Page 50 of All The Smoke
Besides talking when he brought me lunch, Solomon and I hadn’t exchanged very much about each other. Even then, I kept it minimal, mainly telling him things about me. So it caught me off guard when he said she was in town.
“Saw a picture of you and your people when I was at ya crib.”
My brows furrowed as I tried to recall where a photo of my parents was in my house. I had them no doubt, but not in the common spaces of my home people would actually be in, such as my living and dining room.
My bedroom!
There was definitely a picture of me and them on my graduation day on my dresser in my room and he wasdefinitelyin my bedroom.
“Shit crazy.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I had no idea K-Dot and Ice had a kid.”
“That’s how they preferred it.” I shrugged. “With them being so heavily involved in the streets, they thought it was best for them to keep their daughter under wraps,” I admitted. “It’s also why they moved their empire to Georgia.”
“I can dig it.” He nodded. “If I was big time like that, I’d probably move the same way with Solo.”
I nodded and smiled, thinking about the little cutie whose face matched the one sitting with me. Every time he came tomind I hoped my little nugget would have the same features if he was a boy or at least some similarities if she was a girl, especially the rich chocolate skin.
“They want to meet you,” I said after a few minutes of silence, then grimaced at the thought. “Both of my parents.”
“K-Dot jammed up, right?”
“Yes, but we have our ways,” I answered, then dropped my head. “Ugh, they are going to be so extra.”
Smoke cuffed my chin and lifted my head so I was looking into his eyes. “I got it, mama.” He smirked. “You think I’m scared to meet ya people?”
“If you know the names Ice and K-Dot you know why I’m worried.”
My parents were very protective, my mom more than my father because she was always on edge, but neither were anything to play with.
“When the time comes, I can handle myself, baby. I promise.”
“Anyways, what about your people? How will they take the news?” I asked, not wanting to think about introducing him to my family any longer. I would be uneasy meeting his folks too but not nearly as bad as sitting with my family.
“Shit, my brother already know.” He smiled. “And he happy about the shit.”
“Does he live here?” I asked and the smile he wore slowly began to fade.
“N-naw.” He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat a little. “He been locked up for like six years.”
I gasped. “I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s cool, you ain’t know.”
“Can I ask why?” I asked. “What did he do?”
“He didn’t do shit.” He frowned and I felt even worse for asking.
“I’m sorry. W-we can change the subject.” I stammered a little but he shook his head.
“Naw, it’s cool. My fault, I just…” He paused and took a deep breath. “The shit he in for is bogus, feel me? He got jammed up with some little niggas that hit a bad lick and hopped in my brother’s whip while he was waiting on his homeboy and shit, forcing him to be their getaway driver. They got knocked a few blocks down and yeah. He been fucked up ever since.”
My brows pinched. “The guys he was with didn’t say they didn’t know him?”
“Hell naw,” he growled lowly. “Hell, it was the total opposite for real. They made it seem like he was the ringleader, and because they had lawyers and he didn’t, the courts believed it and hit him with a thirty year bid.”
My eyes ballooned and I gasped. “Really?”
“Really.” He shook his head. “I never regretted not having my bread together as bad as I did back then. I been doing my shit since I was a little nigga, but on some low level shit so I ain’t really have retainer bread when my brother went to jail. I mean, I did but I couldn’t just cash out like that because my baby mama was pregnant with Solo. Shit was a lot for a nineteen year old lil nigga.”
