We both watched her running toward the doors where Duke was waiting. She ran into his arms, and he picked her up and spun her around. “Doing the pops shit?”
“Yeah. She had a coding afterschool activity. Jeffie was supposed to get her, but since I was heading here, she told me to scoop her.”
“Where Skyler?”
“Work… she and Capri been busy lately… she gets home late and has early mornings. I keep Estella some nights because I want her to rest without being overwhelmed.”
I nodded my head. “All we know is to make it easier for the ones we love.”
“For sure. You wanna fill me in on why you got us meeting with Menace today?” he questioned, as we walked toward the front doors.
All I could do was laugh. “Some shit, Core… some shit.”
“Zoya shit?”
“Yeah.”
We made it through the front of the house, and I was nearly blinded with that damn mist. When we rounded the corner in the massive foyer, Stevie was sitting on the counter with her legs crossed and mixing paint on some art paint plate shit.
When she heard us, she looked up. “Hey guys… to what do we owe this visit?”
Corleon came around the counter and kissed her head, and I followed suit. “What up, Stevie?”
“Just trying to get the perfect color for this painting I’m working on for Navy… it’s a wedding gift for her and Landon.”
Corleon looked around. “Where’s Estella?”
“Upstairs with Avril… she doesn’t bother with me anymore. All she worries about is Dennis… you know, I’m still a person too,” she vented.
“Stevie, you got beef with your little cousin?” I laughed.
She paused, realizing how she sounded. “Maybe a little… babies are cute, I get it. However, nobody ever checks on the moms. He stole everything from me… then had the nerve to leave extra weight thatIdidn’t have.”
“I like the extra weight he left though,” Menace came around the corner with his hand shoved in his sweats.
He went through six different emotions from the moment he rounded the corner. Love, adoration, and being horrified while his wife mixed paint on the white marble counters.
“I miss fitting into my favorite pair of jeans.”
“I’ll buy you more.”
“Doesn’t make them my favorites, Mavie.”
He looked at his watch. “What you want me to do, Wonder?”
Corleon opened the fridge. “We interrupt something… damn.”
Menace never pulled his eyes from his wife. “They want us to divorce, Wonder… been wanting it since we got married.”
“Who the fuck said that?” I asked, trying to make sure I wasn’t missing shit that was said.
“I know, Mavie… we’re stronger together. Never let the outsiders win, right?” She continued to mix her paint.
The paint was fucking with Menace mentally. His hands quickly came out his pockets, and he started rubbing them together.
“Stevie, going along with his shit doesn’t help either,” Core said, as he popped open his soda.
“I would never rob my husband and kill him, Corleon.” Stevie gasped, climbing down from the counter.
