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A few weeks later; August.
"The party for yo' EP tonight..." Devon, her uncle and manager, seated in the lounge of her record label going over her schedule that was growing busy. Her mini, Valero, cradled against her chest as she focused on her manager. "WIDTY goin' up and so is ICU; we gotta market on that right now—I'm talkin' get you your first TV performance. Ima link up wit Phae to further discuss that. To see what she got and who reached out .." he paused once he looked at her and notice her focus was on her son, kissing his chubby cheeks softly.
Seeing his niece grow from a little girl to an amazing mother was a sight to watch and he was impressed with her having a natural motherly instinct—with the amount of cousins she have, she had lots of practice and it showed.
Devon closed the silver laptop. "You know..." he spoke, getting her attention, "This industry is demanding, Coke. Do you know how you're gonna adjust with leaving Valero behind?"
"Honestly; I didn't want to," she revealed, stroking the curls in Valero's hair, "I wanted to get a nanny, bring em with me everywhere. But I know he's too young to be going state-to-state and all weather is different in other places. Ion' want him getting sick. It's going to be hard but my dad and papa Otis will be watching him for me."
Devon nodded, knowing Valero would be in good hands with his father and brother. "How was Galveston?" he touched on what he found out a day ago, "My brotha told me you went wit Grim to my sista spot—bout Javon."
"Uhh ... yeah." Courtney cleared her throat quietly to prevent from waking her son, "I feel he should know about a kid that is possibly his, and I'll tell you the same way I told my dad; y'all were wrong for keeping that from him. He should've known right when he got out. Or when he was locked up even."
Devon exhaled strongly. "This what you gotta understand, Coke," he sat the laptop aside, "We were in the streets just as Grim, even wit this career—dibbin' and dabbin' in this music shit—but I was still a gangsta, and after allat happened wit Mo and she found out she was pregnant; we ain't know what the fuck to do—cuz was already dead. She was confident it was that other nigga kid. At least thats what she told us. You ain't know Monica the way we knew her. She was hotheaded but was goin' through shit mentally; she didn't communicate. It's not on us that she might have had a idea that Grim coulda been the Daddy. What was we posed to do?"
"Been there for Javon, maybe?" Courtney let out an unamused chuckle, "He's been in and out of juvie basically his whole childhood. He's in there now. How did we not know that? Why didn't aunt Hanna tell us that? There's no reason that's the position Javon shoulda been left in with all the uncles he have."
"See.." It was his turn to release a unamused chuckle, "I can't let you sit here and tear the siblings that are here down 'cause of that. It's way mo' to that whole situation than you can imagine. We ain't just say "fuck neph" and leave him to deal wit life wit no kinda father figures. The same way you found out bout him—alive, breathing, and wit a family member—was the same way we found out at that family reunion. If you ain't notice Hanna distanced herself years ago."
