Page 23 of Welcome to the Table
Whap whap
She smacked his left cheek, then the right. His black ass turned beet red. He tried to rush her, but I got in the way. I made eye contact with him, and he slowly started to calm down.
“Don’t hug me. You know I don’t fuck with you like that. And I know them licks didn’t hurt.” She laughed, and I turned to roll my eyes at her. The laughing stopped.
Hellcat looked past me. “Remember that shit when you want something. Move, Ma, I ain’t gon’ hit her short ass, but that shit hurt, man.”
I rubbed each side of his face to soothe it. He blushed and smiled. Hellcat cut his eyes at Jaci and walked past me, nodding his head at his father.
Even though they were only three years apart, he still treated her like a baby. They had a love-hate relationship. She slowly walked over to where he stood and stared at him.
“What, you ’bout to smack yo’ big brother again?” he asked her, and she remained silent.
Her arms went around his neck as he held onto her for dear life. Once he put her down, he looked at her and winked his eye. I loved this relationship. They walked off in their own conversation. Grove walked in and hugged me, kissing my cheek, all the while looking at Jaci. I’d noticed that he had a crush on her, but he never spoke on it, and I never pointed the shit out. He would have to go through Melph for that shitbecause I wasn’t in it. If you ask me, he was a perfect match because I trusted Hollygrove like he was one of my own. She would be protected with him.
“Calliope, nigga, what took you so long to get out of the car?” I heard Melph say behind me.
I turned around and noticed him walk in with a bitch I almost didn’t recognize. They walked in like the happy fucking couple, holding hands and shit. She smiled like a fucking Cheshire cat, and I didn’t like it. Something about that bitch was off, and I was going to get to the bottom of it before they left this house. Her face looked familiar, like I had seen her when she was younger, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
We all walked into the dining area and took our seats. I made sure to seatno nameacross from me, so I could watch her. The servers began to serve the food, and everybody was quiet, so I decided to break the ice. I looked at the girl closer, and it hit me like a ton of fucking bricks. I knew exactly who she was, but I would keep my composure for the sake of my family. My eyes met Calliope's, and I cleared my fucking throat. I poured a glass of wine and addressed him.
“I thought I told you that this was a family meeting. Why did you bring a stray with you that we knew nothing about?” I asked, not giving a fuck if he liked it or not. Calliope knew I didn’t bite my tongue for anybody.
“She is not a stray, Ma, she’s my girlfriend.” I chuckled at his fucking words. I looked at her, waiting for her to buck, but she didn’t.
“Klarity?” It came out as more of a fucking question because I had to be tripping for this bitch to be in my house.
“The one and only,” she had the fucking nerve to say.
Melph knew I was about to pounce on her. He grabbed my thigh under the table and tightened his grip.
“Get the fuck out of my house, you snake ass bitch!” I looked at Calliope, and his face remained stoic.
“Why would you bring her to my fucking house? Since when you started fucking this snake? Cuz I know you ain’t in love with this python,” I told him, never taking my eyes off her. I didn’t trust her.
“Athena, what are you talking about!? I finally got the woman of my dreams, and this is what the fuck I get for bringing her to meet the family. It ain’t like she doesn’t know y’all,” he barked, standing from the table and breathing like he weighed a ton.
I knew he was angry, but he knew better than to fucking question me.
“Sit down, son,” Melph said, and I knew it was about to be pandemonium.
Calliope’s head spun to his father. “Don’t fucking tell me to sit down, nigga. The fuck!?” he barked at Melph, and I knew I had to defuse the situation.
“Calliope, eyes,” I told him sternly.
It took a minute, but his eyes met mine.
“Sit,” I calmly demanded.
My son held my gaze before slowly taking his seat. He didn’t know the history between the families, and it was my fault that I didn’t tell him before now. I knew he was in love with her, but she was a fucking snake. She didn’t deserve him. I didn’t even know he linked with the bitch after all those years.
Calliope didn’t know it, but our families didn’t get along. Klarity’s family made a deal with our family, and when it was time to pay the piper, all hell broke loose. Melph tortured and killed her father while her mother begged for her and her daughter’s life. He made sure they left the state and never came back. I don’t know if the bitch remembered the shit or not, or if she was being spiteful, but what I did know was I would protect my son by any means.
“Athena, it’s not that serious. I was bringing her to see the family because I am in love with her.”
When my son said that shit, my flabbers were fucking gasted. There was no fucking way she would slither her fucking way through my family. I didn’t trust that bitch at all. He didn’t know the depth of how serious this shit went. If she were here, that meant trouble came with this bitch, and I wasn’t for it.
Without taking my eyes off her, I stated, “You either get yo’ ass up and walk out of here like a fucking lady, or I will have my men drag yo’ ass out and behead you like the snake you are.”
