Page 8 of Zeus: Love of a god

A SHORT TIME LATER…

“Yeah, that’s real smooth. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this blend.”

We were at our family’s brewery to try out a new beer blend that our brew master came up with. My family, my mother’s side specifically, had been in the alcohol business for over a century. My great-great grandfather was a bootlegger during the prohibition and made the family rich. After the prohibition ended, the money kept rolling in, and Sanders Brewery and Spirits was officially born. As a black-owned beer and liquor brand that had stood the test of time, we were world renowned.

The only thing that we hadn’t dabbled in was wine. That was until about twenty years ago. The business was passed down to my mother after her father died, when I was five. My dad’s father proposed an exclusive line of Greek wines. Soon after the proposal, Basil Sand’s Greek Wine line was created. My mother loved that side of the business because it allowed her and my father to travel to Greece and stay for sometimes months at a time. I often smiled at the fact that my mother’s family’s business was able to merge two cultures.

Chad clapped his hands. “I knew you would like this! How do you want to handle the introduction of it?”

“We can have a taste party at a few of the bars or lounges we have. Reach out to Leslie to set it up.” I patted him on his shoulder. “You did good with this one.”

My family owned several breweries throughout Charlotte and Raleigh as well as wheat farms in North Carolina. A few of the breweries were connected to our bars. We also had a fewlounges in Charlotte as well. The brewery that I was currently at had a bar connected to it. When I came to the front bar and dining area, I saw the last person that I expected to see.

“Hey, Zeus, can I holla at you about something?”

AJ stood there like he really didn’t want to be here. I was sure that he didn’t, because his father was still the official president of the club with him being the vice president, but he did most of the work. It had been said that his father was ready to step down, but the Queen wouldn’t hear of it. How could she be the Queen if he was no longer the King?

I asked him if he wanted a beer before I moved us to a table. We waited until the waitress brought our beers and took a few sips before he started to talk. “I wanted to holla at you about the entry fees from theDrag the Street. We’ve had fifty-two requests for refunds, totaling seventy-eight thousand dollars.”

He stopped speaking as if I didn’t know that. The day after the event, I got the information from the organizers about how many people were owed entry fees. “Ok, thank you for telling me something that I already knew. You’re actually missing a couple.”

“Zeus, that’s a lot of fuckin’ money, man. I know my mama did a lot, but is this really necessary? I was thinking maybe we could split the cost.”

I tittered at this goofy. “Why the fuck would the Mount O’s take any of this on our head? Had your mother not almost killed someone, the event would have continued on as planned. Like I told y’all, take that shit from your mama’s shopping fund. Be lucky that she didn’t get her ass fucked up by our ladies. I know y’all not hurting for that shit.”

He knew that I was speaking facts, because Jennifer’s ass deserved to get her ass beat after that shit. Hestia let us know the day after the incident that baby girl had to have surgery for a collapsed lung from a broken rib. Apparently, she was new tothe area. That made it even more confusing to me why Jennifer really had beef with baby girl.

AJ threw his head back like he was about to have a man tantrum or some shit. “Man, fuck! Nah, we not hurting for it, but we damn sure don’t want to spend it on Jennifer’s bullshit.”

“I’on know what to tell you. Tell your pops to learn how to control his silly ass wife. I’m surprised their asses are still married after all the wild shit she does. That’s y’all Coopers’ business.” I stood from my seat. “The beer and a meal on me so you can get your mind right. Have a good one.”

I didn’t have time for thewoe is merequest. I honestly would have respected it better if it came from his father. This was a president-to-president conversation, but I digressed. He was about to make me late for dinner at my parents’ house. I would never miss a meal that my mamá or bampás cooked. Mama would hit us with the soul food while Dad hit us with the Greek entrees.

From where I was, it took about forty-five minutes to get to my parents’ home. When my parents moved down here, they wanted land for a family compound. Their house sat at the top of the hill on our property. My and my siblings’ houses trailed downward from the hill.

“Oikogéneia, pou eísai (Family, where you at)?”

I waited to hear the normal response from my bampás. “Gie mou, giatí prépei na káneis tóso gamiméno thóryvo sto spíti mou (Son, why must you make so much fucking noise in my house)?”

When we got into each other’s space, he cupped my face into his hand, lowered my head, then kissed my forehead. I loved my father’s kisses. I couldn’t wait until I could give them to my children.

“Mamá in the kitchen?”

I knew the answer before I asked, but I asked anyway. I could hear my loud ass family in there. With the laughter, I could tellthat Hades more than likely told a joke of some sort. After my father confirmed what I already knew, we walked toward the kitchen. My parents’ house was massive and honestly a lot to look at. In the center of the roundabout driveway was a huge Greek status of Mount Olympus with the gods that each of us represented. The shit was huge!

“Hey, my baby!” Mama greeted me when I turned the corner to enter the kitchen.

My mother was a short, voluptuous woman standing at no more than five feet four. I often wondered how my six-foot-four father even saw her short ass. Although she was a short woman in stature, she was beanstalk tall with personality. Laverne Sarah Basil was not someone you played with. It was the most beautiful sight to see her ride out with my father or us as a whole family on our motorcycles. Most of the time, she rode behind my dad on his bike, but there were those rare occasions when the Ultimate Goddess pulled out her big wheel, as she called it.

“What Hades said that has y’all in here cutting up?”

The kitchen island was oversized so that at any given time the entire family can sit at the island together. This island held so many memories for us. This was where I told my father that I had lost my virginity. It was also where I told my mother that that girl was not pregnant with my child. It was where my father told me that he planned to step down as president and wanted me to step up.

Hades’s head bucked back. “Why did I have to say something? First, your mother is over here trying to relive her nurturing days by telling Hestia that she’s gonna force that girl to move in here until she’s better. What’s that girl name again?”

Hestia rolled her eyes. “I already told you what her name was. It’s not that hard to remember.”

“Nah, it’s not. I’m just still confused on the spelling and how her mama came to the pronunciation of it,” Hades said with a contorted face.

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