Chapter 15

Fifteen

Merc

I could tellMarz was tired before even asking him. He was seated at the breakfast table with his forehead in the palm of his hand. It seemed the country way of life was starting to get to him. On this trip, they had him doing more work and not just playing, and it was clear my son was not about that farm life. As amused as I was, I kept a straight face as I asked him, "You aight, little man? It looks like you're about to fall asleep."

With a slow bob of his head, Marz sat upright. "I'm all right, Daddy. Just a little tired."

Unable to hold my chuckle back, I laughed as I told him, "Eat your cereal then take a nap. If anyone tries to make you do anything else today, tell them your daddy said no. And if they got a problem with that, they can call me."

"Yes, sir." He agreed with a smile before starting on his cereal.

Aries picked up the phone, and as soon as I saw her face and heard her say, "Hey," I ended the call. I wasn't ready to be cordial with her yet. Anything I said right now was bound to hurt her feelings, so it was best if I remained silent. Neo refilled my coffee mug then sat on my lap.

"Why you hang up in her face, Mercury?"

"'Cause I ain't got shit nice to say to her."

"You aren't nice; you're genuine and kind, remember?" Sucking my teeth, I tilted my head and released a hard breath. "Be kind, baby. Maybe she was going to say something you wanted or needed to hear." Neo placed a kiss on my lips. "Call her back."

I didn't have to because she called me. For a while, I just stared at the phone.

"Mercury."

"Aight, aight."

I answered the call and put it on speaker. "What, Aries?"

"Did the call disconnect?"

"Yeah, because I disconnected it."

She scoffed. "I don't understand why you're so upset with me. You act like I'm taking Marz to a different country. Atlanta is a short drive away."

"That's not the point. You made a decision concerning our son with another nigga. You would have to transfer him to another school and get him adjusted to a life without me and our families. I'm not about to be no weekend daddy. Marz is used to having both of us every day, and you're about to destroy that. All for a nigga who wants to rap? How old is he? Twelve?"

Neo massaged her temple and shook her head with a smile, but I was dead serious. She rubbed my back, and though the gesture did calm me, it wasn't enough for me to soften my stance.

"That's not fair, Merc. If you were my husband and we needed to leave town so you could pursue your dream, I'd go with you."

"Yeah, but he ain't your husband. And keeping it a buck, your husband would need to already be living his dream before he even married you. What kind of nigga would ask his pregnant fiancée to leave home with her five-year-old son? The fuck kind of sense does that make?"

She sighed into the receiver. "I'm not trying to argue with you. I was just calling to see if you wanted to still take Marz to Orlando later in the week. Omar wants to go and look at apartments in Atlanta."

"I can't. I'm snowed in at the cabin. If you need to, you can take him to my parents, and I'll get him when I can."

"Okay, I'll let you know."

After disconnecting the call, I laughed. "I feel like I'm in a nightmare. There's no way this girl is serious about this shit."

"She seems to really be in love."

"Too in love. It's like she's blind to everything else."

"That's how it be sometimes. You can be so caught up in the good that you can't see the bad." That was true. "Try not to get too anxious about it. From the sound of things, they don't have any solid plans in place yet, so there's still time for this situation to turn around."

"Maybe, but I'm not going to wait for it to turn around. I'm going to turn it around myself."

I patted her thigh so she could get up, then I grabbed my blunt and stepped outside to smoke. It was cold as hell, but I needed the relief. When I was done, I felt a slight sense of peace. I found Neo in the bathroom, getting ready to do her hair. To take my mind off things, I offered to help. I sprayed and conditioned her scalp before she pulled her locs up in a bun that gave me an unobstructed view of her beautiful face.

Time flew by as we talked and listened to music. By the time we were done, my heart was more at ease. I was glad she was here with me because she made everything feel like something I could handle, and God knows I was grateful for that.

Day 3

"It's done,"Bully said. "Both."

"Aight, let 'em know I appreciate 'em."

"Always."

I disconnected the call, grateful my homies were just as loyal as I was.

I didn't plan to tell Neo what I planned to have done to Steven and his baby mama. Come to find out, ol' girl had a clothing store. It was easy to send my people out on a get back mission for her. They destroyed her inventory just like she'd done Neo's with Steven. For him, I couldn't resist letting Toe get at his ass. I told him to do lightwork so Neo wouldn't feel bad about it if Steven called her—mostly body shots that would leave him sore and bruised for a couple of weeks.

Neo hadn't been eating. I thought it was because she was depressed. When I went searching for her to give her an update on the weather, I heard a muffled version of her voice coming from one of the guest rooms. I went inside, and when I realized she was in the closet, I was about to leave. Hearing her say my name caused me to stop.

She was praying… for me.

Pressing my ear against the door, I listened as she ended her prayer with, "God, I'm ending my fast today, trusting You to be You. You are a covenant keeper. You won't go against Your nature and Your word to make a liar out of me. I'm asking that You be Jehovah Baal Perazim for Mercury. Be his Lord of breakthrough. Give him clarity, liberty, and opportunity when this snow melts. Give him clarity on how to handle this situation with Aries. Give him liberty from the thoughts and depression that have been consuming him at the mere thought of his son moving away. Give him the opportunity to restore the healthy relationship he had with Aries and bless it to be free of ego and pride and selfishness so they can be on the same page to do what's best for their son. In Jesus name I pray, amen."

Quickly shuffling out of the room, I weakly fell against the wall outside. Neo wasn't just praying for me; she'd been fasting for me too. And she wasn't doing it for show. She wasn't doing it to make herself look better in my eyes. She hadn't even mentioned it to me.

I wiped a quickly fallen tear and released a shaky breath as I stepped into the nearest guest bathroom to compose myself. Outside of my mother and grandmother, no woman had ever prayed for me. No woman had ever sacrificed and offered more of herself to God for me. No woman had ever gone to God on my behalf.

A while ago, I said there was no woman in my life worth the effort and sacrifice of being a priority. Neo had officially changed that. She wasn't just a woman I now knew my heart and body would be safe with; she was a woman I knew my soul and spirit would be safe with too.