by Mona
“That fool ignorant,” Andre said as Arianna blushed and smiled at the same time.
“Look, I have to get going, but after the dinner when you and I get home, we going to have a heart to heart. We going to put everything on the table, Okay?”
“Okay,” she smiled.
“I love you,” Andre confessed as they pulled apart.
“I love you too,” Arianna responded as she entered the house.
Chapter Six
Malachi’s Welcome Home Dinner
The driver pulled up in front of Desmond’s home. Desmond was the first of the four men to climb out. Walking up to the driver’s side, Desmond pulled out two crisp one hundred dollar bills and handed them to the driver as a tip.
“Thanks for your services, my man,” Desmond shook his hands.
Andre, Edward and finally Malachi climbed out of the luxury vehicle.
“You ready?” Andre asked Malachi as he playfully punch him in the arm.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Malachi smiled as he and Andre shook hands and embraced in a partial hug. Malachi James was finally a free man. In the beginning of his twenty year bid, he truly believed he would never again see outside of those prison walls. Plenty of time he felt his life was over. Truthfully, if it wasn’t for his mom, Andre, Desmond, Patrice who is Desmond’s mom, and Edward, he didn’t know how he would have made it. Even Angeline, Ava and Lorette visited him and sent packages to him. They were all his family and he’s lucky to have them. The saying blood is thicker than water truly does not apply to these individuals in his life.
“Aight then, let’s do this. You know these females are about to act a fool.” Desmond patted him on the back as they walked up to the door. Stepping inside the mini mansion, Malachi was in awe. He never stepped foot inside a place so beautiful.
“You did good for yourself, Des,” Malachi said as he entered the living room area which was still empty.
“What can I say, I try,” Desmond smiled. “Wait until you see your brother’s house, makes my shit look like exactly that, shit.”
Andre and Edward both laughed. “Don’t listen to that nigga, Mal, this fool always down playing shit,” Andre replied.
“But for real, Des, what the hell do you need this big ass house for if it’s just you? You need a woman to share that shit with,” Malachi looked around the large living room space. “And when the hell are you going to decorate?”
“Nigga, don’t start with that preaching shit. Back in da day you was the only one in the hood who was always going around preaching shit to everybody,” Desmond said as they all laughed. “Besides, I don’t need no damn woman, I don’t need the drama, the stress nor the hypertension that comes with having a damn woman,” he expressed as he headed towards the hallway. “Now, let’s get in this kitchen so you can see your mom and the rest of the ladies. We all need to change, and I’m hungrier than a mothafucker.”
________
Rolonda was removing her famous baked macaroni and cheese from the oven and placed it on the counter when a pair of strong hands covered her eyes. “What in the world?” Rolonda James said.
“Hey beautiful. Is my food ready?” Malachi asked.
Screaming, she immediately turned around, “Malachi! Oh my Goodness! My Malachi is home!”
Malachi lifted her up and spun her around the spacious kitchen. Tears of joy flowed down her face as she held on to Malachi. Although she visited him faithfully through out the twenty years he was gone, nothing compared to embracing and seeing him out side those prison walls.
Once Malachi finally placed her back down on her feet, he remained hunched down as she touched and kissed his face. Although Rolonda was an average height woman at 5’7 she still remained petite next to Malachi’s 6’2 frame. Malachi was truly the cliché saying; tall, dark and handsome with smooth dark skin, a low fade hair cut and light brown eyes.
Laughing, Malachi finally pulled away from Rolonda’s tight embrace. “Ma, you starting to embarrass me,” he said as everyone laughed. Rolonda laughed also as she finally remembered everyone was there in the kitchen with them.
“Sorry everyone. I’m just so happy to see my baby.” Rolonda laughed as she touched Malachi’s face.
“Well, we understand but it’s also about damn time you let him go so the rest of us can get a hug.” Patrice said as she walked over and hugged Malachi.
“Hey, Auntie Trice,” Malachi laughed as Patrice smiled.
“Hey baby.” Once she hugged him one last time she made her way back to the table. Lorette, Angeline and Ava then made their way over to him and hugged him as well. Malachi smiled at Lorette. He must say, he was a little taken back years ago when Andre told him she requested to be on his visiting list. When she visited him for the first time, it was a rather heart felt experience. She thanked him for saving Arianna’s life and although she didn’t condone violence or taking a life, she confessed she felt her nephew deserved exactly what happened to him. That visit became one of many and they formed an unusual bond that sometimes felt strange to Malachi. Malachi felt overwhelmed. It felt so good to be reunited with his mom and the people who are with out of doubt his family.
“Eh, listen, are we pass all this sentimental part of this dinner? Can we actually get to the eating part?” Desmond asked and everyone laughed.
“Boy, shut up. Matter of fact, everyone can go freshen up and change. Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes or so.” Patrice announced.
“Aight, bet. Let me go find Ri and A.J,” Andre said as he exited the kitchen.
________
“My phone is dead and it’s charging. How did you find me?” Arianna asked as she applied lip gloss on her lips.
“Shit, it wasn’t easy. How many bedrooms are in here? I searched every damn room on this floor alone until I finally found you.” Andre admitted as he walked up to her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Arianna looked at him through the dresser mirror. “I’m not sure. Are you ready to change? Your clothes are on the bed.”
“I’m just changing my shirt. You going to help me?” He winked and blew a kiss at her.
“Didn’t you say we were going to talk?” Arianna laughed as he kissed on her neck.
“We are, later when we get back to the penthouse.”
“Okay.” Breaking away from his grip he had on her waist, she turned around as she was now facing him. Staring into each other’s eyes, she pulled up the black v-neck, short sleeved t-shirt he was wearing over his head and tossed it on the bed. At that moment, she ran her freshly French manicured nails across his chest down to his six pack abs. Reaching over, she kissed the area where her name was tattooed on his neck. Arianna smiled when she heard a moan escape his lips.
“I love you,” she whispered in his ears.
“I love you too, Ma.” Andre whispered in her ears as he reached under the loose white halter top with the matching pants she wore. She felt her juices flow as he played with her nipples through her white laced Victoria Secret’s bra. Reaching over, he slowly kissed and sucked all around her neck leaving very visible hickies or passion marks as some would call them. Unable to control her self any longer, an electricity bolted through her body as her under wear soaked up immediately.
“Arrrrrrgh! Shit, Dre… Damn baby,” she whispered very much out of breath. Wrapping her arms around his neck, he leaned forward and kissed her. Finally breaking the kiss she looked deeply into his eyes. “I thought we were suppose to talk and put everything on the table?” She asked as she caressed his back.
“We are. You want to talk now and get it out of the way because after this little preview, I’m not going to want to talk later,” he grinned as he palmed her behind.
Smiling, she reached over and kissed him. “Ok. Let’s talk. First off, are you still cheating on me?”
“No, babe, I’m not. I promise you that,” he said as he looked in her eyes. “I haven’t cheated since we’ve been married.”
Satisfied w
ith his answer, Arianna reached up and hugged him. “I believe you. So why have you been holding back? I’m over everything from the past. I’m over my demons. I mean; I know I still have some dreams here and there but I don’t feel haunted like I use to feel and I don’t hold back on you anymore. I just want to be everything to you, baby,” she said with sincerity.
Andre stared at her for what seemed like forever until he finally spoke.
“When we first started going to therapy, I kind of freaked out when you confessed to what that faggott motherfucker did to you. If I was able to dig him up and kill him all over again I would. In the beginning, when we first got together, I didn’t know how to love you. Which is why I was stepping out. You were so broken I didn’t know how to fix you. Even when you appeared like you were normal and you grew comfortable with sex, I didn’t know how to give you my all without freaking you out. Plus, I have so much respect for you. Back in da day, I use to have chicks I didn’t give a damn about give me head. That was my thing back then. Many of the chicks we grew up with sadly had worn out pussy by the time they were fourteen and fifteen years old. I wouldn’t even feel anything when I had sex with them. I learned early on getting head was what did it for me if a girl’s pussy was trash. But then I got together with you. You, I love you. When we were nineteen and we made it official, you were sexually unavailable. I was this young crazy ass kid hustling hard and chicks were everywhere. I wasn’t ready for a serious relationship but you were too special to not make you my girl. Mal was gone, Des was back and forth between here and LA playing basketball, Ed was away at school, I was in the streets by myself, my dad was dying. I had to raise Ava and you were starting college and still going through it emotionally. Although I held it down and I was there for you, I made some mistakes along the way, even after we started having sex and we eventually had A.J. I was still fucking up. But when you left me, I knew I had to step it up and get my shit together. You were the first female I’ve ever been in love with. I didn’t want to tarnish that. Okay. So, there it is. That’s what my problem has been all these years with the head thing.”
“Aww, baby. That is so sweet. But you did more than you realize. It was because of you I came out of my shell and became comfortable with sex and love making. It was because of you I was able to accept your touches without squirming and feeling nausea,” she said smiling. He smiled back. “Well, what if I said thank you for having so much respect for me but I want us to be everything to each other. I want to give you my all and for you to do the same,” she said as Andre smiled.
“So, you want to give your man your all, huh?” he asked as he unbuckled his belt.
“Oh no! not now! Babe, they are waiting for us downstairs,” she laughed.
“Okay, I’ll wait until later. Plus, I need to know how they hell you learned how to do it so damn good.”
“Angie taught me with a dildo! With your crazy self,” she laughed.
“Oh, aight. It better be that,” he said as they headed to the bathroom located in the bedroom.
“Thanks to you, I have to find a scarf to hide these hickies,” she said.
Once they were done freshening up in the bathroom, they left the room to head on down stairs.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” Patrice joked as everyone turned, looked their way and laughed. “We were about to send an APB out to look for the two of you. I hope you were up there making me a new niece or nephew.”
“Ilk, I hope not. Ya way too old for that,” Andre Junior expressed causing everyone to laugh.
“See what you started, Aunt Patrice, now you going to be the reason A.J gets his little ass whooped,” Andre laughed as both he and Arianna made their way to the dining room table.
“Man, I’m ready to eat. I’m hungry as hell. Can we eat now that these two love birds are here?” Desmond asked.
“Aight, we about to eat in a minute, right after we make a toast. But first things
first.” Andre led Arianna to where Malachi was seated causing everyone to look on in silence.
Malachi immediately stood up as he looked down at her. Truth be told, he couldn’t stop staring at her the minute she and Andre entered the dining room. Besides countless pictures he has seen of her through the years, today was the first time he had laid eyes on her in twenty years. She was even more beautiful now than she was when they were kids and teenagers. Her hair seemed longer, her face was flawless and having a child put her figure on a whole other level. What stood out the most, was her aurora. Despite everything she endured, she still carried this innocence about her. Yes, his brother was truly a lucky man.
“Every one grab your wine glasses. Eh, Des, next time have champagne glasses out since you want to be Mr. classy all of a sudden,” Andre joked. They all laughed and grabbed their glasses.
“Okay, First thing first. Go ahead, baby.” Andre bent down and kissed Arianna on the cheek as she looked at Malachi.
“Welcome home, Malachi.” Arianna handed him a yellow envelope. “We want you to open it up later, okay,” Arianna was nervous and she wasn’t sure why.
“Thank you Arianna,” Malachi said as he retrieved the card from her.
Arianna smiled as she squeezed Andre’s hands.
“Now, will everyone grab their glasses,” Andre started. “First, I want to say welcome home, to my right hand, my partner, my brother. Feels real good to have you home bro.” Malachi nodded his head as Andre continued. “Second, I want to say I feel happy and lucky to have my family with me, including my beautiful wife and my son who is my twin in every sense of the word. Now everyone raise your glasses. Let’s toast to Malachi! Welcome Home!
Chapter Seven
Rolonda James’s Home
South Plainfield, NJ
Malachi stood inside of Rolonda’s foyer holding a picture of Andre and Arianna when she was pregnant with Andre Junior. Arianna was glowing in this picture. It wasn’t just a pregnancy glow; she really looked happy and what really stood out in the picture was the fact Andre actually looked happy as well. Malachi remembered this picture because he had the same one in his possession. Looking at the picture, old feelings and emotions resurfaced at this particular moment. Malachi’s thoughts drifted back to the time when Andre told him Arianna was pregnant. True feelings were exposed and there was no turning back from that.
Trenton Correctional Facility
2000
“James, You have a face to face visit!” The guard yelled out as Malachi lay in his cell. Rising up from the bunk bed, he walked over to the small sink he shared with his cell mate and proceeded to throw cold water on his face. Once he wiped his face with a towel, the guard opened up the steel door and they placed handcuffs on his wrist which is procedure for all inmates. Once the handcuffs were secured, Malachi stepped ahead of him as they made their way to the visiting room. Stepping into the room, Malachi noticed Andre immediately. Seeing Andre or his mom made his days in this place feel a little brighter. He missed his freedom, his family and life out in the world, however, if he needed to do it again, he would do it in a heart beat.
Although Malachi handled the situation through emotions, he would do it all over again and gladly do the time. His sister and the girl he loved was violated in the worst way and to continue breathing the same air as the person who violated them was unheard of in the code of the streets.
Once the cuffs were taken off his wrist, the corrections officer sat nearby as Malachi walked to the area where Andre was seated and sat down directly across from him. In this facility, no form of physical contact was allowed, which made it hard for Rolonda each time she visited.
Malachi preferred the juvenile detention center in Bordentown where he was transferred to when he was eighteen and remained there until he was twenty-one. Bordentown’s rules were less strict. Physical contact was allowed; such as hugging or lightly kissing your loved one.
“Hey man, what’s going on?” Andre asked Malachi.
“Nothing much, just lifting weight
s and trying to keep to myself,” Malachi answered.
“So, what’s going on with you and everybody? Tell me some good things. You know I look forward to hearing all the details of what you guys have going on. Shit, it keeps me sane somehow.” Malachi edged on as Andre laughed somewhat nervously. Leaning forward in his chair, Andre clapped his hands together as he spoke.
“Man, I don’t know where to start,” Andre admitted.
Malachi laughed as he leaned forward also. “Man, c’mon what’s up with you? Usually you come in here and you run your mouth away, I can’t even get a word in half the time.”
Andre chuckled. “Aight, well, I know you told me years ago when you were still in the county that you were cool with me mentioning Ri’s name and I can tell you anything concerning me and her and that you would be okay, right?”
Malachi nodded and his jaw clenched but he tried not to let it show.
“Well, for a while now I’ve been getting the vibe that it’s not okay. That you not okay.”
“I’m cool, man,” Malachi insisted as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.
“No you not, Mal. You forget I know you. We’ve known each other since we were seven years old. I know you and you not okay. You haven’t been okay for a while and I told myself I wasn’t going to talk about her to you anymore. It’s messing with your head. I worry about you in here.” Andre continued.
Malachi laughed. “You keep saying you know me, but it’s obvious that you must of forgot who I am, Dre. Andre shook his head and sighed.
“Aight, look, I have something to tell you and I rather you hear from me first than Mama Ro and Auntie Trice.
“Okay, man spill it, what is it?” Malachi asked.
Andre looked Malachi directly in the eyes as he cleared his throat. “Well, I just wanted to be the first to tell you, that you are about to be an uncle.”