“Thank you.” Henna’s words shocked Giselle.
She had no idea what the little gesture meant. If Heavy was willing to open his heart to their mother again, they could work on being the family she always wanted them to be. Harlee and Heir were like the icing on the cake to start over and be betterfor each other. Although Toussaint and Milani weren’t together anymore, there was still a mutual love and respect. Her father never disrespected her, and he had every right to it with the shit she pulled. The drugs, different men, abandoning him and their kids.
Instead of dwelling on what he couldn’t change, he absorbed himself in the streets. Hustling became his way of life, giving him a purpose and motivation to go hard for his kids. Toussaint got jammed up on some bullshit charges, but he was smart with his money, distributing it amongst his parents to slowly build their family legacy. It was all in the timing, and Horace always told them not to be in a rush to do anything. Savor every stage of it. Henna didn’t practice patience as well as her brother.
“Wow. Look at them.” Milani gushed with a hand pressed against her chest.
Harlee and Heir slept on an air mattress while Maisie’s bartender Countess’ two teen daughters scrolled their phones on opposite sides of the couch. Pierre slept on a separate sofa, still holding his Switch in his hand, The TV mounted to the wall was on, and images of Bluey danced across the screen. Maisie’s office consisted of two rooms. The first was a small waiting area with an entire living room, including a refreshment station with a top-notch espresso machine and minifridge. In the second space beyond an arched doorway was her office with a desk and the surveillance system on multiple monitors behind it. There wasn’t an area of the club’s interior and exterior that couldn’t be viewed. Crew made it a point not to have any blind spots when it came to his woman. He couldn’t always be here, so her safety was priority.
“They’re gorgeous.” She reached out and gripped his shoulder. “They look just like you and Henna.”
“I know. It’s crazy.” Heavy slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned against the door frame.
“You’re different,” Milani observed with a soft grin. “A little lighter. Not so heavy.” She joked, playfully poking him with her elbow.
“I have a lot to be grateful for.” He stroked his beard and studied his sleeping babies.
“And Giselle?” Milani mocked in a fake whimsical voice.
“My princess.” He couldn’t contain the grin that captured his lips. “Sweet, feisty, got a good heart. Might not seem like that on the surface because she’s also bourgeois as hell.”
“I imagine she’s the real her with you like you are with her,” Milani surmised, a soft smile breaking out over her features as she looked off. “It’s like that when you’re in love with someone.I remember that. I hope I get to spend some time with them while they’re awake.”
“I won’t keep you from them. The first sign of some fuck shit, and that’s it, though.” Heavy was assertive but still caring in his words. “It was one thing to walk out on me and Henna, but I can’t allow anybody to come in and break their hearts like that. So, don’t give them love you can’t live up to.”
“And what about you?” Milani checked. “You’re talking about letting me in for them. Can you let me in, son?”
“I guess only time will tell.”
The remainder of the night, Heavy spent his time downstairs tucked in the corner, drink in hand, smoking a blunt and watching his people turn up. The whole club sang happy birthday to Remi, and she cut her first slice of cake. She didn’t let anyone else distribute it, so she greeted most of her guests and passed them a plate at the same time. The only reason Heavy came tonight was out of respect for her and the fact that Gisellepractically begged him to join her. He didn’t want to leave her hanging, and after seeing that jumper she was wearing, he’d be damned if she had niggas in her face all night, and he wasn’t around. Now he’d mended fences with his mama, but there were still a few people he had conflict with. Every time Prischa looked in his direction tonight, he’d turned away.
The shit with Viggo didn’t bother him. Seeing them together made a hell of a lot more sense than him and her. He just hoped his cousin grew the fuck up because Prischa didn’t deserve anything but the best. Henna dangled a blunt in his face, dragging him from his current thoughts. Giselle, Gem, Lou, and Maisie were all on the dance floor together.
“Can we consider this a peace offering?”
Heavy looked her in the eye and grabbed the blunt.
“So… maybe I was a little bit wrong.” She slowly lowered herself beside him onto the couch. “About Giselle. I’m willing to admit that. She doesn’t get a pass from me for lying, but… after talking to Maisie, and seeing her with Mama… I can see she’s not all bad.”
Heavy pulled from the blunt then slowly exhaled.
“I’m not saying we’re going to be best friends or no shit like that… but I know I have to respect her as the mother of your kids. I don’t want to miss any more time seeing them grow up.”
“Giselle might surprise you. She’s easy to talk to.” Heavy exhaled.
“Like I said… no promises. But, if she’s the reason for the change of heart… I can’t be mad at it. This is the first time I’ve seen you like this.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. You used to walk around like you were carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. I thought you were unhappy about having to live here and help hold the family down. Like maybe we were holding you back fromsomething. I know when you were little, you always dreamed of having your own plane and said you were going to fly all over the world.” Henna waved her arms all dramatic like she was retelling a story. “You said you wanted to see foreign cars and learn how to work on them and someday build your very own. Oh, and can’t forget to go 100 miles per hour in a car with the driver’s seat on the right side.”
“I can’t believe you remember all that.” Heavy chuckled and shook his head. “It’s crazy because Heir loves all the shit I love. Cars. Planes. Little shit like that I’m just in awe of. I wonder if he’s telling all his dreams to Harlee like you did.”
“I’m sure he is, and she’s holding all his secrets too. She’s something else.” Henna tittered. “And… I remember all our talks. We were all we had when our parents were in the streets. Horace and Petal would make us go to sleep early, but we never did. We would lay in those beds at their house, talking about all the things we wanted to do. Now look at me. I’m thirty-three years old, managing retail. I honestly don’t know what happened to me.”
“You stuck around for Milani. Holding on to hope that you could get her clean and keep her that way. Problem is, that was never your responsibility, Hen. You stunted your own growth to be there for her when it should have been the other way around. I’m trying to let this shit go and move forward with my life and with Milani, but she’s grown, and her getting and staying clean is on her,” Heavy preached. “Now, it’s time for you to let that go. Let her live her life and make her own damn choices, and you live yours.” He picked up his glass off the table and took a sip.
Henna took those words to heart as Giselle sauntered in the room with Maisie, Lou, and Gem right behind her. Heavy’s eyes immediately latched onto her. She fanned her face while taking a breath and strolled toward him and his sister. Henna gradually stood so she could remove herself from the situation. She wasn’tgoing to raise hell every time she was around her, but she didn’t need to pretend either.
