Page 7 of This is Law

“You better leave white bitches alone,” I shot, and that made him, and his brother laugh.

“Man, I ain’t worried about them snow bunnies. Ma already gave me the game, telling me to leave them alone,” he responded.

“Legend the one you going to have to worry about bringing home a snow bunny,” Creed cracked on his brother.

“You don’t even believe that. Give me a sista any day,” Legend shot. I laughed, listening to the two of them go back and forth.

We eventually made it to my truck, and Creed took the front seat, while Legend took the back. I placed Creed’s duffle bag in the back, and once I was inside, I asked the boys what they wanted to eat, and I wasn’t surprised when they told me that they wanted to go toDuffy’s.It was one of our favorite sports bars to chill, get some good food, and watch sports. I went ahead, and headed in that direction, and as I was driving, Creed reached in his bookbag, put a shirt on, and I watched him as he pulled out the case that held his grillz, and he put them in. Silly ass nigga used his allowance money to purchase pull- out grillz. I sat at a light, watching him as he put them in.

“Spent thousands on braces for you, and your brother, so that ya’ll can have perfect teeth, and you rather hide your teeth, and put that shit in your mouth,” I told him, turned in my seat a little bit, so that I could watch him.

“It’s swag pops. Where ma at? The divorce final, right? Her, auntie Shai, and Milan probably outside right now, standing on tables, singlingGloRilla TGIF,” his ass said, trying to be funny. Shai was Yaya’s twin sister, and Milan was her best friend of over twenty years. The three of them together was good bullshit.

“Yeah, aight. I’m sure your mama right in the house,” was all I said, and like it was funny, he chuckled, pulled his phone out, and proceeded to let me know that he was going to facetime her, and prove to me that she was outside. Lil nigga knew that lady all of fifteen years. I’ve known her for thirty. I knew exactly where the fuck Yaya was right now. The dick I put in her earlier today was going to have her sat the fuck down, so I could bet my last dollar that she was in the house.

Creed reached over, and he turned the radio down, facetimed his mom, and she answered the phone on the forth ring.

“Hi big man,” she answered, her soft voice coming through his phone speakers, calling him the nickname that she’s been calling him since he was a baby.

“Why you in the house? Go cut up with auntie Shai, and Milan,” he voiced, always thinking that he was her fuckin daddy. I could hear her laughing on the other end of the phone, and there was another laugh that I knew belonged to her sister, Shai.

“Your auntie over here with me. We going to cut up in the house. Your brother with you?” she asked.

“Yeah, he in the back,” Creed responded to her.

“What’s up, ma?” Legend asked from the backseat.

“Hi mi amor,” she cooed to him.

“Go hang with your dad, and I’ll just see you when you get home, and ya’ll can fill me in about your day in school, and stuff,” she responded.

“Aight. What you going to eat?” he asked her.

“Shai came over with food for us. Why you keep putting them grillz in your mouth? You, and Legend have such pretty teeth.You think you wore braces for two years for nothing? I hate when you put that shit in your mouth,” she snapped, and all he could do was laugh, and he gave her that same tired line that he’d given me, telling her that it was swag. She assured him and his brother that she loved them, and that she would see them later on, once I brought them home. After that, he hung the phone up, and he tossed it in the middle cupholder.

“Ya’ll could have fought for that,” is what he said to me after the phone call was up.

“I did fight for it. Both of us had to be willing to fight for it though. Marriage takes effort from both parties,” I shared with him.

“You think you and ma would ever get back together? I don’t see her dating anyone else. I think I can see you messing around with a few women here and there, but I don’t know if it would get serious. Like, do you really think it’s a done deal with you, and ma, or is it hope for the future?” Legend asked me from the backseat, and Creed’s eyes were on me, as if he was waiting on a response from me too. I wasn’t surprised that my son had asked me this.

Legend was very vocal throughout this entire divorce process. It broke my lil nigga’s heart when me, and Yaya had to sit him, and his brother down, and tell them that we were getting ready to separate. I didn’t have the kind of kids that shed tears very often. They got a lot of their nonchalant ways from me, so when Legend shed tears over the news, I knew that he was heartbroken for real.

“I don’t know what the future looks like for me, and your mama. Son, that’s my honest answer. Right now, me, and Yaya just don’t do well being together. I feel like one day, me and her will get to a point where we do better just as friends, and co- parenting. It’s too much deep-rooted issues that we have. Mainly the loss of your baby sister. Losing my daughter hurt me, butit’s like it hurt Ya worse than me. She carried her. Yaya is not in a place right now where she’s fully recovered from that hurt, and until she gets there, she knows that she can’t be the woman for me that I’m going to need. She said that shit out of her own mouth. I love your mama though. With every bone in my body, I love the fuck out of her ass. She knows that shit, and I need ya’ll to know it as well. Ya is not my enemy. I don’t want nothing but the best for her,” I shared with them, and Creed nodded to it, and I looked in the back through the rearview mirror, and I could see that Legend had nodded his head as well.

“I know we had this talk already before, but I’m going to say it again. When ya’ll over there with your mama, both of you are the men of the house over there. Yaya shouldn’t be taking out no garbage, bringing in groceries, cleaning ya’ll rooms, or washing ya’ll clothes. Legend for the most part, you do alright with that shit, but Creed, I’m mainly talking to you. Yaya is your mother. Not your fuckin maid, or your girlfriend,” I turned to let Creed know, and his ass laughed at that shit, like I was telling a joke. He knew the shit that I was saying was true, which is why he had no choice but to laugh.

I liked that my kids were able to be born with a silver spoon, and they didn’t want for shit, but I never wanted them to get to a point where they were so lost, thinking that people were supposed to pick up their slack, and they didn’t have to work hard for shit.

“I be cleaning my room and stuff, but she always fussing, talking about how I don’t clean it the way that she wants me to, so that’s when she’ll step in, and do it. If she comes in my room, and sees that I haven’t done my laundry, she’s the one that will handle it for me. I be telling her to sit down, and let me handle it,” he voiced.

“If you were doing it when you were supposed to, she wouldn’t have to step in and do it for you. I know I play a lotwith you, but nigga I’m serious about this. You fifteen years old. Your mama shouldn’t be washing your clothes and doing your laundry. Do that shit on your own!” I snapped.

“I hear you, pops,” was his response, and I dropped it from there.

About twenty minutes later, we were pulling up toDuffy’s.There was a basketball game on this evening, so the parking lot was packed, but it wasn’t anything too crazy. I found a spot in the lot, quickly parked my truck, and the three of us got out. Like they were still my little boys, I let them walk ahead of me, while I walked behind them, allowing myself to be the eyes behind their heads.

Legend opened the door, and I caught it, letting them walk in. Creed was the one to walk up to the counter to let the hostesses know that the three of us wanted a table, and he made sure to ask her for a good view, so that we could see the TV, and watch the game. She assured him that she would make that happen for us, and then she led the way, taking us to the back.

---