days after them niggas came to see me, they moved me to another country-club spot, and Tasha was on her way to see me with the kids. I was amped up. We were all outside in the visiting area, waiting for the visits to come in, and the first group was processed into the yard, but there was no Tasha, Caliph, Kareem, or Shaheem. Then twenty minutes passed, and I grew antsier and antsier. I had yogurt and fruit cups waiting for the boys. Hell, that’s all they had, everything else was chips, candy bars, and soda. The second group came in, and Tasha and the boys were the last ones on the line.
Tasha. What the fuck was up with her stomach?
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Caliph, Shaheem, and Kareem yelled and tackled me at the same time. My eyes were glued to her stomach as she sat down.
“Y’all sure are getting tall. Y’all taking care of your mother?”
“Yes, Daddy,” the twins answered.
Caliph simply nodded his head. Then he asked, “Are you coming home today? Mommy said you was coming home.”
“I’ll be there. Y’all want to play on the swings? Or finger paint?” I was in shock looking at Tasha.
“Both,” they all yelled out. I was glad that this spot had all sorts of activities for the kids. The playground had swings, sliding boards, a merry-go-round and a netted tent with the plastic balls. They had outside volunteers to come in and set up a table for arts and crafts and a puppet show. This was almost like being home.
I needed to get them situated and then get back to Tasha. I had to find out what the fuck was up with her. “Get on the swings first. Your mom and I will be over there in a few minutes.”
“Yaaayyyy!” They all squealed and took off running.
I couldn’t stop staring at Tasha. She got up and came over to me. I couldn’t open my mouth to say shit.
She grabbed my hand and placed it on her belly. “Hey, baby.”
“Tasha, are you going to tell me what the fuck happened?” I was trying to brace myself for the worst. I was, like, I knew this nigga didn’t think for one minute that he was going to have the last laugh from the grave.
“What do you mean, what happened? I’m pregnant, silly. It’s a girl. We got us a baby girl!”
“Who is us, Tasha?” I swear I couldn’t handle this bullshit. Not again.
“You and me, silly. I had the DNA test, Trae, and it’s your baby.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
After Tasha and the kids left, I sat alone with my thoughts. I was happy about Tasha being pregnant with a girl. Hearing that made everything worth it. Wow! A little princess. Wait until my mom heard this. I couldn’t help but smile, something that I didn’t get to do often.
My thoughts drifted to Kyron and what I had done to him.
I was a man. A black man in a country that was still ruled by white men. In America, even though we had a black president, I had to be my own man. All I really had in this world was my word and what I stood for as a man. What Kyron did went against my manhood. I knew I might have seemed crazy with how I handled the situation, but a man has to do what a man has to to do. I had to defend my woman’s honor and my manhood. That’s right. You didn’t come out of pocket at me and think I was going to roll over and die. I did what men do. I fought for what was mines.
KAYLIN
Over the next couple of weeks, I managed to put everything in motion. The work Bo and I put in for the Li organization added at least six months to our already-plush financial cushions. I saw exactly how Trae got sucked into the organization. I hated to admit it, but I liked the way they got down. They had systems in place. There was no rah-rah bullshit. Everyone knew his role, from the clients all the way up to the top of the ladder.
Their problem was dealing with black people. Our people didn’t trust them, and they acted as if we were beneath them. Li needed to give his organization diversity training, because they were throwing a lot of money away. And Li was not allowing just any black man into the organization. He needed Trae, but his daughter