This is the story of Kirsnick "Nick" Ball and Asia Logan, two childhood friends who are on the journey of navigating love, success, salvation, and the true meaning of family in the city of Atlanta.
The soundtrack for this book is located on Apple Mu...
After two weeks of working from home, conducting property tours and interviews virtually with the help of her team, Asia was cleared by the doctor to resume her normal schedule. "Aye, don't be gettin' all hype about going back and forth to work and runnin ya'self crazy." Nick warned. "I need you to stay stress free and take it easy baby." He said as he kissed her forehead on a Tuesday morning. "Ugh. I know, I know." Asia smiled. "But, I have so many things I need to handle. I have two closings this week." She said excitedly. "Aight, but I'ma need you home early doe. Don't be up at dat office all damn day, or I'ma have to come up there and spank ya lil ass." He teased. "Ok babe. See you later!" She said as she quickly kissed his lips and headed for the elevator doors. "C'mere." Nick said as he gently pulled Asia back towards him for one more kiss. "I love you" he said. "I love you too." Asia answered. They smiled at each other and headed their separate ways to start their day.
Nick stopped by Mama Treet's house to catch up with her and get his locs re-twisted. He leaned into the kitchen sink as his mother gently scrubbed his scalp with shampoo. Her soft loving hands brought him a sense of peace as she cleansed and restored his hair. Nick leaned back in the chair at the kitchen table with his eyes closed as Mama Treet twisted each one of his lengthy locs in the palm of her hand and added clips to the newly twisted hair. "I baked some chicken last night, you want some?" She asked as she swayed her hips from side to side, dancing to Chaka Khan's song 'Sweet Thing'. "Hell yeah. You know I ain't never gonna turn down ya cooking." He laughed. "I know, you will forever be my greedy baby boy." She giggled. "It looks like Asia is keeping you fed real well. That happy weight looks good on you." She teased while pinching his cheeks. "C'mon Mama." He grinned. Mama Treet took a break from his hair to fix him a plate of food. "Aye Ma, I gotta let you in on sum." He said. "What's going on baby?" She asked "Asia pregnant." He said calmly. Treet almost dropped the plate from her hand as she heard the news from her son's mouth. "Really? What a blessing!" She said as she hugged him tight. Nick smiled shyly. "I just pray dat God gon guide me. I wanna be a better father than Kenny was to me." He said sadly. Nick's mother placed both hands on his face and looked him in the eyes, "Kirsnick, don't blame your father. This actually might be a good time for you to reach out and connect with him, you know, since you're about to be a father yourself. You could learn a few things." "Nah! Fuck dat nigga!" Nick shouted. "Kirsnick!" His mother shrieked. "The only thing dat nigga could teach me is how not be a dead beat ass bum. He ain't give a shit about us and just moved on and made a whole new fam. I would never do my kids like dat!" He yelled. "Son, please calm down. Don't let his faults interfere with your blessings. It's time for healing. I'm so proud of the man that you are and I know you'll be such a great dad. I can't wait to see you in that role." Treet hugged him tight and started working on his locs again. Nick always appreciated his mother's love. She always eased his doubts and made him feel 100 feet tall whenever he was low.
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Asia answered a call from Deja as she sat in bumper to bumper Atlanta traffic on her way to the office. "Hey, how's my booski? The Doc got you off house arrest yet?" Deja asked. Asia laughed. "Girl, yes. I'm on my way to the office now." "Please don't overwork yourself, even though I know you're hardheaded as hell, and for whatever reason you're determined to be twelve years a damn slave." Deja joked. "I promise, I won't. I'll only be there for a couple hours today." Asia gigged. "Ok, good. Oh, hey, are you going to be at Qua's birthday party this Friday? Girl, you gotta see the cake I had made for him!" "Hmm, Nick didn't mention any party plans to me, but of course I'll be there!" Asia said. "So, um, are you and Qua a thing now? You getting a custom cake made for him sounds like more than just messing around to me." Asia teased. "Well, I guess you can say it's a thing. We go together real bad or whatever." Deja giggled. "Oh, I see!" Asia said dramatically. "Aight, I'll see you at the party. Bye baby mama!" Deja joked. Asia smiled. "Ok, bye girl." Asia forced herself to nibble a few bites of a granola bar on top of morning sickness, but by the time the afternoon came around, she was starving. She picked up the phone and dialed Mr. Perry's number. "Hi, good afternoon Asia. How are you? I hope you're feeling better." He greeted her. "I'm feeling much better, thank you. Hey, I still owe you lunch, are you free?" She asked. "I'm just wrapping things up with my interior designer. What did you have in mind?" He asked politely. "Hmm, maybe a burger, or no...hibachi would be so good." Asia said undecidedly. "Wow!" Mr. Perry laughed. "You must have a really big appetite. I'm near Benihana, I can meet you there in about 30 minutes." He said. "Ok great! See you there." Asia agreed. By the time Mr. Perry arrived and took his seat across from Asia at the table, she had already eaten two appetizers on her own and was eager to order an entree. "You know Asia, I'm glad we're having the chance to sit down and talk. I'm having a conference in a few months for my Wings for Women foundation and I think it would be very inspirational if you spoke out about your sexual assault and how you were able to overcome that situation." He proposed. Asia sat quietly looking down at her plate. Before she knew it, the tears had conjured inside of her chest and spilled from her eyes. "Oh my goodness, I didn't mean to upset you Asia." he worried. "No, it's not you...I actually think it would be therapeutic for me to speak at your conference, I just-" She paused. Mr. Perry held her hand and listened closely while she cried hysterically in front of a bowl of miso soup. "I'm pregnant!" She blurted out loud. "I haven't even planned the wedding yet, my mom is dead and my dad doesn't care about me at all. Who will even walk me down the aisle? What if Nick leaves me with the baby? I don't want to-" Mr. Perry cut off Asia's pity party before she went in too deep. "Asia, sweetheart you're emotional, and rightfully so. You're going to be a wonderful mother and your fiancé adores you. Now, take a deep breath." He ordered. Asia wiped her tears with her napkin as she inhaled and exhaled. "Listen, I'm so sorry about your mother, and I know you're hurt from the pain of not having your father in your life, but he's missing out on such a beautiful, intelligent, pure hearted young lady. It's really his loss and not yours. I know I can't replace the role of your parents, but I'd be honored to walk you down the aisle if you'd like." He said while gently patting her hand. "Yes, I would love that. Thank you." She expressed, still wiping her tears. With the absence of her blood relatives in her life, Asia felt more grateful than ever to have her friends as her family.
