Page 54 of Hood Legacy

“I’m good,” I lied, making him laugh louder.

“Yeah, alright,” he said, shaking his head. “Easy or hard way, the choice is yours.”

“Yeah, daughter, this is good; let me make Arlene a bowl and bring it to her,” he said, pushing off the island.

“I’ll do it,” I volunteered. “You eat.”

I made a plate for Ms. Arlene and then took it to her. Her room was decorated in dark grey, yellow and white. She lay in her king-sized bed, propped by pillows as she flipped through a book.

“Knock, knock,” I said, standing in her doorway. “I brought you something to eat.”

“Come on in,” she smiled. “I was just looking at this old photo album. You care to join me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, handing her the bowl.

“Climb in,” Ms. Arlene suggested, and immediately, I kicked off my slides and climbed into bed next to her. She handed me the album, and I opened it to the first page to see a picture of her, very pregnant and annoyed. “Bowlin worked my damn nerves so bad that day.”

“What happened?”

“He was being him,” she laughed, then ate a spoonful of soup and nodded in appreciation. “I was two days overdue, and all he wanted to do was take some damn pictures. I told him if he took another one, I was going to strangle him with the camera cord, and his big-headed ass took another one.” I turned the page to see Aceyn as a newborn. “He was such a good baby. Barely cried and was on a sleep schedule from the womb. I remember my mama telling me that if I had another one, they would be a damn demon seed.”

“Is that why you didn’t have anymore?” I asked.

“No, the Lord knew I couldn’t handle another child with everything I had going on.” She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, Aceyn was a damn handful, so at times, it felt like I had more than one.”

“He told me he was a little stubborn,” I laughed as I continued to look through the album.

“A little is an understatement,” she sighed. “That boy drove me and his daddy crazy. Especially when he thought he was supposed to follow in his daddy’s footsteps and run the streets. Bowlin spent plenty of nights sitting on my porch, pissed because Hood was living up to his nickname.” She patted my hand and smiled. “He was his daddy’s karma.”

“He told me that he hit a rough patch.”

“He did, but he got his shit together like I knew he would, and I’m glad I’m here to see him do it.” She took a few more bites before handing me the bowl back. “Those years were rough, but it helped shape him into the man he needed to be.”

The pictures of Aceyn as a kid transformed into Aceyn as a teen, a young adult, and finally, a grown-ass man. His parents had pictures of him from every graduation and basketball game and random photos of him from moments in his life. My favorite was a picture of him standing in the middle of a basketball court, shirtless, with a basketball in his hand. His naturally low eyes sparkled against the light, even though he mugged the camera.

“This was taken last summer,” Ms. Arlene said, tapping the picture. “He’d gone out of town for work and came back with this chip on his shoulder. I kept asking him what was wrong, and he kept saying it wasn’t anything, but I could tell it was, so I called Pyrite and Givens, and they took him to the arena to get his frustration out. He returned that night, sat in that chair in the corner, and talked to me about life. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not abnormal for Hood, but that conversation was different.”

“How so?”

“All he kept saying was ‘easy or hard way, mama; either way, it ends the same,’” she shrugged. “I don’t know what it means, but whatever it is, it’s important to him.”

“I know what it means,” I laughed, and she lifted her brow. “He said it’s my decision on how I fall in love with him. I can pick the easy or hard way, but it all ends the same way.”

“With you two in love,” she said, nodding. “Leave it to my son to give you no way out.”

“Truthfully, Ms. Arlene, I don’t want a way out,” I said, shrugging.

* * *

“Don’t start,” I said, shaking my head as Xoey smiled. I picked up my phone and left the kitchen to grab a water bottle. “I don’t care what you think; my opinion is the only one that matters.”

“Bullshit!” she protested and shook her head as she continued to unbraid her hair. “I’m telling you right now that you are going out, and that’s final.”

“I don’t want to.” I set the phone on the counter and went to the fridge. I’d spent all day at the arena, practicing and working out, and wanted to spend my night doing nothing. Xoey had other plans. “Plus, I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Have Hood buy you something,” she suggested, and I rolled my eyes. “Lord, please don’t tell me you’re one of those women who think that a man isn’t supposed to drop a bag on you.”

“No,” I laughed. “I don’t want to ask Aceyn to buy me anything.”

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