“No,” Symphony laughed. “Why do they have to be from a boyfriend? Why can’t they be from a friend?”
Mason’s shoulders hiked into a shrug.
Symphony decided to change the subject. “I don’t know what I want for dinner. I have some turkey burgers, but I kind of want to make pasta. Then again, I kind of want shrimp tacos from the Mexican spot we like. What are you in the mood for?”
“It doesn’t even matter. Grandma has been staying out late for the past few nights, and I’ve been surviving off Ramen and Hot Pockets. All of that sounds good to me as long as it’s not cooked in a microwave.” Sonya didn’t do a lot of eating out so since being with her, Mason had gotten used to home cookedmeals. Unlike most teens, he mostly preferred home cooked meals over fast food.
“Staying out late?” Symphony’s face scrunched. That didn’t sound like her mother. “Staying out late doing what?”
Mason once again shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I heard her talking on the phone one night, and she said something about a casino. I don’t question grandma, and she doesn’t offer any answers. I’m about to take a shower.”
Symphony stood frozen in place as she watched her nephew walk up the stairs. Her chest felt tight. The casino? That was the reason her mother needed to borrow money. How was that any better than Monique asking for money? She knew that when it came to addiction, there was always a chance of relapse. However, Symphony truly thought that losing everything once before had been enough to scare her mother straight. Obviously, that was wishful thinking.
The situation with Monique had them both stressed. Symphony could look at her mother and tell that worrying about her oldest child had taken its’ toll on her. But why couldn’t she see that gambling wasn’t going to make it better? As long as she had a job and a place of her own, her mother would never be homeless, but when did it stop? When did adults start making better decisions for themselves? Willingly, they let their lives go to shit and depended on someone else to pick up the pieces for them.
Symphony was pissed, but she couldn’t confront her mother. As difficult as it would be, she had to keep it inside because she didn’t want her mother to get mad at Mason for telling her business. Symphony hated the way she shut down when she became worried, anxious, or upset. Just that fast, her notion to cook went out the window, and she knew they’d be eating tacos. She wanted a glass of wine so bad, she could taste it. But if sheused alcohol to cope, how was she any better than Monique and her mother?
Symphony walked into her living room, sat on the couch, and put her face in her hands. All she wanted was peace. Peace in her family and peace in her life. She didn’t bust her ass all those years in medical school to one day just quit, but if she had it her way, she’d get married in the next two years, then take a year off to have a baby. It was difficult to focus on her happily ever after, when she spent so much of her time and energy cleaning up other people’s messes. If her mother needed to borrow money from her, then she damn sure wasn’t winning when she went to the casino.
Symphony didn’t want that to be her business or her problem, but deep down inside she knew that if her mother lost enough money, she would be expected to go to the ATM and save the day per usual.
Blak eyed his reflection in the floor length mirror. It was the first time in his life that he’d ever worn a tux. He had to admit that he looked fly as fuck. As did his cousins. When he had relatives like Block, Lethal, and Brazil he didn’t need friends. Block was going to be his best man, and Lethal, Brazil, Mario, and his homeboys, Rico and Jug were going to be his groomsmen.
“You sure you want to do this?” Block walked up behind Blak as he stared at himself.
“Yeah. Why not? I think the pros outweigh the cons for sure. It’s not like I’ll fall in love and marry a broad on some real shit anyway.” Blak sounded confident, but his own words made his gut churn.
It had been a week since he came in Averi twice. He hadn’t reached out to her, and he wasn’t sure why. Something told him that she had taken a plan B pill and wouldn’t have his child if he paid her to. Something also told him that if she didn’t have his child, she’d stand on business and leave him alone like she kept saying she was. Blak had every reason to believe that she wasn’t talking just because she had lips.
He’d get over it. Blak had never been lovesick a day in his life, and he doubted he would choose now to start. He liked Averi, and even if he did it in a fucked up way, he tried to make it so she’d be a constant in his life. If she really didn’t want to deal with him any longer, he’d have to accept that.
“As long as you’re sure,” Block asserted.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better. Yo’ black ass was looking ashy and weak as fuck a few days ago.”
Block stuck his middle finger up causing Blak to laugh. Block walked over to where Brazil was sitting looking lost as hell. “Bro, you been looking like you swallowed a rock all day. When the test results come back?”
“The lab tech said it would be today or tomorrow. If she’s mine, what the fuck am I gon’ do?” Brazil looked to his brother for answers.
“You gon’ handle yo’ scandal,” Block replied with conviction. “If that’s yo’ blood, you gotta step up and be there for her the way your pops has always been there for you. There isn’t another option.”
“Me with a newborn though?”
“Nigga, you know moms is gon’ be there around the clock. And if she needs a break, you can hire a nanny. You have the support and the means to take care of a kid. Stop acting like the world is over because you might have a child.”
Brazil kissed his teeth. “I’d like to see how you’d act if you were told right now that you had a kid that had already been born.”
“I’d do what I had to do,” Block replied confidently. “I don’t have to worry about that though because I use condoms,” he smirked.
“I do too. I don’t run up in shit raw. I’ve been trying to piece together moments from that night, but I’m drawing blanks. I know I for sure put a condom on though.”
“It could have broken. I’ve had a chick take the condom off to suck me off then try to hop back on the dick without me putting another condom on. I can’t be for sure something like that was the case with you, but chicks can be ruthless. And most chicks know when they’re ovulating. I bet somehow someway; she took advantage of how drunk you were. You still don’t know how she died?”
“I googled her name, and the news article said that she was in a high-speed chase with a guy that was running from the police. The chase lasted for ten minutes before he crashed into a tree going more than a hundred miles an hour.”
“Damn.”
“This shit is crazy,” Brazil shook his head.
