Page 114 of Quasim III: King Inferno

“Elijah, eat a bit quicker so we can get going this morning.” She nuzzled his hair and kissed his cheeks. “You slept well?”

It was something she always checked with him, and I loved that shit. “Yep.”

“Good.”

“I’m driving him to school this morning.”

Elijah scarfed down the rest of his breakfast and jumped up. “Yes!”

“Perfect. You can meet me over by the doctor’s office when you’re done,” she went to snatch her keys up, and I took them before she grabbed them.

“Stop playing with me, Blair.”

She stared into my eyes and held her hand out. “Give me my keys. You can take your son to schoolwithoutme. I have other errands to run anyway.”

I held the keys, and she walked around the table and snatched mine. “Anjo!” I called behind her, and she continued toward the door. “Elijah, I love you more than you know… have a great day at school because the world needs more smart Black boys, right?”

“Yes, mama… I love you more than you know.” He returned their little mantra that she said to him before he got out the car to go to school.

She blew him a kiss and then headed out the door.

“Oh, you’ve done it…” Augusta Mae whistled, and cleaned up the stove from making breakfast this morning.

“Grab your stuff, okay?”

Elijah put his bowl into the sink and ran down the hall to grab his stuff. “How do I fix it?” I wasn’t above asking my elders for help to fix the damage I had done.

Her ring didn’t feel good sitting in my pocket while she walked around unclaimed. Anjo belonged to me, she was my wife, and she was waddling around here like she wasn’t.

“You don’t need me to tell you how to fix it, Quaseem… you already know how to get your wife back.” She rubbed my back and then went down the hallway.

“Sim, Augusta… damn,” I muttered.

She was forever fucking up my name and I never corrected her.

As I drove Elijah to school, we listened to Travis Scott. Apparently, CJ had been putting him onto music, and this was his favorite artist right now. After one of his favorite songs ended, he turned it down and I could feel his eyes on the side of my face.

“What up, Son-Son?”

“Are you and mom divorcing? CJ said that was what happened when his parents divorced.” The question was so innocent and apparently it was what happened to be on his mind.

Blair had left only a week ago, and I know because she rescheduled our original appointment because she didn’t want to see me.

When he mentioned Ella and Capone, I almost laughed because they were never married. Ella would have sold her left eyeball to be Capone’s wife, but they were never married. Shit, they had been broken up for some time, only fucking around and living on false promises before Erin came into the picture.

“Married couples do divorce, Elijah. That’s not the case with me and your mother… we’re going through a rough patch right now. I hurt her.”

“With your hands?” He asked, confused.

“Never. You never put your hands on a woman, and I would never put my hands on her. I hurt her with my actions. I didn’t stand on the promises and vows I made to her, and that’s why you are staying at Augusta’s house.”

I could see his mind working as he processed what I had said. “Are we going to live in Ashbourne forever?”

“Not forever. We’re going to move into a new house, big for you and your sister… big pool in the backyard for you to swim.”

He smiled. “And you and mom in the same house?”

“In the same house,” I assured him.

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