Please excuse ANY errors.

December 22, 1998

~Yasir's P.O.V~

Being in Paris feels great. This is my first time and everything I thought it'd be. I brought my woman with me. A woman who will cooperate and won't give me back talk. That's why I had to step outside of my race for that. Black women are too hostile to real and alpha men, much like myself.

What irks me is that my own daughter didn't even want to come to me. That's fuck up even because of the fucker who she held onto while rejecting me. I like the other nigga my sister was with better. He didn't meddle in the family business like DeVanté's ugly ass. I can't stand that big lip ass nigga!

I put Masir's car seat in the car that I rented out. I figured I'd need one because how everyone seems to think I'm the bad guy in every damn situation. It's whatever though. I'm cool. I'm just here in support of my sister even though she seems like she doesn't need my support. Tia doesn't even want to speak to me which I thought would be over by now. She's being a bitch.

"What do they mean when they said you'd start treating me bad? I thought your ex was the crazy one?" Bianca asked me.

I glanced at her. "She is the crazy one. I treated her with nothing but respect throughout our relationship."

"Well, she seems okay to me."

"Now!" I chuckled. "She pulled knives out on me and shit. Crazy ass bitch." I shook my head at the thought.

"Mommy?" Masir asked me and I noticed he was sitting up.

"Yeah and put your seatbelt on like I told you, Masir!" I yelled at him because this ain't that over here.

"I can't, daddy." Masir wined.

"Can you strap him in?" I asked Bianca and that's exactly what she did.

She's meeting her man's demands without questions. Not giving me a lip at all, not that she has any, but still.

"Masir this is your new mommy. When I get custody of you and your sister, we gon' have a lot of fun." I said looking at him through the mirror.

He sat there folding his arms like he was angry because I yelled at him. I told him to put that seatbelt on and he didn't listen which resulted in me yelling. For every action, there's a reaction. He has such a big attitude because their mother has been keeping them away from me. I don't know where the hell she's been nor my damn kids. Shit, now that I think about it and knowing my sister has some type of vendetta, she probably was letting them hide out.

"Unfold your arms. You listening to me?" I asked him.

"K." Masir nodded.

"Where yo mama been hiding y'all?" I asked him.

After following DeVanté bitch ass, I finally parked.

"Masir, you hear me?" I turned to him.

Masir nodded at me, confused. "Hide and seek?"

I threw my head back against the headrest of the seat in frustration. "Bitch tryna keep my kids away from and shit. Shit ain't right. This some fucked up bullshit. If my sister got anything to do with this- which I believe it's even more fucked up." I shook my head.

"Sometimes family ain't family. Bitches just be jealous of what niggas got and want to prevent you from it. It's fucked up too because your sister knows that you don't wanna be like yo daddy." Bianca replied.

"I'm so fuckin' glad you agree with me. We knew each other for a few days and I feel like it's been years. I just hope yo ass don't switch the fuck up too." I joked about that last part.

"I won't. I got yo back, king." She said getting all in my face.

"That's what the fuck I'm talkin' 'bout!" I said and she pecked my lips with her... Can't call them lips. "Damn, you ain't got no type of lips." I cackled.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Don't worry, I'm getting them done soon. I knew that already before you said anything."

"You need that shit ASAP," I said laughing but I'm so serious. I looked back at Masir. "Masir, you ain't gotta listen to yo mama. You hear me? She don't be knowing what she be talking 'bout. She ain't the boss of you, but you better listen to yo daddy not that bitch." I told him.

I told my son this shit before, but he needs a refresher if words because we haven't seen each other in like a whole week. Bitch trying to turn my kids against me? Oh, I got her. Two can play that game. Asiri is too damn old, but Masir is old enough to get things. When I do get custody of them, Ashari won't be coming anywhere near my fucking kids. If she does, she has another thing coming! Tell them all about the bullshit that their bitch of a mother put me and them through. Not sugarcoating anything for MY kids.

I saw everybody heading inside. "Unstrap yourself," I told Masir before getting out of the car.

Seeing him struggling, I opened the back door and helped him out of it. When you're an alpha male and have male kids, you have to start them off young so they don't become beta males. It starts by making them do shit on their own. That's what real ass parents do, fathers. We made our way inside to see DeVanté and the rest of them moving up to the front of the small line.

"We need a table for ten," DeVanté told the man.

"Twelve!" I corrected him.

DeVanté shook his head, not turning to face me like a real man would before speaking. "No, ten like I said. Those two aren't with us."

"Oui, right this way." A waiter approached them and lead the way.

"A table for two. We're family of the people ahead of us." I pointed to the others. "Can we have a table next to them?"

"Oui, monsieur. Madame." The other waiter seated me at a four-seater table next to them.

Masir ran to the bitch he calls mother and sat next to her. DeVanté pulled his shades off, looking at me with a smug expression that I would gladly smack off his face. I really want to fight this nigga and I put it on everything that I would win. My sister doesn't need to be with niggas like him. He's a bad influence on her and she's a follower. That's the way I feel. I clenched my fist underneath the table.

"You good, man?" Dalvin asked me.

"I'm cool." I nodded. "You good?"

"I cool, man. How you been though? I ain't seen you since- what? Thanksgiving?" Dalvin asked me.

"Other than NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE MY KIDS-" I looked directly at Ashari. "Everything has been cool."

Dalvin didn't say anything more to me. He just nodded with risen eyebrows before looking at his menu.

~Ashari's P.O.V~

Seeing my ex is causing me to be very much apprehensive, to say the least. Then it's the fact that I'm surrounded by his family who I know hinders him. That's why the night all of that nonsense occurred with Yasir and I- I'm referring to him threatening me to be with his crazy ass again- I stayed in a hotel with the kids. Leaving the state that night would've been great, but I was tired as hell from working a double shift and so we're my kids. The difference is that I couldn't even sleep that night.

In the morning, I ended up going back to California where my family resides. I didn't have the best family dynamic growing up, but it's better than being back there with Yasir's crazy ass wondering if he's going to come after me and do something. I left without notifying anyone in Georgia. Not the kid's aunt and definitely not their grandparents. Knowing Mrs. Toussaint if her son would've asked her, she would've sung it to him like a canary.

The food finally arrived at the table. Masir is so hungry and in a rush that he almost wasted a great portion of his hot food on his lap. I pulled his food away from him, grabbing his arm. Then let him go.

"Masir, wait. Okay?" I told him. Masir huffed at me, rolling his eyes at me.

"Don't do that. I told you about that, Masir." I pointed at him. "Unfold your arms and fix yo face," I said in a stern voice so he can know that I'm serious and think about the repercussions.

Masir leaned in closer to me, looking me dead in the eyes, then screamed. "NO, BITCH!"

He said that shit like he meant it and the look in his eyes when he said it. He pulled his plate closer to him and grabbed his food with his hand. I was so shocked by his words that I didn't even stop him which in turn, meant he burnt himself. There's a big difference between a child cursing and a child cursing at their mother, but both are bad. One is just worse than the other I snapped back into reality from Yasir's laughter and Masir crying. Both of their pitches matched each other and the number of eyes on us was just too much.

"Ooooo, daddy he said a bad word." Derek's son, Deron said to his father in disbelief. "Beat his tail."

"That's okay, man. Shake it off!" Yasir told Masir.

Everyone at the table sat there looking shocked. Tia handed me the keys. "Ooooo... Weeeee..." She shook her head. "Gon' head." She told me to know what I'm about to do. "We got the food."

I grabbed the keys and snatched a crying Masir up. He was just kicking and screaming, making a whole ass scene. I felt a presence behind me once we were further away from the restaurant.

"Touch my son and I'm callin' the fuckin' cops on yo black ass! Gon' 'head and try some shit with him!" He said grabbing Masir's other arm.

"Fuck outta my face!" I told him, then turned around to face him. "You taught him this shit. This seems like some shit you do!"

I pushed Yasir back by his chest causing him to stumble backward. His little girlfriend or whatever you want to call her came running towards me like she was about to hit me. All I had to do was move over making her miss and fall on her face. Masir still was still screaming and crying.

"Yell at me or put your hands on me again, and you gon' see your God," Yasir said with clenched teeth.

Stuck by his words, I didn't move or say anything. His threatening words scared the fuck out of me because this is the same Yasir I saw almost a week ago. His demeanor is almost demonic-like. It's scary!

Bianca screamed at me from behind. "You-" I fucked because I sensed her about to hit me.

My ducking caused her to hit Yasir instead. Yasir winced from the hit while I went and ran to my crying child who is pretty far away from me and standing in the middle of the street parking lot. Yasir's a whole bitch who calls himself alpha male when he's everything but. Some of the others came outside with paper bags of food. Derek, Maria, and their family stayed inside I'm guessing. I guess these two decided to take their food home. Possibly out of embarrassment? I know I'm embarrassed as fuck.

"Damn, y'all fighting already and y'all ain't been here for a day." DeVanté laughed at Yasir holding his face in agony. "I thought y'all went to piss? This ain't the forties, they got toilets in the inside now, Mr. Ancient." He said cracking jokes.

"You hit me!" Yasir finally said in disbelief at Bianca.

"I'm- I'm sorry." She apologized. "I was-"

"Trying to hit me? Well, you accomplished that." Yasir said with his voice rising, but not specifically yelling.

"Damn, I missed it!" DeVanté snapped his fingers seemingly upset. "I can't hit him, but seeing him get what is deserved is deserving to me." Tia elbowed DeVanté, shaking her head. "Okay. Damn, imma shut up."

Yasir pointed at DeVanté but said nothing. DeVanté shook his head walking away towards the car, laughing.

Tia walked up to me. "Can I have the keys?" She asked me. I handed them to her. "Thanks, you're okay?" She questioned.

"I'm fine." I nodded.

She looked at me nodding. "Okay..." Then Tia looked at Yasir. "Yasir, did you say anything to her?"

"No," Yasir replied calmly.

"Are you sure?" Tia asked me quietly, walking towards me.

"I'm cool." I nodded at her

Tia went to the car and I followed. She unlocked the doors with the keys and got in on the passenger side. My son and I got into the back seat. After getting comfortable, I looked up out of the front window to see Yasir's eyes burning into my skin, wickedly. I looked away. DeVanté stood in the doorway of the passenger side where Tia sat, giving her a look. Tia handed me and I'll assume Masir's food to me on account of the size of the bag. She turned to DeVanté grabbed our drinks, then handed them to me as well. Turning back to him, she cleared her throat.

"Can I help you, dear?" Tia asked him. "Can I maybe have my face back?"

"You're messing with me?" He asked Tia holding onto the top of the door.

Tia cheesed at him, rolling her eyes. "What are you even talking about? Let's just eat."

"The door. It was opened and I didn't do it." DeVanté replied to her then looked in the back over at Tia. "DJ, my baby brother, don't you waste nothing in this car. You back there, Dalvin, so you make sure." DeVanté said before closing Tia's door and going to the driver's seat to eat.

"He just loves to boss people around," Dalvin said aloud then DeVanté got into the car. "Nigga, I'm grown. I'm not goin do that shit 'cause you told me either."

"But you still gon' do it though, right?" DeVanté asked Dalvin. Dalvin didn't say anything causing DeVanté to laugh. "But for real, can you make sure he doesn't waste nothin' anywhere since you are back there?"

DJ looked at Dalvin. "Punk." DJ said low but loud enough for us to hear.

"Say it again, DJ." DeVanté egged on.

"Punk." DJ spoke a bit louder.

Tia softly hit DeVanté's shoulder. "Stop instigating, babe." She chuckled.

DeVanté smacked his lips at her, sitting down.

"Yeah, bitch. Do what your lady says before you get fucked up." Dalvin said laughing.

"Y'all hear this nigga, right?" DeVanté pointed back at Dalvin.

"Everyone sees everybody. Nobody in here is blind, Donald. And we dang sure can hear him."

"Tia, you got one mo' time before I take a bite of that apple head." DeVanté pointed at her.

"Sir, you're going to bite me?... On the head?" She raised her eyebrows, giving him this weird ass look.

"He might do it. His ass DID say he was hungry." Dalvin said laughing. "And he called it a food item..." Dalvin shook his head.

"If you gon' bite mine, I'll chop yours up and sautee yours, Onion Head," Tia replied. "Definitely look like one when you be having your hair in a ball."

"Y'all one weird ass couple. Over here talkin' 'bout eatin' each other on some cannibalistic shit." Dalvin glanced back and forth between the couple. "Let me move out the way when y'all decide to do that shit. Ion wanna be caught in the crossfire and I get bit. And why are you callin' this man sir?"

DeVanté spoke with a mouth full of food. "Nigga, WE don't eat no dog meat! You ain't gotta worry bout shit!" DeVanté yelled out playfully.

Tia quickly turned away from my daughter and whatever liquid Tia was drinking flew out of her nose onto the window. Tia immediately started coughing. Between the coughs was laughter. Dalvin was even laughing and so was I. DeVanté reached over patting her back.

"I can't stand you," Tia said to him, between all the coughing and laughter.

"Damn, girl, you okay?" I asked Tia.

DeVanté nodded. "Right! Over here bugging out. It wasn't that funny." He handed her some napkins.

"That was funny," Tia told him.

"True. I am a pretty funny dude." DeVanté nodded.

"No, you ain't! Don't even lie to yourself like that, De." Dalvin shouted at DeVanté.

"I saw yo fat head ass over there laughing too. Don't pretend and lie like that. We grew up in church and God don't like that lyin' shit." DeVanté pointed to him.

Tia turned to DeVanté after wiping down the windows. "How you mention God then curse?"

"Curse words are in the Bible, love. He ain't put them on earth for nothin'." DeVanté shrugged.

"Well, the one you used isn't even in there. Plus, the way you use the ones that aren't even used in the same context. Shall I remind you of Matthew chapter five, verse thirty-five, KJV? Mr. Grew up in church. Above everything else." Tia looked at him knowingly.

"Ooh, she tryna pull bible verses from the crack of her ass out on you." Dalvin patted DeVanté's shoulder. DeVanté shrugged Dalvin's hand off of his shoulder. "He just mad, T. You got his ass." He held his hand out for her to shake.

Tia pulled out the wet wipes on him.

"She doesn't touch bums, bruhh." DeVanté shook his head, playing around.

"I'm joking!" Tia cackled. "I got love for you, Dal. I'm not finna touch your hand because I'm about to chow down. I can hug you though." She said wiping her hands with the wet wipes and then putting on sanitizer.

"Babe, what was the point of changing it when you was just gon' clean your hands again?" DeVanté asked her. "Could've just shook his hand."

"Y'all both don't be makin' no damn sense," Dalvin muttered.

The both of them shrugged their shoulders.

"So what made you all come out here?" I asked them all.

"We figured you were too embarrassed to come back inside after everything and decided to come out here and eat," Dalvin replied to my question.

I smiled. "Thanks. How considerate of you is that I hardly know you."

"Ahhh, Dalvin a whole follower. Ain't that right?" DeVanté looked at his brother amused.

"Kiss my-" Dalvin looked at my son and then his baby brother before replying to his oldest brother. "You know the rest. I ain't tryna influence this kid to say anything else."

I looked back at Dalvin. "Thanks, but whether we cursed or not, he knows what not to say." Turning to my son with flared nostrils and a serious expression. "You know better not to say words like that and especially calling me that word. You don't do that. When we get home, you're in trouble." I told him.

"TT?" Masir called out.

"TT, can't help you with this one, Masir." Tia shrugged her shoulders before turning to feed Asiri.

"This food ain't the good." DeVanté said looking over to Tia. "Can I taste some of your hash browns?"

"Get some." She told him.

"Yeah, the food a'ight," I spoke up. "Bland."

"For real. But I'm hungry and this shit costs money so I'm eatin' it." Dalvin agreed.

"How to shit seasoned but ours ain't?" DeVanté said eating more of Tia's food.

"Hol' on, you said taste not make a meal of my food," Tia told him. "Stop reaching into my plate, stingy. Reach into my purse and you'll find your answer."

DeVanté grabbed her purse, looking into it. "Well, I'll be damned. No, you do not have a whole seasoning cabinet in yo bag?"

"I forgot to take it out. I ain't know where you were taking me, so I had to play it safe." Tia told him.

"Beyoncé ain't got shit on you. She said she had hot sauce in hers, but you in here with the whole damned seasoning cabinet." DeVanté said looking at Tia in disbelief. "That's why this shit so big?"

"You're over-exaggerating. I ONLY have a few in there AND you knew this yesterday." Tia raised her eyebrow.

"I digress. I can take them out and count them right now, but can you tell me what I need in my food? Because this needs more than the salt and pepper packs they have us." DeVanté told Tia.

"Just put some of the blend in there." She told him.

DeVanté looked at her. "I'm adding that to my long list."

"Don't nobody be knowin' what you be talkin' 'bout." Dalvin chimed in.

"That's because sometimes you just need to mind your business." DeVanté turned to him.

"Babe, I honestly don't even know what you were talking about either. What long list? Seasoning list?" Tia questioned, confused.

Waiting on DeVanté to finish seasoning his food, because I need it too, he answered her question. "List of reasons I love you. You be prepared for almost any and everything. Shit, you be reminding me about a lot of shit too."

"Awww." The corners of her mouth pointed down in a pout. "If I didn't have this baby on me or the kids around period and all this food, I would slob you down."

"So damn us two back here, huh?" I asked Tia.

Dalvin chimed in. "Please don't do that shit period. Watchin' you two kiss is like watching four powdered donuts rub against each other, but sound like ashy elbows runnin' against some cotton sheets."

"Screw the both of y'all," Tia told us.

"Tell that to DeVanté the virgin or shall I say born again virgin? I be seeing all those lotion bottles and Vaseline you keep on you." Dalvin said laughing. "Greasy ass palms!"

"No, he did not." I cackled, covering my mouth.

DeVanté pointed to Dalvin seemingly unfazed, but his eyebrows said a different story. "Dalvin just be talkin' out the side of his neck. That's cool because the more yo stank breath ass talk, the more the back of your hairline go up."

I cleared my throat. "You know... I always wondered if y'all arched y'all eyebrows or y'all was born like that. Y'all both always seem to be surprised." I asked them.

"Who? This nigga?" DeVanté asked me.

"No, both of y'all," I replied.

"I know yo ass ain't just try to play me on the low?" DeVanté said laughing.

"She did." Dalvin looked at me. "Our shit is all natural. Born and raised with these surprised eyebrows. You jealous?"

"Fuck nahh!" I laughed. "Just curious."

"You know I was fuckin' with you, right?" Dalvin nodded toward me.

"Even though yo shit barely there. Shit, I'd rather my shit look surprised than not there. The 90s got some women fucked up. Who shaves their shit to draw on new ones?" DeVanté said getting on me.

"I can grow my shit out if I wanted to." I shot back.

"I'd like to see you try," DeVanté said through mid-chew.

"DeVanté!" Tia gasped.

"She gon' fuck around and grow a beard, unlike DeVanté. I would like to see you try that." Dalvin raised his eyebrows.

"I can't grow a full-on beard, but that's okay. God made me my flaws to be tougher."

"Nahh, I ain't got none. He right." I nodded. "And how the hell would I grow a beard? What are you even talkin' about?"

"Yeah, but what's understood ain't gotta be discussed." Tia told me, looking at DeVanté. "Apologize."

DeVanté exhaled. "I'm sorry that you ain't got no eyebrows. Probably wasn't born with them." He said dully.

"I'm sorry you had to come out breached because your head was too big. That ain't no real apology, babe." Tia told him.

"She knows I'm just messin' wit' her." DeVanté smiled at me and it turned into a laugh.

"Nahh, I got tough skin. What he said was true and ain't nothin' I heard before." I told her.

Tia shook her head. "Doesn't mean he should've said it."

"We all mess with each other like that even if it is true. She just added to the club is all." Dalvin shrugged.

Tia looked at me once she saw I was good. "Okay."

"Lighten up." DeVanté told Tia.

Tia spoke up. "I just wanna make sure she good. Not everyone is comfortable with that. Can't play with everybody like that, babe."

"You wasn't sayin' a damn thing when them ankles of hers was lookin' bad though. Shit, yo ass was the main one on her ass." DeVanté told her laughing.

"She was, but she was just makin' sure I was good. Give me the damn seasoning and stop hoggin' it." I told him.

DeVanté handed it to me, laughing. "A'ight and I'm sorry."

"Damn, you really be rollin' ashy like that?" Dalvin asked surprised.

I smacked my lips. "I'm a single mother with two kids and believe it or not, some of us be forgetting about ourselves trying to adjust and make sure our kids are good," I told him.

Dalvin nodded. "I think I understand. See, I had a dog-"

"Let me stop you right there. She said kids and you talkin' about pets. Ain't no correlation between that shit." DeVanté told his brother.

"Yes, there is." Dalvin defended.

"Nigga, if yo ass was ashy, you chose to be or simply forget to put on lotion. Don't blame no dog. Tryin' so fuckin' hard to relate that you don't." DeVanté shook his head laughing. "A dog?"

I handed Dalvin the seasoning. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with DeVanté."

"You gotta worry about yourself too though. Can't forget about yourself." Dalvin told me.

"Agree. You gotta take care of yourself before anybody or caring for them may become harder. Believe it or not, children can sometimes sense that." Tia explained.

"Take your own advice, love." DeVanté looked at her.

"I agree on what both of y'all said." I told them. "YOU- Tia, have to stop focusin' on yo brother, mama and everyone else so much and just do you. That's what they do. I love their grandma and yo mama to death, but sometimes... She can become too much. Take the plane for example." I replied to her.

"I told her that. Wait- what happened on the plane?" DeVanté asked Tia.

"Same ol' shit, just a different day." Tia waved it off.

Dalvin started laughing because she just don't sound right cursing. "Girl, you KNOW yo ass don't sound right cursin'!" Dalvin patted her shoulder. "There. There. Hangin' 'round De, you might have a chance at sounding better at doin' it. Dirty mouth ass."

"Dalvin, everyone sounds dumb cursing. It's stupid, but people still do it." Tia shrugged.

"Nahh, I doubt it." DeVanté closed his empty container, then drank the rest of his OJ. "On another note me and you can just talk about everything later."

"Everything we need to, yes." Tia nodded at him.

He got out of the car getting all the crumbs off his clothes. I looked back at Dalvin who was looking at me.

"So what happened to y'all?" Dalvin asked me.

"Who is y'all?" I asked him.

"You and Yasir?"

"Oh," I said in understanding. "Simple, there is no y'all or us," I responded. "And hasn't been for a while. Why?" I squinted.

He shrugged his left shoulder with his lips twisted off to the side. "I don't know. The last time I saw y'all together was at that fashion show last summer. I was just wondering. I mean, I ain't even see y'all together when they all came to visit for Thanksgiving."

DeVanté chuckled from the front seat. His phone rang, but he didn't answer it. It remained where it was placed.

"Good, now that you're done, can you feed Asiri?" Tia handed her off to DeVanté. "Please, I'm hungry?"

"Wait, before you hand me her food, let me chat with her right quick. Lay down some ground rules." DeVanté told Tia, then stood my daughter up on his lap. "Me and you get along well, but we need some rules to be set. Okay?" He asked her.

Asiri stood there with a goofy grin on her face. "Rule number one: Don't spit on me OR drool. Two: Don't poop. I hate poop, especially when it's on me and I gotta clean it up. Don't be a DJ."

"No, I didn't." DJ laughed, standing beside DeVanté.

"Yes, you did. ALL over me. You just don't remember because you was a little baby, but it happened." DeVanté shook his head. "Last rule: don't give me a hard time. You know what I'm sayin'."

"Good news, babe. We all know what you're talking about THIS time, but SHE doesn't." Tia said to DeVanté.

DeVanté rolled his eyes. "Tell ya auntie to mind her business." He turned Asiri to face Tia. "Gon' 'head. She not gon' do nothin' to you."

"Tell him not to mess with ya TT and that she's coming ten times harder than he did." Tia pointed at him.

Asiri stood there with that same silly expression, with her large head wobbling and her eyebrows raised. Lord, my child done caught a bad case of the DeGrate eyebrows.

"Tit for tat again?" DeVanté asked Tia. Tia pretended to zip her lips. "I'm gon' take that as a hell yeah. That's cool." He let out a loud belch. "Excuse me."

"Bet that shit smell like ass and eggs," Dalvin mumbled.

Dalvin finished his food. "Damn, they asses ain't done yet in there?"

"Do you see them out here?" DeVanté said with clear irritation in his voice.

"Yasir out here though in his ride," Dalvin stated which I never noticed. "Who is that girl? Weird ass too. That's they step mama or some shit?" Dalvin asked me.

"Hell nahhh!" I said aloud. "Don't you ever say that shit again. I don't know who see is. I'm just now seeing her for the first damn time. He was just- not too long ago in my face doin' the absolute most." I said revealing too much information.

"You jealous?" Dalvin asked me.

"The fuck I need to be jealous for?" I asked him.

"First thing that pops up in dudes head is to ask if a woman is jealous of another woman when she speaks on a man." Tia spoke aloud.

"Exactly!" I agreed. "No offense to you or nobody else, but I don't need to be jealous, nor do I want Yasir. Your brother is fucked up in the head."

"Aman to that!" DeVanté shouted.

"And he ain't shit to be jealous over," I told Dalvin.

"Ain't no offense taken. I been knew that. I feel sorry for everyone who he dates or is potentially thinking about doing so. I love him, but... Something ain't right and I sensed and SAW that as a child." Tia shook her head. "Only reason he's there is because of my mother."

"Mmm, I wished I would've sensed it earlier. Earlier as in no attachments with him. I love my kids, but if I would've found out beforehand, they wouldn't have made it." I said with pursed lips, shaking my head.

"That nigga weird," DeVanté said looking straight ahead. "At first shit was fine and dandy, then just in the recent three maybe four years, his true colors were revealed."

"Nigga, you weird as hell too." Dalvin smacked the back of DeVanté's head.

"Hit me again and see what's gon' happen." DeVanté turned to Dalvin. His phone rang again and Tia grabbed it. "Thank you." He sighed.

Tia answered it. "Yes?"

"Where's my child?" I heard Mr. DeGrate's voice loud and clear.

"Everyone's here. We all just decided to go out for breakfast." Tia replied.

"Why is MY child gon' without me or my wife's permission?" He asked her.

"I didn't do anything. I tol-" Tia sighed.

DeVanté held out his hand for the phone with furrowed eyebrows. "Babe, can you give me the phone?" Tia handed it to him. "She ain't did nothin', it was all me. I figured y'all needed some sleep, DJ was hungry, and ain't no food in the house, so I took him with everybody else. Tia told me to tell y'all, but I figured it was okay. Didn't you say we need to spend more quality time with him anyways?" DeVanté scoffed. "Even if you don't trust us, you know Derek is with us too. He's always with Derek."

Mr. DeGrate's voice lowered because I couldn't hear what was heard on the other end.

"If you talked to Derek already and know he's with us and okay, then why did you automatically start yellin' into the phone at her when you knew it was her? You wouldn't want nobody talkin' to mama like that, would you? No and neither would I, so I expect the same thing. Takin' stuff out on the wrong people, pops." DeVanté told his father. "It was me."

Mr. DeGrate lowered his voice again, so we were unable to hear.

"Yeah, we gon' bring him home as soon as Derek and them come out the restaurant." He nodded.

"Why y'all ain't in there with everybody else?" I heard Rev. DeGrate yelled into the phone.

"Because we decided to eat outside in the truck." He sighed, moving the phone away from his ear for a split second before putting it back up to his ear. "Please stop yelling into my ear."

"I okay, daddy!" DJ said with his mouth close to the phone. "Havin' fun."

"See? He good. We gon' be back soon. A'ight, bye." DeVanté said hanging up the phone. "Pops be trippin'." He shook his head.

"FINALLY!" Dalvin shouted.

I looked ahead at Maria, Derek, and their children coming out of the restaurant. That's what Dalvin is referring to.

"She done too. You get an A plus, Siri. You did well." DeVanté said closing up Asiri's food. "Here yo baby go. Good and full." He said handing her to me.

Derek got into the car and I strapped Asiri into her car seat and just buckled the seatbelt for Masir because I don't have time to be arguing with Yasir or his follower. We drove back home where I'm guessing the rest of us are being dropped off.

"Dalvin, can you help Ashari bring the kids inside?" Tia asked him.

"I got you." He said looking at me.

"Thanks." Tia and I both replied.

"Don't forget to give everybody in the house they food." DeVanté told Derek, handing him some bags of food.

"Where y'all goin'?" I asked Tia.

"Grocery shopping." She replied. "We'll be back."

"I hope so!" Dalvin told her. "If y'all don't come back, somethin' wrong."

DeVanté turned around to face us and speak. "It's gon' be a while because I ain't goin' to a Paris store. Shit too damn high."

"Actually, I gotta use the bathroom, so I'm goin' in anyways. I'll help her." Tia said unstrapping her seatbelt.

DeVanté turned off the car. "I might as well try to go."

They followed us inside and we women didn't have to carry a damn thing. It was nice to walk inside a place I lay my head empty-handed for a change. When I'm home, my hands are usually full and I sometimes have to make more than one trip outside. I notice that Yasir isn't complaining about getting his kids now. That was just a show to try and make me look like a bad person. I don't think he cares as much as he tries to make it seem. His (S)mother greeted him with open arms. Yeah, she's the one who told him where we're staying. That's clarified.

"When you get here?" She asked him.

"Early in the morning. Sometime after five." He said hugging her. "I told you that's when I was comin'. Luckily, Dalvin was up to open the door for me."

"Who is this?" LaZardia asked Yasir.

Rev. DeGrate stopped DeVanté. "Next time tell me before taking my child on a road trip."

"I will," DeVanté said then kept walking.

I walked past Daryl on the stairs as I made my way up. I don't know when DeVanté and Tia left for grocery shopping because I stayed upstairs with Dalvin playing with the kids. This is not how I want to spend my trip, scared to leave my room because of Yasir. This can't go on like this. That ain't no way to spend my first trip out of the country as an adult. After all, were here for two whole weeks.

~Daryl's P.O.V~

I came downstairs fixing my sleeves. Ashari walked past me. Making it to the last stair, I finally looked up to see Yasir hugging his mother. Confused, I walked closer.

"Boy, what the hell you doin' here?" I asked him.

"I was invited just like the rest of y'all, so I came." He replied looking me up and down.

"Exactly." My wife said agreeing with Yasir's response.

I eyed her but nodded in response. "Your sister knows you here? Who are you?" I asked the lady.

"Hi, I'm Bianca." She held her hand out and I shook it.

"Daryl," I replied with a smile.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled.

"Oh." I nodded again, but this time much slower. "Now that I know your name, WHO are you?" I asked again.

"Yasir is my boyfriend." She said proudly as if it was something to be proud of.

Some women are so proud to have bums as boyfriends and that's exactly what Yasir is. Sorry, not sorry. I don't know about this generation of men, but they're so unashamed and comfortable with asking women for money and not working. It's beyond me. Maybe I'm just old fashion, but ain't no way I'd date a woman and especially have a full-blown relationship with her when I don't have my own pot to piss in and a window to throw it out of. He ain't got shit but words to beg for something or to spew bullshit.

"Yeah, this is my new girl." Yasir cosigned. "The old one just wasn't cuttin' it."

"Okay," I said turning my head once DeVanté and Tia walked past me, heading towards the door. "Y'all about to leave AGAIN?"

"Mm-mm, not really. We're just standin' by the door with the car keys for esthetic purposes." Tia said shaking her head.

"A'ight, apple head little girl." I laughed.

"We goin' grocery shoppin'." DeVanté chuckled.

"Okay. Be safe." I told them as they left out the door.

"Yeah!" Tia yelled out jogging to the car.

"We will!" DeVanté opened her door. "We left y'all some food too!"

"Thanks," I replied to him, then I closed the one to the house.

I turned to my wife. "I know Yasir was invited like the rest of us, but he still decided to come? For what? He and his sister aren't even gettin' along."

"I know, but in due time. I feel like this trip may lead up to that. Another thing, this is a family trip and I want my son to be here on a family trip. Turn this family into a family again." My wife replied.

"Mm, no ONE trip is going to change the relationship dynamic, unless there's some type of family therapy and truthfulness," I told her.

"It's all up to Tia." My wife shrugged. "I don't think she's being truthful to herself though."

"Anyways, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in this house. This is our first official and full day here." I smiled while speaking. "First, let's eat because as you heard, they bought us somethin' back."

"Hopefully THIS is some good food because yesterday, that food ain't taste that hot. The only thing here that I like so far is the bread." She told me, going into the kitchen.

There we were met by my parents, and DeVanté's parents and grandparents. They all stood in line, getting some breakfast.

"Four generations under one roof is such a blessing." My wife said aloud. "Especially being that the majority are adults or old enough to remember things like this."

"It is, but it's not rare." Mrs. DeGrate replied.

"For us, it is," I replied, walking to the cabinet for some cups and plates. "I was too young to remember my grandparents before they passed and the lineage stops with me."

"So you don't have no kids? At all? None you're hiding?" Senior chuckled.

"Nope," I handed my wife the plates.

"Why not?" He asked me. "What made you not want any?"

"It's not that I don't want any kids, it's just that I CAN'T HAVE any." I twisted around, meaning my way to the fridge.

"Why? What happened?" He asked me. "If you don't mind me askin'."

"I don't mind because it is what it is. I'm an army vet and was sent home when I got shot." I raised my eyebrows in the midst of speaking. "I was injured and can't produce," my eyebrows dropped as I poured my wife and me some juice which was the only thing that was in the fridge.

The fridge had a few different juice options, but not any food.

"What do you want on your plate?" My wife asked me, changing the subject.

"You know me, a bit of everything," I replied.

"I'm sorry for asking." Senior told me.

"Yeah, now that you know what happened, but you wanted to know right?" I asked rhetorically. "You have your answer. As I said, it is what it is."

You really don't know what you have until it's all gone. Kids were nowhere in my mind at the time of the happening and before. I was just recklessly sleeping around. Surprisingly, I don't have kids. After that occurred, I never wanted kids so much. I mean, I always sort of knew that I wanted some one day, but shit happens.

"Well, you got kids... In a way, and grandkids too." Mrs, DeGrate replied.

"You're right, I do." I nodded in agreement. "And I'm grateful for them too. Have their faults, but I still love everybody."

Word Count: 7,150

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