Page 117 of Just Listen
“And ya daddy owns it all?”
“Yup.” I nodded. “It took him like four years to bring everything together, but he did it. Of course, he also rents it out for a pretty penny.”
He nodded with his bottom lip poked out. “That’s some playa ass shit, right there.”
“It is,” I couldn’t deny it.
“Man, no bullshit, being around your family…shows me that I aint dreaming big enough. Then for this to be your life…you so fucking humble about it. And here I am, with this ghetto, soap opera drama, bringing your stock down.”
Immediately, I shook my head. “Don’t say that. Please don’t. Cause there’s nobody on this plane better than the other. I’ve also told you several times that nobody had more drama going on than my daddy. He’s far from a perfect man. So, you’re using the wrong grading scale. My daddy being able to fly us all out to this island is a beautiful thing, no doubt. But he has my heart because of the man he grew to be for us. And at the core, he’s just a ghetto boy who made it. Just like you can too.”
He nodded, before his eyes saddened. “I’m sorry about earlier today. I hate that I had you crying. I know how something like that can fuck up the mood.”
I sighed. “It’s cool.”
He reached in and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. “You sure?”
I nodded, although I hated how I melted from his touch.
“Why you lying, Jaylah? I know that you still mad.”
“Because I don’t wanna be.”
“I’m sorry,” he reiterated, as he leaned in, kissing my lips. “Okay.”
I nodded again.
“Now, I wanna enjoy this time with you, and leave all the bullshit back in Houston.” He grabbed my hand, before interlocking our fingers. “You down?”
I smirked. “Yes, Khamere. I’m down.”
Malice
I don’t think that anything that Big Baby had described could’ve prepared me for what I would see once we pulled up to the island on a fucking yacht. Customer service had been on one thousand. And then the mansion was on top of a hill, with stairs that led up to it. It was extremely modern with mostly floor to ceiling windows, and was four stories high.
When we exited the yacht, there was already a whole staff of Bahamian people, waiting to greet us, along with several golf carts to transport us to the house. The more I took in, the more Irealized that Big Jahrein had created his own version of a resort. I was honestly amazed, because there weren’t many people who could say that they’d been on a private island. Especially not one owned by a Black man.
There was even a fucking tour guide to give us a tour of the grounds, after we’d dropped our bags off in our room. The bungalows were just luxurious smaller versions of the mansion. There was a outdoor pool as well as a indoor one. A basketball court. A gym. Multiple bar areas. Miniature golf. A helicopter landing strip. A natural waterfall. A whole fleet of jet skis. On site chefs. Deejays. You name it.
One of the hosts explained to us that there was a detailed itinerary, and the only thing that Big Jahrein requested was that everybody participated in all family activities. Then we were all directed to the part of the beach where they had set up tables, decorations, lights, and music for dinner.
I was sitting next to Jaylah with Khari in my lap, stuffing my face, thinking that this was the fucking life.
***
No cap, the longer I was around Jaylah’s family, the more I realized that most of them muthafuckas was ghetto as fuck, in the most entertaining ways. Then as much as a lot of them were doing well for themselves, there was also a nice bunch of folks who were still actively in the trenches. And I think that helped to keep Jaylah and her siblings grounded. Because as proper as they could sometimes talk, you could always detect a little hood in them.
“What’s up, nigga?” Wale stepped over and sat in the chair next to me.
I had been sitting alone, mostly because I had been on the phone, handling whatever business I could while away from home. But from the outside looking in it probably looked like I was being antisocial or excluded. Then being that we had a relationship outside of this, I was sure that he was trying ensure that I wasn’t feeling left out.
It was after midnight, and it was just our generation out on the beach, while the younger ones were in the house, along with the old schools. Big Jahrein had left nothing uncovered and even had a twenty-four-hour daycare ran by five women, who were watching all the smaller kids, including Khari.
“Aint shit,” I responded, as my eyes were trained on Jaylah, while she was up dancing and laughing with her sisters. The pure joy that was etched across her face sent chills up my spine, for some reason.
Wale cleared his throat. “So, you been getting along with everybody?”
I nodded. “So far, everybody’s been cool.”
