Page 22 of Jaeda

“Do you have many tattoos?” I asked. “I mean, other than the ones that are visible.”

“A few. Most of them, like the ones you see, are small. The one on my side is the biggest. It’s a peacock.”

“Any meaning behind that?”

“It represents rebirth and renewal. Peacocks lose all of their tail feathers each year, and they always grow back. I like to think of life as a fresh start every day. Being in this line of work, I see and do a lot. There are so many people that don’t get the chance to really live and experience the beauty of life because all they know are the ugly parts.”

“I agree with you there. If you weren’t working for your family, what would you do?”

She thought about it for a moment as the server delivered our drinks and food. “I would have loved to be the creator of a black anime show.”

“No shit? That’s dope.”

“My little brother is the only person that will watch anime with me. I’ve taken him to Comic Con the last three years, and he loves it, mostly because he knows his big sister will drop a bag on whatever he wants when we go.”

I chuckled. “You spoil him, don’t you?”

“I do. That’s my baby. My mom and stepdad are actually expecting right now.”

“Word? How are you feeling about that?”

“I can’t believe she’s starting over at her age, but I’m gonna spoil that baby too.”

“Do you want kids?”

“I do. What about you?”

“I do. I can see me with a few visually challenged little ones, running around, looking for our glasses.”

Jaeda giggled. “I’d love to have a family. Something about a little person calling me mommy just makes my heart smile. Like, babies are the ultimate displays of love between two people. Well, most of the time. My father has four different baby mamas, so clearly, he was loving the crew.”

I laughed. “That’s a hell of a way to put it.”

She giggled. “Would you believe they are all friends? We were always over at each other’s house for sleepovers. To this day, they all get together and go out to the bars or take girls’ trips. Well, everybody except Mia’s mom. They are cordial with her but not really friends.”

“How does your dad feel about all of them being friends? I mean, it’s a good thing, but I don’t personally know any man with multiple baby mamas that are cool with each other.”

“He made sure they knew he wanted all of his children raised together. Luckily, he had children with women who didn’t believe in drama with other women. Those are my auntie mamas.”

I laughed. “Auntie mamas?”

She giggled. “Sometimes I call them auntie. Sometimes I call them mama.”

“I got you. Well, at least they were mature about the situation. I can tell your family is very close.”

“Very. In this line of work, we’re really all we have. They annoy me to no end, as you can see, but those are the people willing to die for and about me. I know we aren’t untouchable,but with my family behind me, nobody will ever get to me without a fight.”

“Trust me, I see that. Kidnapped, hello?”

“I apologize for that,” she said, smirking.

“You know, that was the first time I’ve ever had a gun to my head.”

“You were so calm about it, though. I didn’t think you were scared at all.”

“I’ve learned to never be afraid of anyone that bleeds like me. I was more upset with your brother for fucking up my monitor.”

“Oh! That reminds me.” She went into her purse and pulled out an envelope before handing it to me. “Smoke sent a check for your monitor. He wasn’t happy about it, but he sent it.”

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