“It sounds great. Thank you so much. I wasn’t going to call at first, but something in my gut told me to reach out.”
“I’m glad you did. Always go with your gut.”
Orielle nodded. “I will.”
“And Orielle?”
“Yes?” She breathed, wondering what else she had to say.
“What’s for you is for you. The purpose of your life can’t be stopped by the pain in your life. He gave you the vision for only your eyes to see, and it’s set in stone. Trust Him.”
Orielle’s eyes watered, and she quickly blinked, trying to rid the tears away, but they only fell onto her lap and slid down her cheek.
“Okay,” she uttered.
She wasn’t sure how Ashley knew how heavy her heart had been the last few weeks, but her words broke her down.
“Something told me you needed to hear that.”
“I did.” Orielle sniffled. “Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome. I’ll be in touch soon. Have a blessed day.”
“You have one as well.”
Orielle’s chest spasmed as she let her emotions flow freely. Just when she felt like nothing in her life was going right, He sent her a reminder that it was. Maybe not in the direction or timeline Orielle had planned, but the saying ‘Tell God your plans and watch him laugh’ couldn’t be more accurate. He had greater plans. Ones that involved peace, love, and alignment with where she was supposed to be.
5
“I NEED YOU TO SING TO ME IN PERSON. MAKE ME REALLY FEEL THAT SHIT... “
Najee hoped like hell that his parole officer had a life outside of work. If not, he’d be right back behind bars before the sun could rise.
His PO, a grumpy old white man with missing teeth on both sides of his mouth and a stomach that hung over his pants, had made the rules very clear. Najee couldn’t indulge in drugs, be around any weapons, be affiliated with known felons, or have absolutely any run-ins with the law in any manner. There were other stipulations, but those would’ve been the hardest to comply with, considering who his folks were and where he came from.
All of his niggas were either certified gang members, hustlers, felons, men with legal jobs but kept a gun on their waist, or all the above. He’d heard “You trying to hit this?” so many times since stepping inside the party, Renae was about to tell their asses that no more weed was allowed on the property.
He couldn’t control who showed up to the block or who still carried heat in their waistband out of habit. Too many of them would rather have it on them than not. A lot of his folks, including his family, who brushed his stint off like it was nothing, weren’t bad people. They’d just been in survival mode for so long. Change was difficult. You could take a nigga out of the hood, but not the hood out of a nigga. Not a real one anyway.
After tonight, Najee promised to be on the straight and narrow. Thankfully, he could drink. He’d been sipping on Hennessy and Sprite from a foam cup since he arrived. Lazily, he grinned as Saleem tossed an arm over his shoulder.
“How you feeling?” Saleem asked.
“Real loved in this bitch.”
“Straight up. That’s the only way it should be. Renae did her thing.”
Najee nodded, agreeing as he took in the spot. She rented out one of Juvie’s Lounges in the city and went all out. Her first plan was to have his party at one of his uncle’s cribs, but she needed folks to go home when their reservation time was up. Her man had a curfew, and she was going to make sure he stuck to it.
From the customized banners with his name to the framed photos of him back when he was free the first time, she had it looking like a birthday, welcome home, and anniversary wrapped in one. There was even a gift table covered with presents. Najee felt like it was a bit extra, but he let her rock. It felt good to be home and missed.
“Yeah, she did. Got auntie out of the house and everything,” Najee said with a smile in his voice.
His Aunt Joyce was sitting at a table with a few of his younger aunts and friends. She couldn’t believe her eyes when he popped up on her on his second day out. Like he knew she would, Joyce prepared a meal fit for a king and caught him up on all the thingshappening in her life. They spent the entire day together, and he didn’t return home until his curfew.
While he was locked down, Najee rarely called her. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he knew it’d only make the time harder. She was his soft spot, so not being able to physically provide for her fucked with him mentally.
“You still thinking ’bout tying that down?” Saleem wondered.
