Whatever he was going through, I needed him to deal with it quick, fast, and in a hurry. Grabbing the remote, I found something good to watch on television and dug into my food. As much as I loved doing makeup and having my own makeup bar, I hadn’t given not being able to work for a few weeks a second thought. This soft life thing was alright.
CHAPTER 17
HUNCHO
“So, we’re all in agreement,”Hymn looked at me before his gaze shifted to Divine, then our mother. “We’re going to therapy a few times as a family, and then we’re each doing an individual session with ma?”
I gave a nod while Divine gave a verbal yes. She was getting married in four months, and she had already told our mother, she better not pull what she did at Hymn’s reception at hers.
His attention shifted to our mother only. “And you’re good with therapy?”
“Yes, Hymn. I’m good with therapy. I keep telling you all that me getting drunk a few times doesn’t mean I’m going to shoot up, but I don’t have the best track record, so I know why you’re skeptical.”
“Not to mention that not using heroin doesn’t give you the green light to get drunk and be disorderly in public places. I know you saw the camera crew at that reception. You don’t care about possibly being aired on national television acting like you were?”
“Y’all act like I stripped out of my dress or got into an actual fight.” My mother rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I got into an actual fight, and I’m pissed that people are going to see that shit. I crashed out over a nigga that’s not even worth it.”
“Look, we’re not the worst,” Divine spoke up. “But we definitely have some things we need to iron out. Hymn is about to have children, and I plan on having them soon. We want our children to have a healthy relationship with their grandmother, but we need to have healthy relationships with you first. We could all stand to improve. As long as we’re all putting in the effort to move forward, that’s what it is. Ma, we don’t expect you to be perfect, but you have to try. It’s time.”
“I get that,” she stated in a low tone.
“Anything you want to say, Huncho?” Hymn asked. I appreciated my siblings attempting to be the voice of reason. They wanted us all to work out, and I was going to make the effort to get out of my feelings and be more open. I was letting my issues with my mother effect my life in areas that I didn’t want it to. I needed to get a handle on that. It wasn’t my mother’s responsibility. It was mine.
“I’m good.”
“Aight.”
Divine stood up with a cheesy grin on her face. “Group hug?”
Shaking my head, I chuckled and stood up. I had never in all my life hugged my mother. I wrapped one arm around her shoulder and the other one around Divine. We all met in the middle for a group hug, and I had to admit that shit felt good. Once the family meeting was over, I kicked it with Hymn for a bit. I smoked a blunt and told him about my recent diagnosis. Of course, the nigga started acting all worried and shit offering to send me to the best doctors, hire the best physical therapists, and do anything I needed him to which I appreciated.
Blowing weed smoke from my lungs, I smashed the remnants of the blunt in an ashtray. “I’m good. The doctor I have is pretty cool, but if I ever want to go to someone else, I’ll holla at you.”
“You think the lawyer will be able to use that to try and get you a lighter sentence?”
“I’m not sure. I can always ask, but I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that I’ll probably have to do some time. It is what it is.” The thought of having intense, sometimes debilitating muscle spasms while in prison didn’t sound appealing, but it was what it was.
My stomach growled as I was leaving Hymn’s house and in the car, I decided to call Josie. “What you doing Pretty Lady?”
“Just finished a YouTube video.”
“You foul for that. You didn’t even tell me you were baking today. What you got?”
“Strawberry shortcake.”
“Oh, I’m on that. Yes, God. You got plans? I was gon’ come scoop your old ass up and take you on a dinner date.”
When I heard three beeps in my ear, all I could do was laugh. I had never vibed with a chick the way I vibed with Josie. I’d had good sex for sure. I’d also had fun with females, but the vibe with Josie was just different. I couldn’t even explain why. Maybe it was her maturity. Like she was a grown ass woman, but she still knew how to kick it and have fun. She knew when to reel that shit in too because she had some business about herself and knew how far to take things. She wasn’t young, reckless, and immature. I dug the hell out of that shit. I’d never dealt with a woman with such a large age gap, but I was sold. If Josie and I ever ended, it would only be older women for me. But I also knew I had to get on my shit and be someone that an older woman would want.
Rather than calling Josie back, I pulled up at her crib. A few seconds after I rang the bell, I heard her voice through the Ringcamera. “Josie isn’t here. She fell and broke her hip. Fuck outta here.”
“Yo you better open this door.” I was serious as hell because Josie’s petty ass would leave me standing out there.
“Boy fuck you. Your sippy cup isn’t here.”
I stuck my middle finger up directly in front of the camera. Seconds later, Josie opened the door with a frown on her face looking good as fuck in a fitted, long sleeve, red dress that went all the way down to her ankles. The dress wasn’t super tight, but it hugged her curves and made my dick jump.
