Page 37 of All The Smoke

S moke.

Just like when I visited my brother, I felt a way hearing the familiar sounds of the doors locking while I waited in the visitation area.

Kaori’s pops was finally able to get his privileges and shit back so I pushed up to see him.

I had also gotten all of my business out the way for the day so I could spend the shit with my girl.

We had been having Solo so we’d been doing shit with him and shit.

I wanted to kick it with just me and her when I got back down the road.

A whole bunch of mothafuckas filed in, taking seats at the tables occupied by their loved ones, but I didn’t see Kaori’s pops.

My brows knitted as I looked around the room in an attempt to locate him.

When I failed to do so, I got ready to get up and go to the nigga seated at the front of the room that checked us in but was stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“You Smoke?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I looked up and noticed it was my girl’s pops, so I stood and shook hands with him.

“Solomon Tate, but yeah, I’m Smoke.”

Nodding, he rounded the table and took a seat before gesturing for me to do the same.

I couldn’t help but notice our visit was a little different from everyone else’s.

When I first walked in, I noticed glass separating each of the tables, but there was one in the corner that didn’t have any, which was the one I was directed to sit at.

I guess it pays to be a boss.

“Ya ride this way was smooth?” he asked once the guard left us alone.

I nodded. “Shit was straight.”

I was a little jittery on the way here because the thought of sitting in the hood legend’s presence was a little intimidating on top of the fact that I was fucking with his daughter.

I told Kaori I was good because she asked a million fucking times, but I was a little moved.

K-Dot wasn’t just some random nigga; he was one of the coldest in history.

“So, you got my baby girl pregnant?” he asked, getting straight to it.

Running a hand across my fade, I chuckled and answered, “Yeah. My bad about it though. I mean I’m happy about my lil boy and shit, but I would have did it differently if I could have.”

His brows hiked. “Differently?”

“Yeah. I know she ain’t told you how it happened…”

He cut me off. “And I’d like to keep it that way. Please, spare me the details.”

“Naw,” I laughed. “I’d never do no shit like that. I’m just saying I would have made shit with us official, official before knocking her up had I known.”

“Nothing we can do about that now,” he stated. “What are your plans for the future though? With KK,” he clarified.

“Shit, I don’t know, to be real,” I admitted. “I want to do everything I can to keep her but I don’t really have no blueprint for our shit. Like I’m just going with the flow and trying to keep her happy and shit.”

He nodded in approval. “I like that. Sometimes when you got shit fully planned out it don’t feel authentic, feel me?” I nodded. “Kaori is my lifeline, though. The most important thing in this world to me outside of my wife.”

“I’m knowing.”

“They got me on some petty shit right now, but I’ll gladly go to death row with no argument behind her and my grandson.”

I got his drift and knew full well being incarcerated wouldn’t stop him from doing something to me or anyone that brought harm to his family.

Hell, I shared the same sentiments. I didn’t have a daughter yet, but I would set the fucking world ablaze behind my sons too.

Gender didn’t matter to me. They were my babies too, my whole ass fucking world.

“I got you, OG. You got my word. Nothing will ever happen to them.”

He nodded. “Good, so I can trust I won’t have to hear her complaining about this other baby mama anymore then, right?”

Irritation filled me hearing about Bri. Her ass was literally a thorn in my side and I cursed the fact that I couldn’t handle her how I wanted. She constantly did dumb shit to get under my ski, and pulling up on my girl was getting old. She was begging for me to do something to her ass, no lie.

“Yeah, I got it.” I sighed. “Bri just ain’t used to me being serious with a girl for real so she acting out, but I got her in line.”

When Kaori came home telling me about how Bri pushed down on her at the park with her mother and Solo, I blanked on Bri.

I didn’t get involved in her shit outside of my son, so for the life of me I didn’t get why she was so invested in my shit.

She had been with hella niggas, and she knew I’d been with my fair share of hoes, so shit was mind blowing how she was acting with Kaori.

I was over the shit though and threatened to take her nutty ass to court to get some shit in place with Solo where I didn’t have to deal with her ass directly at all.

It was then that she got her shit together.

I knew that was all she wanted, access to me in some way, so when I threatened to revoke that shit, she got in line.

The conversation went on and we spoke about my brother and how they were gon’ help me with the retainer and shit.

Just like with his wife, I thanked them for the help and promised to get the bread back to him with interest. He was a little more understanding of that because, like me, he was a man with pride.

The topic of the wax I made and going legit with it came up.

I told him about my meetings with Mase and my plans of going out west with him and his OGs very soon to do test runs with my shit over there since people here already fucked with it.

He let me know Kaori was very concerned about me doing something legit to cover my ass and the shit made a nigga feel good because it reassured me that she cared.

I knew one of her main concerns was that I could potentially end up in the same position as her pops but I assured her I was being careful.

God forbid the shit happened, but if it did they would still be straight.

Once the visit was over I headed back to town and met Miles, the lawyer Kaori’s people had hooked me up with, at Morningside for a quick meeting. He claimed to just want to have a quick conversation about my brother’s case.

“Smoke, what’s good, bro?” he greeted when I approached his table in the back of the restaurant.

“What’s the word?” I accepted his outstretched hand before taking a seat.

“I appreciate you for coming by and I apologize for the mess.” He pointed to the table. “My girl and kid wanted to do a late brunch.”

“It’s no biggie.”

“Aight, I just wanted to clarify a few things before I really crack down on your brother’s appeal. This man…” He clicked around on the screen of his iPad. “Henry Baines, he was your brother’s defense attorney or just an appellant?”

“Appellant,” I answered. “I couldn’t afford counsel when Noah got hit, so he had a state appointed attorney.”

“Your parents are Bishop and First Lady Tate, right?” he quizzed, clearly confused like most people were when they found out who our sorry ass parents were. “I’m sorry, but you gotta know I did my own research.”

“It’s straight, but yeah, they our donors. They ain’t help us with shit.”

“That’s crazy.” He shook his head. “But anyway, you had him on retainer for this long and he ain’t did shit?”

“Naw,” I griped, pissed just thinking about the shit. “Mothafucka did absolutely nothing then tried to sabotage his shit.”

His brows knitted. “Sabotage?”

I nodded. “My pops running for mayor and shit and the nigga didn’t want the shit to come up and hinder his ass or whatever. He went to see Noah’s lawyer and he agreed to basically do nothing while taking my money.”

“The fuck?”

“Right,” I mumbled. “But I got my bread back so I don’t gotta kill his bitch ass.”

“Bruh, don’t incriminate me and you.” He chuckled but I didn’t because I was deadass.

I paid that mothafucka a lot of money so I expected something in return.

“But yeah, I can definitely help y’all, without a doubt.

There are a lot of holes in this shit just at first glance, but I need time to go over the shit with my brother then we’ll be in touch.

” I nodded in response. “Also, we can get that mothafucka disbarred because what he did is unethical as fuck.”

I shook my head as I ran my hand across my fade. “Naw, I don’t even give a fuck about him enough. As long as he got my bread back to me then I was cool. I just want to get my brother home. That’s all.”

He nodded as he locked his iPad and slipped it in his bag. “Aight then, I’ll be in touch.”

After accepting the handshake, I stood and prepared to leave, but a thought came to mind. “If I needed you to do some custody shit for me in the future, you could do that?”

His brows dipped but he shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, I could, but if it’s K-Dot and Ice’s grandchild then…”

I cut him off and chuckled. “It’s not. I got another lil boy and his mama getting on my fucking nerves.”

“Oh, in that case then, yeah.” He laughed. “I know some people that could help.”

“Aight, bet. I appreciate you and whenever you need me, just hit my line.”

I felt good as fuck leaving the meeting with Miles because for the first time since my brother had been jammed up, I felt like there was hope. The other mothafucka took my bread and basically told me he would see what he could do, but Miles sounded confident as fuck, which was a relief.

In due fucking time there would be no more free my brother. My fucking brother would be free!

“I just feel like I can’t fit any more of my clothes,” Kaori whined, standing in the full body mirror she had bought and put up in my room.