There was fried calamari that was sitting in front of me. I was the one to order it. Yaya put me on to fried calamari years ago, and these days, whenever I went out, I had to make sure that that was something that I ordered as an appetizer.
I picked it up with a fork and chewed it down. As I was doing that, I could feel Dutch’s eyes on me. He cleared his throat, and he sat up in his chair.
“I gotta address the elephant in the room, son. The last time we were around each other, we both know how that shit ended. Not going to lie to you, I was more hurt and offended than anything. I been raising you since you were eight years old. In that amount of time, I think you know from the stories that I’ve shared with you about Knox, the love and the respect that I had for him. That was the brother that I never got the chance to have. There was nothing in the world that I wouldn’t do for him. When he was killed, nigga something in me broke. Till this day, I haven’t been the same since I lost my right-hand man. Then, after all these years, we never got street justice because we don’t know who it was that killed him. I can’t fault you though for side eyeing me when my story changed when you asked me where I had been the day that he was killed. I always told you that when you wanted to catch a person in a lie, to switch up the way you ask a question, and see if they switched up their story. I walked right into that trap that you set out for me. My story only changed because I was caught off guard and offended by your question. Knox was shot in his back. You gotta know that I ain’t even coming like that. If Ima kill a nigga, he going to see it coming because it’s going to be a headshot,” he expressed.
I knew this would come up. I didn’t mind a little bit of confrontation, and having to attack heavy conversations, so I was ready for it. Truth be told, I thought that it would start up the second that we sat down.
“Ima keep it real with you man; my mama been saying for years that I needed to watch you. With the state of mind that she’s in, I always just let that shit bounce off, and I never would pay it any attention. The last time I saw her and when she said that shit, I decided to entertain it. I only entertained it because my mama don’t say that shit about anybody else. She never told me that I needed to watch anyone else outside of you. Her story has stuck the same for years. I let that shit get in my head. I’m up late night, hearing her voice in my head, and then I started having dreams. When you came to my office that day, I knew I was wrong for coming at you like that, but I did that shit to have peace of mind. When you switched up the way you told the story, I’m not going to lie, I side eyed the fuck out of you. That’s my truth, man,” I let him know.
He cleared his throat, and brought his head in a little bit, so that I could hear him.
“You a lawyer, Sevyn. I made sure that you didn’t have any parts in this drug business because you were smart, and you were different. I honored your father’s wishes too because when Knox was here, he made it clear that he didn’t want his son selling dope. I say all that to say that just because we’re in different career fields, you have that street shit in you, and if you must kill, I know you would. If you truly believed in your heart that what your mama was talking about was the truth, you would have blown my brains out already. It’s no way you would have allowed me to walk away from that shit if you thought that I did it. You want justice too badly for Knox to allow me to walk away scotch free,” he voiced, telling the truth.
I know for a fact if I felt like it was Dutch that had truly done this shit, that I would have killed him. I couldn’t prove that it was him, so I couldn’t kill him. Yaya told me that whatever was done in the dark, that shit would come to light, so I was just going to thug this shit out and wait and see what happens. Rightnow, though, I don’t know if it made me a stupid ass nigga for thinking like this, but I wasn’t sold that Dutch popped my pops. I didn’t think he did it.
We went through the rest of dinner talking about a little bit of everything. Me, and this nigga damn near had to come to blows when the bill came because neither one of us felt good sitting here, allowing another nigga to pay for their dinner. In the end, Dutch was the one to eventually pay it, and I just sat back, allowing him to have something.
We went outside, and the second we made it out front, there God was being funny again because Gina, and her homegirls were out there, standing, laughing and shit, talking about where they wanted to go now that dinner was out of the way. It’s like them bitches had sensors when it came to me because the second we made it out front, all of them turned their heads, and they looked at me, and Dutch.
Luckily, my car was parked right in the front, and all I would have to do was walk over to the valet stand, get my keys, and pay. I started to do that, and as I was doing it, I could hear heels clacking, following behind me, so I turned my head, and of course it was Gina that made her way over. She was a beautiful woman. Truly gorgeous, but I wasn’t on that kind of time with her, and you would think that after the last time we were around each other, that she wouldn’t be on that kind of time with me, either.
“Where you getting ready to go?” she asked me, as if me, and her were in a relationship or some shit.
“Ay, watch out. Go back over there with your girls,” I responded, not wanting to embarrass her, so I kept my voice down.
“Let me go home with you,” her words were slurred, so I knew that her ass was drunk.
The valet driver that was behind the valet podium remembered me from when I pulled up, so he was able to just reach behind him, and hand me the key. I had cash on me, so I went in my wallet, pulling out two twenties, passing them along to him, paying for the service, along with tipping him. Once I did that, I turned around to look down at Gina, and then I looked off into the distance where her girls were still standing, and I motioned with my finger for them to come and get her.
“You do me so wrong, Law. That bitch left you! I’m a good woman, but you won’t give me the time and the chance to prove that shit to you!” she screamed, causing a scene. Dutch was still standing here, so his ass was laughing, while shaking his head, getting a kick out of this shit.
“Chill out with that shit, man. You doing too much, and you about to bring the wrong kind of attention our way. Go with your girls,” I snapped on her, and at the same time, her girls were coming over, so that they could get her drunk ass.
“You like to pretend that what it was that we were doing was very minimum. I’m sure you over there lying to that bitch, and that’s why she took you back so easily. I’m about to get in her inbox right now and tell her everything. I swear to God Ima do it,” she threatened.
I nodded my head, and I walked towards her. Dutch stuck his hand out, telling me to chill, but I pushed him away, giving him a look, letting him know that I was cool, and I wasn’t going to do anything crazy.
I stood right in front of her, looking into her glossy eyes, which proved to me how drunk she was.
“You can’t tell her shit about us that she doesn’t already know! Gina, I fucked you. She knows that. You carrying on like I was over there eating pussy, taking you on shopping sprees, and flying you out the country. You was easy pussy for me, when I couldn’t get pussy from the woman that I had at home. A niggaonly going to do what you allow, and back then, you allowed me to get that pussy any time that I felt like it. Stop acting bigger than the fuckin program. I tried to spare you because you got your girls out here, but I can take it there with you if you want me to!” I spat, hating that I even had to do this shit, but she was looking for a scene, so I was just playing along.
I knew she was hurt by my words from the way her face dropped. Her girls pulled her away, getting her from in front of me, and that was literally the best thing that they could have done.
“Come on, nigga. Let’s go to the bar and get a drink. You need another one,” Dutch said, hitting me on my arm.
“Which bar?” I asked him.
“Freddy’s,” he responded.
Freddy’s was a hole in the wall spot in the hood. The owner’s name was Freddy, and Dutch went way back with him. Freddy was a friend of my pops too, and when I got around him, he was another one that would always go down memory lane and tell me all kinds of past stories that he had with my dad. I hadn’t been to Freddy’s in a little minute because the last time that I went there to have a drink, it was no longer a spot for the old heads. Young niggas would be in there, having a drink, and it fucked up the vibe that I used to get when I went there, so I stopped going.
Dutch was right about me needing a drink, especially after the shit that just happened between me, and Gina, so I didn’t mind pulling up, sipping on something, and talking with Freddy for a lil minute.
“Alright. I’ll follow behind you,” I let him know.
I went over to my car, got in, started it up, and Dutch did the same. He pulled out before me, and I pulled out right after him. The whole time that I was driving, I had R&B music playing, snapping my fingers, and humming to the music thatwas playing. All kinds of shit was swarming through my mind as I was driving. I thought about the dinner that I just finished having with Dutch, and how it had gone better than I expected it. I was a little nervous that after the shit that had gone down in my office, it would be hard for us to come back from that, but we meshed, and vibed with each other just like how we used to do in the past.
During the drive, I went to the group chat that I had with me, and my sons, and I texted them, just to see what they were up to. Creed was the one to text back first, letting me know that he was on the game, and he wanted to know when I would be home, so that he could play the game with me. Lil shit like that made me smile because I know that teenagers go through phases where they thought that they would be too cool to hang with their parents, but my sons thought the world of me and was always trying to do father/ son shit together. Legend texted back too, letting me know that he was in his room, working on a project. I assured my boys that I would be home in another hour or so, and then I tossed my phone in my lap.
