Page 35 of I Need It

My eyebrows shot up. That would make Uncle Marcus the mayor pro tem. He stood from his seat with a huge frown and did the same thing. When they left the meeting, all the Hendersons did as well. We were all standing outside in shock… or at least I was.

“Pull the Henderson resources from everything,” Uncle WJ said to Jakari. “We gon’ take care of our shit and our shit only.”

“What about the sewer and water treatment plant?” Aunt Jen asked.

“We have our own wells. That shit ain’t got nothing to do with us.” Uncle WJ turned to Uncle Storm. “I’m proud of you. You did your best. It’s hard to serve ungrateful, prejudiced ass folks. We’re all proud of you.”

Uncle WJ pulled Uncle Storm in an embrace and clapped his back. I could tell Uncle Storm was upset, but I also felt like he was hurt. Being mayor was something he took pride in.

“Don’t trip, Storm. Those muthafuckas need us. We don’t need them,” Aunt Tiff said.

“What really pissed me off is all the black folks sitting there, that we constantly advocate for, silent as fuck. They should have been the main ones standing on their feet, singing your praises,” Uncle Jasper said.

My grandfather was standing there, shaking his head. He looked angry as hell. Uncle Storm was his pride and joy. Parents often said they didn’t have a favorite child, but he spent more time with Uncle Storm than anyone else. From what our grandmother used to say, Uncle Storm was a lot like he was in his younger years.

“Let’s meet at the family barn,” Uncle WJ said.

As we all started loading up in our vehicles, a few of the people came out of the admin building, looking like they were disgusted with themselves. They fucked up this time. The Hendersons were done, and I didn’t think there was anything they could do about it at this point.

When I got in my truck to head to the family barn, my phone vibrated. I had it set on silent while we were in the meeting. Picking it up from the console, I saw a message from Mya. I took a deep breath and opened the message. Hi, Christian. Can you call me please?

I put the phone in my console. It had been almost two months since she was here and probably a month or more since we’d talked. When she sent that cashier’s check, I was done. I’d told her last time how I felt about that shit, and she did it again anyway. I supposed she thought since our relationship had changed, things were different.

I missed her, but I knew my increasing infatuation with her wasn’t healthy. It was bad enough I was still ducking and dodging Courtney’s ass. I was about to fill up at Uncle Kenny’s store and saw her and Jameka over there talking. I drove my ass all the way to Beaumont to get diesel. There was no way I was going to risk stopping and have to deal with her ass.

When I got to the barn, I decided to message Mya back. We’re about to have a family meeting. How late will you be awake?

Late. The call won’t take long unless you want it to.

I frowned slightly. What did she mean by that? My curiosity was getting the best of me, so I called. “Hello?”

She sounded like she was crying. That shit pulled at my heart immediately. If she was upset about our situation, there was nothing I could do about that. The ball was in her court until I started dating someone.

“Hey. We’ll be starting in a few minutes, but you piqued my curiosity. What’s up?”

“I’m pregnant. If you don’t want to be involved, that’s fine. I just wanted you to know. I had a doctor’s appointment last week, and I’m ten weeks. So I guess I got pregnant when I made my lil trip to Nome. I was going to say I was sorry, but I’m not the only one to blame. It was both our fault. You didn’t strap up, and I didn’t insist you did, like I didn’t learn a damn thing from the last time.”

I was completely quiet. That meeting didn’t seem as important anymore. “You’re pregnant?”

I was stunned as fuck. That was the last thing I expected her to say. I was pretty sure she still wouldn’t want a relationship. This wasn’t what I had in mind, but I knew this was my fault. I fucked up.

“Yeah.”

“Damn. Okay. I umm… Is it okay if I come out there Sunday? I have to work tomorrow and Saturday.”

“Yes.”

“Mya, don’t worry. I’m gonna be there for you and my baby.”

She broke down crying. She was obviously worried about that. I knew she was thinking about that fuck nigga before me, but had she given me a chance, she would have known just how different I was.

“Okay.”

“Can I call you when the meeting is over?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll call you back.”

---