Page 52 of Typa
“She’s like twenty-one or something. She ain’t that much younger than me.”
“If you say so. If I were you, I would concentrate on Aaliyah or Asad’s other sister, Kambel. I know Aaliyah is like twenty-four or something, right?”
“Yeah. Kambel is too young. I think she just turned twenty. I ain’t tryna ruin her fairytale dreams. She look like a good girl.”
“Nigga, Wale said it best. The hood girls want a smart nigga, and the college girls all want a thug. You ain’t nowhere near the thug that I am though.”
“Naw, but I definitely ain’t soft either.”
“Well, rodeo niggas can’t afford to be soft.”
He nodded as he turned into the diner parking lot. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. My arm had started throbbing all over again. I couldn’t wait to get this fucking cast off. I had like two more weeks until that shit could happen. When he put the truck in park, I opened the door and hopped out. I focused my concentration on seeing my baby. I couldn’t wait until her house was built. Although I liked Mr. Storm, I wasn’t trying to be in that nigga’s face like that. He had a really strong personality, and I did too. I could only keep it under wraps for so long.
Before I could get to the door, Maui came running out and jumped against me. She had so much trust in me. I barely caught her lil ass with my good arm. I wasn’t trying to fuck my arm up any more than it already was. I laughed as she hugged me tightly.
“What’s up, baby? You good?”
“I hate not being with you. I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
She slid out of my arm and said, “I break ground next week!”
“Damn! That’s what’s up! I can’t wait to wake up to your beautiful face.”
She smiled and glanced at Mr. Ali. He’d been following me today. Grabbing my hand, she led me inside. When we walked in, those muthafuckas all went silent. I froze, knowing that I should have brought my gun and my blade. Maui held on to my arm tightly, like she was going to protect me from all these niggas some kind of way. All of a sudden, Ashanni started clapping and everybody else joined her.
“You muthafuckas! Had me about to crash out in here!” I yelled.
They laughed loudly and every woman in the place came and hugged me. I didn’t recognize a lot of them, but one that I did recognize was Tiffany because she was married to my cousin, and she was at most of the rodeos my dad was at. When she got to me, she said, “I’m proud of your rowdy ass! You hung in there for your woman, and that’s what that shit is all about. We all tried to talk her out of this shit. You proved everybody wrong, although the only approval you needed was hers.”
“Thanks, cuz.”
She hugged me tightly, and I closed my eyes, feeling the love in her embrace. After hugging people and shaking hands, Maui led me to the table with Ashanni and Asad, Milana and Ferris, and the twins. When we sat, Ashanni smiled. “I want you to know, I was rooting for y’all.”
I smiled, and she said, “Damn. You don’t have a grill in.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, that shit catches people off guard all the time. I know you was rooting for us, and I appreciate everything, Ashanni. Real shit. You kept me in the know about my babies. I will always remember that.”
I fiddled with the pendant on my necklace for a second, then kissed Maui’s head as she smiled. When one of Maui’s aunts came to the table, she set a platter of stuffed fried chicken in the middle, then smiled at me. “Hi, sweetheart. I’m Aunt Chrissy. We typically know everybody’s menu choices in the family. So we have to learn yours.”
I smiled big. Before I could respond, she said, “Lord, you have a beautiful smile, baby.”
“Thanks, Aunt Chrissy.”
That woman turned red and hugged me again. I chuckled, and said, “I love the stuffed fried chicken, but I hear you makethe best smothered pork chops known to man. I’m not picky. I’ll eat whatever you set on this table.”
She giggled. “Okay, baby. Well, any particular side you craving?”
“Your famous yams. What’s the chicken stuffed with?”
“Greens and mac and cheese.”
“Both?”
“Mm-hmm. Jen don’t mess around, baby. You gon’ learn.”
I chuckled again. “Thanks, Aunt Chrissy.”
