“Most definitely. We had some good times. Wish it was longer,” he replied with an uneasy smile.
“That muthafucka a damn lie. My mother died during childbirth,” Bentley corrected him.
His response caught me by surprise actually. I never knew Aunt Rhema’s reason for passing but now I did. I felt sorry for Bentley. But before I could stop myself, I gave my condolences. “I’m sorry.”
Enzo thought I was speaking to him and replied, “Thank you. It means a lot.”
“What actin’ class yo’ fuck ass go to? You need a damn refund,” Genesis tried mumbling, but we all heard him loud and clear.
Poor Cheyonne hadn’t moved a muscle. I guess she was just here to listen to it all play out. Meanwhile, Klarity tried her best to keep her man on a leash. Royce just needed to excuse himself and go home already. He wasn’t going to do right.
The doors to the kitchen opened, and the servers filed out one by one, holding trays. They were placed in front of everyone with tea and wine filling our glasses seconds later. Mama Iris went all out for this sad ass dinner.
“Finally, we being fed something real. This fake shit is making me itch,” Royce voiced while sitting up in his chair. At least he was ready to eat. That way he could shut up and let the night pass in peace or something along those lines.
“Royce, we have to bless the food,” Mama Iris finally spoke up, and those sons of hers shot her a look that was damn near identical. For Gen not to be hers biologically, he reacted as if he was. It took a while for him to warm up to her, but he did eventually, and now they were finally on speaking terms.
“Did you bless yo’ table before you let Judas half-brother waltz his ass in here and sit down?” Royce threw back. I just shook my head, and the others tried to hide their faces because he was so serious right now, and I think that’s what made it even funnier.
“Listen. I don’t know what the problem is, but I been letting shit slide since I came in this house. Who knew getting to knowyour family would be such a hassle? My mama wouldn’t want this,” Enzo said playing the sympathy card.
“Which mama you talking about, ‘cause Rhema was a firecracker?” Uncle Ryan hadn’t said a peep all night and I meant absolutely nothing. However, he decided to put some straightening on what Enzo stated. I found it to be comical.
“This nigga.” Yonnis said under his breath, but I heard him.
Enzo pretended like he didn’t hear Uncle Ryan at all and diverted his attention to the food in front of him. “This steak looks good.” His eyes lit up when he uncovered his dish.
“How you gon’ wear a nigga name and you ain’t cross all yo’ Ts?” Bentley asked to no one in particular. I didn’t understand what he meant, but I didn’t have to wonder long before he spoke again. “Remember this baby girl, I don’t eat no fuck ass red meat. In fact, a nigga been a pollotarian for a while now, and my whole team knows that shit.”
That one detail had totally slipped my mind completely. As a matter of fact, thinking back on a few of our lighter chats, he spoke about only the meats he ate like chicken, turkey, or duck. I guess this was where his truth became a fact.
“Nephew, I see you like red meat. My sister refused to eat it,” Senior chimed.
“Huh?” Enzo stalled, clearly not knowing the small details about Bentley or Aunt Rhema.
“That’s right muthafucka, I’m my mama’s child.” Bentley boasted in my ear. Probably excited to share such a small and unnoticeable detail with his mother.
One point, Senior.
Shaking his head, Senior chuckled while he shrugged Enzo’s lack of comprehension off. “I really miss my sister. Your father was in love with her, and I just wanted to protect her.”
“Oh, yeah,” Enzo said, mugging Senior like he had indeed ruffled his feathers without realizing it.
Nodding, Senior continued to speak on Aunt Rhema. “Yeah. We ain’t see eye to eye all the time, but the nigga dropped his old bitch like a bad batch for her, so I had to respect that.”
Everything stopped, even on Bentley’s end in my ear was dead silent. Enzo held fire in his eyes, and I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody at this table, including him, said to hell with it and caused chaos.
“You straight, cuzzo?” Royce taunted.
“Nigga look sick to me,” Genesis chimed coolly while picking up his tea as if he was enjoying the show.
“Bentley, baby, you not looking so good,” Mama Iris pointed out.
He couldn’t say too much of nothing while he offered up a few head nods. “Yeah, I’m just gon’ head out. Thanks for the invite, Auntie. In due time, family.” He dropped his fork onto the fine China before standing to his feet.
Senior wins!
“In due muthafuckin’ time nigga,” Bentley said.
