Page 75 of All The Smoke
This was a blessing. They were a blessing. Kaori was a blessing.
“I appreciate it,” I finally said. “And I promise to get the bread back to you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Big Mo said. “We don’t want it back.”
“Right,” Ice agreed. “It’ll make my baby happy, so we’re going to make it happen.”
“What about what makes me happy?” Morgan spoke up. “Because I think I speak for both me and KK when I say it would make usbeyondhappy if we didn’t have to pay our bills again. I mean come on now, how ghetto is that?”
Everyone laughed as she ranted, and the two of us caught one another’s eye briefly. I caught the subtle wink and nodded discreetly to thank her for lightening the mood and changing the topic. My brother was always a sensitive subject and accepting help from others was always a task because not everyone was genuine. They seemed to be solid and trustworthy enough though, and worst case scenario, if they couldn’t help, I’d just figure something else out. Either way, I’d never give up on my brother.
“You okay, babe?” Kaori whispered when she leaned into me.
“Always, love.” I kissed the top of her head then tuned back into the conversation, enjoying getting to know the people I hoped to consider my own family one day. Even if something kept that from coming to fruition, I took pride in knowing my baby would be surrounded by love from everyone at this table for his or her entire life.
14
Kaori.
“How cute is this?” Morgan gushed as she pulled another Moncler outfit from one of her mini bags.
I was in the breakroom eating my lunch and she was spending hers with me, showing me all of the things she’d gotten for Silas. Her, my mother, her mother, hell even her father, had been buying stuff since we found out I was having a baby boy. The doctor said she was kind of shocked by my reaction when learning I was getting the opposite sex of what I’d told her I wanted because apparently most people threw tantrums when they got a boy after wanting a girl, but not me. I was just excited to know I had a healthy baby on the way.
“Morgan, I thought you were to get food.”
“I was, but I can’t go to the mall and get my godson nothing, Kaori.” She rolled her eyes. “What kind of neglect is that?”
“Girl, he is not going to be able to wear all of the shit y’all have been buying him.”
“Why? We’re going to change him several times a day.”
Chuckling, I shook my head and drank some of my sweet tea. I didn’t even like tea, but it had become yet another obsessionof mine since becoming pregnant and I only wanted it from The Deli with crab cakes from Ocean’s.
“You must plan to keep some of that at your place.”
“And can, hoe.” She rolled her eyes and put the stuff away. “You’re saying that like he wasn’t going to have stuff at my house any fucking ways.”
“I wasn’t.” I laughed. “I was just saying.”
“Mhm, did you see the video of your man bitching Jamal?”
My brows furrowed. “What video?”
Rolling her eyes yet again, she reached into her bag and produced her phone before clicking around on the screen. “Forgot you live under a fucking rock.”
“Girl, just show me,” I fussed. “Always talking shit.”
Once she found what she was looking for, she handed me the phone. I watched in amazement and horror as Solomon talked shit to Jamal and even giggled a little when he hit him. I felt a little bad because Jamal wasn’t normally that scared, but I guessed that just depended on who he was dealing with.
When we were together I didn’t really talk to Elijah and Bernard and that was mainly because Jamal thought it was disrespectful. But I did know I could have gotten in touch with them if I needed to and Jamal knew that too which was why he was always careful about how he handled me most of the time. Well, them and my parents. He knew my people didn’t play about me, but on the flip side he knew I liked to keep them out of my business too.
“I can’t believe he slapped him like that,” I said as I handed her phone back.
“I’m glad he did,” she countered and shrugged. “And you better not feel bad for him.”
“I don’t. Now it makes sense why he was blowing me up on messenger.”
She frowned. “You don’t have his loser ass blocked?”
