Merc (COMPLETED)

Page 39🔓

Merc 🤎🐻

I could tell Marz 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.”