“Hell, yeah. Every time I see one of Chop’s pictures, I laugh. Bro has been lame since we were kids. I don’t understand how any woman could take him seriously,” Loyal commented.
“Well, Peace is the woman who crashed the shower, and this is her daughter. She walked in and found out her cousin was having a baby with her man. Apparently, Lil’ mama had some secrets of her own because Promise wasn’t his.”
“Damn, that’s wild. How do you think he would feel about you helping his ex?” Justice asked.
“I don’t give a fuck how he would feel. He has a right to feel hurt if lil’ mama cheated on him, but the way he handled things made him a bitch in my eyes. She took a charge for him, so obviously, there was some loyalty there. Plus, I know for a fact he was fucking multiple bitches while they were together. Hell, he never posted pictures of them, so he clearly had something to hide.”
“Yeah, it seems odd to me. It sounds like the cousin was plotting against her from the beginning. I see why you want to help her because she must not have much of a support system,” Justice expressed.
I hadn’t brought up the baby shower incident to her since I knew it was probably a sore spot for her. Chop had been posting pictures and parading his new woman around as if she were the greatest person he had ever met. I could see right through the bullshit, but I chose to ignore it because he wasn’t worth my energy.
We continued to talk until their wives started calling to find out where they were. It was odd being the only single one of the group, but I wasn’t interested in what they had. Marriage had never been on the table for me, nor was settling down. My life had enough chaos in it without involving a woman. I loved being able to come and go as I pleased without having to explain myself to anyone.
“Alright, I’m about to get out of here. Tru is running a fever, and she doesn’t like anyone else to take care of her when she gets sick,” Loyal explained.
“You’ve got her spoiled rotten.” I shot back.
“And do. That’s daddy’s baby girl. If she wants to be held all day and night, then that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”
“I know Tyeis is tired of your ass.”
“Naw, she’s spoiled too. Hell, everybody in my house is spoiled. All they gotta do is ask for something, and I’m gonna make it happen,” he boasted proudly.
“I can’t even talk shit because Ciyani is spoiled, and so are Cayden and Cartier. Everybody keeps asking when Ciyani and I are gonna have kids, but I keep telling them I already have some. Cayden and Cartier run my pockets the way we used to do Pops. Last week, Cayden asked for a Lambo for his birthday. I swear I miss the days when the only thing they wanted were video games and snacks.”
Justice’s wife, Ciyani, had been raising her two little brothers since she was a young girl, so they were basically her kids. Everyone wanted them to have children of their own, but I understood why they weren’t in a rush. Ciyani had been caring for children her whole life. It was time for her to live for herself.
“I feel you. Once Danae graduates and goes to college, I’m throwing a party to celebrate my freedom. I’m already a bachelor, but I’ll finally get to live like one.”
“Yeah, right. You’re gonna be in this house, miserable, when your sisters leave. You’ve been taking care of them for most of their life. Once they leave, you’re gonna be lonely as hell.” Loyal challenged.
“No, I won’t. There are too many bitches out there for me to ever be lonely. I might actually take a few solo trips or some shit.”
Everyone cracked jokes about how I worked too hard, but no one understood what I had been through. On the outside, everyone praised me for stepping up to take care of my family, but they had no idea what kind of pressure had been placed on me since the day they lowered my father into the ground.
We said our goodbyes, and after I got dinner started, Dana came, kidnapped Promise, and took her upstairs. My sisters loved kids, so I wasn’t surprised to see them take to her the waythey did. Dana started her daycare service a couple of years ago, which was mainly for friends and family, so I let her use our basement as her center. It was completely furnished and filled with everything you would find in a classroom. She was in school to become a teacher, so it gave her practice. Plus, she had a nurturing spirit, which made kids love her.
“Alright, pretty girl. Say goodbye to Doe.” Dana snickered while holding baby girl in her arms. She was half asleep, but she perked up at the mention of my name.
“Her momma outside?”
I hadn’t received a text from her, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. When I told her we needed to talk a few days ago, she had been doing her best to avoid me.
“Yeah, she asked if I could bring her outside.”
“I’ll take her.” I lifted Promise out of her arms and threw her bag over my shoulder.
Promise wrapped her arms around my neck as we headed outside. Her momma was testing my patience, something I didn’t tolerate from anyone. I sauntered over to her car and opened the back door. Once I made sure baby girl was strapped in, I glanced up at Peace, who purposely tried to avoid eye contact.
“Get out of the car. We need to talk.”
My tone was final because I wanted to make sure she understood it wasn’t an option. I held Promise’s door open until her mother obliged my demands. Her stubborn ass rolled her eyes as she stood next to her door. Her arms were folded across her chest with her lips formed into a pout.
“I don’t give a fuck about your little attitude. You’ve been ducking and dodging me for the last few days. Your time is up, ma.”
Her eyes were focused on the ground as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“What do you want to talk about?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
