Page 16 of His Four Leaf Clover

“Yes, cousin. I’m gonna make sure all of my little babies are dry and cleaned up. Give my bigger babies their afternoon snacks, please.”

“I’m on it.” Kimber removed the blazer that she had on and got right to work. She was so proud of her cousin and all that she’d accomplished at such a young age. She was praying that moving to New Orleans was the right move. She also prayed that her new city bought her as much luck as it did her favorite cousin.

Later that night, Clover and Kim were showered and dressed down for a relaxing night at Dot’s. Clover’s girl was gonna meet them there and she wanted to make sure she was there already. It was early, so she got them a good table close to the bar.

“What’s up, sis? My potnah got on it and I’m linking with his people tomorrow.”

“It’s about damn time. But if that doesn’t work out, my girl said she’ll be happy to talk to her husband for you. Just let me know.”

“Yeah, I will. Dude sounds legit, so I think it’ll be cool. It’s up from here.”

“Congrats, bro. I’m so happy for you.”

“Where your hoe ass friend at?”

“Nah, nigga, I don’t befriend hoes.”

“Yeah, well, one obviously slipped by you. Bitch did me dirty while I was locked up.”

“I thought you cheated on Iva with that tall girl who be following you around,” Kim butted in and said.

Clover turned her head and laughed because her cousin was too green to know what she’d even said. Kimber was honest to a fault but she repeated what she heard more often than not. Her cousin was right though and she was surprised that Caprice didn’t magically appear like she usually did. She was like a bloodhound who tracked Monty’s scent.

“Here, lil country, go get you some juice on the rocks.” Monty reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty.

“Thanks but I’ll need something stronger than that.” Kim got up and went to the bar where Dot was.

“I’m happy she’s gone cause nigga, you can’t be serious. I usually don’t even get into y’all drama, but you did my girl dirty first. And I’m sorry, bro, but Caprice don’t even match your fly. Everything about y’all looks off.”

Monty was tall just like Hank and his brothers and so was Caprice. She had a light brown, almost tan colored complexion, a complete opposite of the darker hued women that he preferred. She wasn’t fat but she probably would have been if she was shorter. The term big and tall fit her perfectly, and she was nowhere near his type. Nobody knew how her real hair looked because she always wore different styles of braids. She wasn’t really much of a dresser but she loved sneakers more than the average man.

“Man, fuck Caprice. I didn’t want that hoe then and I don’t want her now.” Monty frowned at just the thought of her.

“Why are you still with her then?”

That was a question that Clover had always wanted to ask, but she didn’t like to pry in other people’s relationships. Monty was her brother from another mother, but she respected his privacy. Since the opportunity presented itself, she wasted no time asking.

“In the beginning, it was because of the guilt I felt from her losing her job. Once I got over that, it was just embarrassment.”

Clover was the first person that he had ever been completely honest with about his feelings. He was hoping to get her to understand so that she could possibly explain it to her friend. He couldn’t deny that he was still in love with Iva but he was hurt too. He could admit that he was wrong but he didn’t expect her to just say fuck him and move on the way she did. Then, he had to hear about her dealing with other niggas when he was locked up and his hurt turned into anger. Still, even though he said he did, he could never bring himself to hate her.

“You didn’t have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“See, y’all wouldn’t understand the shit because none of y’all ever did time. Everything that a nigga do behind those walls is about survival. Caprice ain’t even my type, but it was business. She was fucking with my boy, DJ.”

“Seriously? The same one who linked you with his brother-in-law about the tattoo certification?”

“Yep. I wasn’t even in the dorm that she ran. The nigga came to rap with me one day and told me that he was on his way to the halfway house and he put me down on her gullible ass. She used to sneak shit in for him all the time, but he was into cell phones and dumb shit like that. I was trying to be Frank Lucas in that bitch. All I had to do was get transferred to her dorm and it was up from there. I just told her a few lies and I was straight after that. That’s what she was known for, but she never got caught until she started doing the shit for me. You know how I felt about Iva, sis. You know how I still feel about her dog ass. She wasn’t supposed to find out about that shit though. I just wanted to take care of myself and her without always having to ask my family for help. Coming home to be with Caprice was never a part of the plan. I heard that your hoe ass friend had a nigga, so I wasn’t trying to be by myself while she was outchea with her new man. Dumbest shit I ever did in my life.”

“Damn.”

Clover really didn’t know what else to say. Iva dealt with a few dudes but she never got serious with any of them. Both her and Monty were listening to a lot of gossip and hearsay, but they never actually talked to each other.

“Hey, bestie. Why you ain’t sitting at the bar?” Iva asked when she walked over to them. She was dressed down in some black leggings and a Dot’s Spot t-shirt.

“Man, get your hoe ass away from this table. This conversation is private.” Monty looked at her and frowned.

“Aww, Big Bird must not be giving you no attention at home. That’s what happens when you cheat on a cheerleader with an NBA player.” Iva blew him a kiss.