She was livid when the media started reporting all the lies that they were being told. It was so much easier for them to believe the story of deception versus the real truth. Everything that they were told was inaccurate and nobody believed Kissy when she tried to make it right. Dennis had even threatened her life, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want her best friend to be remembered in a negative light. Members of the LGBT community tried to protest but that didn’t help much. They even tried to start a petition online but everything they did was taken as a joke. As usual, the first story was the one that everybody ran with. Kissy felt like her best friend’s death was in vain and wasn’t taken as seriously as it should have been.
“Did my mama know all of this?” Boss asked.
“That bitch knew everything. She supported that bastard, like he was her family instead of Ray. Dennis didn’t even let her come to her own brother’s funeral. Her dumb ass went to court and sat with his family the entire time. Talking about she was trying to be there for everybody but that was a lie. She was trying to be there for her man and that’s it. Your grandmother didn’t say shit because Dennis was throwing money at her and paying her bills. She never approved of Ray’s lifestyle anyway. She probably was happy that he was dead,” Kissy fussed.
He didn’t think it was possible, but that revelation only made Boston hate his mother even more than he already did. She didn’t only turn her back on her only son, she basically said fuck her only brother as well. All behind one man who didn’t even love her enough to marry her. Boss told Indigo that it was over but he had a change of heart. He wanted Darnell Graves to suffer the same way that his uncle did.
“What else? I want to know everything,” Boss said as he gave Kissy his undivided attention.
For the first time in a while, he spent over an hour talking to Kissy and asking any question that came to mind. He could tell that she’d been wanting to come clean about a few things because she seemed relieved once she was done. Once he left, he headed home to discuss everything with his wife.
“Don’t be mad,” Indigo said as soon as he walked into their bedroom.
She was sitting up in the bed writing in her journal wearing one of his oversized t-shirts. After all the bullshit that Kissy had just hit him with, he didn’t know if he could take anymore.
“Indie, please baby, not tonight. I think I’ve heard enough drama to last me a lifetime,” Boston sighed as he flopped down on the bed.
“What happened?” Indigo asked as she removed his shoes and the rest of his clothes.
Her mouth hung open in shock as he replayed the entire conversation that he had with Kissy. He gave her the envelope with all the news stories, court documents and everything else that Kissy had given him. She saved everything, including the original story about Boston finding his uncle’s body.
“That is so fucked up,” Indigo said once he was done talking. There were no words to even begin to describe Carla and she wasn’t going to try.
“I already know. The fucking devil gave birth to me. No wonder why I’m so fucked up,” Boston replied while shaking his head.
“You’re not the one who’s fucked up. That bitch is.” Indigo frowned.
She got her and Boston something to sleep in so that they could take their shower. As soon as they entered the bathroom, Boss stopped when he saw what was on the counter.
“What is this?” he asked while looking over at his wife.
“That’s why I told you not to be mad. Me and Jaci stopped at Walgreens and picked up a test. Not knowing was killing me. I just took it right before you came home,” Indigo replied.
“Okay, but I don’t understand. What does this mean?” he asked while studying the test.
“It means that you’re gonna be a daddy,” Indigo answered, making his entire face light up.
“That’s what the fuck I’m talking about! I knew it! Nigga was putting in mad work to get him a lil one,” Boss said as he picked her up and kissed her.
“I hope it’s a girl,” Indigo replied.
“I don’t care what it is. I’m happy as fuck. You can tell Bear that it’s a wrap on you and the bar. You can still do your hair thing if you want to or you can just chill at home.”
“We’ll discuss all that later. We need to see how far along I am and get a due date. I hope I don’t have to deal with morning sickness and all that other extra shit.”
“I told you, Indie. When I hit it for the first time, I told you that you were gonna have my baby. See, I be knowing shit,” Boss said excitedly.
“We were kids Boston,” Indigo laughed.
“It don’t matter Indie. Everything that I said would happen, happened. You’ve always been the only consistent thing in my life and I love you for that. You know the real me and I don’t have to change who I am around you. I don’t have to put on a brave face or be scared to cry. You know how I feel without me even having to say anything. Not every man can honestly say that they married their best friend. I appreciate you baby, more than you know,” Boss said as he pulled her into a tight hug.
“Aww, I love you so much baby. That was so sweet,” Indigo cried.
“Is this what I have to look forward to?” Boss asked her.
“What do you mean?” she countered.
“Are you gonna be one of those crying pregnant women? It’s cool if you are. I’m ready for whatever,” Boss said, making her laugh.
Everything that he and Kissy talked about was temporarily forgotten at the moment. He and Indigo called their family and friends to give them the good news. They discussed baby names and how they wanted to decorate the room. Boss was looking forward to fatherhood. He promised to be the best father that he could be. His child would never want for anything, especially his love.
C arla danced around her kitchen as she prepared one of Dennis’ favorite meals. Her Beats pill played her favorite K. Michelle Cd as she whipped up the mashed potatoes to go with the gravy steaks, lobster tails and veggies. She washed and folded all the clothes and the house was spotless, just like her man liked it. Dennis loved the finer things in life and their house reflected his extravagant taste. All of the furniture that she’d had in there previously had been replaced more than once. The house almost looked too good to live in but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He didn’t allow kids to even visit because of how expensive everything was. Truthfully, no one really visited at all because he was so anal about his possessions.
When Carla first moved into her five bedroom, three bath home, she did so with her son and his father. It was supposed to be a family home since she and Bear planned to get married and have more kids. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out quite like they wanted them to. Bear got locked up and Carla felt like her entire life was over. That was until her sister begged her to go out with her one night and she met Dennis. It seemed as if everything that was wrong in Carla’s life was made right again. Dennis wined and dined her for weeks and he always wanted her to go out of town with him. A few times Carla had to decline because she didn’t have a babysitter. Dennis hated to be told no and she soon found that out the hard way. He started inviting other women to go places with him and Carla couldn’t have that. When she started showing him that he was the most important person in her life, Dennis made her his girl. Carla just knew that she was going to be his wife one day. Being married was something that she’d always wanted but hadn’t yet obtained. He moved in with her and Boss and things were going good for a while.
That didn’t last very long because Dennis didn’t really want kids. He always complained that Boss touched too much and the house just couldn’t stay clean. After a while, he had Carla starting to feel the same way. Dennis made her see how carefree life without kids could be. She resented Bear for getting locked up and leaving her to raise their son all alone. When her brother took custody of him, it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off of her. When Ray got killed, Dennis suggested sending him to a state run group home and Carla had him signed up the next
week. Kissy wanted to keep him but there was too much drama surrounding it all. When Precious begged her to sign him over, Carla was hesitant at first. She didn’t know her and she assumed she had a motive. Once she got it in writing that Precious only wanted Boss and nothing more, Carla wasted no time handing him over.
She sometimes had regrets about what she’d done, but it was too late for all that now. Boston was grown and they didn’t have a mother/son relationship at all. Carla tried once he got older, but he wanted no parts of her. She was kind of in her feelings when she recently learned that he reconnected with his father. In her opinion, Bear was just as guilty as she was. If she didn’t deserve a second chance, neither did he.
“Who can that be?” Carla asked aloud as she moved her pot to another burner.
She knew that Dennis would be home soon, but he wouldn’t knock. When she looked through the peephole, Carla’s face morphed into a surprised yet pleasant smile.
“Boston! Oh, my God! Come in,” she said as she opened the door and moved to the side.
“Where your nigga at?” Boston asked with a frown.
“Dennis?” Carla asked, surprised that her son wanted to know his whereabouts.
“You got another nigga that I don’t know about,” he snapped irritably.
“Dennis isn’t here right now. What do you want with him?” Carla asked. Her son hated her man, so she was kind of nervous. Boss had beat Dennis up before and he tried to steer clear of him.
“It’s not really him that I’m after, but he’ll do for now. I want the whereabouts of his bitch ass brother who killed my uncle,” Boss fumed, catching her off guard.
“What are you talking about Boston?” Carla laughed nervously.
“You already know that I’m the wrong nigga for you to play games with. I could give a fuck less about you giving birth to me. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the only good thing that you’ve ever done for me,” Boss argued.
“Please don’t do this Boston. Bringing up the past will only cause more heartache and pain. We’ve all grieved enough and it’s time to move on,” Carla said, enraging her son.
“When did you ever grieve? I was the one who had to suffer. It was me who came home from school and found my uncle’s dead body. I was the one grieving. You were so busy trying to please your man that you didn’t even attend your only brother’s funeral. You stood by the muthafucka who killed him and even helped to pay for his defense!” Boss yelled angrily.
“That’s a lie! I tried to be there for everybody, but I couldn’t expect Dennis to turn his back on his only brother. I know that it was only Kissy who fed you all those lies. That’s exactly why I didn’t let her keep you,” Carla replied, angering him even more.
“No, you would rather me go to a group home full of pedophiles just so your secrets wouldn’t be revealed. You’re even weaker and more pathetic than I thought you were,” he spat angrily.
“I’m sorry, okay! Is that what you want to hear? I was a shitty mother and I take the blame for that. I’m not perfect Boston. I was only seventeen years old when I had you. I didn’t know that I would end up being a single mother. You had no problem forgiving your father but you make me out to be the bad person,” Carla cried.
“You can save those bullshit ass tears for somebody who cares. Bear went to jail, so he couldn’t be here like he wanted to. What was your excuse? Your man said that I had to go and you made it happen. You put me out of a house that my father bought, just to move another nigga in. Honestly, I was fucked up for a while, but I had a pretty decent childhood given to me by people who don’t even share the same blood. And thanks to my wife, I know what unconditional love is. Seeing you used to affect me in ways that you can’t even imagine. Now, all I feel is disgust. You sacrificed your only son for a man who doesn’t even love you enough to marry you,” Boss said, as Carla cried harder.
She’d heard it from other people, but hearing it from the person who was affected the most really hit home. Her only son hated her and she deserved it. Carla always hoped that she and Boston could at least be cordial to one another but she was doubtful that it would ever happen. He looked at her like she was nothing and that hurt more than anything.
“As much as I love you, I can’t make you love me back. But, please, don’t open doors that have been closed for so many years,” Carla begged.
“I’m not opening doors, I’m kicking them bitches down,” Boss replied, right as the front door opened and Dennis walked in.
“I’m home baby. What did you cook? I’m starving,” Dennis said as he looked over the mail that he’d just gotten from the mailbox.
He paused when he walked into the kitchen and saw Boss standing there. Seeing him on the streets was one thing but coming home and seeing him there was an entirely different story. Carla looked like she’d been crying while Boss wore his usual menacing scowl.
“Hey baby. Boss just came over to talk. He’s about to leave,” Carla said with a forced smile.
“Nah, I came by to give you a message to give to your brother,” Boss said before he hit Dennis with a right hook, making him fall onto the stove and knock over the two pots that were on it.
“Boston! No! Stop, please!” Carla screamed as her son threw a barrage of punches towards her man.
Food from the pots spilled onto the floor and she fell down trying to break them up. Dennis tried to run, but Boss caught him in the living room and continued his assault. He pushed him into the China cabinet and broke a lot of their expensive crystal that was inside. Boss was angry and he was taking it out on his mother’s boyfriend. He really wanted his brother but Dennis would do until he caught up with him. Once he was satisfied that he’d had enough, Boss backed away and looked down at him.
“I’m calling the police,” Carla warned as she grabbed her phone.
“Handle your business, but I guarantee that you and your man will be dead before I even make it to court. Try me,” he replied with a menacing frown.
“Carla, no,” Dennis begged as he raised his hand to stop her from calling the police. He believed Boston and he wasn’t trying to die just because he got his ass beat.
“Just get out!” Carla yelled at her son.
“Make me!” Boston snapped as he walked up on her. Carla flinched but she wasn’t even worth him putting his hands on her.
She was willing to send her own son to jail but nothing that she did surprised Boss. She was never a mother to him and he wasn’t about to treat her like one. Carla looked scared out of her mind but she had no reason to be. Boss walked out of her house and put in a call to his father.
“Yeah son, I’m on it,” Bear replied as soon as he picked up.
“Cool,” Boss nodded before hanging up the phone.
Carla hurriedly locked the door once her son was gone. She ran into the bathroom and got a warm towel and the first-aid kit. Dennis had managed to sit up on the sofa and she kneeled down in front of him. She pressed the warm towel to his busted lip, and he snatched it from her.
“Get the fuck off of me!” he snapped angrily.
“What did I do?” Carla asked, taken aback by his anger.
“Why did you even let his ass in here? Look at the fucking house!” Dennis fumed.
“I didn’t know that he was coming here to fight. This is not my fault,” Carla replied.
“A man can’t even feel comfortable in the place where he lays his head. Fuck this. I’m not gonna give your son a chance to kill me. I’m gone,” Dennis said as he got up and walked to the back of the house.
“Dennis, baby wait. Please don’t do this. I’ll talk to Boston,” Carla replied.
“And tell him what? That lil nigga is a ticking time bomb. He don’t respect you as his mother. Hell, he looked like he was about to hit you too.”
“We can get an order of protection,” Carla suggested.
“What the fuck is that supposed to do Carla? I’ll be dead before the ink dried on that bullshit ass piece of paper,” Dennis fumed as he started t
o pack.
“Dennis, please, just think about this first. We can move if you want to,” Carla panicked. Boston knew exactly what he was doing by coming to her house. He wanted her man to leave and he was getting his wish.
“Unless you’re ready to pack up and move at this exact moment, there’s nothing for me to think about. I feel like a sitting duck being up in here.”
“Where are you going?” Carla sobbed.
“Somewhere safe. I’ll be back Carla, but I just don’t feel comfortable being here right now,” Dennis replied nervously.
He’d been in the dope game all his life and managed to stay under the radar. He never had any beefs and he liked to stay lowkey. As much as he loved Carla, he would leave her and never return before he let her son end his life. He was curious as to how Boss even found out that he and Darnell were related. He was too young to remember much of anything. Knowing Boss, he probably went digging up old info and pieced it all together.
Dennis never wanted his brother to get involved with Ray, but Darnell was hardheaded. He hated to identify as gay but that’s exactly what he was. It didn’t matter that he preferred transsexuals. They were still biologically men. Granted, Ray was beautiful and could easily pass for a woman. Darnell was too controlling and he didn’t take rejection very well. Dennis tried to tell him to cut his losses and move on, but he was in too deep with his feelings. When he went to try to work things out with Ray, Darnell got heated when things didn’t go his way. Ray was trying to leave him and he snapped. Once he killed him, Darnell ran straight to his big brother. It was then that he and Carla came up with the lie about him not knowing that Ray was a man. Carla told them that it had happened with her brother before, so it wasn’t farfetched.
“How long are you gonna be gone?” Carla asked as she continued to cry.
It felt like her entire world was falling down around her. For years, she and Dennis had lived a peaceful existence and, now, it was all over with. Boston had come there and turned her dream into a nightmare.
“I don’t know. I’ll call you,” Dennis replied as he grabbed the duffle bag that he packed and headed for the door.
To Boston, With Love Page 29