Page 31 of Loving a Midwest Menace
“I love you too, Daddy,” she said, giving him a smile.
Carmichael opened the door and got into the driver’s seat while Max opened his back door so Brenyn could get out.
“Come on, B. We can hang out, eat junk food, and find something corny to watch,” Minx suggested, throwing her arms across the young girl’s shoulders.
She ushered her over to Finn’s car, where he and Rose were loading up. Max gave them the nod, and Finn started his car up. The engine roared to life, and Finn took off across the gravel lot toward the road. Max hopped into his truck with Carmichael. He had to take the man to get cleaned up and drop off a few deliveries. Lately, there was talk of some other family trying to move into the city and take over. Max thought it was about time to show them how the fuck he got down.
The driveback to the house was awkward, nothing heard but Finn’s radio blasting Pop Smoke while he puffed on another blunt. Rose watched traffic outside his window like he would miss something. He was trying to avoid talking to Minx. Brenyn rested with her head against the window behind Finn, also lost with her eyes on the streetlights as they passed them. It was getting late.
“What do you think they did to them?” she asked, her voice so soft Minx had to strain to hear her.
“Hmm, I wouldn’t even worry about that. What you should be grateful for is that you have a father who cares. Everything else isn’t a factor,” Minx replied, causing Brenyn to turn her head toward her.
“Has anyone ever hurt you… like that?” the girl asked with wide, misting eyes.
“I was a kid when I was shot. The bullet grazed me, and my sister was killed in front of me instead. Trauma is trauma,” Minx worded. “And it doesn’t just go away. To this day, I still have nightmares. I dream that my sister is alive and we’re walking home from school that day like we always did, and we made it home. That’s my favorite.” Minx smiled to herself as she told the story.
She loved Mickey so much and looked up to her. She wished like hell she was still here with them. Rose heard the pain still in her voice. Brenyn studied her as she spoke, going back into a time where her sister was still breathing. She went there a lot. Sometimes she didn’t want to leave.
“But you can’t let it stop you from living, B. You’ve been through a lot… at a young age. But you’re strong, and you’ll befine, trust me. You are going to live to tell about this, and you are going to find a man that will love every dark part of you. There will still be dark days, but they will lessen as you get older.” Minx swung her head in her direction, and Brenyn held her sincere stare.
She believed her.
“Tell me about her… about your sister. If you want to.” Brenyn prodded.
Minx quickly sniffled and turned her face away from Brenyn.
“I don’t.” She quickly shut her down.
The certainty in her tone made Rose turn a little and examine Minx behind him. Just like that, she had put a wall up, sealing that part of herself off. She didn’t like talking about Mickey in that way. The farthest she was willing to go was letting folks know her sister was, in fact, dead. She wanted to keep all of the other pieces of her to herself. Selfish with her memory, she didn’t even like talking to her parents about her. Mille never even knew Mickey, and that was a whole new level of hurt for Minx. He could only talk to his parents about his deceased sister because Minx would shut down. Finn pulled up at Minx’s parents’ home and kept his car running as he parked.
“What you getting into?” Rose asked, opening his car door.
“Shit, ’bout to link up with Luna and help her and Yoni with some shit. I told them I would this morning, and I ain’t trying to have Yoni going upside my head. A nigga need to eat,” he teased, shaking his head.
“Ol’ sucka for love ass nigga,” Rose taunted, shaking his head. “A’ight, we’ll link tomorrow or something. Just hit me up.” He got out of the car and held the seat forward so that Minx and Brenyn could climb out.
“Yo, Minx!” Finn called out to her.
Pausing, and letting go of an annoyed sigh, she faced him.
“What?” she quipped, hands on her hips.
“Cut that funky ass attitude for one mothafucka,” Finn retorted, scowling at her. “I just wanted to say… you did good, and… I love yo’ big head ass.”
“Tell Luna to call me. I love you too… clown.” Minx rolled her eyes and strolled away, both hands in the back pocket of her jeans. Rose locked in on her as she strut toward the house, ass swaying with each step. Nothing but inappropriate thoughts filled his head as she and Brenyn stepped into the house.
“Temptation can be a mothafucka, huh?” Finn interjected, chortling and shaking his head when he peeped Rose’s mesmerization.
“Fuck outta here.” Rose slammed the door shut.
“Don’t be slamming my shit cause you in ya feelings, nigga. Tighten up, mothafucka!” Finn hit the gas and backed out of the driveway.
“So you and Finn,what is this? You just smashing each other, or you trying to make that into something else?” Yoni asked Luna as she helped her wrap foil over any leftover food they had.
In the middle of the dining hall of Yoni’s church after her event, they packed things up while everybody else stood around gossiping more than wiping tables down. Luna snuck out and had a few tokes of her weed and sipped some of her drink before coming back inside. Yoni knew she was high as a fool.
“Yoni, I can’t talk to you when you are like this. Who gave you the slang dictionary any-damn-way?” Luna turned up her nose as she grabbed a chicken wing and attacked it.
