the good work.”
“I shall.”
“I’ll
give you a call lata.”
“It’s
on.”
He
left. I closed the door and got back in bed. Feeling the bed move, Tierra
looked up at me.
“What
time is it?” She asked me.
“2115.”
I replied.
“2115….that’s
9:15, right?”
“You’re
so smart.” At that moment, I knew I wasn’t goin back to sleep.
“I’m
hungry.”
“I’mma
cook dinner now. What do you want?”
“Chicken
and noodles.”
“Chicken
Alfredo it is.”
She
always said chicken and noodles because she always struggled to pronounce alfredo. I told her she could call it
pasta, but she thinks it’s a funny word. Whenever she hears it, she starts
laughing. Don’t know why but it also makes me laugh too.
She
stood on the bed and stuck her arms up, wanting me to pick her up. I did so and
she lied her head down on my shoulder.
“Do
you need to go to the bathroom?” I asked her.
“Yes.”
She said, quietly.
“Do
you want to take a bath while I make dinner?”
“Yes.”
We
went into the bathroom. I lifted the lid up and put her down. As she used the
toilet, I ran her bath water. I dabbed a lil bubble bath in and a few of her
toys.
“I’mma
turn on the monitor. When the water stops, go ahead and get in. When you’re
done, press the button, ok?”
“Yes,
sir.”
“Iight,
don’t put too much water in your face, ok?”
“Yes,
sir.” I kissed her forehead and headed to the door. “I love you, Daddy!” She
yelled to me as I walked out.
“Love
you too, Netta.” I yelled back. I smiled and went into the kitchen. Monique was
up, running the chicken breast through the cutter. “I was wondering if you were
goin to get up any time soon.” She smiled.
“That
nap felt good.”
“I
agree.” I came up behind her, wrapped my arms around her and kissed her.
“I
see your dad was here.”
“How
can you tell?”
“His
cologne.”
“Smells
good, don’t it?”
“Yea,
he always smell good.”
“That
he does.”
“What
did y’all talk about?”
“Business.
He wanted to know the quarter earnings.”
“How
good y’all doin?”
“Too
damn good.” I replied. I sat down at the table. “Dad is tryin to give me and
Will the credit.”
“Y’all
deserve all the credit.”
“Nah,
not all of it.”
“So
modest.”
“Always.”
“Where’s
Tierra?” She asked.
“In
the tub.”
“Oh.”
“Y’all
have a good time together?”
“Of
course, nothing like Daddy Time.” She said sarcastically.
“I’m
sorry to hear that.” I wasn’t walking into that trap so I left it at that.
“I
have no idea how she favors you so much.” I could tell it really bothered her.
“I
don’t eitha, baby.” Yes I do. I’m so loveable.
There
was a knock at the door. I looked at my security monitor. It was Will, Karla,
and Beyonce. I opened the door using the button on the table.
“Hey,
hey, hey, Willie-Will in da house.” He said.
“What
up, big pimpin?” I gave him dap.
“Off
da chain.” He looked around at the new setup. “I’m feelin it pimp.”
“Thank
you, sir. Did Uncle Tevin talk to you today about earnings?”
“Yes,
sir. We are out da Bentley and into the Benz.”
“I
know, right!” Karla approached me and tapped my arm.
“Sorry
to interrupt, but where is Tierra, Uncle Kenny?” She asked.
“She’s
taking a bath right now. I’mma get her in a minute, ok?” I told her. She nodded
and went to Beyonce.
“Dawg,
I talked to Blaze a minute ago.” Will began, talking low, “he told me that his
cousin was shot yesterday.”
“What?”
“Yea.”
“You
talking bout James?”
“Nah,
Lil Ray.”
“Say
word?”
“I
kid you not. Blaze is heated.”
“Who
capped him?”
“Third
Side.”
“Who
the hell are they?”
“Same
lil click tryin to get recognized. They didn’t know that was Blaze cousin.”
“Well,
if they lookin to get recognized, they did just that. What does Blaze intend on
doin?”
“Since
his cousin is alive, he wants to do everything except killin em. Torture city,
pimp.”
“That’s
a bet.”
“So
he said gear up by 3 tomorrow.”
“Fa
sho. I ain’t whoop no ass in a minute.” Will leaned towards me and started
whispering even more.
“Aye,
Dawg, did Uncle Kevin tell you some crazy shit about us not stayin wit Beyonce
and Monique?”
“Hell
yea. He was sayin someone from our past is goin to resurface.”
“Yea,
within like a couple of months.”
“How
da hell would they know something like that?” I looked at Beyonce and Monique
to assure they weren’t payin attention to us. “Dad hasn’t been wrong about a
lot of thangs, so I’m not spending more than a mill on her til I know for
sure.”
“Understandable.”
Will looked at Beyonce. “For Dad to make a statement like that, he must be
absolutely sure that I wouldn’t want Beyonce. I love her though.” He looked
back at me. “They changed us; they loved us for us, and now are the mothers of
our daughters.” At that second, Tierra was pressing the button to call me.
“Speaking
of daughter, mine is calling. I’mma have to put you on hold.” I got up and went
into the bathroom. “Done, Angel?”
“Yes.”
“Karla’s
here.”
“Really?”
She got excited.
“Now
would I joke like that?”
“Yep.”
“You’re
right, I would.” I picked her up and dried her off. “You wanna wear a gown or my
shirt?”
“What
did I wear last night?”
“A
shirt.”
“I’ll
wear a gown tonight.”
“Good
choice.” She started getting dressed. “Try not to get dirty, ok? This gown is
made out of very expensive material.”
“Oooh,
how much did it cost?”
“About
$300.”
“Wow.
That’s a lot.” She was finished dressing and started posing in the mirror.
“You
look good. Now go play. Dinner will be ready in 20.”
“Yes,
sir.” I opened the door and watched her run out. I grabbed everything of hers
and threw it in a basket. Will came in the bathroom.
“We
sure make pretty gurls.” He stated.
“The
hell I wouldn’t. I’m too manly.” I replied, flexing in the mirror.
“Nah,
nigga, I’m talking bout creating pretty girls.”
“Oh,
shit.” I started laughing. I pulled out a controller and turned on the auto tub
cleaner. “Look, Monique is the love of my life as Beyonce is the love of yours.
In the end, it’ll come down to us deciding if we want to have em. I don’t know
about you, but I don’t and can’t see myself wit anyone else.”
“I
feel ya.”
“That’s
including Candi and what’s her name.”
“Honey.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes,
sir.”
“Had
we been single, we would of tapped dat in da mall.”
“Yes,
sir, yes, sir.” Will agreed.
“But
at the same time, I can’t just ignore what Dad said. His words carry too much
weight. I can’t even remember the last time he’s been wrong about anything
pertaining to my future.”
“You
are right about that. We need to think through this wit an open mind.” I nodded
in agreement. The tub finished cleaning. I turned it off.
“Iight,
I’m done in here.” We went back into the living room.
“I
told Dad I was goin to go to the office tomorrow night.” Will said.
“I
told Dad the same.”
“What
time is this game?”
“4.
We’ll start the barbecue afta the game.”
Just
in case I didn’t explain, since 2100, during the summer, the Super Bowl
champions take a world tour and play teams all ova the world. The playoffs
began in Tokyo
“Baby,”
Monique said, “dinner is ready if you’re ready to eat.”
“Fa
sho.” I looked at Will. “You eat yet?”
“Nah,
dude, why you think I’m here?”
“Cha’mon,
Lee.” We got up and went into the kitchen.
“Could
you make Tierra’s plate?” Monique asked me.
“Yea,
I got it.” I put a gang of parmesan cheese on our plates.
“Tierra
doesn’t want all that cheese.” She proclaimed.
“Yes
she do. If anything, she wants more.”
“How
do you know?”
“Cuz,
I love all that cheese on my shit.”
“She
only likes a lil. I put a lil on the last time I made it.” She explained.
“That’s
because I wasn’t eating with y’all.” I told her.
“What’s
that have to do with anything?”
“She
likes her food the same as mine. Has been that way for a long time.”
“That’s
silly.” She said, quite skeptical of the whole ordeal.
“Watch
and learn, baby.” I kissed her and went into the dining room. “Netta, where are
you sitting?”
“Next
to you.” Tierra replied.
“Come
eat.” She got up and went to the table. I helped her in the chair. “Is that too
much cheese?” She looked at my plate and back at hers.
“May
I have some more?” I smiled at Monique.
“Of
course you may.” I went into the kitchen, grabbed the parmesan cheese and
sprinkled some more on Tierra’s plate to equivalate mine. “Is that good?”
“Perfect-o.”
She said. I put the cheese back in the kitchen.
“I’m
sorry, baby.” I said to my disgruntled wife.
I
kissed Monique and sat down at the table. She grabbed her plate and sat next to
me. Beyonce sat next to her, Will to her and Karla to him and Tierra. I said
grace before we started eating.
It
was 2230 when we all finished. Will, Beyonce and Karla left. Tierra went into
the room and grabbed her book. I sat on the couch and read the latest Sports
Illustrated. This edition had Chris and Dre on the cover. She ran into the
living room and jumped on me.
“It’s
Daddy Time.” She said, excited.
“Ok,
ok, calm down.” I sat her on my lap. “Iight, what ya got here?”
“I
call it Father of the Year, by Tierra Annetta Johnson.”
“Like
the title.”
“Shhh.”
She told me, putting her finger to my lips.
“Sorry.”
I whispered.
“Page
1, since the day I was born, my daddy was always there for me. He tucked me in
at night, comfort me when I have a boo-boo, spends time with me every night and
never ignores me. My daddy is the greatest man alive. I love my daddy so much
and wouldn’t want anyone else.” She looked at me and hugged me. “I love you,
Daddy.”
“I
love you too, Angel.” I kissed her.
“That
was in the book.” She laughed, as did I. She then continued reading. “Dating
back to my first memory, I used to cry when it was late at night. Daddy would
always come to me and calm me down. I used to think that aliens were in my
closet until Daddy shot them all. Anything that bothered me, my daddy would do
whatever he could to solve it.”
“Damn
straight.” Smiling, she put her finger to her lips again. “My bad.” As she
continued reading, I continued smiling.
“Another
time I can remember was when I was younger and we went to the mall together.
Some guy approached my daddy and made certain rude comments about me. It made
me cry, so my daddy made him cry. I never realized how much I meant to my daddy
until then. I feel sorry for all of the kids in the world that doesn’t have
someone like my daddy. At the same time, I wouldn’t trade him for anything in
the world. Not even the world itself. I hope that my relationship with my daddy
never changes unless it’s getting stronger. I love my daddy, Kenny Day’quan
Johnson.”
“That
was really good, sweetie.”
“Thank
you.”
“Do
you mind if I keep it?”
“No.
I was goin to give it to you anyway.”
“Thank
you sweetie. You ready to watch Aladdin?”
“Yes.”
She jumped up and looked for the DMD. I went into the kitchen and threw some
popcorn into the microwave. “Daddy, I can’t find it.”
“It’s
already in, remember?”
“Oh
yea.” She started laughing. She’s so goofy. She turned the DMD player on and
the TV. She then turned on the sound system. “Mommy, are you goin to join us?”
She asked.
“In
a minute, sweetie, Mommy has some business to take care of.” Monique replied.
“Okay.”
Tierra came into the kitchen.
“Do
you want your own bowl?” I asked her.
“No
thank you.” She replied. I grabbed the bowl of popcorn and sat in my favorite
chair. Tierra sat on my lap. We began watching the best Disney movie of all
time. We sang all the songs and er’thang. We didn’t realize Monique was not
goin to join us.
When
the movie ended, Tierra plugged up our newly acquired Nintendo 2106.
“What
game you want to play?” She asked.
“Your
choice.”
“I
wanna play this one.” She chose Need for Speed.
“You
actually wanna race me?”
“Uhhh,
sure.”
We
began playing. We played for 3 hours, 4 different games. We started watching
Cartoon Network. By 345, Tierra was unconscious. 5 seconds later, I was too. I
woke up at 0500. Tierra was comfortably laying in my arms. At first, I was goin
to put her in the bed, but she looked so cute. I didn’t want to put her down. I
grabbed a blanket from under the couch and sprawled it out on top of us. I was
knocked out in less than five.
CHAPTER II
FOOTBALL
I
woke up at about noon. Tierra was awake watching some educational cartoons. I slid
her hair off her face and kissed her.
“You
been up long?” I asked her.
“No.”
She replied in almost a whisper.
“Hungry?”
“Not
yet.”
“Good,
me neither.”
She grabbed my hand that she wasn’t laying on
and wrapped it around herself. I held her tight in my arms. I started having
flashbacks of when she was a baby.
FLASHBACK:
It
was the 1st night Tierra was home. It was 0200, Monique and I were
unconscious. We both woke up to Tierra crying.
“I
got it baby.” I whispered to Monique. “Go back to sleep.” I kissed her and got
up. I looked in Tierra’s crib and picked her up. She continued to cry as I
tried calming her down. I decided to sing to her. “Baby, what are the words to
“Mockingbird”?”
“I’on
know.” She replied half sleep.
“Damn,
I guess I’ll make up words. “Sweet lil angel, what you cryin for? Daddy’s by
your side so don’t cry no more. You’re my baby girl whom I love so much. You’ll
still be my baby when you’re all grown up. As I hold you in my arms, I can’t
help but think how cute you are. You make me the happiest man alive. I just
hope I do things right. You’re gonna make me proud of you someday. But until
that day its with me you’ll stay. I promise to always be there for you. One day
you’ll see how much that’s true. But for now close your eyes and go to sleep. I
promise not to make a peep. Anything you need just let me know. I love you
princess and that’s fa sho.”” She was knocked out. I kissed her and lied her
down in her crib.
“Come
back to bed sweetie.” Monique told me.
“Give
me a minute, baby.”
“Hurry
up; I’m startin to miss you.”
“Iight.”
I looked at my sleeping daughter. “You’re so adorable. I see so much of me in
you its scary.” I touched her hand and smiled. “You’re the very thing I’ve
desired for a long time. I promise to always be there for you no matter what.
You’ve been blessed with a lot, just as I was. Just like me, you’re gonna run
this city. I know you’re gonna be a bigger success than me. Especially with me
as your father and Will as your uncle. You’re in the best position of being the
biggest icon this world will ever see. You’re gonna be the most gorgeous woman
in the world. More gorgeous than Halle
Berry
“Come
on, baby. Come to bed.” Monique said.
“Iight.”
I continued looking at Tierra for anotha 30 seconds and then got back in bed.
PRESENT:
Hard
to believe Tierra will be 4 next month.
“Daddy?”
She called.
“Wassup,
Angel?” I replied.
“I
fogot to tell you. My teacher wants to talk to you tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Iight.
I’ll pick you up from day care tomorrow. I’ll talk to em then.”
“Otay.”
My cell started goin off.
“Hand
that to me, Princess.” She picked up the phone and handed it to me. “What it is
pimp?”
“Yo,
Third Side was spotted down in EC off Terrace. You know no cops come out dare.”
Will said.
“Nope,
none what so ever.”
“Change
of plans, Blaze wants to kill em in da worse way possible.”
“I
have just the way. I’ll be ready in five. Bring the truck.”
“It’s
on.” I hung up the phone and started getting up.
“Sorry,
sweetie, Daddy has to make a quick run.”
“I
wanna go.”
“I’d
bring you if I could, but I can’t.” I started whispering. “Mommy wouldn’t let
me bring you.” She looked like she wanted to cry. I hugged her, “hey, hey, hey,
none of that. I’ll be back. I’ll get some donuts while I’m out, iight?” She
nodded. “Chill here, watch cartoons, and I’ll be back in a half hour.” I kissed
her. “That’s my girl.” I went into the bathroom and did a quick wash-up. I put
on all black clothes. Monique was still sleep. I kissed her on her lips. “I’ll
be back, Tierra.” I said as I headed to the door.
“I
love you, Daddy.” She yelled to me.
“Love
you too, princess.” I yelled back. I got outside just as Will pulled up.
“So
why da truck?” He asked me as I got in the car.
“Pull
around back to the jungle.” He looked at me and knew what I was thinking.
“You’re
a very evil man. I admire that.”
“Well,
thank you, young sir.” I replied
He
stopped the truck in front of our artificial jungle. We have all endangered
species here, wild animals, and other things to keep the chain and circle goin.
I walked in the jungle and without havin to look hard, I found my Siberian
Tiger. I raised it since it was born. When he saw me, he ran to me and jumped
on me. I laughed as he licked my face.
“Iight,
T-Bone, that’s coo.” I pushed him off and put a chain on his collar. “Let’s
have some fun.” We went back to the truck. He jumped in the back and chilled
outta sight. I looked at Will. “L’eggo.”
We
got out to EC and met the rest of da click. They pointed to the spot and was
ready. Third Side had only 15 members. The plan was to surround and attack.
When everyone was in position, we walked towards Third Side. They noticed us
but didn’t move. We stopped in front of them.
“Good
morning, gentlemen. May we exchange words?” I spoke.
“What
the fuck do you want?” The leader said violently.
“Just
to talk.”
“Make
it quick, bitch, I got shit to do.” Someone done over crossed the line on that
one. I’m definitely goin to kill him.
“You’re
goin to do two things. One, apologize to that man for shootin his cousin,” they
began laughing, "then you’re goin to apologize to me fo disrespectin me.”
They laughed even more. “After all that, I’ll keep you alive. If you decline,
you’ll die right here, right now.” The entire gang laughed at me. “Aye, Will,
they find me funny. I wanna laugh too.”
“Got
ya covered, pimp.”
He
pulled a bat from behind him and broke it across one of their heads. He was
dead on impact. I laughed. The leader was pissed and swung at me. As he missed,
I popped him in the back of the head. An all out one-sided brawl began. They
didn’t stand a chance. I pulled their leader up, grabbed him by the throat and
held him in the air.
“Hope
you didn’t make plans for the future.”
I
stuck him in the face with four crucial rights. Blood dripped down from his
eyes, his teeth were in this throat, and his nose was a bloody mess. I threw
him on the ground and went to the truck. Will tossed a bucket of blood straight
from raw meat on the two top guys they had, their leader being one of em. I
pulled T-Bone out the truck.
“Take
a whiff of that. You smell that killa. Go get yo eat on.” I told him.
I
let go his chain and watched him run at his food. The screaming and sounds of
tearing flesh as T-Bone ripped em to shreds was music to my ears. When he was
finished, he ran back to me. I put him back in da truck.
When
I got back home, Monique was still sleep and Tierra was still watching
cartoons. I took my clothes off and threw some shorts on.
“Netta,
I got donuts just as I promised.” I told her. She sat up. I sat down.
“Did
you get the ones with the pink icing on it?” She asked.
“Absolutely.
I have all your favorites.” She picked one up and lied down on my lap. I looked
at my watch. “Ready to watch some football?” She nodded and turned to CBS.
Every
Sunday during the football season, we bet on who’s goin to win. Every time she
wins, I give her $100.
“I
choose the 9th place team and us.” She stated.
“Good
choice. Since I also choose us, I’ll go wit the 5th place.” I
declared.
“Betting
against me? I’m right about this one.”
“We’ll
see.” I saw Monique in the corner of my eye. “Care to join us, sleepy head?”
“What
y’all watchin?” She asked, plopping down next to me.
“Football.”
Tierra replied.
“Want
a donut?” I asked her.
“Yea,
sure.” She grabbed a donut and looked at me.
“Something
on your mind?”
“Nah,
I’m fine. I’m tryin to get everything together and in order so I can get things
goin.”
“Is
that it?”
“Pretty
much. Are you 100% sure you’ll be able to pick Tierra up tomorrow?”
“Of
course. She’d have to come to work with me though.”
“I
get to go to work wit you?” Tierra asked.
“Word,
unless you wanna stay wit Auntie Toya?”
“Uh
uh, its fun at your job.”
“For
you it’s fun. For me it’s work.”
“Aren’t
you goin to stop workin to work-out.” Monique asked me.
“I
may just not work as much. I love my job as much as I love basketball.” She
took my hand and held it to her chest.
“Feel
that?”
“Ya
damn right I do. That’s what led to the creation of this one.” She laughed.
“I’m
talking bout my heart.” She corrected me.
“What’s
wrong wit it?”
“Nothin
baby. Nothing is wrong with it. It’s
yours though. Only yours.” I took her hand.
“Feel
that?” I asked her. Her eyes widened up and she grinned.
“Yea,
how can I not feel it.”
“That’s
what you do to me.”
“Is
dat right?” She gave me a seductive look. “How bout I do some otha thangs to
it?”
“Works
fa me.”
I
looked at Tierra. The girl was out cold. I lifted her off my lap and followed
Monique into the bedroom where we congregated for two hours of passionate, hot,
hardcore, love making . If Tierra weren’t a sound sleeper, we’d be in trouble.
Monique was too loud.
I
joined Tierra back on the couch, placing her head back on my lap, after I took
a nice shower. She woke up, not even realizing I left. It was third quarter of
the Brown’s game. We were up by 27.
“We’re
goin to the game next week, right?” Tierra asked me.
“Without
hesitation.” I told her.
“When
does Uncle Chris and Uncle Andre get back?”
“Tonight.”
“Good.
I miss Damion and JET.”
“So
do I, princess. They are some funny people.” I looked at Tierra’s nails. “Do
you want something different?”
“Sure.”
“How
bout tomorrow afta school you get your nails done?”
“Really?”
She jumped up. “May I get braids too?”
“What
kind?”
“Micros.”
“What
do you know about micros?” I laughed.
“Nothin.
I just know that Mommy used to have em. She showed me a picture.”
“Iight,
you can have micros. How long do you want them?”
“Down
to my shoulders.”
“Iight.
I’ll drop you off at the beauty salon in our building.”
“Otay.”
She lied back down on my lap. We continued to watch the game:
“The
Browns have been looking outstanding today and the entire tournament. Chris
Lopez has been sensational in establishing a run game. Andre Thompson has been
shutting down any chance for their opponent to establish any type of good
offense.”
“That’s
right, Tim. The Browns have really been putting a hurting on anyone that
opposes them.”
“Not
only that Al, they’ve also been able to keep their mistakes to a minimum.
That’s why they are the defending champs.”
“As
we approach the end of the 3rd quarter, The Browns begin the drive
on their own 25 yd line. First play right out the gate is a handoff to Lopez.
He finds a hole in the middle; breaks a tackle; he’s still goin; breaks another
tackle; and finally taken down at the Blizzards’ 45 yd line. Chris Lopez with a
30 yd gain to bring his total to an amazing 328 yds.”
“Lopez
has really broke this defense down. With only 20 carries, he’s at 328 yards in
the 3rd quarter.”
“1st
and 10 on the 45. This will be the last play of the quarter. Hilton drops back
for a pass; spots Robinson in the middle; Robinson catches a bullet; splits the
defenders; 20… 15… 10…5, TOUCHDOWN CLEVELAND
“A
gorgeous block by Lopez to avoid having Hilton get sacked. He purely leveled
him. Cleveland leads the Russia
“Commercial
break.” I said to Tierra.
“Bathroom
break.”
She
jumped up and ran to the bathroom. I went into the kitchen and took out the
meat that was goin to be cooked for the BBQ. Monique was still sleep. She
wasn’t goin to move anytime soon from the looks of it. I sat back down on the
couch just as Tierra ran in the room and the game came back on.
“I
did it, Daddy.” She said, smiling.
“That’s
my girl. You wash your hands?” I asked her.
“Yep.”
She held her hands out so I could smell em.
“Good
girl.” We continued watching the game, in which we continued to destroy them.
“Approaching
the end of the game, Cleveland Cleveland ,
Ohio Cleveland
“That’s
right. I think the last team to beat Cleveland
“That’s
quite a time ago.”
“Very
funny.”
“Cleveland CLEVELAND
“Normally,
Lopez wouldn’t be playing after stats like this, but the backup running back is
out with that shoulder injury. A career high 845 yards. Definitely a world
record.
“Ouch.”
Tierra said, relating to the game.
“I
know. I think the other game is finally on.”
I
turned to ABC to watch the game that will decide who plays us. I went into the
kitchen to begin preparing the meat. Tierra followed me.
“I
wanna help.” She said.
“What
can you do?”
“Ummmm……I
don’t know.”
“Honesty
is good.” I looked around. “How well do you remember the spices I taught you?”
“Very
well. Paprika, oregano, red pepper, cinuloy, huron, jist, kinlow, and queen.”
“Damn,
you’re good.” I said. “Well, since you remember all that and you know how to
read, I want you to make my special sauce.”
“Special
sauce?”
“Yep.
Special sauce. It goes on all the chicken and some of the steak. Think you can
handle that?”
“Yea,
but what if it doesn’t come out right? People gon be mad at me.”
“Don’t
worry. You’ll do fine. No matter what, I’ll eat it.”
“Ok.”
“Feel
free to adjust anything you want. If you want more ketchup, add more ketchup.
If you want more hot sauce, pour the whole bottle. Do it how you want it.”
“Ok.”
She
grabbed a big bowl and sat at the table. I got out all her supplies and gave
her the recipe. I continued seasoning the meat. Will had all the chicken, I had
all the beef. I had ribs, steaks, burgers, and hot dogs. The TV was turned up
so we could hear the game pretty good.
“What’s
the score, princess?” I asked Tierra.
“My
team is up 7-0.”
“Iight.”
I headed downstairs and out to the backyard. I fired up the grill. When I went
back into the house, Will was in the Main Kitchen, preparing his chicken to go
on.
“Did
you see that massacre?” He asked me, referring to the football game.
“Yes
I did. That was sad and funny at the same time.” I replied.
“I
was laughin the whole time.”
“Where’s
Beyonce?”
“Sleep.
I gave her some of that good lovin and she’s been sleep since then.”
“Same
wit Monique. Tierra fell asleep and I took advantage. I straight up killed
her.”
“Shit,
you? I drilled Beyonce.”
“We
could go back and forth, but in the end, I would win.” I told him. I looked at
my watch and then at the grill. “We can start throwin stuff on the grill in
about 5. You gon be ready by then?”
“I’m
ready now.”
He
took his special marinade out the refrigerator and poured it on his chicken. I
went upstairs and grabbed all the beef that was goin on the grill. I looked at
Tierra.
“How’s
that sauce comin?” I asked her.
“I’m
done. I don’t know if it tastes good or not.”
“You
didn’t taste it?”
“No.
I was scared.”
“Cha’mon.
I’ll taste it with you.”
“Ok.”
We dabbed our finger in the bowl and tasted it.
“Wow.
Good job, princess. I think you did a better job than me.” I dabbed again.
“Damn, what did you put in there?”
“This
orange stuff.” She showed me the bottle. “I think it’s some type of zesty
marinade. I don’t know what zesty mean though.”
“Yea,
zesty is a weird word.” I looked at the bottle. “We should add this to the
recipe. You just made my special sauce taste better.”
“When
do we put it on the meat?”
“After
it cooks. About the last 5 minutes.”
“Just
to let you know, my team is up 14-3.”
“What?
I was only downstairs for 5 minutes. How did they score that quickly?”
“Kickoff
return.”
“That
would explain it.”
“Daddy,
I don’t know if you know this, but my team is favored to go against the Browns.
Of course they are the underdog, but they will make it.”
“Oh
now you think you’re an expert.”
“I’m
not a professional, but I know a lil bit. Enough to know that you won’t beat
me.”
“Keep
talking like that and you’re gonna find yourself tickled to death.”
“Nooooooooooo!!!!”
She started laughing before I even did anything.
“Don’t
worry, I aint gon do anything now.” I put all the meat on a big tray. “Bring
your bowl of sauce and come on.”
“Ok.
I need my house shoes.”
“Go
get em.”
She
ran into her room and put on her bunny slippers. If you haven’t noticed yet,
she loves bunnies, bears, and kittens. Anyway, she came back, grabbed her bowl
and followed me downstairs. When we got into the kitchen, Karla was sitting in
the chair by the grill and Will was putting chicken on his half. I opened the
door to the patio and closed it after Tierra came out. She sat in the chair
next to Karla.
“What
team you go for in the game goin on now?” I asked Will.
“The
one losing.” He replied.
“Me
too.” I put the rack on the grill and threw some steaks on it.
“Daddy?”
Tierra called.
“What’s
up, princess?”
“Are
we allowed to get steak?”
“Don’t
know bout Karla, but you are.”
“Yea,
Karla, you can have steak.” Will told her.
“Aye,
do you know if Dad and Uncle Tevin were comin?”
“Yea
they are. I talked to Ma and she said they were. Don’t know what time, but I do
know Chris and Dre won’t be in til 6.”
“Good
deal.”
I
was only able to put 15 out of 60 steaks on the grill. I threw on 10 burgers,
10 hot dogs, and 6 ribs. I closed the lid and went into the kitchen. I grabbed
a corona and added some lime juice to it. Upon drinking it, Monique and Beyonce
finally came downstairs, both dressed.
“Hey
baby.” She kissed me.
“Hey
yourself. I see you finally decided to get up.”
“You
took all the energy out of me.”
“Whateva.
You barely did anything.”
“Screaming
your name and multiple orgasms tend to do the trick.” I started laughing. “So
how much have y’all gotten done?”
“Nuttin
really. We just started the meat. Y’all can do er’thang else as far as mac,
greens, this, that, and salads.” I kissed her cheek.
“Where’s
Tierra?”
“She’s
outside, hangin wit us.”
“Don’t
talk about anything dirty.”
“I
leave that for you.” I told her.
“Did
you make your sauce?”
“Nope.”
“Why
not? Steak isn’t steak without it.”
“Don’t
get me wrong, it’s made. I didn’t make it though.”
“Well,
who did?”
“Tierra.”
“Are
you serious?”
“Yep.”
“You
didn’t even trust me to make your sauce. In fact, you still don’t.”
“You
made it once and you messed it up, remember?”
“Tryin
not to.”
“Yea,
embarrassing situation. I decided to let Tierra have a try.”
“How’s
it taste?” I smiled and kissed her.
“That,
my wife, you’ll have to wait and see.” I told her.
I
grabbed some tongs and went out onto the patio. I sat down and looked at the
beautiful waterfall in the back. I then looked at my daughter playing with my
niece. That put a smile on my face.
“Are
you ready to be in the Olympics next year?” Will asked me.
“Always.”
“This
one is extra special.”
“How
so?”
“It’s
finally here.”
“Say
word?”
“They
made a decision this morning. We’ll be in front of the hometown crowd.”
“Any
chance the competition had has now just been burned.”
“Pretty
much.”
“You
remember the 2104 Olympics?” I asked him.
“Yeah,
first gold medal. That was a pretty tough one to get.”
“We
ended up playin the host country.”
“Yea,
I think it was Germany
“Yep.
What a game.” I took a sip of my beer and looked at my graduation ring. “We’re
goin to dominate big time next year.”
“KJ
and Terrell will most likely be on there.”
“Yep.
We’re goin to be untouchable.” I got up and checked the burgers. I flipped them
over and closed the lid. I then heard the doorbell. “Looks like we have
visitors.” I said. I stood up and went to the front door. Will followed me. We
got to the door and opened it. “Mr. and Mrs. Williams. So glad y’all can make
it.”
“Thank
you for inviting us.” Mrs. Williams replied.
“Please,
the pleasure is ours.” Will said. He then started whispering to me, “Did you
invite them?” I shook my head. “Please, come in. Y’all daughters are in the
kitchen.”
“Beautiful
place you have here.” Mr. Williams complimented.
“Thank
you, sir. We do what we can.” I replied.
“Have
Chris and Andre gotten back yet?” Mrs. Williams asked.
“Negatory,
but they should be here within an hour. Please, make yourself at home.” Will
said. Will and I went back out to the patio to check the food.
“You
know, I swear up and down that their father does not like us.” I said.
“Jealousy.”
Will stated.
“Must
be. He just has that look.”
“Yea,
I agree.” I looked at Will and saw the confused look on his face.
“What’s
on yo mind, pimp?”
“I
can’t help but think about what Dad said. Things are goin so well, how can he
make such an acquisition.”
“I
feel ya.” I looked at Tierra and saw how happy she was. “For my daughter’s
sake, I hope things don’t turn out that way.”
“Drinkin
already.” A voice said from behind us. We turned around and saw Andre and Chris
(yea, ever since they got married, they dropped day street names).
“Oh,
shit, my niggaz.” We stood up and gave them dap. “Bout time y’all got hea.”
“Well,
sorry to make you worry, sweetheart.” Chris said to me.
“Where
the boys at?” Will asked.
“In
there with the wives. Yvonne’s parents are supposed to be comin today. That
oughta be interesting.” Andre said.
“Nigga,
you know you missed the hit this morning.” I stated.
“Yea,
I heard. I know y’all got that bad boy on tape.” Chris replied.
“No
doubt. High definition.” Will said. “Go get y’all a beer and come chill.”
“Fa
sho. We’ll be back.” Chris said. They went into the kitchen. Will and I headed
to the front door as we heard the doorbell rang.
“Y’all
made it.” I said, being Dad, Ma, Uncle Tevin and Aunt Keasha at the door.
“We
said we would.” Aunt Keasha replied.
They
walked in and headed to the kitchen. Dad and Uncle Tevin grabbed a corona from
the fridge, greeted Monique and Beyonce, headed out to the patio, and sat in a
chair. Chris and Dre were out there already. Will and I grabbed all the beer,
put it in a cooler, and went out to the patio. I checked the food, turning over
steaks, taking out hot dogs, and throwin on more ribs.
“Y’all
been up to the office yet?” Dad asked.
“Nah.
We may go later on.” I replied.
“Iight…Chris,
Dre, congratulations on a beautiful game.” Uncle Tevin said.
“Definitely.”
Dad agreed.
“Thank
you, sir.” They said.
“Where’s
my daughter?” Dad asked.
“I’m
not sure. I think she’s upstairs.” Chris replied. “I believe she was goin to
change Damion’s shirt.”
“Iight.
How is my grandson actin?”
“Good.
He hasn’t been really actin up or doin anything bad. He definitely shows interest
in football.”
“That’s
always good.” Dad looked at me. “Is my granddaughter showin interest in
basketball?”
“I’m
not sure.” I replied. “Has she said hi to you yet?”
“Nope.
I think she’s been too busy.” Dad said.
“That’s
rude. Tierra?” I called her and watched her run to me.
“Yes,
Daddy.” She said.
“You
not say hi to Grandpa?” I asked her. She looked at him and smiled.
“GRANDPA!!!”
She jumped in his lap. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I
see. How’s my favorite granddaughter?” Dad asked.
“Fine.
I was havin fun.” She said. We then saw Karla run into Uncle Tevin’s lap.
“Hi
Grandpa.” She said cheerfully.
“Hey,
Karla. I was wonderin how long it would take you.” Uncle Tevin said to her.
“I’m
sorry. Didn’t know you were here.” She said.
“Grandpa,
are you goin to be here for long?” Tierra asked Dad.
“You’ll
be sleep by the time I leave.” He replied.
“Could
we have a talk later?” Dad raised his eyebrow.
“If
you wanna talk to me, please, by all means.”
“Otay.
I be back.”
“Go
play. Be careful.”
“Yes,
sir. Cha’mon Karla.” They got off their grandpa’s lap and went back to playing.
“They’re
so grown. Reminds me of y’all.” Uncle Tevin said. He looked at Andre. “So, where
are Yvonne’s parents at?”
“I
don’t know, sir.” Andre replied.
“Have
you met them before?”
“Just
her mom. She was at the wedding.”
“What
about her dad?” Uncle Tevin asked.
“Nope.
Supposedly I’m supposed to meet him today.”
“Has
she talked about him?”
“Never.
I don’t think she met him before.” Andre replied.
“I
know her father.” Dad looked at him and smiled. Will, Chris, and myself were
lost.
“Do
you think he’d accept me?”
“What
do you mean?”
“Do
you think he’d believe I was good enough for his daughter?”
“Without
a doubt.” He smiled.
“Where
do you know him from?” I asked.
“Y’all
know him too.” Dad said. We looked at the door as it crept open. Latoya came
out carrying Damion, followed by Yvonne carrying Jermaine. “There’s my
grandson.” Dad picked up Damion. “How’s my lil niglet?”
“I’m
good. Missed you Grandpa.” He replied.
“I
missed you too. You have fun in St.
Louis
“Yes,
sir.”
“Baby,”
Yvonne began talking to Andre, “Ma is here and she wants to talk to us. She’s
goin to be out here soon, so try not to talk about too much dirty stuff.”
“I
won’t baby.” He replied.
“But
we might.” Uncle Tevin said. We all laughed. Moments later, Yvonne’s mom came
out.
“Good
afternoon, gentlemen.” She said, sitting down. “Don’t mean to spoil y’all fun,
but there’s something I believe both Andre and Yvonne should know.” Yvonne sat
on Andre’s lap. We all listened. “Yvonne, I told you and your husband that
y’all would meet your father today. The truth is you’ve already met him. In
fact, you know him very well.”
“I
do?” Yvonne looked at Andre.
“Is
it one of Mr. Smith’s friends?” Andre asked.
“What?”
Yvonne’s mom said.
“Mr.
Smith said he knows her father very well. Is it one of his friends?”
“No,
it’s not one of his friends.” She looked at Uncle Tevin and smiled. “In fact,
it’s more Tevin himself.” We all gasped, except Uncle Tevin and Dad. “Excuse
me.” Her mom left, standing on the edge of crying. Yvonne looked at Uncle
Tevin.
“You’re
my father?” She said.
“Yep.
I’m the one that created you.” He so elegantly put it.
“After
all this time. Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you abandon me? Why didn’t you
want me?” Yvonne began to cry.
“Whoa,
whoa, whoa…. Let’s get some thangs straight. I don’t know what your mother told
you, but I’mma tell you the truth: Me and your mother started messin around
when Keasha and I separated. She was there, comforting me, being a good friend
while I went through that. One night, I took her out to dinner to thank her. We
took a nice walk on the beach, and ended up being caught in the moment. We had
sex right on the beach.” He looked at Will. “Who’s older, you or Yvonne?”
“Yvonne.”
Will answered.
“When’s
her birthday?”
“Yvonne,
when’s your birthday?” Will asked, wondering why Tevin didn’t ask her himself.
“About
2 weeks before yours.” She replied.
“2
weeks before mine.” Will told Uncle Tevin.
“That’s
about right. After that night, I walked her back to her car. I gave her a
passionate kiss, leading her into believing that we were goin to actually have
a relationship. At first, we were. A couple days pass, and I’m alone in my
house. That’s when Keasha comes to visit. At least that’s how it started. That
night, Keasha and I talked it out. We made changes and wanted to get back
together. That was the best sex I had in my life. Make-up sex that led to the
conceiving of you, Will. The next week, Tyra, Yvonne’s mother, called me. Right
off the back, I told her that I was back together with Keasha. She cussed me
out for a moment. You told me that things are pretty much over between
y’all. You used me, lied to me, played me, hurt me, and led me on. I hate you,
Tevin Smith. Not all the money in the world could make me want you. But you
know what, I’m glad you’re rich. Child support is goin to be sweet. That’s when I kinda became shocked. I decided
to say in order for you to get child support, you have to have a child. Then
she said, looks like I meet those qualifications. I’m pregnant with your
baby. A baby I will never let you see. In court, child support didn’t favor
her. I got away clean without havin to pay anything. She was struggling to get
you anything because with her job she could only afford to pay the bills and
get groceries. One night I called her to see how she was holdin up. I asked her
to see you and she let me. I came over when you were about 5 months old. I held
you in my arms. You were a pretty baby. I held you for 2 hours. You didn’t cry
once. You felt comfortable in my arms. Your mother couldn’t believe it. I was
the only man that could hold you and you wouldn’t cry. That’s when she spoke. I’m
still very mad at you. I just wanted to get the devil off my shoulder just this
once. Take this as a courtesy visit. You did create this beautiful girl in
style. I don’t think I’ll ever experience 19 orgasms in one night.”
He
paused and laughed. “My bad, I wasn’t supposed to tell y’all that. She
continued saying: Point is, I just wanted you to see her for once. Her name
is Yvonne. She has a few of your facial features.” I looked at Yvonne and
then back at Uncle Tevin. They do look alike. “I asked her how she was holdin
up. She kinda put her head down and told me her situation. I’m only making
enough to pay the bills and buy groceries. I can’t get her clothes, toys, or
nuttin. I was really hopin for that child support. That’s when I pretty
much made a deal with her. She was set on not letting me see you, but she did
decide to send me pictures as often as possible. That was better than nothing.
In return, I gave her money to help you out. All your expensive clothes,
furniture, everything in your room, I paid for. The sad part is she wouldn’t
let me see you.” He pulled out his wallet. He passed around pictures of Yvonne
when she was younger.
“Does
Ma know about this?” Will asked.
“Yea,
she knows and understands. She admitted to havin sex with anotha man while we
were separated. She also knows I used a rubber. That’s why we don’t.”
“Oh
my god.” Yvonne whispered, tears comin down her face. “How could you keep all
this inside for all this time after seeing me so much?”
“It’s
hard, but a Smith promise is a very important thing to me. I did ask Natasha
about something though. Even though you don’t remember my face, you can
remember my touch and my kiss. Since you were a baby, I’ve touched you several
times, but I haven’t kissed you. If you’re in doubt, come here.” Yvonne
hesitated, then got up and knelt down in front of Uncle Tevin. Yvonne closed
her eyes as he took her and kissed her on the cheek and the forehead. Yvonne
opened her eyes.
“It’s
true.” She whispered. “You are my father.”
“In
the flesh. I’ve always been there for you. Out of sight mostly, but every big
event, I came to. I was more than happy to help you get the things you want. As
you grew up, it gave me more opportunities to see you without breaking my
promise. Especially dating my son’s best friend, you have no idea how much that
helped me out. During your high school graduation, being that you attended the
same school as Will, that definitely helped.” He passes around graduation
pictures of her. “I may have not been able to walk you down the aisle like I
wanted to, but I was able to see your wedding. I also witnessed the birth of
both of my grandkids. I couldn’t be any happier.” Yvonne hugged him.
As Will
and I attended to the food on the grills, he leaned towards me.
“Do
you realize what’s just been told to us?” He whispered to me.
“Yea,
I do. Trust me, It’s killing me right now.” I whispered back.
“How
long y’all mess around for?”
“On
and off for a year. From my count, even while her and DT were dating.”
I
turned around and looked at Yvonne. The happiness she showed was interesting.
Almost like she doesn’t realize what it means.
“You
know what, I don’t even wanna kno the details of it all.” Will declared.
“Good
cuz it’ll make me queasy just thinking about all the things me and your sister
did.” I said as I looked at him. We looked at each other and started laughing.
“The
temptation to tease you about incest. How lucky you are Dre and her are
married.”
“I
know right. Look, we can’t remind Yvonne about the things we did. I know it’ll
hit her, but it’s too much right now.”
Everything was just about done. I threw
on the sauce that my baby girl made. I then took the food off 5 mins later. I
took a piece of steak, smothered with sauce and tasted it. It was off da chain.
“Damn,
y’all gon have to get some steak.” I handed everyone a paper plate and a steak.
They all tasted it. I saw satisfaction on all their faces.
“You
change your recipe a lil bit, dawg?” Will asked.
“I
didn’t make this.” I said.
“No
one makes steak sauce like you, pimp.” Chris said.
“Someone
does.” I said.
“Not
Monique. My stomach is still recovering from that.” Dad joked. We all laughed.
“Yea,
you’re right about that.” Will agreed.
“I’m
telling you, I didn’t make the sauce.” I said.
“Who
did then?” Latoya asked.
“Tierra.”
Everyone stopped chewing.
“Are
you serious?” Uncle Tevin asked.
“Yep.
She followed the recipe, but decided to be creative and add a lil something to
it. That extra taste made it better than what it was.” I explained.
“That
is amazing.” Will said.
I
looked at Yvonne as she held onto Uncle Tevin. Thoughts about us started
roaming my head. I really need a shower.
“So
Dad, did you know about that?” I asked.
“Of
course. You know he told me right afta he got off the phone wit her.” He
replied.
“Why
did she finally decide to let her know?” Dre asked.
“I
kept askin her about it.” Yvonne replied. “I knew something was up because
every time I asked her about him, she changes her story.” She stood up and sat
back on Andre’s lap. “So I guess you’re my brotha, Will.”
“Yea,
good thing I’ve been treatin ya like my sista.” Will said.
“Yea.”
She smiled.
After
she said that, we made eye contact. At that moment, she just realized what that
means.
“So
what did your mother actually tell you when you asked about your father?” Uncle
Tevin asked.
She
didn’t respond. I knew exactly what she was thinking. The eye contact we made
was almost like a mutual understanding. Like we were saying to each other, “we
didn’t know. It’s not our fault. It goes to the grave with us.” Then she came
to.
“I’m
sorry, what’d you say, Father?” She asked as she turned towards him.
“I
said what did your mother actually tell you when you asked about your father?”
“She
said a few things. One being you were overseas tryin to make money to help us.
Anotha being you were fighting in the war of 2095. Another being you abandoned
us. The latest one being you was admitted into a mental institution and was
never coming back. I didn’t believe any of it. I knew you were out there
somewhere.” Yvonne replied.
“Damn,
she went long lengths to cover herself. Now you know the truth.” Uncle Tevin
said.
“I
tell ya one thang,” Dad began, “when he first told me he got your mother
pregnant, he didn’t tell it right.” He looked at Uncle Tevin, “how’d you start
that shit?”
“I
was like, Awww damn, she’s pregnant.”
He replied.
“Yea,
so I immediately start thinking it was Gwen, the bitch we gangbanged around the
same time he did his thang wit ya mother. So I’m all trippin like, it aint mine.” Dad explained.
“I’m
like, naw, nigga, not her, Tyra. We
laughed for like 5 minutes, joking about the possibility.” Uncle Tevin stated.
The
door opened and out came Terrell and KJ. I threw some more food on the grill as
dap was handed out. I went into the kitchen to put the tray of done food in the
oven. Mr. Williams stopped talking once he saw me.
“Sorry
to interrupt.” I said.
“It’s
ok baby.” Monique said to me. “Me and Daddy were just talking bout some
thangs.”
“Please,
carry on, don’t mind me. By the way, you should taste the beef. Tierra’s sauce
is divine. It tastes good on the burgers too.” I suggested.
“We’ll
do that.” Mr. Williams said, kinda irritated.
I
walked out the house and back out to the patio. Damion, Jermaine, Karla and
Tierra were playing laser tag. Ma and Aunt Keasha came outside to check up on
us.
“Baby,
can I talk to you real quick?” Ma said to Dad.
“Yea,
hea I go.” Dad got up. “Aye, y’all get da cards and let’s run some spades round
dis bitch.” He went into the house to talk to Ma. Will pulled a deck of cards
out his pocket.
“What
can I say, I always come prepared.” He said. I grabbed the deck of cards and
started shuffling.
“Did
I eva say how much of a bitch Mr. Williams is? I can’t stand that nigga.” I
stated.
“I
hate him too. Sometimes I just want to put a gun to his head and pull the
trigga.” Will declared. Dad came back outside and knew what we were talking
about.
“Let
him be. They had a rough adult hood. It’s not too often you’re embarrassed on
live TV three times in one year.” Dad said.
“What
are you talkin bout?” Chris asked.
“He
recently appeared at the Entrepreneurs Expo this year. He got into a heated
debate with Kevin and lost badly.” Uncle Tevin explained. “It was sad but he
deserved it.”
“That’s
what happens when you come in my face and act like you can run my business.”
Dad added. “I shoulda knocked him the hell out.”
“What
happened the otha two times?” Will asked.
“Well,
his brother was on 60 minutes to explain there financial uprising, and when he
called him, there was a lil confusion on some numbers.” Uncle Tevin explained.
“What
numbers?” I asked.
“The
numbers that supposedly rivaled SJ Enterprises’ fashion line, which is ran by
Dionna.”
“I
meant to ask bout that, is that her business that runs our line KW?” Will
asked. “Or is that Felecity?”
“Felecity
runs y’alls. Dionna runs your shoe line.” Dad explained.
“Anyway,
point is, I heard about it, and I made an immediate phone call to 60 minutes
which was aired.” Uncle Tevin continued. “I made it very clear that lying about
your numbers ain’t gon bring in more money. In actuality, you’re more likely to
get put in check.”
“What
happened the third time?” Dre asked.
“What
did happen the third time?” Uncle Tevin asked Dad. They thought about it for a
minute and Dad smiled.
“Larry
King Live.” Dad stated. “When we were on there, he got outta line and I smacked
him.”
“What
he say?” Chris asked.
“He
talked about how you two, Kenny and Will, were handfed everything, didn’t
deserve what was goin on and the fact is y’all are no talent ‘never were’.” Dad
said. “This all came about when we were talking about y’all bein overseas for
basketball.”
“Oh,
this was back durin the USA Basketball tournament?” I asked.
“Sho
nuff. Not to mention they constantly think y’all haven’t earned a single
thing.”
“Last
I check, we were put in training, classes, and all types of otha shit just to
get this far.” I explained. “We worked harder in the first ten years of our
life than he has in his entire life. Not to mention, we had to do regular
school work on top of that.”
“Thank
you.” Will agreed.
“What
can I say, shit happens.” Dad stated.
“What’s
teams?” I asked.
“You
know me and your father got downs. We neva play first.” Uncle Tevin stated.
“Iight,
that leaves the rest of ya. Me and Will shall take on all competitors. Games
are up to 500.” I stated.
“Iight,
KJ and myself will take you on.” Terrell volunteered.
“That’s
what’s good.” Will said. Uncle Tevin got
up to talk to Aunt Keasha.
After
several hours of whoopin ass in spades, we all sat outside with full stomachs
and beer. Tierra was in my lap, knocked out. Everyone began to leave. Don’t
blame em, it is 0310 ri now. We had to be at work at 8. It was me, Monique,
Will, Beyonce, Chris, Latoya, Andre, and Yvonne remaining; the occupants of the
house. We sat there for anotha 20 minutes talkin bout changes we could make to
the house. We then decided to call it a night and go to bed.
Comments
Post a Comment