by Ivy Symone
“Dasani, look at Beanie. If the two of you stand side by side in front of a mirror, you’d see what everyone else sees.”
My heart thumps wildly in my chest. I’m still not receiving what he’s saying. “Huh?”
“Years ago, I did fuck with Walt heavily. We were some evil mothafuckas in the day. My wife Korrine found out she couldn’t have kids and it really messed with her, especially after enduring what appeared as me having a child with another woman. Walt came to me about some ‘girl he was fucking on the side’ that ended up pregnant. He didn’t want her to keep it, but the girl had the baby anyway. He wanted to get rid of it. I asked him if I could have this little baby girl for my wife, to make her happy and make her feel like she had purpose. We arranged it all and the next thing I know I have a beautiful baby girl named—”
I stand up and cry, “Laila! Beanie’s my Laila!”
I leave Prime at the table and rush over to Beanie and take her into my arms and never want to let her go. I cause such a commotion I draw the attention of everybody nearby.
Beanie laughs. She whispers in my ear, “He must have told you.”
I don’t release her, but I lean back enough to take a look at her beautiful face. Why didn’t I want to see it before?
“I never forgot about you,” I cry.
“I know,” she says with tears in her eyes.
I reach out for Mother Pearl. “Mama, it’s her!”
“It’s who?” Mother Pearl is confused as she looks at me and Beanie hugged up together.
It doesn’t take her long before she’s putting it together.
“Praise Jesus!” she shouts and starts doing a little jig right there.
A tall slender young beauty with long straight black hair comes over and joins Mother Pearl in doing the holy ghost dance. She asks as she moves about, “What we praising about?”
“Grace, sitcho ass down,” a very pretty, tall, medium-frame, fair-skinned man says as he grabs the young girl by the arm.
“But Eli, I’m tryna get my praise on too!” Grace objects. She stops and places a kiss on Yahara’s cheek. “What’s up, Auntie. You look so pretty as always.”
Prime walks up to me and Beanie shaking his head. “Yeah, those are my Nashville relatives. They’re part of the Pavoni clan. Would you like me to introduce you around to your new family?”
“Sure,” I say.
“They’re a riot,” Beanie says.
Yahara adds, “She’ll see.”
Well, how about that? I got my happily-ever-after after all. I smiled the rest of that evening, and though it felt I was living my best life, I knew even the best of the best had yet to come.
Oh, and the new little bean growing in my womb will be a Little Prime Jr.
…Falling in love is active and an ever-going thing. It starts the very second someone has captured all of your senses and it never stops. You’re never not falling for that person. Every day you fall deeper, closer…with every intimate moment, every memorable event, every laugh, every cry, every argument…You’re connected and bound by love…
Yep, sounds about right! Ci vediamo presto!
Down the street from the Rose Quartz Palace…
He stares out of the tinted windows of the black on black Suburban he sits in and focuses on one of his next targets. He can’t call her a target exactly; more like a conquest. She is absolutely breathtaking. He couldn’t recall her being so…Lovely; but he hasn’t lain eyes on her since she was an innocent little girl prancing around her parents’ home.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he tells his companion, Gooch.
Gooch cuts his eyes and flicks the bud of the cigarette he had been smoking out of the window. “I always got ideas.”
“But she isn’t one of them.”
“She will be,” Gooch says matter-of-factly.
“G, you know how I feel about her.”
“So why don’t you do this shit yourself? Why even come to me?” Gooch snaps.
“You’re the only one that I know who has won them over and got back in their good graces. Remember, I no longer have Walt anymore.”
Gooch scoffs with a chuckle. “That was Walt’s dumb ass fault. And if it wasn’t for Dro, I’d be buried right next to Walt’s ass.”
“Well, he’s no longer Mr. JC. I need you here in Jewel City to take his place.”
“I prefer being in Gardenia, but okay.”
He falls silent and watch her as she mingles with the other young women of her peer group. Yeah, she had blossomed into a very beautiful tall slender version of her mother. And if Cesar couldn’t have Lovely, he surely would take Grace.
Cesar says, “And this time, don’t fuck this up like you did with AB’s wife.”
“I didn’t. That was Zino’s boy that fucked that up,” Gooch says. He nods down the street. “Ain’t that Bella the Don?”
Cesar’s face contorts with disgust. “That’s the bitch we need to take out!”
“Ay, ain’t that your granny, nigga?” Gooch chuckles.
“Fuck her!” Cesar spits venomously. “Fuck them all.”
A sleepy two and half year-old little girl with curly sun-kissed brownish hair raises up from the middle row seating. Out of the blue, her small voice says, “Aw Untle Ceez, you say bad word. You no say futt. Bad word.”
Cesar laughs. “You’re right, Niah. Uncle Cesar is wrong for that. You ready to go home to Mommy?”
Niah nods her little head.
“Let’s go, G, I’ve been in Jewel City long enough,” Cesar says.
As the suburban casually drives along, passing by the event center, Niah looks out at the window at all of the people seeming to be enjoying this Halloween night, and she begins humming and singing softly.
“Atuna matana…” her small voice sings as she rocks back and forth. She announces, “I wanna see Lion Ting a’gin! Ain’ no wo’wies…”