Page 32 of Royce (Atkins Family Saga #1)

Nodding, I was satisfied with her answer. As long as she was getting the nutrients she needed, I wouldn’t be a pest. I pulled out my wallet and handed over all the blue faces I had on me.

“Buy your staff lunch and anything needed for the building. Put more flowers up around here and play more upbeat music. It lowkey feel lifeless in here,” I suggested.

“I have been contacting a certain flower company, but they hadn’t returned any of my calls. If you can give me someone else, that would be great.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll email it sometime today.

I’ll arrange a caterer to come through within the next week so y’all can have a nice dinner.

When I email the flower shop, email me the head count and I’ll go from there.

If anything is needed, don’t hesitate to reach out.

I got to get up out of here and get to my wife. She just had my daughter,” I bragged.

“Really? Oh, that is wonderful. I had no idea you’d gotten married and had a baby girl. Congratulations to you both. I hope she brings you both many blessings and much happiness. We appreciate you for everything you do around here.”

“As long as I can help, I will. See you later.” I offered a small wave and smile before getting the hell out of there.

The drive to the mall wasn’t too far simply because the nursing home wasn’t too far from the house.

Traffic was light and the day was pretty as ever.

It was the perfect one to put a few things in order.

I pulled up and parked in the back per usual.

It was easier to bypass finding a parking space thing.

I entered the building and breezed through the long halls until I was out on the main floor. I took the escalator to the second floor, walked a few store fronts down, and was standing in front of XXIV Carats. I didn’t see Yonnis, so I called him up.

“I’m coming up the escalator now, Royce. You’re impatient as fuck.”

Hanging up, I stepped inside and walked to the counter where Kellz stood speaking to another customer. She glanced my way then back at who was in front of her. It was a small acknowledgment of my presence. She sent them ‘bout their business a minute later and gave me her attention.

“You look nice. Wanyá has been asking when you were going to host another game night. I’m tired of him coming over to the house using my husband for company,” she complained.

“I’ll throw one soon. What Elon been on? He straight?”

“Yeah, he good. His physical therapy is paying off. Still depressed about tearing his ACL but what can I do besides be there for him. Here’s your order.” She slid the door back on the wall and removed a blue velvet box with white ribbon.

Opening it, the two rings I dropped a quarter mill on was sitting pretty with a small light shining on them.

I grinned like a kid in a candy store. These muthafuckas turned out nice as hell and her rock was big as fuck with smaller ones surrounding it.

Shit, if she ain’t say yes to me for love, I knew for a fact she was gon’ say yes from this bitch alone.

“I can’t believe you ‘bout to follow through with this shit. It’s called coercion, Royce.” Yonnis finally made it in and the first thing out his mouth was that bullshit.

“I know what the hell it’s called. Why you always trying to stop a nigga from doing shit? Damn you like a muthafuckin gnat at this point.” Yonnis was starting to aggravate the hell out of me. Do what the fuck I paid you to do and shut the fuck up. It was simple.

“Because nigga when you just be out here doing shit, it’s me that got to keep yo’ ass out of jail. I want to go on vacation, too, nigga!” he shouted.

“ Ehhhh , fuck all that. Where the papers at?” I said ignoring all that other shit he was talking ‘bout.

He shook his head and opened the yellow manilla envelope.

It was a stack of papers from the bank, the adoption papers for CJ, the contract for The Oath, and the marriage certificate.

I really did need her signature for the bank documents though.

She was being added to my account and the kids had trust funds set up.

Now the adoption papers and marriage certificate, I was just hoping she got tired of signing shit by the time them forms came up.

“You mixed them muthafuckas in there good, right?” I inquired.

“Yeah, and I tabbed all pages that needs a signature. The marriage certificate is near the back and the adoption papers is in the middle. You wrong for this, Royce. Asking that girl is way easier.”

“Shut the fuck up talking to me, Yonnis. If she call them people on me, you better get me out. I know that much. I’ll have these ready for you by tomorrow,” I assured him.

I grabbed the small bag the rings were placed in and left Yonnis where the hell he stood.

He was starting to get on my fuckin’ nerves.

Sometimes a nigga had to do what the fuck he had to do and dammit this was one of them.

I was facing the clock when it came to the terms of The Oath, and I didn’t need her throwing these kids not being mine in my face no damn more. We were fixing all that shit today.

I was back in my whip moments later on a mission.

The only thing I needed was her attention for a few minutes.

If she was feeding baby girl, that was even better.

Her focus would be elsewhere, and she’d want me up out her face.

Today, I could tolerate it ‘cause she was giving me exactly what I wanted as long as she put her John Handcock next to mine.

My mama tried to give me pointers on how to propose but this was all I could think of.

I was a man who didn’t take no for an answer, and I’d hate to hear that woman reject me.

That was gon’ bring out a different person.

So far, the only thing she corrected me on was our kids and even that had died down.

Asking her to marry me was giving her an option. She ain’t have one believe it or not.

Pulling onto the private road, I cruised until I was at the compound gates. Pressing the button, I entered and rounded the fountain that sat in the middle backing into my driveway. I was in for the rest of the day. Striker had everything handled so my presence wasn’t needed at the drop off tonight.

Heading inside with just the envelope, I heard CJ’s small feet hitting the marble floor a mile a minute.

To my surprise, Heidi came flying around the corner chasing him.

He didn’t even slow down to speak. Whatever her and My Baby talked about must’ve went well because Klarity no longer had underlying animosity for her.

She could come and go as she pleased without My Baby being on ten.

“Look what the cat drug in. Where you been?” Heidi questioned walking over to me. she hugged my side and stepped back. She was showing Klarity respect.

“I went to see Ma. She was awake and talking today. She mistook me for Pops again. Oh, and her body so damn frail. It’s like her skin was just layered on top of her bones.

That shit hurt to see.” I swallowed the hurt that tried to surface.

I was gon’ be that way for a while. She was my baby for real.

“Is she eating? I was just up there a few days ago and she looked the same to me.”

“I been gone for damn near four fuckin’ months. She ain’t look like that when I left, Heidi. When I checked her charts, nothing had changed so why the hell is she so damn small?”

“Royce, this is something neither one of us can fix. She’s been sick for years and realistically, every single one of us needs to start preparing ourselves. She does not have much longer and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that.”

Everything she said was true, but the fact of the matter was, I didn’t want her to go.

My love ran so deep for that woman that seeing her go would tear me apart.

Anytime she needed me, I was there. The only thing she had to do was wake up and live, I took care of everything else.

Now I had to accept her time to go was approaching faster and faster.

“I can’t deal with this shit right now. Where’s Klarity?” I had to be around my daughter. She was the only thing that could make me appreciate life at the moment.

“Upstairs in Essence’s room feeding her. She just got done giving her a bath. She smiled at me today by the way. I took so many pictures. I’ll send them to you later.”

“’Preciate it. Aye, I need you and Striker to sign something for me tomorrow morning.” I was ‘bout to use both they asses as witnesses to my marriage.

“Okay.”

I took the right set of stairs since it led to the kids wing. As I neared the room, I could hear My Baby speaking to Essence in a soft tone. My cheeks hiked from the words she spoke.

“You are so beautiful, and your father is going to keep you under lock and key so get ready. I really hate that for you because he’s a mad man.

He loves you so much that it scares me because what if that’s the same kind of love he has for me.

Mommy never had that kind of love before, princess.

What if I made a mistake and fell for the wrong man again?

Yeah, you heard me. My dumb behind self has fallen for your psycho father.

I’ve given him so much pushback and he’s taken it on the chin every time coming back like nothing happened.

And he's so much better than that other guy. Don’t tell him I said that though. He’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

I couldn’t lie; a nigga was blushing mad hard. I wasn’t the only one in this shit catching feelings. She’d finally hopped on board and now I wasn’t left looking like a fool. I didn’t know when she fell, but I was glad she did.