“Real shit,”Loyal confirmed.
The ringing of his cell phone interrupted them, and Cassidy noticeably brightened at the name that illuminated his screen.
“Damn,bruh, must be nice. A woman ain’t never brightened a nigga day like that,” Loyal quipped, sporting a rare smile as he finessed his goatee.
“Mine either, this baby sis,” Cassidy chuckled as he answered the call.“What’s up, E?”
He paused as Ellie’s fussing practically bled through the phone.
“So much for brightening that day,” Loyal said, amused as he heard the woman cussing and fussing on the other end of Cassidy’s line. He couldn’t make out what she was saying, but he knew she wasn’t happy. Cassidy signaled for the waitress.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not too far from you. I’m downtown Detroit. I’llbe there in thirty,” Cassidy stated.
He hung up and Loyal stood.“I take it wegon’have to settle the rest of this business later,” Loyal assumed.
“Yeah, apologies. My sister just flew in, and she needs a ride from the airport,” Cassidy informed.“My pops is cooking a welcome home dinner. Why don’t you slide later, and we can finish chopping it up? It’s kind of the kickoff to Christmas season for our family.”
“Nah, I don’t want to intrude. We can pick it up after the holidays,” Loyal responded.
“No pressure, my nigga, but you know how that fiscal shit go. We need to wrap this business before the year end,” Cassidy stated.
Loyal nodded.“True that.”
“The whole neighborhood ends up at the house when the old man gets to cooking. Trust me. It’s not an intimate thing at all. I’lltext you the address. Pull up, get some food, and we can finish this up.”
“Yeah, a’ight. I’llpull up for a minute,” Loyal answered.“Better not keep your sister waiting. She sounds like she got a little bite behind that bark. I got the tab.”
“Next one’s on me,” Cassidy stated. They slapped hands the way gentlemen from the streets usually do, and Cassidy made his exit.
Cassidy emerged from the restaurant and handed the valet his ticket. Ellie couldn’t have called at a more inopportune time, but there would never be a day she rang his line that he wouldn’t fly to her rescue. He hoped he hadn’t fucked up business by putting family first. Loyal owned the biggest commercial construction company in the state, and he wanted to invest in his cigar lounge, Sigaro’s. In fact, he wanted to expand and open more locations. They hadn’t even scratched the surface of the conversation when Ellie had called.
He pushed the old-school Cutlass to the max until he pulled up to arrivals at Detroit Metro and then pulled out his phone to call her. He got out as she emerged from the glass doors, lugging bags behind her.
“Uncle Cass!” Brooklyn shouted as she ran to him.
“Wow, look at you. Man, where my shotgun at?” he asked as he wrapped her in a hug.“My little bossain’t so little no more.”
Brooklyn laughed at the nickname he had given her long ago. Ellie would take her to visit him, during his bid, and every time he would see her, he would tell her that she was the little boss. She beamed at the title back then, and even still, she wore it with pride. It had been a while since Ellie had visited the prison, and he hadn’t seen her since he’d gotten released. This reunion was long overdue. He hadn’t even met Tessa formally yet.
“And you must be Tessa,” he said, bending so that he was at eye level with the little angel before him. Her soft hair was styled in locs and decorated with sporadic seashells, and her skin was the warmest shade of brown he had ever seen.“You’re a princess,aren’t you?”
“I don’t think so,” Tessa giggled.
“Yeah, you are. You just don’t know it yet. Your mom is a queen, which means you’re the princess, baby girl. I’m your uncle,Cass. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” he said. He held out his hand for her, and she placed her little hand in his. He kissed her knuckles and then stood to finally receive his sister.
“They’re beautiful, E. Come over here,” he said. Ellie placed the bags down and rushed into Cassidy’sarms.“What took you so long to come home, huh? Your big bro been free almost a year, and I’m just now wrapping my arms around you.”
It was freezing outside, but the duo didn’t care. It had been decades since they had been able to hug one another. He felt Ellie shudder and heard the soft cries she was stifling, and he held her tighter.
“No tears, E. I’m home now,” Cassidy comforted.
She nodded and squeezed her brother tightly before pushing him hard.“For being stupid!” she shouted.
Cassidy frowned and held out his hands innocently.“You been wanting to do that for23 years,haven’t you?”
“Yes, jackass,” she teased. Her daughters laughed, and Ellie wiped her eyes.“You’re good, though? Like, really good? Nothing happened to you in there? Your mind is good?”
“Lots of shit happened in there, but your brother a G. Iain’t fold, and I promise you, I’m good,” he said seriously and in a low tone so that his nieces didn’t overhear.
