“I’m not worried.”
He nodded repeatedly, then kissed my head. That pharmacist fucked around and found out.
“So, Iesha made us a graphic that says ICE melts in Big City Nome.”
Uncle WJ turned on the projector and showed everyone the graphic, and it made me chuckle. There were cubes of ice melting with flames in the background. What made it more eerie was that if you looked closely, you could see faces of terror in the flames and smoking guns. She did her big one with that shit.
She was sitting there smiling, like that shit had beautiful flowers and butterflies on it. I did notice that Seven was sitting next to her, so maybe they’d repaired their dysfunction and ended the short hiatus. He had his arm around her. I didn’t think she would allow him to be that close to her if he hadn’t fixed his attitude and apologized for that bullshit he said. I was more than sure the cookies had probably still been in the jar, though.
I chuckled at the thought, and Carter looked at me with a frown on his face. I cleared my throat and paid attention to what Uncle WJ was saying. All of this was probably need-to-know information, and I was too busy worrying about what Iesha and Seven had going on.
“Dad didn’t trust the government, kind of like the old man inLegends of the Fall.I went through his things to see he’d had them make copies of everything regarding Marcus. There is an amended birth certificate, too, adding his name to it, along with a DNA test to prove paternity. Marcus belongs here. They are the muthafuckas who don’t. We gon’ have these signs all over the place. They want a civil war, they gon’ get one.”
Watchful Eyes was standing along the perimeter of the room. They had tripled in size since they’d first started looking out for us. Plus, some of our people were a part of their team: Karima’s husband, Rhodes, Mythic, Uncle Philly, and PJ. I was pretty sure some of the Henderson Hoodlums would be joining part-time, too. Ace had been expressing an interest in joining just to fucksome shit up. That was probably why they hadn’t recruited his ass yet.
The door opened, and we all turned our attention to who was coming in. There was more security, along with Noah’s brother.Fuck.If he was here, things weren’t good.
“What’s up, family? I just brought reinforcements for Watchful Eyes just in case things get ugly.”
“Thank you, Ryan,” Uncle WJ said as Shyrón joined him on the platform. “The family barn is going to be like their base office. We’ve equipped offices and conference rooms with beds. It may seem like we’re doing too much,” he said, then glanced at Daddy Mayor, “but we’re Hendersons. We stay ready so we ain’t got to get ready. Y’all feel me?”
“Hell yeah,” Uncle Jasper added.
My nerves eased a bit as I slid my hand to Carter’s. He gave it a slight squeeze. Noni and Red Squared were seated next to us, and surprisingly, they were all lovey dovey with each other in public. That was a new development. Noni was usually closed off and didn’t want anyone to see her soft side, a lot like me.
Love was changing us. These men were changing us. I glanced down at my ring and smiled. I was about to be a whole ass wife in these Nome streets. I’d let my guard way down with Carter. At any day, I could find out I was carrying a little Semien baby. I’d taken the Clomid already. We’d been fucking like rabbits, since he only had nationals coming up and no other rodeos to prepare for.
“I checked into Marcus’s mother’s background . . . her Mexican background more specifically. They had ties to the Cartel. Those muthafuckas were ruthless. Somehow, Cici’s mama was able to be with this Black man. I have to assume he was cool with them or connected in some way. Well, after he died, Cici and her mama moved to Texas, and eventually ended up in Big City Nome,” Shy said, then rolled his eyes.
“Watch that shit,” Daddy Mayor said.
“Hell yeah, nigga,” Aunt Tiff added.
He chuckled and shook his head. “I swear, y’all niggas always got drama.”
“Job security,” Uncle Kenny said. “The rich and powerful always have drama. Add being Black to that shit, and it’s non-stop. They tryna steal our position at the top.”
“I have to agree with that shit,” Shy said. “Well, here’s the shit that’s finna fuck y’all up.”
“Aww fuck,” Uncle Jasper said as Aunt Chrissy shoulder bumped him.
“Cici’s mother had a ton of money, but she had to hide that shit, or those white people would have done their best to take it from her. Guess whose parents benefitted from that shit?”
Jakari shook his head slowly and said, “For eight hundred dollars, who is Grandpa.”
“You are correct. I don’t know if he knew, but his parents got a lot of that money from Cici’s mother. They didn’t steal it, per say, but they did overcharge her for shit. Somehow, they knew she had it. So, when they rented a house to her, they charged her double the amount.”
“So, basically, they fucked over Cici’s mama and took her money. Cici and Dad grew up together, but his family made him think they were destitute and ‘ghetto’ for lack of a better word, so he couldn’t be with her,” Aunt Tiff said.
“It seems that way. I don’t know what your dad was told about them.”
“He said that they told him that he wouldn’t be able to take Cici to the places he was going. That was why he married Mama . . . her friend,” Aunt Tiff said.
My eyes were wide. It seemed like Cici was misunderstood a lot. No wonder she couldn’t stand our grandmother. She stole her boyfriend. The story that was passed down to us wasthat Cici and Grandpa were boyfriend and girlfriend in middle school. Who took dating seriously in middle school?
What we failed to realize, though, was that “their” middle school years were different from the “current” middle schooler’s years. They were working, taking care of kids, making their own money, and taking care of an entire household. They were way more mature and had to grow up quickly.
Cici was Grandpa’s first love. That was what I was putting together in my head. That was why he was still fucking around with her . . . hence Uncle Marcus. It probably hurt him more than he let on when the police killed her. I looked around at my aunts and uncles, seeing the disgust all over their faces.
