Forever Isn't Long Enough

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Lucy
October 2018

"Wake up, Luce." Mikey's voice softly shakes me awake.

I open my eyes and glare him. He knows not to wake me up. Ever. "What, Michael?" I snap.

"Shit. Happy fucking birthday, Lucile," Michael rolls his eyes. "Luke told me to wake your annoying ass up because I just got here and Lola is ready to cut the cake."

I take a deep breath and sit up. "Hey Mikey." I kiss his cheek.

"Hey Luce. Happy 27th birthday." He helps me up and out of my bedroom. We walk downstairs to the living room where Luke and Lola are sitting with Wally, Yasmine, her daughter Jasmine, Kim, Algee, Tre, Alexus, JJ, Chance, and Charlie.

"You set me up, nigga," Mikey snaps at Luke and everyone laughs. "Y'all all set me up."

"Yo ass should have said no," I say as I walk over to Luke and Lola who are sitting on the sofa. "Hey, Bunny. You want some cake?"

Lola looks ho at me. "Take? Sing?"

"Take! Take!" Charlie and Jasmine start chanting.

"Let me go roll out the cake then." Kim says as she struggles to get up.

"Sit yo fat ass down, Kimberly." Tre laughs while he and Algee get up to get the cake and ice cream. Kim sighs.

"See why I don't want anymore?" JJ snorts. Charlie gets up and walks over to JJ. She puts her head in her mother's lap with a big smile.

"See why I want more?" Chance says as he picks up his daughter.

"Nah, brudda. That ain't for me. Not unless you 'bout to push another out." JJ says and Luke laughs at her "New Orleans accent".

"Well, I'll be damned. Everybody wanna be from New Orleans now, huh?" Luke asks with his arm around me.

"Hell yeah. Y'all hear all the damn songs with New Orleans bounce in them?" Wally shakes his head.

Luke smacks his lips. "Shit is mad disrespectful. Taking from the culture but not even acknowledging where or who it came from," he takes a pause. "It's like white people and twerking. Like it was something new in 2014. Like bitches from New Orleans hadn't been bouncing and shaking that ass since been."

"Look what y'all did. Y'all done got my baby all gassed up. It's a sore topic for him." I kiss his neck softly to try and calm him down. It works by the way his arm tightens around my shoulders.

"I don't blame him. Shit's sad and the music never sounds as whole as it would if it was made by a New Orleans artist." Algee says as he and Tre roll in my birthday cake and ice cream.

"I also made a cookie cake for Yasmine 'cuz I know you don't like cake." Kim smiles at our cousin's girlfriend. Yasmine smiles back with a misty look in her eye.

I catch Wally's eye and I can tell by the way he smiles that he's happy our family accepts his girlfriend. "Alright, help me up, Daddy, so we can sing and eat."

Luke helps me up and I stand in front of the simple, two-tier cake. "Kim, how did Algee let you stand long enough to make this and a cookie cake?" I ask and we all laugh.

"He ain't said nothing when I back this ass up on him." Kim pops her tongue with a smirk, causing us to laugh harder.

Algee shrugs. "What can I say? That pregnant ass is a nice ass," he smirks as he looks at Luke. "I see why Luke is trying to keep Lucy with the babies."

I laugh harder than everyone else as I stand behind my cake in front of them. I can't help but to think about how this time last year, I was extremely depressed and I could hardly think a week into the future much less a month. Hardly even a year. And now here I am. Surrounded by some of my closest friends and family on my 27th birthday. I almost didn't make it here.