Musicals are her comfort, which means she’s still sad. I drain Brandon’s savings and reroute it through several shell companies and accounts to the one I set up for Sadé, then go back to our text thread.
Anything u want, shorty. I’ll get the food 2.
Youre the best Shaddy :*
I shake my head to hide my smile and put my phone away before grabbing the blunt from Reem. “Yeah, I feel better.”
“Good, ‘cause ain’t no telling how that meeting with Rico and Pooh finna go… you sure this the only way?”
I pull up in front of Storyville and put my whip in park. “I went over this shit a million ways, and Pooh’s the only one with enough juice that we know that can get us into this. But you know he likes to stay lowkey. Nigga still mad you popped Ghost last year.”
Reem nods, blowing out smoke before putting the blunt out. “Fasho. Just keep an eye on him.”
“Always.”
We dap each other up and he exits my whip to go get Rico. Truthfully, it’s a seventy-five percent chance this meeting will end in bloodshed. I just don’t know who will be bleeding.
Last time I checked, Rico and his pops haven’t been in the same room since his mother’s funeral. Pooh came in dramatic fashion and made the mistake of bringing some of his honeybees.
Rico knocked his ass out cold. Poor Nan, Rico’s grandmother, started having heart palpitations. That made Fredo go up on Rico, and next thing you know, they throwing haymakers right by the casket.
Causing it–and their mom–to fall on them. Which made Nan faint.
Which started it all over again.
Somehow he blames Pooh on why he and his brother had their only fist fight, and he has a bullet with his name carved into it that he keeps on him.
Asking him to meet with Pooh after so long is a tall order, and the fact he’s even willing to do it, I know he understands how serious this is.
My passenger door opens and Rico slides in. His hair is longer than it usually is, and he’s got the makings of a beard, a telltale sign he’s about to be or already on one of his mysterious escapades.
“Last chance to back out,” I mutter. Set and I may be blood, but we’re all brothers, bound by shit muthafuckas couldn’t even imagine. I know all about complicated paternal relationships, and I know that Rico’s hatred runs deep, neverending really.
I never wanna put my bro in some shit that’ll take him forever to bounce back from.
He sighs. “I’m good.”
I nod, turning my engine over so we can start the drive to the Hive.
“Wassup with the hair? You look more Hispanic than Nut.”
Rico glances at me, but he’s still stoic as fuck, looking at the window like he’s finna turn himself in.
The silence becomes awkward as he doesn’t answer me, so I just turn my music up as we fight midday traffic. He’s probably mentally preparing himself. Pooh isn’t as much a mystery as Rico, but he’s still as slick and manipulative as any oldhead pimp would be. There’s a reason we leave him be.
We’re off the expressway in the boonies when Rico suddenly turns my shit off. “You know what a Saturn Return is?”
I cock my head to the side. “Should I?”
“Brina and Dal are obsessed with that astrology shit. Apparently, we’re all going through a Saturn Return. Well, not you and Brina, since y’all still wet behind the ears. The rest of us though… we all supposed to be going through all these big changes.”
“I mean, you did turn thirty this year. That’s big shit, too. Shit, we’re all getting older. We all have shit to lose now, not like it used to be ten, fifteen years ago. So it makes sense you’re doing your Saturn whatever.”
Rico grunts and runs his hand through his hair. It’s almost long enough for some neck braids.
“Only shit I know about that is that I’m an Aquarius. I think Tati said I was a Scorpio moon, and that explained why I was so musical.” I chuckle to myself, remembering how excited she was to order my birth certificate for my birth time, just to tell me I was made to be a fuck boy.
“You miss her?” Rico asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
