Page 59 of Surrender to Love

“No matter how old you get, I’m still the momma.”

“You gotta do what Nana says,” Niya says.

“That’s right, princess. You tell your uncles,” Shuga says.

“See,” Niya gushes.

A few minutes later, Travon and Deric enter, followed by everyone until the whole Bako gang is here. Thursday’s friend is her homegirl and not some knucklehead, so none of us have to put the fear of Bako in her. Once everyone is seated and quiet, Shuga pauses the movie and stands in front of the huge screen. She is so damn excited her entire round face is lit up.

“I’m so glad we can all be here for this. Family is everything to me and having us all under one roof and waking up under that same roof is going to make this Thanksgiving even more special. My dream is to make this happen every big holiday,” Shuga begins.

“So you’re going to rent this out every holiday?” Ace asks.

“No, because I own it. Well, actually, we own it. My name and you and your brothers’ names are all on the deed.”

“You purchased this?” Quintus asks, although we all clearly heard her.

Shuga bought this for us!

“Yes. I did last month. It’s ours. A space big enough for all of us. My dream is to have our monthly Sunday dinners here, Thanksgiving, our summer barbecues and any other holidays you all agree on. I know you have your own families, or will be having your own families one day, but any holiday you can spare, I would love it.”

“Oh my God,” Kyrah utters in awe.

“This is ours?” Tre asks. “And you’re going to keep the house?”

“Of course. I raised you and your brothers in that house. That will forever be my home. It’s ours along with this one, our vacation home,” she explains.

“So if it’s ours, we could like be here for spring break? Hassan asks.

“You and your cousins…family. This is not a party house,” Shuga says.

“Nah. They won’t be using it without one of us here,” Ace jumps in, shaking his head.

“Pops, we wouldn’t disrespect it like that,” Hassan says.

“We’ll see,” Ace says.

“We can talk about it after everyone gets comfortable in your rooms and settled. There are eleven bedrooms. This level has three: one with a king-sized bed, another with a set of queen bunk beds, and one with a futon and two full sized beds. The latter for the girls—Niya, Alami, and your friend. Behind this theatre room is a game room with a pool table and video games and an indoor swimming pool.”

“Aw shit, we got a pool,” Hussain utters.

“Can I go to my room now?” Niya asks excitedly. She really loves her little auntie. I swear she thinks they are the same age.

“One second, sweetie. Let your nana finish first,” Mireya tells her.

“The beautiful kitchen, family room, and dining room are all on the next level. My bedroom is up there along with four others. All the rooms on the second floor have king sized beds and private bathrooms. And last, on the top level, are the other three bedrooms. Two have king beds and one has two full beds. There’s another living room with a small bar up there with two large sectionals. Someone can sleep on those too. There’s plenty of room. Oh, I almost forgot, around that corner,” she says, then motions toward the corner she’d appeared from. “There’s an elevator.”

Not too many words are said because I honestly think we are all just shocked. This cabin is not only big as fuck but it’s nice and Shuga bought it for us.

“Oh! I want to ride that. Mommie, can I?” Niya asks and Shuga’s smile gets bigger.

“Yes, but it’s not a toy,” Mireya says.

“You can ride up with me now and help me find pizzas to order. With all the prep and cooking we have to do tonight, I’m not cooking anything,” Shuga says.

“We’ll order the pizza,” Kyrah volunteers.

“Oh well, thank you. Boys, get the coolers up there so I can see what you got,” Shuga says before turning toward the elevator. “Come ride with me, princess, then you can come back down by yourself.” Niya jumps out of her seat.