Zander nodded. “Much more. Me and Vernon grew up together. Went to Cadence Prep together, just like y’all. We were best friends since kindergarten. Did everything together. Your grandmother, Sweetie, your dad’s mom, was like a second mom to me. She took me in when my mom died when I was sixteen. I lived with them until I graduated.”
“Wait, what?” Sweetie asked with wide eyes.
Boogie had to agree. This was a fucking shock. Never in a million years did Boogie think his father and Vernon had once beenfriends, . . . brothers.
“We got into the streets together, made millions together, met our wives together . . . I was his best man, and he was mine. It’s how I know your granny. Lucille was always a firecracker. She used to make the best pies. When your mama was pregnant with Audra, she always craved blueberry pie. Ms. Lucille would make them for her, and she always made an extra one for me.
“Before Veronica and Tandy gave birth to our first babies, we had a fallout. A bad one. One that split all of Desmore Bay in two. He took one side, and I took the other. Shit ain’t ever been the same since then. Your pops became really bitter. Mean. He’s held onto this damn grudge for thirty-five years, and I got over it in one.”
Everyone stared at him in silence for several moments before Boogie asked, “What was the fallout over?”
It was Zander’s turn to shift uncomfortably. That made Boogie sit back in his seat and peer at his father curiously. Tandy laughed dryly as if she couldn’t wait for Zander to spill the beans, which only heightened Boogie’s curiosity.
Zander cleared his throat. “A car.”
The silence around the table was deafening.
“A car?” Denzel asked for clarification after nobody spoke.
Zander sighed. “You know the vintage car in the garage?”
“Yeah . . .” Denzel said slowly.
Zander nodded. “It belonged to his mama. She loved that damn car. When she passed, she left it to me and left him the house. Vernon didn’t want the house. He wanted the car. I didn’t want to give it up. His mama and I bonded over that car. She was special to me. She wanted me to have it.”
“You took that man’s mama’s car?” Boogie asked incredulously.
“I didn’t take it. She gave it to me,” Zander argued.
“You could have given it back,” Denzel pointed out.
“Y’all tag teamin’ me now?” Zander snapped.
Sweetie shook her head. “I don’t understand . . . all this over a car?”
Zander looked at her with somewhat of a guilty expression. “Sad to say, but yeah. Your pops never got over that.”
“Two fools who never grew up and had a man-to-man conversation,” Tandy mumbled.
“Wow,” Sweetie said.
“That’s some bullshit.” Boogie grabbed Sweetie’s hand again and caressed it lovingly. His mind was blown, and he could tell hers was too. Here they were gearing up for a war because of a damn car.
Better yet, two decades had to pass between them because of a mothafuckin’ car. Like he just said, this was some complete and utter bullshit.
“Afucking car is wild,” Chloe said as she lounged on the bed in the guest room Sweetie and Boogie had stayed in.
Sweetie shook her head because she really had no words. She leaned up against the wall opposite the bed, too antsy to sit. Boogie, Denzel, and Zander had left to go do God knows what. Tandy retired to her room to take a nap, and Chloe followed Sweetie up to her room since they hadn’t had a moment to talk since she and Boogie reunited.
Finally, Sweetie mumbled, “Real fuckin’ wild.”
The thought of a car being the source of all the madness in her life pissed her off.A fucking car.It would be a long time before she could wrap her mind around that. Her father was stubborn and typically thought the world revolved around him. His mother passed before she was born, but rumor had it his mama was the reason he was that way. He was her only child and spoiled rotten. It was right on track for him to throw a damn fitover a car. But to become so bitter and mean, especially toward his youngest daughter, that was a bit much.
Sweetie could remember before she and Boogie got caught the first time, she and her dad got along alright. They weren’t best friends or nothing like that, but he was kind to her and spoiled her. Junior high changed everything for her, and it was all because her father couldn’t let go of a stupid car.
With a loud sigh, Sweetie pushed off the wall and walked over to the bed. After she plopped down, Chloe said, “I never would have thought you would be a part of the family. I always thought you were so sweet, and you sure know how to shake that ass, but it’s a small ass world, you knowing Boogie and all.”
“Super small.” Sweetie agreed.
