“We can do it,” he insisted. “Wise got the west side. Vega got the low end. I got the in-between. We can push it.”
I took a turn and my tires crunched over salted streets. “I’ll think about it.”
Prodigy went quiet for half a second like he didn’t like that answer. “When you gone let me know?”
“When I’m ready. If I decide it’s a yes, you’ll hear from me.”
“Bet,” he said, trying to sound patient.
“But peep this, if I put you under the Cartiers and you embarrass me, it won’t be your plug you gotta worry about.”
17
RHYTHM BROOKS
KJ woke me up from a real good nap. He was bouncing on my bed on his knees like it was a trampoline and yelling my name like the building was on fire. “Ma! Ma! Wake up!”
I groaned and pulled the blanket higher over my head. “KJ… please. I told you I need to take a nap.”
My body felt heavy. I was exhausted from the weekend. My mother had relieved Joi and spent the night with my kids Saturday night. So, I had been out clubbing with Sincere and the Cartiers. I’d come home earlier and relieved her, and now it was Sunday afternoon, and I was trying to sneak in a nap while Kinsley napped.
“Ma!” he called out, giggling while pulling on the cover.
I stuck my head out from under the blanket, eyes half open. “What, boy?”
He shoved his phone in my face. “Look!”
I blinked hard because the brightness from his screen hurt my eyes.
On the screen was the Instagram reel of my live painting at the show. The view count had tripled since the last time I sawit. It was sitting right under a million, and every time the screen refreshed, it jumped again.
I stared at it in amazement.
KJ’s eyes were wide and shining. “Ma! You almost got a million views! And your followers,” he said, flipping the screen around and jabbing at it with his finger. “Look! It keep going up. You’re going viral!”
My mouth went dry as I stared at the numbers. My notifications were stacked. I had so many comments, shares, and new followers. People were tagging other people in the reel. People were asking where they could buy the piece.
KJ bounced again. “You famous, Ma. Like real famous.”
I smiled bashfully. “I’m not famous.”
“Yes, you is! You got almost a million views. That’s famous. That’s like when that kid be dancing on TikTok and everybody know him.”
I stared at the screen again, then at my son. His face was pure pride, like he was looking at me the way kids look at superheroes. That made tears sting my eyes. He didn’t know all the nights I cried over bills. He didn’t know how many times I wanted to quit. He just knew his mama was winning, and that was the only reason I ever wanted this.
I pulled him into me and kissed his cheek hard. “Thank you for waking me up and showing me this, baby.”
He giggled and tried to squirm away, but I held him tighter for a second because I needed it. “You and Kinsley are the reason I do all of this,” I whispered into his hair.
KJ went still for half a beat, then pulled back like he remembered something important. “Can we have pizza?”
I smiled through the lump in my throat. “Yeah. In a little while.”
His whole face lit up. “Yes!” He hopped off the bed and sprinted out of the room like he was about to place the order himself. “Thank you, Ma!”
Now that I was up, I reached for my phone on the nightstand and unlocked it. My notifications were insane. Then I saw a text from Aria.
Aria:We need to do prints of the live piece ASAP. With that reel going crazy, we can move prints online immediately. Call me when you’re up.
