A month later on a Friday morning, Deno and his nephew where out on the water on the boat pulling out crab traps, dumping all the crabs that they caught in the boat storage area, and baiting up and throwing the traps back out into the water. They were getting ready to go back on land to sell those crabs that they caught.
"Ay unk. You know I been thinking bout getting my own shit right?" Mike said to Deno as he was dumping the crabs out of the trap.
"Oh yeah? Where you tryna move at?" Deno asked him."
"Still on the westside somewhere. Just think it's time for me to get my own shit though. You know I been saving up."
"Yeah I know." Deno with a little smirk on his face because he knows that Mike has been ready to move out for a while now. He wants the freedom to do what he want. Deno was easy going on alot of things. It was Cece who had a problem with certain things that he did.
"Tell me the truth Mike. You ready to leave because of ya aunt ain't ya?"
He looked at Deno like he really didn't want to answer the question.
Deno smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, I know. I know ya aunt can be, a lil on the demanding side. Alotta shit gotta be a certain way or else it's world war three. I know. That's why I ain't mad at ya. Hell, you grown anyways. You need ya own spot. You can have all the hoes and smoke as much weed in yo shit as much as you want. I remember when she use to smoke weed. She use to keep that mothafucka lit up, but now that she don't smoke, she don't want nobody else to smoke in that bitch. I know she a trip nephew."
"Unk, looking at y'all, y'all make a nigga don't wanna get married, at all. Straight up."
They both laughed.
Deno put his hand on Mikes shoulder, "like I told you before, ain't no marriage gone be perfect. It's a working progress everyday. It's easy for some people cuz they just click like that, but sooner or later they gone run into some problems, and for some other people, it's just flat out hard, but they love each other, so they try and work it out. You ain't suppose to just divorce a mothafucka just cuz y'all done had a lil disagreement. Y'all suppose to work that shit out. Ya feel me nephew?"
"Yeah I hear ya, I guess." Mike not so sure about all that what Deno just told him. "I just can't be dealing wit all that drama toxic damanding shit though. I be cutting them hoes off. I ain't dealing with it. Guess cuz I ain't neva really found nobody that I actually eva fell in love wit. I did what you said and fell back on Yana, and now she acting like she wanna fuck wit a nigga now that I ain't showing her no attention. Pshhh. You see what I'm talking bout. My patience is short when it come down to playing games. I wanted her cuz she was bad, and she knew I wanted her, but now that I see that she was playing games, ion even want her no mo. That shit a turn off. I'm talking to two other bitches badder her right now."
"I see you doing ya thang nephew. Ay, I did mine when I was yo age too. Just be careful and stay on ya P's and Q's out here. They say we ain't shit, hell, they ain't shit neither. You'll find you somebody one day though, and they usually come when you ain't looking for em. Just enjoy ya life nephew. This shit short. Make the right decisions cuz you don't wanna be regretting on some shit that you can't change. That shit is miserable. Trust me I know."
They talked some more on their way back to land. They were ready to make this money, then go enjoy their Friday night.
When night arrived, Mike was getting ready to go out clubbing with a partner that he met in Jacksonville about a year ago.
Deno came up in Summers old room because that's where Mike sleeps now. "Where you going tonight man?" Deno asked him.
"Bossed up." He answered him.
"Oh you talking bout that new shit that just opened up bout a couple months ago."
"Yeah. They say that bitch be swoll. I gots ta hit that bitch up tonight." As Mike was in the mirror putting his pull outs in. "Rodney bout to slide through in a few."
Deno took another look at his nephew.
"I know you gone have ya strap on ya tonight. Man, just be careful out there tonight. Alright?"
"You already know I'm finna be good unk. Them niggas betta not fuck wit me. What you doing tonight anyways?"
Deno shrugged his shoulders. "Hit up the gym. Drank a lil bit. Nothing really special."
Mikes phone had rung. It was Rodney telling him that he was outside waiting on him.
"Ay, I'm gone. Don't hurt nobody now." Mike teased as he dapped Deno up and leaving the house.
Cece came in about an hour later from her job.
"What's up baby, how was work?" Deno sitting on the couch having second thoughts about going to the gym and just drinking.
"I work with some lazy ass mothafuckas, but it's ok because I'ma be just as lazy as they is for now on!" As she came and flopped on the couch with him.
They talked a little bit and he massaged her shoulders.
"Where Mike at?" She asked looking around.
"He went out with Rodney tonight. Got the place to ourselves pretty much all night."
She changed the subject. "You heard anything from Summer today?"
"I called her right after Mike left, but she ain't answer. She probably out clubbing too." Him thinking to himself, here she go wit the bullshit again, acting like she tired but know good and well she ain't do a damn thing all day.
"You got something to drink. I sure can use one." As she got up from the couch going to the refrigerator to check the freezer.
"It's some Hennessy in there." Him already knowing where this night was heading. Witnessing deja vu again.
She made a cup, making conversation, basically saying that she was glad that it was the weekend and she was going to stay up all night with him after she took a bath, but after she took her bath, she went straight to the bedroom, laying down, watching TV, and also strolling through her phone.
He went in there asking why she was in the bed so early, and she replied that she was tired.
When she does things like this, the night is basically over for her. Hes seen this too many times,
He knew there was no hanging and staying up with the wifey tonight, so he didn't even try bringing up anything sexual. It's been over a month since they've had sex.
"Babe, I'm finna go down to the gym." He said to her grabbing his keys.
Cece turned around in the bed, "this late at night?" She asked him. "It's almost eleven."
"Yeah, I'm bored. Plus I ain't workout all day. Just call me if you wanna talk or something." He said in a kind of a disappointed manner.
She sucked her teeth turning back around saying, "whateva nigga."
He stood there, looking at the back of her head for a second. He shook his head and walked out of the bedroom.
He went to the corner store to grab a couple of beers, then went straight to the gym.
The gym that he was a member at was a 24/7 gym. He seen that there were still people in there when he rode up but it didn't matter to him.
He wasn't planning on working out. He just felt like getting out the house because there was nothing going on. As usual, his wife ducked and dodged from what she already knew what he wanted.
He didn't really feel like being around the fellas either. He just really felt like being alone now.
He went and sat on the weight lifting bench, cracking open the first beer, guzzling it down.
He had about one or two people looking at him, but he didn't care. This isn't the first time hes done this.
He stayed in there for about two or three hours just drinking and thinking.
The gym was empty now. It's about two o'clock.
He started going through his contacts on his phone, ready to tipsy call somebody. He was thinking about calling Summer but she still hasn't called him back. He didn't want to aggravate her.
Then he thought about calling his homeboy, but he figured he was home drunk and asleep.
He thought about his nephew but he didn't want to make it seem like he was treating him like a kid checking on him all the time.
He definitely couldn't call his mom at no two in the morning. If she would answer, she'd probably put a good cursing on him once she found out that he was only calling just to say hi.
He strolled through his contacts about a good four or five times. The only person he could call that probably would answer would be Jazmine.
He sat there looking at her name while he took a couple more gulps from his can.
"Fuck it. I'ma see what this bitch doing." He said to himself.
He pressed on her name to call her. The phone ranged a couple of times, than she answered.
"Hello?"
He could hear a lot of people in the background.
"Hey, what's up." He said back to her putting down his can of beer.
"Hey, what's up. How you doing?"
She was very excited to hear from him the way her voice sounded.
"Just chilling. Just calling and checking on ya. That's all."
"Aww, thank you. We just now leaving the club. My feet hurt. I'm ready to get out these damn hills." She said to him as Reesy was kind of hollering, asking who she was on the phone with.
"Damn, nobody. Why you all up in my shit girl! Damn! Fuck!" Jazmine said back to her.
"What club you at?" He asked her.
"Bossed up. This bitch be swoll Mr. Murray."
"Yeah, my nephew and his homeboy went out there tonight." Deno picking back up his beer.
"What yo nephew look like? I probably seen him."
"Dark skin, lil twists in his head, gold teeth." He explained to her.
"That sound like alotta niggaz. Wait, hold up. He was wearing a white tee wit some red and white Jordans?"
Deno smiled a little bit. "Yep, that's him."
"Yeah, he was tryna talk to me earlier. I told him I wasn't interested though."
Deno shook his head still smiling. "He good peoples. Should've gave him a chance."
"Naaahh. He ain't my type."
Deno had a call waiting on the other line. It was Summer, so he told Jazmine to hold on.
"Hey there baby girl. How everything going?" Him excited that she called back, also hearing a lot of people in her background.
"I'm good daddy. Just leaving the club. What you doing up so late?"
If he would've really told her what he was really doing, of course he already knew there was a probable chance that she would curse him out, which shes never done, but he never puts anything past her.
Nobody knows that he exchanged numbers with Jazmine and he planned on keeping it that way. So instead, he just told her that he was in the gym.
"Dang dad, you be going in hard, but you do look good to be soo old." She said before she bust out laughing.
They talked some more and before you knew it, he had forgot about Jazmine on the other line.
"Dad, you can cash app me some money?"
"Aww shit. I knew it was coming. How much?" He said rolling his eyes.
"Just seventy five. I need to pay my phone bill. I ain't tryna use my own money. I need that to get my nails done."
He sat there for a second.
"Dad, you heard me? I need seventy five dollars. You gone cash app it tonight or what?"
"Naw. You'll be alright." He said with a straight face.
She paused for a second, "what? You said no?"
"That's right. No. Time for you to start managing ya money better, and I know you ain't nowhere near broke because you and yo cousin splitting everything down the middle. You don't need me. You shouldn't need me."
She sucked her teeth, "alright dad whateva. I'm finna go."
"I love ya baby girl." He said to her before she just hung up.
The line switched back over to Jazmine where she was still patiently waiting.
"Hello?" Him not completely sure if she was still on the other line.
"Hey." Her speaking back.
"My bad. That was Summer."
"You good. I figured it was somebody important. How she doing?"
He sighed. "She doing good. Still begging for money. She stay over in Texas now wit one of her cousins."
"Damn, she stay all the way in Texas now?" Jazmine acting like she didn't know, but Reesy has been keeping Jazmine up to date on what Summer's been doing.
"Yeah. She been up there for bout two years now. She working on tryna get her own business going."
He had got another call on the other line. He thought maybe it was Summer, but once he checked, he seen that it was Cece. He told Jazmine to hold on again.
He clicked over and Cece was saying Mike's name over and over again.
"Yo what's up? What's going on?" Deno answering concerned.
"Deno. I need you to come home. Mike is in here laid out on the floor."