Page 54 of Truce Of The Matter

I leave my two beauties in the shop and text my brother as I walk to my ride. He’s leaving his place too. We meet at The Marketplace about twenty minutes later and load up for the barbecue, getting enough steak, colossal shrimp, and lobster for the fam. For the veggies we choose potatoes, russet and sweet, and asparagus. The entire meal will be cooked on the grill and smoker.

“This is too much,” my mom complains as she pulls the food from the grocery bags.

Her complaining is accompanied by her beautiful smile so I know she’s just talking shit. She’s excited about tonight. The entire family will be here celebrating her and Pops and she loves that.

“You invited the whole damn family. This might not be enough,” Dax says.

“It’s definitely enough. What do you want me to do? I can clean the shrimp.”

“We want you to sit your pretty little self in the living room and chill. It’s your day and we got this,” I tell her.

“Plus, Chantel’s gonna be here at three with the makeup people. Relax and get ready for that,” Dax adds.

“I guess you’re right.” She walks over to me at the sink. I’m prepping the lobster tails. I can’t cook for shit but I can do a little something on the grill. Dax is the better griller though but I’ll take that fact to the grave. If I tell his ass, he would never letthat shit go. After placing her hand on my back, she asks, “So, is Truce coming tonight?”

Aryel snitched!I think as my eyebrows furrow.

“Relax your suspicious face. It wasn’t my grandbaby who told me either.”

“Then who was it?” I question while eyeing my talking ass brother.

“Not me, my nigga,” Dax scoffs.

“Does it matter?” my mom asks.

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m not revealing my sources. Aht aht! These lips are sealed. Just know that I’m happy. Truce is a good one. She runs her family business and does so much for the community. Every Thanksgiving, she would sponsor the dinner for the kids,” she says referring to the foster home my mother helped run for years. “I was so sorry to hear about her mom though.” She pats my back again. “Alright, let me get out of here. I bet your daddy hasn’t shaved yet. That man waits until the last minute for every damn thing.” She leaves us in the kitchen so she can go harass my pops.

“If he shows up with that jet black hair and beard, I swear I’m going to say something,” Dax says. Our pops isn’t embracing his grays and he keeps dyeing that shit.

“You need to. If yo’ ass has gray hair then he definitely needs to show his.”

“Ain’t shit on me gray.”

“Check that beard,” I tease because he isn’t graying yet.

“Bruh, fuck you.” I laugh then get back to these lobsters. He’s seasoning the steaks with his special seasoning. “Where’s your sister? She’s supposed to be here to help.”

“I don’t know. I texted her last night and this morning and she didn’t respond. She probably worked late last night. She better be here. It’s their anniversary and she can’t miss this.”

“Her ass better be here. The planners should be here soon to set up and she’s handling that shit. She dropped the ball already and my baby had to book the cruise,” he says, whispering the part about our parents’ surprise cruise.

“I got the luggage in my trunk too. And oh shit, the lemonade. Truce made five gallons of their good ass lemonade. It’s in my trunk. I’ll get it and you call your sister.”

“You got access to the top-secret lemonade,” his smug ass says. “That Goode dick strikes again.”

“Bruh, you wild,” I say while laughing. “Call Lyra.”

After washing my hands, I leave the kitchen then walk out of the house to get the lemonade. I’ll leave the luggage inside until we give them the gifts. When I start to walk back inside, a Jeep creeps into the driveway followed by a F150. Three ladies and a man exit the rides. The tall, slender lady approaches me.

“I’m Tae, from Haute Events. We are here to set up. Is Lyra here?”

“I’m Rex, Lyra’s brother. You’re setting up in the back. I’ll show you.” With the cooler in hand, I lead her around the house into the back. My mom wants the solarium turned into a Caribbean escape, which is why we are sending them on a trip to Puerto Plata, San Juan, and St. Croix. We got them on the all-adult ship.

When I walk back inside, Dax has a mug on his face. “What’s up?” I ask.

“Lyra. I don’t know what’s up with her but she claims she’s running late.”

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