“I’m doing one hour on that shit, then you gotta get somebody else to do it.”
“Ah, shit! All his old hoes gon’ be lining up to dunk his ass!” Henna cackled, and Viggo flipped her off. “Fuck around and be able to send these kids to Disney World!”
“Fuck outta here. I’m on good terms with all my old bitches.” Viggo took a pull from his blunt.
“Is that right?” Prischa rested a hand on her hip and cocked a brow in his direction.
“Not like that.” He slid his arm around her waist and offered her the blunt. “Chill.”
“All this standing around y’all doing, you can do some work any time now.” Remi came up to the table where Heavy was hugging Giselle from behind and whispering in her ear.
She was showing out in her biker shorts and sports bra. If he’d seen her leave the house this morning, he would have told her to bring her ass right back in to change. It was hot, and she knew she would have to shower and change later anyway, so she opted for workout gear.
“Volunteers don’t get paid, Rem,” Viggo said over his shoulder.
“They don’t eat either,” she countered.
“See, there she go threatening a nigga again.” Viggo shook his head, and Prischa passed the blunt back to him after a few puffs. “Cuz, help me get the rest of these chairs and shit from the car.” Viggo pulled away from Prischa, and Heavy did the same with Giselle.
“Mama, Petal wants to know where you want to set up y’all table?” Lou asked. “She said she ain’t sitting with Rebecca and Tawni this year.”
“Lawd, this woman.” Remi huffed and followed Lou down the block to find Petal.
“Time for a smoke break while these grills smoke.” Horace went into the inner pocket of his beach style shirt paired with a pair of khaki shorts and those old school wicker looking sandals. He held up a joint the size of somebody’s finger and wandered off with Toussaint as Gem hopped up from a lawn chair with her phone in hand.
“Where are you going?” Giselle questioned.
“Solo’s down the street parking. I’m going to talk to him for a minute, dang.” Gem turned her nose up.
“You spending all your free time with him.”
“He’s my man,” Gem asserted.
“Is that right?” Giselle pushed her lips out.
“Yes. He’s even got a new place in Southwick, so he can be close. Don’t trip. I’m not quitting school or none of that, but… I like him. He likes me too.”
“Okay. Just… be careful,” Giselle replied.
“That’s it? No lecture or power point discussion?”
“Girl, you are grown. I can’t tell you what to do. All I can do is be there for you. If you’re happy, I’m happy. If he hurts you… I hurt him. Carry on.” Giselle flashed a half smile.
“You’re a little crazy.” Gem snickered before sauntering off.
Giselle still couldn’t shake how much she reminded her of herself. A big part of her wished that she and Gem had grown up like sisters the way Maisie and Lou did. The two of them had missed a lot of time, so now it was all about trying to make up for it. Giselle checked the time on her Apple watch and saw that it was almost 12:30 p.m. She had done her part for the day, and Remi had plenty of help, so she wanted to run over to her house to shower and change into her attire for the day.
“Harlee! Heir!” she called out, looking around and not seeing either twin in sight.
She hadn’t turned her back that long. She shouted for both again, and when she got no answer, her stomach might as well have fallen to her ass. Instant panic set in. Henna picked up on her frantic position first, looking as if she was about to pass out from hyperventilation.
“Giselle, breathe. It’s okay.”
“They’re gone. Where are they?” she screeched, grabbing onto Henna’s arms tight.
Her knees buckled at the thought of her children being snatched up.
“What’s wrong?” Heavy demanded when he and Viggo got back with a stack of folding chairs from his truck.
