Page 6 of All The Smoke

I took Solo inside and put him in his bed just as a call from my brother came through. Pulling the door up behind me as I exited my son’s room, I swiped the screen to answer him. I clicked through the prompts and shit and waited for the call to connect.

“Baby bro.”

I smiled hearing his voice come through. He normally called me every morning and night but wasn’t able to this morning because he had to go and take a new picture. They made him update his shit every few years.

“What’s the word, bro?”

“I can’t call it, man. Just got back in from taking my shower.”

“You got your mail yet?”

“Yeah, man.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “You sure Solo didn’t trace this?”

“Hell yeah, I’m sure.” I chuckled. “My boy good as fuck. He remind me of you with that drawing shit.”

My son had drawn his uncle some pictures and we mailed them off to him a few days ago.

Solo loved to draw and he got that shit from Noah.

That was all he did when we were younger.

I had an ass of his sketchbooks put up that I had shown to my son before and since then he had wanted to draw just like his uncle. I loved that shit.

Noah was a solid ass nigga and deserved to have someone look up to him.

I always had and my son did too. If I had to choose between the two of us who I wanted Solo to be more like, it would definitely be my brother.

He’d gotten caught up on some bogus ass charges, but I knew it was bullshit.

My brother would never get caught up in no armed robbery shit.

That was more my speed than anything. It was cool though because a nigga was hustling overtime to get him out and searching high and low for the niggas that had gotten him hemmed up.

They had been ghost since testifying against him.

“I’m gon’ have to send him some of the stuff I’ve been working on.”

“I’m sure he will love that.” Solo kept all of his uncle’s drawings in a folder, claiming he was going to be able to sell them one day for a lot of money.

I didn’t know how much bread he thought he was gon’ get off drawings of his favorite cartoons and shit, but I wasn’t gon’ fuck his lil dreams up. “You got that bread that I sent you?”

“Yeah, I saw it in my account. We go to the store tomorrow,” he answered.

“That’s gon’ be enough?”

“More than enough.” He laughed. “I still have money left over from last week.”

I nodded like he could see me. I sent him more money than he could spend, to overcompensate sometimes, because I hated that everybody stopped fucking with him when he went inside. I needed him to know and see that I had him no matter what.

“Word, what about that lawyer nigga? He been up there?”

“Yeah, he has and he was scared as a mug sitting across from me, Smoke. What you do to him?”

“Told that nigga that he better start being worth the mothafuckin’ money I’m paying his ass fo’ he be taking a mothafuckin’ dirt nap.”

Noah laughed. He always laughed when I got to tweaking because he didn’t believe I was really on that kind of shit.

He knew I was temperamental and impatient as fuck; he’d witnessed it my whole life.

But he didn’t know I would really do that lawyer mothafucka somethin’. He believed shit was smoke and mirrors.

“You can’t talk like that on these phones, Solomon.”

“Fuck them. I can do whatever I want to do and dare them to do something.”

I hated the COs down there. They tried me every week I visited my brother, but fucked around and found out last time when I knocked the big, Black, burly one the fuck out last week for grabbing my arm.

He was saying something to me about pulling my pants up, but I kept it pushing because for one, my pants were on my waist, and for two, I wasn’t under nobody’s rule and didn’t take orders from a soul.

Shit like that was why I bumped heads with Bishop a lot.

“Anyways, did you study what I told you to?” he asked and I sucked my teeth.

Every Sunday night before we got off the phone, he gave me a scripture to study, then the next Sunday or Monday he would ask me what it meant to me.

I was outside when he hit me the night before so he was doing the shit now. “Did you, Smoke?”

“Yeah, nigga, damn.”

“And?”

“And what? I don’t be feeling like bible study while I’m smoking, bro.”

I was posted in my living room and rolled a blunt while talking to him, so I sparked up and started my game system.

“Then put it out.”

“Bruh,” I sighed, set the blunt down, and went to the notes in my phone so I could get the shit over with. “Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in Heaven may forgive you your sins .”

“Okay, and what does that mean for you?”

“That I need to allow niggas to play in my face.”

“Solomon,” he stated firmly.

“Aight.” I released a heavy sigh. “It means I need to be more forgiving of others so that when I make it into Heaven, Big G will forgive me for not living right.”

He chuckled. “Yes, show mercy to others just as God has shown us mercy.”

“I know, I don’t get it though, Noah.” I shook my head. “How can you forgive Ma and Bishop? Like they doing you dirty as fuck and you preaching forgiveness.”

“I’m not preaching anything,” he corrected. “I’m not ordained to preach anything to you and I just really want you to implement this, lil bro. I know how mad you are with them about my situation. I don’t want you answering to God about something that has nothing to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me.” I frowned. “You my brother, their son, and they done said fuck you. I hate that shit fo’ real.”

“I know.” He sighed. “Look, let’s change subjects, I just wanted to make sure you read it like I’d asked you to. That’s it. How was Solo’s appointment?”

“Shit was straight,” I answered. “He gon’ spend the night with me so I can watch what he eating and shit, make sure he straight. Can’t depend on his mama for a damn thing.”

“You’re too hard on her, Smoke.” He sighed. “I told you that.”

“You too soft on her ass.” I frowned as if he could see me. “I do everything for my son, the least she could do is get her stupid ass in the whip I bought for her and take our kid to get his mouth looked at.”

“You’re saying that like you’re doing her a favor. She’s your son’s mother, you’re supposed to take care of her.”

“Shiddd, I ain’t supposed to do shit but stay Black and die, fuck you mean? That bitch out here fucking out of both pants legs, fuck I look like taking care of her ass?”

“Smoke, every other word that comes out of your mouth doesn’t have to be a curse word.”

“Fuck that.”

Laughing, he replied, “I knew you were going to do that.”

“Had to.” I chuckled. “You know I only started cursing to spite Ma and Bishop when I was a kid, but now it’s like my second language.”

“Yeah, that’s horrible,” he said and laughed. “But seriously, maybe try a new approach with Brianna. You used to love the girl, Smoke, and surely all of that love isn’t gone.”

“It surely is, mothafucka,” I corrected. “Love don’t live here for Bri no more. She ain’t who she used to be.”

“True, but still, if you weren’t as aggressive with your approach with her then maybe the outcome would be different. Try taking it a little easy on her and see if that changes things. I mean, you don’t want Solo to see you dogging his mama all the time, lil bro.”

I contemplated his request. I did press the gas full throttle when it came to Bri because I was disappointed in her.

My expectations and view of her were so high at one point but she really disappointed a nigga.

I would have never guessed she’d turn into a money hungry ass hoe that shook her ass for the world to see on and off the internet.

He was right though. I didn’t want my son to see or hear me tweaking on his mama all the time.

“Aight,” I sighed. “I’ll be a little easier on her, but soon as she pisses me off…”

“I know, bruh.” He laughed. “I know.”

We spent the rest of our time on the phone laughing and tripping.

I hated for Noah to worry and be stressed, especially about shit I had going on.

That was the only reason I conceded to whatever he asked me most of the time.

He had more important shit to think about than me and my friendly pussy baby mama or our lying ass parents.

After we finally hung up, I rolled up and smoked another blunt while I played my game until Solo got up.

His little ass came right in and took over my shit, begging me to order him more food because the oatmeal did nothing for him.

I ended up getting on Munchies again and ordering us some spuds from The Deli.

Solo ate like a grown ass man, so I had to fully load his shit up like mine.

Once the food arrived we ate together, I got us both bathed, then we kicked it in my living room for the day, alternating between watching movies and playing the game until he crashed for the night and I went right behind him since I had already redirected all my business shit.

Every now and again I took a full day and dedicated that shit strictly to my son because I needed him to know Daddy loved him and put him over everything and everybody.

Those were always my best days too.