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“Are you sure? I thought you said you loved your little bachelor pad.”

I could hear the sarcasm in her voice. Honesty had asked me two years ago when I was going to buy a house, but I told her there was no point. At the time, I thought it would be a waste of money, but I realized there were more benefits to having my own house.

“Yeah, I think it’s the best option. At first, I was in denial about how big my career would take off. I thought I would still be able to live a normal life and come and go as I pleased, but things have changed. Instead of security having to come and sweep through my condo every day, I could buy a house in a gated community and upgrade my security system.

“Plus, Yaya and Messiah’s house was packed at the last couple of family outings, and I wouldn’t mind hosting every now and then to take some pressure off of them. Hell, after the last couple of run-ins with ol’ girl, I don’t see myself being comfortable being around my niece and nephews unless they come to me. I want to protect my peace as much as possible and have a place I can truly call my own.” I explained.

Honesty’s expression was unreadable for a moment, and it caught me off guard. My baby was never short on words, and she had an opinion on everything.

“What’s wrong? You don’t think it’s a good decision?”

Her face softened, but it was clear there was something on her mind.

“No, I think it’s a great idea. I’ve been telling you to buy a house. You can’t even buy the luxury cars and things you want because you don’t have the type of garage space you need. I’m sure Messiah would love to be able to give his house a break, especially since my mom is selling the family house.”

I could tell she was still upset about her momma’s decision, but I kept my thoughts to myself because it would only ruin the mood.

“Yeah, I want to be able to have the kids over more often, and there isn’t any room at my place for them to roam around. The last time they came over, Deuce almost set my kitchen on fire with his bad ass.” I shook my head as I recalled the day I offered to watch the kids for my sister.

She kept asking if I was sure I could handle things, and I brushed her off because I thought I had everything together. Deuce humbled me quickly, and I could barely keep up. I felt bad for his teachers because I knew he was giving them hell.

“Hey. Don’t do my sweet angel like that. He’s just curious and adventurous.”

Of course, Honesty made excuses for him because she was a major reason he behaved the way he did.

“Yeah, okay. You love to play Ray Charles when it comes to your sweet baby’s behavior, but didn’t he just get a write-up for kicking a teacher in his leg?”

“Deuce is a good boy, but he doesn’t respond when people are mean to him. If the teacher had spoken to him a little nicer, maybe he wouldn’t feel the need to defend himself.”

Honesty shrugged as if she didn’t think there was anything wrong.

“You are a trip. Yaya sent me a video of him snatching the toupee of one of the deacons at church a while back. The man never said anything to him.”

“Yaya said the creepy deacon tried to get her number when they first got there. Did you ever think maybe Deuce only wanted to protect his mother? After all, she is married, and he probably noticed how uncomfortable she was with a stranger being so close to his mommy.”

“Yeah, maybe we need to hold off on having kids because I can already see how you’re gonna act. You’re gonna be raising Denise the Menace and hollering about him being misunderstood. Meanwhile, the little nigga at school giving his teachers hell while I’m on the road. Naw, I can’t even do it.” I teased her.

Over the years, I watched the way Honesty interacted with children, and while she loved and nurtured them, it was clear she wasn’t the best when it came to discipline and accountability. I was sure it had to do with her being the baby of the family. Everyone treated her like fine China that would break at any moment.

“I can’t believe you. I’ll have you know I would be an excellent mother. Our babies would be smart, fashionable, and beautiful, of course,” she boasted.

“I have no doubts about any of those things, but I also know you don’t even know how to use a belt, and your legs get shaky as hell when it's time for you to stand on business.”

Her mouth opened, but she closed it right back because she knew I wasn’t exaggerating. Whenever she threatened to punish any of her nieces and nephews, it never lasted more than an hour. She couldn’t stand to see them sad or unhappy, so her punishments never lasted long.

“You got me there, but can you really blame me? They are all so cute and adorable it’s hard to tell them no.”

I gave her the side eye because she was full of shit.

“Yeah, whatever. I contacted a realtor to get the ball rolling. I don’t have many requirements for a home, but I want something nice and spacious. I can build another in-house studio and a gym for the days I don’t feel like going outside. I’m on the fence about whether the house should have a pool or not. The last thing I want to do is get a house with an in-ground pool, and something bad happens on our watch. I’ve been seeing a lot of stories about little kids drowning, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything like that happened.” I expressed.

I loved the idea of having my little babies at Uncle Solly’s house, but I needed to make sure I covered all of my bases.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but I think you should discuss it with your realtor and do some research. I know they have gates and pool covers to protect from anyone getting inside the pool. Let your realtor know your concerns, and she should be able to address them. If not, you need a new one. Speaking of which, where did you find them, and why is this your first time mentioning them?”

Honesty had a little bit of a jealousy streak, which was why I tried not to bring certain things to her unless they were actually necessary.

“Her name is Riley, and Messiah put me in touch with her. We’ve only spoken a few times, but she seems like she understands what I’m looking for.”