Page 12 of Mafia Kings & Wedding Rings

Emerald Crane

“ I know I’m late,” I huffed as soon as I stepped into Tap Inn.

Instead of Chili’s or Applebee’s, this was the local bar and grill around these parts.

It provided the same type of vibes and vintage memorabilia on the walls, but it was owned by a couple born and raised in Oak Bluffs.

The Fields family had been in business for over twenty years, and I’d been waitressing here for the last six months.

My assistant manager and homegirl, Lola, hovered behind the counter.

Tying my apron around my waist, I peeled out of my jean jacket and tossed it over my arm.

“I miss anything?” I asked, stopping at the counter to catch my breath while she scribbled some shit on her pad on the opposite side.

“Nope,” Lola answered, popping the ‘p’ at the end before peering up at me. “Other than that no-good ass mammy of yours posted in the back waiting for you. I told her I wasn’t sure what time your shift started today, thinking she would get fed up and leave, but she’s been posted for the last hour.”

Glancing in the direction of her irritated glare, I spotted my mother held up at a back table with her designer clutch in front of her, yapping away on her cell phone. She swore she was that bitch. With a heavy eyeroll, I spun toward Lola.

“Why me? As if this day wasn’t enough.” I dropped my head against the counter in defeat.

This shit was turning into one fucked-up ass twilight episode of my life, and I wasn’t here for it.

I honestly wasn’t sure how much more of life I could take, given how things were working out.

Most days, I wasn’t sure if I was coming or going.

By the time I figured out I’d been walking through life for other people, it was too late for me to focus on me.

My daddy was gone, my mama was selfish and self-involved, and my brother didn’t have anybody else looking out for him.

“Girl, what is going on? What happened?” Lola queried.

I hadn’t shared much of my life story with too many people.

It was for the simple fact that too many were judgmental and never cared to get their facts straight.

I damn sure didn’t have the time to be correcting anybody on a damn thing.

It was easier to let muhfuckas think whatever the fuck they wanted.

I’d learned that from high school. It wasn’t until I arrived back in the Bluffs that I remembered how that shit felt.

When I left for college, I got to become a completely different person.

Being back home left me unsettled and always waiting on some shit to hit the fan.

I’d been good at maintaining a low profile the last eight months, but it wasn’t like me being here was breaking news.

I was surprised that Ivo and Jordan hadn’t heard when I saw them today though.

That was a can of worms I was in no way ready to open, but I knew eventually I’d have to deal with it.

Never thought karma would come down on me like that.

“I’ll tell you later. Right now, I need to talk to this woman and get her off my back.” Rashida wasn’t the type to sit back and be quiet.

I knew if I didn’t address her, she would just find a way to make a scene, which I did not need. Taking gradual steps toward her table, she spotted me halfway there and waved me over. When I appeared behind the chair across from her, she ended her call.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m still your mother, Emerald.”

“I have so many responses to that right now I can’t even pick one.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“I came here with a suggestion for you weeks ago. I just want to know if you had a chance to consider it? Trust me, I’m not trying to slum it around here any longer than I have to.

” She turned her nose up and peered around like she really thought she was better than anyone sitting at one of these tables.

“Since you chose to move back here after everything with my son, I have no choice?—”

“I’m sorry… you have no choice?” I repeated, appalled. “You disappeared when Daddy died. What was I supposed to do, let Sapphire go into state custody? Would you prefer to deal with them over me?” I demanded, pressing a finger against my chest while my brows dipped together in spite.

I didn’t expect much of a response from her, other than her eyes going cold as usual.

With Rashida, she could say or do whatever the fuck she wanted, but God forbid anyone retaliated against her fucked-up ass ways.

Suddenly, her feelings were hurt, and she was the damn victim.

That shit was old and tired. Seeing how she abandoned my brother when shit hit the fan showed me more than enough.

I always thought I knew the kind of cold, callous woman she was.

It wasn’t until my daddy died that she turned into a bitch I hated sharing any kind of DNA with.

I feared one day I would be just like her, so now it was like I was always striving to go against that.

Easier said than done when life kept throwing me bullshit.

She was still my mother, so it wasn’t always easy to cut her off when she was the only parent I had left.

My family was in no way perfect, but they were all I had as an example.

When my daddy was gone, I basically had no choice but to reinvent myself.

All the designer shit was done. I sold everything I could to have enough money just to come back here.

Now me and my brother were rocking Temu with some fresh kicks for him when I could afford it.

I went from Burberry to Shein in the blink of a fucking eye.

As long as Sapphire was straight, it didn’t matter to me. He was my number one priority.

“I did not come here for you and your dramatics.” Rashida tucked some of her jet-black hair from her pixie cut behind her ear, flashing her sparkling diamond earrings.

I had to give it to her, she was used to a certain lifestyle, and it looked like she’d come up off some poor sucker.

My mother was easily one of the most beautiful women in the world, with smooth buttermilk skin and a slim, angular nose.

Her voice was deep and sultry, like Toni Braxton, with full pink lips and slanted, teddy-bear brown eyes.

There was no doubt she could pull one of these young niggas out here.

“With your father gone, I know it’s been difficult to bounce back. There have been sacrifices all around.”

“Have there been?” I quipped. “Because as far as I can see, it’s been only me making sure Sap is okay, and he’s not by the way. In case you cared.”

“I’m here giving you the tools and resources that you need, Emerald.”

“You’re here so that you can try to come up like you have been ever since Daddy died. Miss me with that other bullshit.”

“Fine. You want me to talk to you like you’re just some random girl? We can do that. Did you take my advice on the surrogacy options I brought to you?”

“I don’t have to tell you shit!” I spat. “I have a shift I need to start. Feel free to leave.”

I stomped toward the employee locker room in the back so that I could put my things away and do what I came here to do.

I hated when shit fucked with my money, and right now, Rashida was irking me past my limit for the day.

My mind had been spiraling since running into Jordan and Ivo, or should I say Mr. and Mrs. Marek.

That shit still blew my mind even though I’d heard years ago that it was the case.

Back in my middle school and high school days, Jordan and I were tight.

We would spend the night at each other’s house, get ready for dances together, and celebrate our birthdays since they fell in the same month.

All this before she lost both of her parents.

She ended up living with her aunt until she turned eighteen.

She’d always been the shy, reserved type, while I was popular but marched to the beat of my own drum.

You either hated me or envied me. Most girls only pretended to be my friend because boys were always drawn to me.

So I didn’t have a circle. My rich, honey-glazed skin was smooth, and I wasn’t one of those light-skinned girls who thought she was better than anybody.

Hell, I envied the caramel and milk chocolate girls because everybody was always asking me if I was mixed with something.

Yeah, black and more black. A bitch had to fight time and again to prove I was that.

I think that’s why I was so combative with people now.

My respect had to be taken out of a mothafucka’s ass.

Ivo was a different story. He was the homie.

Jordan knew that. She admitted early on to having a crush on him, but Ivo never returned the gesture.

It was whispered about in circles that more was going on between us than friendship.

When word got back to my daddy, he forbade me from hanging around Ivo or his family.

He was the son of one of the most feared, powerful men in the city, and David Crane didn’t want him anywhere near his baby girl.

Keeping him in the friend zone all those years was heavily based on my father’s approval.

It didn’t matter that Ivo took my breath away or made me feel safe and seen.

It wasn’t just about me being pretty with him.

He was the only person in my life who ever took an interest in me.

My likes, dislikes, my passions, and things that made me happy or sad.

He took note of my favorite color, food, snacks, you name it.

It had been over ten years, and I had yet to come across a man to show that kind of interest in me since.

It was nice because to him, I wasn’t just a pretty face.

Walking into that office today hit me with a large dose of nostalgia that I thought I’d forgotten about.

“What was that about?” Lola asked when she walked through the swinging door.