“You need to evaluate and reevaluate yourself. What is it about her you tryna change?”
I huffed. “She can be loud, bossy, and nosy as hell.”
“Well, guess what? She been like that her whole life. Was she demanding any change in you?”
“Not until I threatened to leave her a few months back. She said if I wanted to see change in her, then I needed to make changes, too. She said I was hotheaded and self-centered.”
“You’re definitely both,” Asad responded.
I rolled my eyes at him and tried to text Noni.Baby, I’m sorry. I love you.
“She prolly done blocked your ass by now,” Asad said.
“Son, you spoiled, which caused you to be self-centered. That temper, I have to say you inherited it, unfortunately. Me and Shana both. I had to do some serious begging to get your mama back. I had to make changes in how I behaved, communicated, and treated her if I really wanted to be with her. Most times, her temper flared when mine did. She was only responding to what I put out there. I feel like the same goes for Noni.”
I huffed again, realizing how selfishly I was behaving. “I get frustrated because she has a hard time expressing her love. I think I do that, because when she does it, it’s so soft and beautiful. I want more of it. I crave it from her.”
“Well, you ain’t gon’ get it like this. You have to be what you want. You think Ashanni was soft and shit when I was trying to get her? Those younger Henderson women, besides Maui, ain’t playing that shit. You have to come correct. If you love her . . . If you want her, you’ll be patient, tender, and understanding. Now you gon’ really have to work hard. She done kicked you to the curb. It’s gon’ be hell trying to get her back.”
I glanced down at my phone to see my message hadn’t been delivered. She’d definitely blocked me. “You think you can get Ashanni to talk to her?” I asked Asad.
“You already know better than that. One thing I know about Noni is that she is strong-willed. She ain’t doing nothing unless shewannado that shit. You gon’ have to put in work. I’m talking ’bout flowers, gifts, and most importantly,changedbehavior.She ain’t gon’ fuck with you if she feel like you only doing shitto ‘dupe’ her back into a relationship with you. You gon’ have to work on yourself if you want to make her happy. If not, move on.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them to see my dad nodding in agreement with Asad.
“Work on yourself before you try to include her again. If you try to get her back and succeed, nothing will change, because you would be faking the funk. I would hate to have to bury yo’ ass after she fuck you up. And don’t let Bali, Seven, or Storm catch wind of that shit. Remy and Maui would probably fuck you up, too. You must like risking your life. You grew up out here with the Hendersons. You know how deep they are and how they roll. They always have each other’s back, right or wrong.”
“Maaaaann . . .”
“Naw, nigga. You know Dad right,” Asad said as Mama and Aaliyah walked in.
“Who right?” Mama asked.
“And right about what?” Aaliyah added.
My dad slowly shook his head and enlightened them. Aaliyah smiled as she shook her head as well. “I guess you was fucking around to find out, huh? Keep messing with Noni. She been mild as hell wit’chu, surprisingly. You gon’ wake up the savage, though. I bet she cussed yo’ ass out real good, too.”
I didn’t respond as they all laughed. My mama sat next to me, dropping her shopping bags to the floor, and kissing my cheek. “You betta man up. You talking to the right men right now. They know a thing or two about how to treat a woman.”
She stood and grabbed her bags, then kissed Asad on the cheek and Dad on the lips and headed to her bedroom, I supposed. Aaliyah shook her head again, and said, “I hope you learn. I don’t see her giving you too many chances. Youmayget one more, and that’s it.”
She stood and followed Mama to the back as I sat thinking about the weekend. Thankfully, this rodeo wouldn’t factor too much into whether I went to nationals or not. That was already set. I just didn’t want to have to be around Bali. Carter and I always rode together, just like my dad and Uncle Legend did back in the day.
“This weekend gon’ be a real challenge if Bali go to the rodeo. It’s just gonna make me miss Noni even more.”
“Use that shit as motivation to get your woman back then.”
My dad squeezed my shoulder, then went to the back room with my mama. I took a deep breath and stood.
“Where you going?” Asad asked.
“Home, man. I just wanna forget today even happened. I miss her ass already.”
He extended his hand and shook mine. I grabbed my keys from the coffee table as my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket, hoping it was her, but it was Carter. That was my best friend, brother, and biological cousin, but I didn’t feel like hearing the bullshit. Maybe I was trying to force things with Noni because he was with Bali. Two best friends dating twins was cool as hell. We would always be a package deal whenever invites were handed out.Naw.That ain’t it.
Noni was a beautiful and intelligent woman. As I walked to my truck, I realized I was asking her to dim her shine. That wasn’t right. My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was probably Carter. Usually, if I didn’t answer the phone, he would send me a text instead of leaving a voicemail. After pulling it from my pocket again, I saw that I was right.
After getting in my truck, I cranked up and headed to my house on Grayburg. I only lived a mile down the road from my parents. Once I turned in the driveway, I checked his message.
