“First of all, I love Ace,” I begin, opting for simple and direct. “He’s my favorite person in the entire world.”
All three of them seem to exhale at the same time, shoulders dropping, legs stretching out. They must have thought I was about to cuss them out or something. Where would they even get that idea?
“I wake up thinking about him,” I continue. “How to make his life better. How to bring him more peace,” I say, although thepeace part is a lie. “How to make him happy. How to make him feel good. Everything I do, I do it with him in mind.”
They shift in their seats.
“And I would do anything to make him happy,” I continue. “Because his happiness is my happiness. We’re one now. Forever.”
They stare blankly.
“Which means his pain…is also my pain.” I pause to let that sink in. “My man was hurt when y’all didn’t stand up for him at the wedding.”
Bron goes to speak, but I cut him off.
“So I was hurt, too. But Ace is a forgiving man. He loves y’all. So I’m here to make amends so that my husband can be happy again. Because he’s been miserable without his boys.”
By the time I finish, they look appropriately chastened. Their eyes flick to each other, their faces cautious.
“I understand wanting to protect the person you care about.”
They nod slowly.
“We share that,” I say. “So, all that to say…I forgive you.”
Three frowns bloom on their faces.
“And I caution you to handle my husband more carefully in the future. You won’t get another chance with me.”
Bron laughs at that. “Yo, you serious?”
“Do I look like I’m playing?”
His smile fades. “So we pretending like we didn’t have reasons to be concerned about you?”
Jovan nods. “Spelman. Teaching certificate. Any of this ringing a bell?”
“Yeah, I lied,” I admit. “I wanted to impress Ace, because he’s an impressive man, and I was worried I wouldn’t be good enough. But he forgave me. He’s not as shallow as his family.”
Javon chuckles at that, shaking his head.
“So, are we good?” I ask. “Because if you let him down again, I won’t forgive. And I definitely won’t forget.”
Dayton clears his throat, scooting to the edge of the seat to get closer to me. “Well, first off, we already apologized to him. But second, to be honest, I’m not really feeling your attitude.”
“Okay, well ifI’mbeing honest, I really don’t give a fuck. I wasn’t feeling how down Ace was for the last few months, but I dealt with it because I’m a good wife. Are you good friends?”
Bron rolls his eyes. “We been his boys for over ten years. You just got here.”
“And he still picked me over you,” I remind him. “That should tell you something.”
“What are you trying to accomplish here?” Jovan asks. “Cuz the way you’re coming off right now, it’s not conducive to making up and keeping the peace.”
“Oh, it’s notconducive?” I mock. “Get over yourselves. I’m a good wife to him, and your boy is happy. I fuck him whenever he wants. I suck his dick whenever he wants—I’m talking aboutsloppyhead, too,” I clarify. “I’m ready to go to war for that man. With you, with his raggedy ass family, with his employees and coworkers and anybody else who tries him. I’m ride or die, literally. Do you understand? And he fuckingloves it.”
Silence.
I stand, smoothing my dress down with my hands.
