Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give, #0)(53)

“That doesn’t mean you disappear, baby,” Ma says. “I’m sorry that your momma didn’t support you like she should’ve and that you had to go through so much by yourself. But you have responsibilities now. Seven needs you as much as he needs Maverick.”

“Not if I get in that bad space again, he don’t,” Iesha murmurs.

Here I go again, feeling bad for this girl after all she did. “Iesha, it’ll be a’ight.”

Ma rub her shoulder. “If it’s not, you’re not alone. It takes a village to raise a child. Seven has a big one. That means that you do too.”

Iesha can’t look at either of us.

Ma sighs. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. Iesha, you’re going downtown this week to my cousin’s law firm. You’ll sign papers that will make Maverick Seven’s legal father, change his name, and give Maverick custody.”

Iesha’s head snap up. “Oh, hell no! I ain’t giving Maverick custody of my baby!”

“What you call leaving him with me for months?” I ask.

“You his daddy! You supposed to take care of him, stupid!”

“You’re his momma, but here we are.” Ma motion to the room. “Maverick needs custody in order to get assistance. Your momma gets food stamps and WIC for Seven, and he hasn’t lived in her house in months. Now we can go about this the easy way, or we can go to court. That’s completely up to you.”

“I wanna be able to see my baby!”

“You will,” Ma says. “Maverick, you’ll tell Iesha a day that’s good for her to come visit every week. Iesha, you show up when you’re supposed to. As time goes on and as trust is built, y’all can add more days and discuss overnight visits. Understood?”

“Understood,” I mumble, but we’ll see when it come to them overnight visits.

“Fine,” Iesha says. “Can I have my baby now?”

Ma nod at me. “Go on, Maverick.”

I let Iesha take him outta my arms, and Seven start crying. He go limp like babies do when they don’t want you holding them, as if they tryna make you drop them.

Iesha try to keep ahold of him. “It’s okay, big boy. Momma’s here.”

He don’t care. Seven reach for me.

Not only do he know me, but he don’t want nobody but me. He been like that all day, but in this moment I can’t explain how that feel.

I take him in my arms, and his fat li’l hands grip my shirt. I kiss his forehead. “It’s a’ight, man. Daddy got you.”

Iesha frown. “Why he acting like this?”

“He hasn’t seen you in months, baby,” Ma says. “Give him time.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Aunt ’Nita call out.

Ma motion her head toward the door. “C’mon, y’all.”

We go to the kitchen with the rest of the family. We don’t sit around a dining room table and eat like people do on TV. Nah, everybody fix a plate and sit wherever they want around the house. First, Granny gotta say grace. We hold hands around the kitchen and bow our heads. Granny do them long prayers, man. She act like God don’t know what’s going on and it’s her job to fill him in.

“And Lord,” she says, five minutes in, “please help these young mothers get their priorities straight. Nobody said it was easy, but they acting like they don’t have responsibilities and expect other people to care for their children. Help them, Father!”

Ma must’ve told her all about Iesha.

“Help my grandson Maverick, too, Lord,” Granny says. “Help him to stop making all these babies. Take all that fertileness and mannishness away from him, Lord! Make them spirits loose him!”

There’s a couple of “Yes, Lord” and “Amens” from the fam. Aunt Letha put her hand on my forehead, talking about, “In Jesus name!”

This floor need to go ahead and eat me up, man.

Granny end her prayer by thanking God for the years we got with Dre. Hard to be thankful knowing we should’ve gotten more.

After ten minutes, Granny done, and everybody can fix their plates. Not me. I get Seven situated in his high chair. I can never eat and feed him at the same time.

Ma come touch my shoulder. “Baby, fix yourself some food.”

“I will later. I gotta feed—”

“No. Iesha came here to eat our food, she can feed her son.”

Ma said it loud enough for everybody to hear. Iesha got two plates in her hand—one for her, and one for King. Ma give her a glare that I know real good.

Iesha set down the plates. “I’ll feed him.”

“Thought so,” Ma says. She kiss my temple. “Go eat, baby.”

I smile. It’s real nice when she on my side.

I stack a plate with ham and turkey, a big scoop of mac and cheese with the yams next to it ’cause ain’t no other way to do it, and then some collard greens. I fix another plate just for dressing. I scoop some cranberry sauce on that joint, throw two rolls on top, grab a canned Sunkist out the cooler, and I’m good to go.

Finding somewhere to sit the only problem. The kitchen table full. The dining room table crowded, and so is the living room. Me and Dre would eat on the front porch, so that’s where I head. I sit on the steps and set one of my plates where he used to sit. Kinda like having him here with me.