Page 26 of Maceo

I shook my head. That was why he had to go into business for himself because nobody would tolerate him as an employee. He was damn good at his job; he just didn’t have the mouth to match. More whistles in my direction had him turning his head.

“Watch me twist the lips off your face if you whistle at my daughter again, muthafucka.” He frowned as he walked over to me. “Where is the rest of your skirt?”

“First, the skirt is the skirt. Second of all… Happy Birthday, old man!”

He smiled, and his gold tooth glistened against his pearly whites.

“Thank you, baby girl.”

He hugged me tightly before taking everything from my hands and leading me to the trailer that served as his office. Placing everything on a table, he pulled out a chair for me.

“You came all the way here to see your old man?”

“You know I couldn’t let my favorite guy’s birthday go by and not pull up on you.”

I pulled out my phone and went to my music. When the sounds of Nipsey Hustle’s “Grinding All My Life” came on, he started rapping along and doing his signature dance. Of course, I had to hype him up. We did this same song and dance every time we got together. It had been this way since I was a little girl.

“Okay, okay. Enough of that,” I said, turning off the music. “Sit down and open your gifts.”

He grinned as he took a seat. The first bag he grabbed was Maceo’s. He whistled as he pulled out the forty-eight-hundred-dollar bottle of liquor along with the weed.

“My nigga.”

I rolled my eyes. “He said to tell you happy birthday.”

“Oh, it’s gonna be happy as hell when I clock out. I’m sending Kilow and Damaris to your grandmother’s. Me and yo’ mama about to have a private party tonight.”

I pretended to gag. “Daddy, I don’t need to know you and Mama still bump uglies.”

“We don’t bump shit. We be fu?—”

“Daddy, please!”

He laughed obnoxiously loud. “My bad, baby.” He reached for the second bag. “Whatchu’ got me?”

“Open it and find out.”

He pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and set it aside before pulling out the gifts. I’d gotten him an engraved goldmoney clip, two pairs of J’s, a designer pair of jeans and a shirt, a watch that set me back a pretty penny, and two bottles of his favorite cologne.

“Look at you getting your old man right.” He looked closely at the watch. “Shar… Maceo gave you the money for this watch?”

“Technically… no.”

“Technically? Where the hell did you get money for this expensive ass watch then? I know CNAs don’t get paid that much.”

Shit. I’d put my foot in my mouth. I should have just said yes. He wouldn’t have questioned me then.

“I have a new job, Daddy,” I answered slowly.

“Doing what?”

“It’s kinda with the Dillinger’s organization.”

He eyed me skeptically. “You in some shit? It’s one thing to date a nigga in some shit, but don’t you get caught up in that life, Sharina. Don’t make me have to snatch your ass up.”

“Daddy, I promise I’m being safe.”

“See, now me and your man are gonna have to have a talk.”

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