Page 11 of Pieces of Us

Nehemiah

T he Birthday Party

When I pulled onto my father’s block, it was like the Million Man March outside.

I was exaggerating a little, but it seemed as if the whole neighborhood came out to celebrate him. Although my father had a big estate, the neighborhood wasn’t the kind to have huge parties in, especially with a known king pin being the one to throw it.

Shelby told me the party would be small and intimate. This shit was like a damn concert, and I swore I was ten seconds from turning my car around and taking my black ass back home.

What the hell is this man doing?

My father had to be losing his mind to invite people to his home—the place where he rested his head. Although security seemed to be tight and my cousin Ruger and his Rebels were in here deep, I was uncomfortable with all this.

One of his guards noticed me and waved me through the gates, directing me to a spot reserved for me. Only family was allowed to park inside the gates.

I shut off my engine, grabbed the cake and his gift, then climbed out of the car. Immediately, a server came and relieved me of the items as I slapped palms with the guard, Emanuel.

“Good to see you, Hemi.”

“Good to be seen…What’s up with all of this?”

“Man, I’ll let ya pops tell you.”

I shook my head and proceeded to the back of the house where the DJ played “I Get Around” by Tupac Shakur, my father’s favorite artist. Once I made it beyond the gates, I saw people sitting, standing, and in the heated pool.

I greeted the people I knew and ignored the ones I didn’t. This shit was ridiculous.

I spotted my father standing on the huge deck with my uncles Lou and Trent along with their soldiers and a few women. When he saw me, he smiled wide.

“My son.” He maneuvered around his people, pulling me in for a hug.

“Happy birthday, Pops.”

He kissed my temple. “Come talk to ya old man for a second.”

I nodded as I hugged my uncles then followed him inside.

Shelby and Chelsea had outdone themselves with decorating.

There were balloon arches, a banner that read over the hill, and black, white, and gold decor.

There was a buffet of food set off to the side of the kitchen and a fruit table on the other side.

I followed him through the kitchen to his study and took a seat in the chair in front of his desk.

“I don’t want to make this a long-winded ceremony, so let me say what I have to say.”

“Look, Pop, if this is about Diana—”

“It is, but it ain’t. If you’d let me speak, I wanted to tell you that I apologize for how Vic and I played this.

We didn’t think it all the way through and was only thinking about ourselves and what we wanted.

Ya moms told me to take care of y’all and protect y’all, but I failed at that.

Victor knew his daughter was a wild child, but he swore she was down with it.

“I also knew you weren’t with it from the jump, and I should have never forced you to marry her. I got beside myself, and I want to apologize for the part I played in this. Morgan Prescott would have been my downfall, Son. I couldn’t allow you two to link.”

“Your downfall?” I queried.

“Yes. Her bitch ass daddy was threatening me. The nigga turned holier than thou and started acting like a bitch. I didn’t want you with her for that reason alone. I could have paid for you to go to whatever school you chose, but I needed you away from her.

“I didn’t want me killing her father to ruin what you were trying to build with her. So, I felt you and Diana would be good for each other, but that proved to be a damn bust.”

“You damn right it was a bust. I wasn’t in love with Diana, and she wasn’t in love with me. She showed me that shit every day, even when I tried to make shit work. You knew Morgan was the only person I’d ever loved, and you took that away from me.”

“If we’re being technical, I didn’t take anything away from you. You had sex with his daughter, which caused that bitch nigga to take her away from you. I told you that shit wasn’t going to work, Son, but you didn’t want to listen.”

“I didn’t listen because I didn’t give a fuck about what her pops said. I honestly should have just taken my chances with you being pissed at me for not going to Atlanta than to lose her.”

“Then you would have had to suffer the consequences of losing her altogether. Her father would be in the dirt, and you would have still been without her. So, now what?”

I shook my head as I stood. “I can feel myself getting upset, so I’m going to end this conversation. If you would have killed her father, she wouldn’t have known it was you who did it because I would hope you wouldn’t have told me.

“I hated that I allowed you to dictate my life. You knew Diana wasn’t shit, but you still forced us to marry.

I’m glad I woke the fuck up when I was trying to get her pregnant.

This shit would have been an even bigger disaster, but it’s cool.

I’m going to find Morgan now that I have the money to do so and get my girl back. ”

“You love her that much? Even after almost fourteen years of being without her?”

“I don’t expect you to understand. What Mo and I had was special. I saw a future with her, and I fucked up by letting her get away. But that’s about to change.”

My father held his palms up in surrender. “I hear you, Son. Just know if her daddy is still on that bullshit, be prepared to console her at his funeral.”

“Speaking of funerals, are you trying to have one of your own?”

He frowned at me. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Why do you have all of these people where you rest your head? You’re exposing yourself to potential danger.”

“Everybody here has been vetted. You also know I would never invite an enemy to my house.”

“Are you ever going to let the streets go? You’re getting older, Pops. Your children are going to eventually start having children, and I, for one, don’t want mine around this street shit. I’m sure BB and Chels would feel the same way.”

“That time is coming. I already have my replacement in place. Just two more drops, and I’m done. You’re right. I am getting older, and I do plan to be here for my grandkids.”

I nodded as I walked toward the door. “If Queenie never taught me anything, she taught me to only trust actions, never words. Let me know when that time comes. I’d like to be more present.”

With that, I left the room.

“What kind of doctor are you?” Kenzi, Ruger’s wife, asked me.

We were sitting at the table playing spades and talking about everything.

I hadn’t seen Ruger since my uncle Honor passed away.

Ruger was my cousin on my mom’s side. His dad was my mom’s brother, so to lose them both within a three-year span had been tragic.

I had gone off to college, and he had been going through the loss of his father.

We would text every now and then to check up on each other, but other than that, we hadn’t seen each other since my mom’s funeral.

“Pediatrician.”

“That’s so cool. I was going to be a pediatrician, but I wanted to help people who have mental health difficulties. I do love children, though.”

“I do too. It’s why I got into the field.”

“You always been smart…just not smart enough to beat me at spades,” Ruger said, cutting my jack of spades with the king.

“Damn! I thought you played that shit already.”

“We can’t be partners if you gon’ be losing and shit, bro,” Loon fussed, shaking his head.

“My nigga, I literally made all of these books by myself.”

“Man, whatever. I’m going to get me some food. Fuck this game.”

Ruger and I chuckled just as Chelsea walked up.

“Hey, Mekai. Hey, Kenzi.”

“What’s up, Chels?” Ruger greeted her.

Kenzi stood to hug her. “Hey, Chelsea. You look so chic, girly.”

“Thank you, love. Are you all enjoying the party?”

“Yeah. This is dope. Unc crazy as hell for having all these people at his house, though.” Ruger said exactly what I said.

“My sentiments exactly. He trippin’. Did you and BB do the guest list?” I asked my sister.

“We did. We tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen, so here we are.”

“Shit wild.”

“We up, though. I’ll see y’all soon. Gotta get my wife home.”

“Mekai, we literally just got here,” Kenzi whined.

“Well, I told you not to wear that dress and those heels. An hour is all I had to spare. Bring ya ass.”

Chelsea and I laughed as Kenzi pouted, stood to hug us, then followed her husband out of the gates.

Chelsea sat beside me. “Cousin Ruger is a trip.”

“Always have been. Where’s BB?”

“Somewhere around here flirting with somebody’s son.” I chuckled and sipped my beer. “I saw Morgan today.”

A warm feeling washed over me. “Oh yeah? How is she? Did you speak to her?”

“I did.”

“What did she say? How does she look?”

“Dang, homie. Slow down.” She laughed.

“That was my problem before, should’ve moved a little faster.”

“Yeah… she still looks the same but gained a little weight. I’m sure because of the baby.”

My heart fell.

Shit.

“You’re bullshitting.”

Chels shook her head, confirming that it was true. “She looks to be about three or four. Looks just like a little baby doll.”

“Wow.” I didn’t know what I would expect after not seeing her for so long. I guess I didn’t expect her to have a baby on me. That only further angered me because that was supposed to be my seed.

“I fucked up.”

“It’s not your fault, Hemi. You did what your father made you do. I hate that he did it, but us seeing her only confirms that it’s time to take your life back. I could tell she was a little uncomfortable with seeing us, though. She was probably thinking about us telling you she has a baby.”

“I don’t care about that. My only concern would be if she’s still with the father. It doesn’t matter, though. That man is only about to have joint custody.”

Chelsea chuckled. “I know it was hard accepting that you’d never see her again, but like I said, this has to be confirmation that the stars are aligning again for you two.

You haven’t been happy in years, and now that you both are adults, you deserve the love you’ve always wanted with her.

But don’t go breaking up happy homes, Nehemiah. ”

“She’s not happy…Trust me.”

Chelsea shook her head and smiled. “Let’s go sing Happy Birthday to the old man. I need to get back to the gym to shut it down.”

“Yeah…and it’s time for me to go get my wife.”

“Oh, goodness. I hate that for her baby daddy.”

We both laughed as we headed inside.