Page 36 of All The Smoke

I gave him the full rundown on how our conversation went, even the part about me calling her a hoe because she pissed me off.

I apologized to him for disrespecting her though because although she started it, I didn’t have to stoop to her level.

He wasn’t bothered by it though. His concern was more about her asking me to terminate my pregnancy.

According to him, she never asked his first baby mama to do that, so I didn’t understand why she didn’t want my child. That was weird to me.

Even though I pleaded for him not to, we still ended up going to his parents’ place. It was not the ideal way I wanted to formally meet them for the first time, well at least formally meeting his dad, but his mother had no one to blame but herself.

Solomon didn’t bother to knock when we got to his parents’ place. He walked straight in, ignoring the greeting from the gardener cutting flowers right by the front porch.

“Ma!” he shouted as he stalked through the residence, holding my hand tightly. “Ma!”

“Solomon, why are you in here—wh-what is she doing here?” she asked as she rounded the corner.

“Where’s Solo?”

“He’s sleeping right now and?—”

He cut her off. “Good. You told my girl to abort my kid?”

“What? Of course not,” she lied. “I don’t even know this woman.”

“I didn’t say who the woman was.”

“Well, I assumed because she was with you…”

“Ma.”

“Fine, I did.” She rolled her eyes, but at me, not Solomon. “But it’s only because I don’t want you ruining your life or going through any kind of unnecessary drama with her.”

“How you even know about the baby?”

“Brianna told me and she also told your father and me how you’ve been neglecting your responsibilities with SJ since getting with this woman.”

“Do that even sound right?” He chuckled. “Like does me not handling business with my son even sound like some legitimate shit?”

“I-I don’t know,” she stammered. “She told me…”

“Ma, when you start speaking to Bri like that?” he quizzed. “You don’t even fuck with her like that but you listening to some bullshit she saying?”

“We talk.”

He chuckled sarcastically. “Okay, go get my son so we can go.”

“G-get him? I thought he was staying the night.”

“No you didn’t because I told you I was coming through to get him later, but that don’t matter. Even if he was gon’ kick it here, that shit dead now. You don’t get to choose between my kids. This ain’t me and Noah.”

“Solomon, I?—”

“Go get my fuckin’ son.,” he growled.

“Babe.” I tugged his arm.

Glancing down at me, he smiled and kissed my forehead. “I’m chillin’, love.”

“Son, please, just hear me out…”

“Solomon?” Bishop Tate approached from the direction his mother had come from not too long ago. “What’s going on, son? Who’s this?”

Solomon didn’t bother replying to him, so I stepped up and introduced myself. “Hi, I’m Kaori.”

His brows dipped as he accepted my hand and glared at me. It wasn’t in a menacing way or anything, but it looked like he was trying to recall if he knew me from somewhere.

“My grandmother attends your church, Gladis Jacobs.”

“Ah!” He beamed. “Sister Jacobs.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Aight, now that the introductions are done, go get my son,” Solomon spat because his mother still stood there.

“Why?” his father asked. “I thought he was staying over.”

“Because I said so bruh, what you mean?” Solomon frowned. “Why is this conversation ongoing and shit?”

“Solomon, let’s talk about this…” his mother pleaded but Solomon wasn’t trying to hear it.

“I ain’t got shit to talk about with you.

” He pointed to his mom then his dad. “Or you. I’m done letting y’all mothafuckas shit on me and my fucking brother, man.

Y’all so gotdamn conniving, the shit ain’t even funny.

” He chuckled. “I’m trying not to make a scene in here because I peeped the lil reporter vans outside, so please go get my child before shit go left. ”

“What did we do?” the bishop asked. “I haven’t even been able to get you on the phone since the very first announcement of my mayoral campaign.”

“And you need to be thanking God for that because after I met with Noah’s last attorney I wanted to push up and crack yo’ fuckin’ face for playing with us like that.

But as usual Noah has a soft spot for y’all disloyal asses so I fell back, but ya wife pushing up on my girl, trying to pay her to have an abortion, is the last mothafuckin’ straw. Fuck all that.”

“You did what?” his father asked incredulously.

“I-I-”

“Man, just go get Solo.”

Solomon and his father stood there holding one another’s glare until his father finally nodded and left us there.

His mother kept trying to plead her case, but Solomon ignored her.

I felt a little bad for her because she was literally begging him but he was acting like it was just the two of us there.

Solo rounded the corner a few minutes later, rubbing his little eyes.

His father picked him up and asked if he was good.

He confirmed he was then spoke to me before closing his eyes again as he lay on his father’s shoulder.

Solomon looked down at me and told me that we were gone before he started for the door and I quickly followed.

“Wait, Kaori.” His mother grabbed my wrist to stop me.

“Now, you know my name?” I asked, pushing her hand off mine.

“Look, my son doesn’t know all of the behind the scenes stuff nor does he understand why I act the way I do…”

Is this lady seriously about to ask me to help her or for sympathy?

I cut her off. “Mrs. Tate, I don’t care. You talked to and treated me horribly only hours ago and now you’re about to ask me to help you in some kind of way?”

“Please, I…”

I didn’t even allow her to finish her statement before turning to leave. I didn’t even recognize her from the first encounter. She seemed so headstrong and confident before, but now she was begging me to help her ass. Solomon must really be her kryptonite.

“I don’t know, he said Mase wants him to mass distribute it.”

“And he doesn’t want to?”

“He’s unsure.” I sighed. “I just want him to think about it, but I also don’t want him to think I’m getting in his business.”

Solomon had a meeting with Mase about the wax he made.

According to what he told me, Mase had been asking him for a while to sell in not only his Crescent Falls location of High Timez, but in all of his stores and potentially other places.

I thought it was a great idea, especially considering it was legal.

I wouldn’t have to worry about him being in any kind of trouble or worse, away from our child.

“Why are you concerned, Kaori?” my mother asked as we took a seat at the table close to the park Solo was playing in.

Solomon asked if it was cool for him to stay with me while he went to meet with his people.

I told him yes, of course, and when my mother found out I had him, she wanted to take him out.

Even though she and my father only had me, they loved children so she was stoked to find out there was already a child here for her to spoil before we had Silas.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want him to have some kind of legitimate business and part of me wants him out of the streets. Like he can still be a part of the business but just with the legal side.”

“KK, Smoke is not your father.”

“I know that.”

She smiled. “Do you? Because if I know you, then I know you’re worried the same thing that happened to him will happen to Smoke.”

“I mean a little,” I admitted. “I had Daddy my whole childhood, but I’d be lying if I said it still didn’t affect me and my everyday life when we lost him.

” Reaching across the table, she grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

“I know I still have him, but I wish he was here. I’m about to have his first grandchild, his grandson , and he isn’t here. ”

Holding my tears at bay was impossible. I was normally able to keep my emotions intact but being pregnant made it impossible. I was used to having both of my parents whenever I wanted them, even when they lived in Georgia and me in CF, they came running.

“What would he say to you right now, Kaori?”

“I know, Mama, but?—”

She cut me off. “What would he tell you?”

“Be strong, be beautiful, be fearless. I only survive off of your strength.” I sniffled.

He had been telling me that since I was a little girl.

He didn’t expect me to never cry or show emotion, he just didn’t want me to be vulnerable to other people.

My father was a protector through and through and he always told me he would crash out if anyone ever hurt me.

I couldn’t have that so I always held my own.

“That’s right, and you know that I’m doing everything in my power to get him home, so don’t worry about that.”

“I know.” I sniffled again. “Sorry, I just miss him. This whole thing is scary and I just want to have you both here with me when the time comes for me to have him.”

“Let me handle that.” She winked. “And when Solomon goes to see your father, we’ll have him talk to him about the business side of things.”

My father had finally gotten his privileges reinstated so Solomon was going to visit him next weekend without me, per my father’s request. I didn’t want that at all and had been very vocal about it, but Kadeem Randall wasn’t budging.

According to him, he needed to have a talk with the little nigga that had gotten his baby girl pregnant with no distractions.

“Gigi, KK, look at me!” Solo screamed, grabbing attention.

When I introduced him to my mother and told him she would be his baby brother’s Gigi, he asked if she was going to be his too, and she immediately said yes.

He was at the top of the highest slide waving both of his arms. When he saw he had both of our attention, he plopped down and came down, squealing and laughing. My mother and I met him at the bottom so he ran into my arms when he was back on his feet.

“Can we get ice cream now?” he asked because my mother had promised him before we got to the park earlier.

“Ye—”

“Oh, hell no!” we heard someone yell.

“Mommy!” Solo shouted.

Quickly, I spun around to see Solomon’s baby mother stalking in our direction.

“Get over here, Solo!” she shouted, but I wrapped my arm around him to keep him in place. He was indeed her son, but he was in his father’s care right now and he had entrusted him to me, so I was keeping him unless Solomon said otherwise.

“Bri, look…”

“Bitch, don’t say shit to me. You don’t fucking know me. Just give me my mothafuckin' son.”

“I can’t do that,” I said instead of what I really wanted to say or do. I had already asked her ass not to disrespect me or call me out of my name. I was going to let her ass make it for now, but I made a mental note to whoop her ass for sure when I dropped.

“Oh, you can and you will.”

“You need to call Solomon, Bri.”

“No, hoe, I don’t.” She stepped closer to me. “You might need to call his ass about the little mothafucka you’re pregnant with but?—”

“Solo, baby,” my mother cut in and got down at eye level with him. “Run over there and get in line for the slide again for me. We need to speak to your mommy before we go get that ice cream I promised you.”

“But can I hug her before she leaves?”

“Of course you can.”

Satisfied with my mother’s response, he turned and jetted off in the direction of the slide. His mother wasn’t pleased about it at all because she began going off as soon as she saw her son comply with my mother’s direction.

“I see you think I won’t beat your ass because I’m pregnant,” I spat.

“That is exactly why you won’t beat her ass,” my mother replied then stepped between us. “Now, unless you don’t enjoy your ability to speak nor do you value your capability to breathe, you’d better step the fuck back.”

“I—"

“Sweetie, get your ass the fuck back or die in front of your son,” my mother threatened. “You won’t be the first bitch I made an example of nor would you be the first one I made Swiss cheese in front of their kids.”

When she looked down at her shirt and noticed the three red dots on it, her eyes grew wide and she jumped back.

“Now, are my ears deceiving me or did I hear you refer to my grandchild as a little mothafucka?”

“I-I was j-just s-saying…” she stuttered and I rolled my eyes.

“Look girl, it don’t matter. This is the second time you’ve run up on me talking shit and being disrespectful. It won’t be a third, I promise you that shit.”

“You—”

I cut her off. “No, I’m talking. The time for you to do so with some fucking respect is long gone.

Now, I have no issues giving Solo to you because he is your son, but like I said I need to hear his father tell me to do so because he left him in my care and I don’t want to be tied up in any bullshit I believe you will have me wrapped up in.

So you can call him and let me hear him tell me to let Solo leave with you or I’ll be taking him back to Solomon and you can get him later. Those are your choices.”

“Whatever,” she mumbled, backing down. “Just remember this shit when Smoke leaves you and has your baby with some random woman.”

“You worried about the wrong shit.” I shrugged. “I’m not worried about none of that because Solomon isn’t going anywhere and I don’t get left. I’m the leaver.”

She stormed away after that, leaving me and my mother alone again.

Solo called out to us seconds later, showing us that he was atop the slide once again.

Once he had our attention he repeated the motions from earlier, coming down and running into my arms. He questioned us about where his mother had gone and was a little disappointed that he didn’t get the hug he was promised, but after my mother added a trip to Leonardo’s to our plans he was all good again.

It wasn’t my plan to have Solomon and his baby’s mother bickering with each other, but I was definitely going to tell him about this and that he needed to deal with her because I wasn’t with her running up every time I was out.