“Did the alcohol do permanent damage?”
Henna snorted and sipped her fruit punch Gatorade. “No. We just confronted our issues like grown women do. Be proud of us.”
Taking in all three women’s faces, bleary, makeup smudged, messy as hell yet smiling, he shook his head in a rare moment of speechlessness. Viggo sparked a blunt after everyone scarfed down their burritos, and Henna reached for the half empty bottle of rum on the table. The back door opened and slammed shut, then little feet ran in their direction, full of energy. Harlee and Heir burst into the room. The twins raced over to their parents on the couch and jumped on them.
“Oh, shit!” Giselle groaned when Heir landed on her hard.
“Mama, your hair is crazy!” Harlee giggled from Heavy’s lap.
“Auntie Henna was snoring!” Heir pointed with a laugh.
“I was not… okay, maybe.” She squinted at her nephew. “You ain’t gotta put my business out there, though, little Huey!”
“Haha Huey!” Harlee jested.
Heavy laughed, a deep, easy laugh that he hadn’t released in years. Looking around the room, he saw things clearly for the first time in a long time. His people. All of them together. There was no bitterness, no walls up. It was just family; messy, loud, and trying to find the best way to heal. Labeled a menace to the streets, the only thing he sought in life now was a little bit of peace.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER…
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Heir and Harlee, Happy Birthday to you!” The entire family sang to the twins on their fifth birthday.
Giselle, Harlee, and Heir all flew out with Heavy on the brand new Cesna 172 four-seater plane that she purchased for him for his thirty-fifth birthday. The Belize Barrier Reef was beautiful this time of year, and their entire villa on the private island was surrounded by the jungle. Remi, Horace, and Petal all talked shit about leaving the states, but eventually were convinced to come and celebrate the twins with the elaborate trip.
When they arrived on the white sand beaches with nothing but privacy for their family, they were all captivated. Everyone else flew by private jet, and the island came equipped with a boat captain, private chef, and complimentary massages. The gentle ocean breeze was perfect for the day. A table big enough to seat everyone was arranged on the beach, and the decorations for the twins surrounded them. Each of them wanted their own theme, which their parents accommodated. Airplanes and unicorns were displayed on the table cloths, there were balloonsshaped like them, and each of them wore a little jumpsuit with an airbrush design of their names on back. Harlee’s was pink, and Heir’s was blue. The trip had been nothing short of magical so far.
Seated at the head of the table, arm propped on his chair, Heavy toyed with his beard while taking in the tranquil atmosphere. He had to do that sometimes to remind himself of what to be grateful for. Seeing all his family together, alive and healthy, did something to his beat-up heart. The last year hadn’t been perfect, but it brought them all together in more ways than one. Giselle and Gem laughed together, cutting and plating birthday cake so they could serve everyone. In no time, the little ones smashed theirs and ran to build sandcastles.
“I was a little hesitant about all that flying and coming to a private island, but… I’ll admit, this is nice,” Remi announced, twirling her glass of champagne with a pair of large Dior shades shielding her eyes from the sun.
Beside her, Maisie nursed her and Crew’s daughter, Caisie under a thin blanket and studied her as she drifted off. She was four months old and the perfect combination of her parents with Crew’s bronze skin and Maisie’s heart shaped face and nose. She took to motherhood effortlessly and was considering pushing out one more so her daughter would have a playmate. Crew sipped his bourbon from a glass with a cigar burning in his other hand and watched them. He couldn’t get enough of it.
“I told Petal we gon’ find one of these caves so I can break her off.” Horace puffed on a joint and passed it to Viggo.
Beside him, Prischa sat with her leg draped over his lap, watching Pierre, Harlee, and Heir run barefoot along the soft sand with Solo roaring like a monster behind them. It brought a smile to her face. Life had been good lately. Viggo had proven to be able to commit and make it work with one woman, and he took pride in it. Helping raise Pierre was also a highlight for him.
When Heavy told Prischa about Kina and Pierre, he expected her to crash out. It wasn’t something he could continue to keep from her. Instead, she took it on the chin after a night of getting drunk. It wasn’t something she could change. Pierre was gone, and although it angered her, how could she hold a grudge against a dead man?
“Grandpa, pleaseeeee,” Henna pleaded, stuffing her face with fruit with Oz at her side.
The two still weren’t trying to claim each other on no exclusive shit, and his baby mamas gave them hell regularly, but he wasn’t coming off Henna and vice versa. She’d met his kids, and they all adored her, but they were birth control for sure. She wasn’t sure she even wanted any of her own, but she was content being a bonus mom if necessary.
“Half the people at this table wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me putting in that work,” Horace pointed out. “Let’s toast to that!” He grabbed his flute and raised it in the air.
“Giselle, you haven’t touched your champagne,” Lou noted, tipping her glass to her lips beside Toussaint and Milani.
Nobody knew what was going on with those two and didn’t bother asking. She’d been helping out with the books and making appointments and answering phones at the shop, which meant they were seeing a lot of each other. It was never implied that they were back together, but everyone peeped that they had grown closer recently. Business was good all around. Heavy had made Sapien Auto a household name. Between the shops and surplus stores, their brand was expanding into something that surpassed his dreams.
It gave him time to spend with his kids since Giselle was taking the furniture and interior game by storm. She was booked so far out with consultations and projects that she was more than happy to take a little time to reset. The two of them had remodeled all the shops, and she now had three largewarehouses that distributed her furniture from the catalogues she produced. An addition to their home was also in the works.
“I’ve been busy hosting, Lou, damn.” Giselle picked up her glass, and Heavy peered up at her. “I have to pee.” She rushed off toward the deck of the house, and he stood calmly and followed her.
Giselle moved like she was on fire, stopping at a nearby bush and pouring her champagne out. Suddenly dizzy, she grabbed one of the beams of the railing to steady herself. The vibrant floral print maxi dress hugged her middle and left her swollen breasts sitting pretty. Sliding up behind her, Heavy encased her gently and folded his arms across her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” His warm breath brushed over her earlobe.
“Nothing. I’m just a little tired.” She sighed.
