by Jahquel J.
1. Gerald ‘Goon’ Wraithe
The night is deep and the streets are empty, and Gerald "Goon" Wraithe rides his bike down Pitkin Avenue just past three in the morning, weaving through light traffic. A red BMW pulls up alongside him and Khaos nods from behind the tinted window before rolling it back up. They continue down the block, Khaos riding his bumper like always, and Goon speeds around a black Benz to get in front of it, then brake checks it hard. The car slaps its brakes and Goon speeds off. Khaos whips around the Benz and stays right behind him.
They turn onto Bristol Street where a party has spilled out onto the block from a house that's still going strong. People back out of the way as the two pull through, and Goon hears voices in the distance questioning who they think they are. Both men double park without a care. Goon pulls off his helmet and climbs off his bike, and the questions go silent the moment he shows his face. Khaos hops out and looks at the now-mute crowd, lifting his shirt to show he'd air the block out if anyone has anything else to say. This is Crip territory, and Khaos, a Blood, doesn't care. He's always down to ride. Goon rests his helmet on his seat, daring anyone to touch it.
A familiar voice calls out "Hey, Goon," and Kimber emerges from a stoop across the street. Kimber is Switzerland, the only reason she can step to him because she stays neutral, though Goon knows if it ever comes down to it she'd choose his side. She struts across the street, her brown hair swaying, her pouty lips always looking puckered. Memories of what she can do with her mouth briefly throw him off. She asks what he's out here for and guesses "Inez" right away. Kimber is a traffic safety officer, beautiful, independent, and smart. When Goon was locked up, her conversations held him down. But she wasn't about to settle down and let a man lead, wasn't jacking being Muslim either. When he came home they fucked, but once he started talking about finding a wife, she was done with all of that. He respected it. Before prison, he was a dog with no discipline, and being forced to sit down made him realize it was meant to happen.
Kimber confirms Inez is inside and that she tried to get her to leave but couldn't. Goon heads for the house, telling Kimber to put some clothes on. She slaps her ass and tells him he can't tell her what to do. He chuckles and says if she were his, she wouldn't be over here with these pussy-ass niggas, loud enough for them to hear. He climbs the stoop past people drinking and smoking as if it were the middle of the afternoon. Khaos mutters that Inez is lucky Goon loves their aunt, shoving past a high man. Inside, the walls are toffee-colored and stained from years of smoking, and the smoke almost makes Goon want to turn around. Half-naked women, high men, people just there because it's the only spot open.
Flea, Inez's dealer, starts to say he already knows, but Goon punches him in the mouth before he can finish. Flea stumbles back, holding his bleeding mouth and nodding, knowing this was coming. Goon reminds him he told him to stop selling to Inez. Flea swears it isn't him, says she's getting her shit from the niggas who run with Sigel over on Chester, and that she's only over here fucking. Khaos dropkicks him for saying it like it makes anything better, asking why Flea has her selling pussy over here. Flea pleads that he can't keep up with getting high, selling, and her pussy, begging Khaos to be fair. The name Sigel makes Goon's body hot. Sigel is playing both sides of the fence, and Goon can't put hands on him or blow his cover yet. Sigel killed his cousin, ruined his family, and caused the destruction Goon is minutes from witnessing. That's the sole purpose he's in this smoked-out apartment at quarter past three. Until Goon puts him in the ground, Sigel will never know peace.
Flea points toward the back while holding his mouth and leg on the floor. Goon steps over him, purposely stepping on his fingers as he goes. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and kicks the door open. Inez is on her back getting fucked by some random nigga like it's normal. Her eyes are glossed over. She's high out of her mind, going along with it because this man is the key to getting more. Goon looks away and leans on a rickety dresser. Khaos snatches the man off her, his dick still swinging with nut spilling, and the man keeps gyrating as he's pulled away. Inez remains lifeless on the bed. The man hollers, and Goon kicks his size fourteen boot into his chest, sending him into the corner between an old TV and a pile of stuffed animals. The room is clearly a child's room, and everyone is in here committing nasty acts on cartoon-character sheets.
Goon tosses Inez her soiled clothes and tells her they're leaving. She slowly returns to the real world, trying to piece together what's happening and failing. Whenever Inez goes missing, she never changes her clothes; it's normal for her. Her aunt tries to let God do his thing and prays she finds her way, calling Goon or Khaos on uneasy nights to track her down. Her aunt always said Inez has visions in her sleep, dreams something and then it comes true. Inez stammers, trying to figure out if she's dreaming. Khaos can't stomach seeing her and looks away, telling her to put her titties away. Seeing Inez like this never gets easy for Goon, though there's a numbness attached. Neither he nor Khaos wants to be here, seeing their cousin naked in a child's bed being taken advantage of. Inez can't even tell them the day, so Goon knows she couldn't give full consent. He tells the man he should be ashamed to be fucking with that nub, then tosses a book at his head. The man ducks too slow and gets cracked in the forehead with the spine.
Inez puts her shirt on backwards and scoots to the end of the bed, leaving a trail of wetness. Goon focuses on the man in the corner as she pulls her jeans on. She sulks, asking if she has to leave, like he's making her leave a slumber party. She whines for Khaos to look at her, but he can't. It hurts seeing her like this, especially since they're a year apart, the unofficial twins of the family. Goon and Khaos both protect Inez like the little sister they never had, because she is like their sister. They grew up together, thick as thieves. Life knocked them all down, and Inez chose to stay down. It's too hard to get back up and fight. Goon would give her the entire world because she means everything to him. He prays for her before he prays for Baby Cakes or himself. All she ever had to do was ask for help. Want the help. She never asks. She tells him "You too, Gerald." He tells her to put her fucking pants on, and she slumps her shoulders, making him feel guilty. She listens this time. He takes off his hoodie and puts it over her head. She thanks him.
He holds her hand as they leave. Flea has gone from holding his mouth and leg to gyrating on the floor to the house music. Goon steps over him while Khaos kicks him in the mouth. Khaos hits the locks on his car and Goon holds the door for Inez as she slips into the front seat. Goon tells Khaos to take her back to the crib, not to her mother's, because her mother doesn't need to see her like this. Khaos looks across the street, ready to lay bodies down, but Goon warns him not tonight, not with Inez with them. Khaos snarls at a nigga who can't keep his eyes off him, telling him he'd fuck his bitch right in front of him. The man holds his girl close while Kimber comes down the steps. The man is butt hurt because he knows Khaos could take his girl if he wanted. His girl was in his bed while he was sharing a cell with another nigga, and the only reason she's sitting on his lap acting like a happy whore wife is because Khaos sent her on her way.
Peso yells from the stoop that Khaos couldn't take his bitch if he gave her to him. Khaos leans against his whip and asks Lola if she misses when he had her bent over the balcony at the hotel in the city. Lola keeps a straight face but shifts slightly in her man's lap. Her body has a different reaction. Peso asks what Khaos is talking about. Goon snickers and tells Peso to worry about his bitch, because if he lets Khaos loose, then what? They all know how Goon and Khaos give it up, and there's a reason Khaos has his name. Goon tells Khaos to take Inez back to the crib. He goes over to his bike where Kimber is now leaning. She sighs that she hates to see Inez like this. Lola's eyes never leave Khaos as he starts the car; she wants him more than the nigga whose lap she's on. Kimber offers to come home with Goon tonight, saying she knows it's been a while. Even with the stress, he can't do that to Baby Cakes. It doesn't matter that they aren't together; he has this loyalty to her and only her. He can't give this dick to anybody but her, and he's patient enough to wait for their moment. Converting to Islam taught him patience and discipline. The old Goon would have taken Kimber home, but this new man knows the wait for true love is worth more than fucking. He couldn't pray about wanting a wife, something real, and then stick his dick into someone temporary.
He tells Kimber he's straight and that she needs to take her ass home because it isn't safe out here for her, knowing it'll fall on deaf ears. She smirks and says Lola always gets him in some shit, then leans up from his bike, noting that whoever has him turning down sex and head from her must be important. He tells her he likes to think so, climbs onto his bike, and puts his helmet on. Zoya Caselli is special, worth all the hell he knows she'll put him through. He's ready.
2. Zoya Caselli
Zoya Caselli sits at her desk as the sun rises over the park. Orange, red, and green bleed together in the sky. Her glasses rest on her nose, hair in a sloppy bun, case files spread around her. Usually the shades stay down and she works by the small gold lamp Maverick gave her when she graduated law school. It's engraved with "Big pressure lawyer. Proud of you." Last night she couldn't sleep, so she came to the office and left the shades up. There is safety in this building, just a few floors below Landon's penthouse. The building is locked down like the White House. Nobody gets in unless they belong.
Bando lifts his head from his expensive dog bed. He wants to walk, but it is not time yet. Having someone other than herself to care for is still an adjustment. Since college, it has always been just her. When she uses the bathroom, he stands guard outside the door. When she comes to the office in the middle of the night, he sighs like she is working his last nerve and follows anyway. Outside their bubble, his growl warns her when anyone gets too close. She never planned to have another dog after the one she lost as a kid. She reached out to Jordan to get his story, and it broke her heart. His family packed up and moved to a place that did not allow pets, leaving him behind in an empty apartment for weeks before the landlord found him. He refused to leave one particular room because he thought they were coming back. Zoya relates to that more than she can say. When her parents died, she thought they were coming back too. Like Bando, the Caselli kids were abandoned by family, left to fend for themselves, trying to accept love while carrying trust issues. She adopted him on a whim. He needed her. She needed him.
She pulls open her desk drawer and shakes two Lexytra pills into her palm. The prescription is for depression, something she has kept to herself since college. The Casellis are not the type of siblings who sit around sharing their business. She and Kora do Pilates and dinners, but they keep things surface level. Emotions were not something the Caselli family was in touch with. Menace is not the type to coddle anyone. She learned early that emotions made you weaker, slower on your feet. On the outside, everyone sees a put-together, confident powerhouse who enters any courtroom with claws extended. On the inside, she is low. Always low, exhausted even right after waking up. Some nights she cannot keep her eyes closed, thoughts loud and in charge, recounting everything she did and everything she needs to do.
Her mind is never quiet. When she passed the bar, she should have been elated. She stayed on her couch in the dark, watching the city move, wondering what her parents would have said. People assume that losing her parents young means she would forget or get over it. But every celebration, every low moment, every piece of her life comes back to wondering if they are proud. She smiles and says she is fine when she is the complete opposite. She entered relationships hoping to feel again, knowing half the men were no good, choosing them because she believed she was no good. Sigel was something to do, someone to get under her brother's skin.
A text from Gerald lights up her desktop. Good morning, Baby Cakes. The memory pulls her back to a moment during a beach confrontation. Gerald walks ahead. She yells after him. He pauses, lets her catch up, then backs her against a wall and stares down into her eyes with an intensity that makes her look away. He tells her that when he takes a man's breath, it is not because of her, that Thun had it coming over personal business. She asks what happened. He tells her not to worry, that Menace keeps her away from this life and he will respect that by keeping her on the legal side. He holds her chin, lips grazing her ear, telling her he is on her real bad, that no real one has ever come to break down her walls. By the time he is done with her, those walls will be broken down with a stomach full of him and a ring on her finger.
The doorbell pulls her from the memory. Through the peephole she sees Navy, who pushes in with Mink the way she always does now. They take the dogs out together most days. Navy is missing an eyelash. When Zoya asks about it, Navy shrugs with a silly grin and says Landon woke her up. Zoya cuts her off, does not want to hear anything about her brother and her future sister-in-law. Navy grabs Bando's harness, favorite ball, and poop bags from the closet. She says she can never lie on that man, dreamily, which makes Zoya want to vomit in her mouth.
Navy asks about her day. It is Friday, and Zoya decided the moment she powered off her computer that she is taking a personal day. Navy reminds her it is Labor Day weekend and they are having a block party, that Zoya has to come. Avril applied with the city to shut down her parents' block for the party, a tradition for Navy and her family. Zoya says she does not know, that somebody always dies over Labor Day weekend, that she got someone off last year for shooting at the parade. Navy asks if he did it. Zoya winks and says she will never tell. Then Navy opens the fridge and stops talking. The fridge is perfect, everything color coordinated, labels on the drinks. Navy insists Don's fridge is normal, takeout containers and drinks anywhere. Zoya asks if Navy is calling her a weird ass bitch, and Navy says actually yes, too neat. Zoya laughs and ignores it. Some weeks she has things all over because she cannot bear to pick up a broom. The real reason her condo is tidy is because putting things in order is what she does when she pops her medicine and climbs out of the depressive funk, singing while she sweeps.
She teases Navy that her future husband is actually normal. Ready, she picks up Bando's leash, and they head out. Across the hall, the vacant condo door is wide open, a housekeeper cleaning the large windows. Navy shrugs, says it looks like they finally put it on the market. The dogs pull them through Central Park on a beautiful brisk morning. They rest on a bench, let the dogs hydrate, watch joggers and moms with strollers. Navy reads her Kindle and mutters that she needs to read this to Landon tonight. Zoya's phone buzzes with Capri's name. She answers singing "Hi, Mrs. Inferno," and Capri fires back with "Mrs. Wraithe." Capri tells her Brandon and the Gods are doing their back-to-school giveaway and she should come kick it. Capri says she is getting her flames today, officially becoming a Goddess. Zoya agrees to swing by before the block party. Navy looks up and says she does not have to come. Zoya tells her she is coming with her. Capri says to bring Navy so they can meet Don's fiancée. Zoya signs off and ends the call. Navy says she is excited to meet Zoya's friends, asks if they are all going on the birthday trip. Zoya nods, says she cannot wait, needs a break from everything. Navy feels her, knows planning this wedding will be a lot, wants to get the fun stuff out of the way first. Navy lists the bachelorette and bachelor parties, bridal shower, all of it. She wants a beautiful wedding. Zoya stands and pulls her up, tells her Don will make sure of it.
Zoya walks back to the building. Then the chapter shifts to a memory. She is in the basement when Alexa alerts her that Sigel is on the way. Earlier that day, she had been snooping. She found something. Panicked, she gathered everything into the box and put it back exactly where she found it. She texts Sigel, tells him she needs pads and Tylenol, then asks for fried fish from the spot in Harlem he took her to. He asks if he is really supposed to head all the way to Harlem when he is ten minutes from her crib. She holds her breath, hoping reverse psychology works. He sighs, says fuck it, he will go get the shit. She thanks him, says thanks, Marcus. She ends the call and runs to the front of the house, checks the locks, peeks out the curtains. Since finding out about Sigel's real occupation, she cannot trust anything. She calls Gerald, eyes peeled outside, clutching the phone. She says she needs him. He says he is on his way to her, no questions asked. She asks if he wants to know why. He tells her no, all he knows is she needs him and he is on his way. She texts Kora, asks for a rain check. Kora agrees. Zoya paces, deep in her head, thinking about how Sigel keeps late hours and came home jumpy one night, spirit unsettled. The doorbell makes her jump. She checks her cameras and rushes to open. Gerald asks where she parked, says around the block, everything locked up. She pulls him in, locks the door, asks if anyone followed him. He asks what the fuck is going on, caresses her face. She looks up and says Sigel is the RedHook killer. The confession spills out. She explains everything, takes his hand, and brings him down to the basement. He asks if Sigel is on his way over, pulling his gun from behind and cocking it back. She reminds him what Forty said, that they cannot touch him right now, they do not know who is watching. He grabs her chin, stares down with a look she has never witnessed before. Gerald is always so chill, calm, forever flirting with her, but right now he looks like a completely different man.
3. Goon
The reflection on prison life opens the chapter, a meditation on how incarceration strips a man of autonomy and forces structure onto even the most formless existence. Before being locked up, Goon had no routine, no schedule, no discipline. Prison changed that, though not by choice. Living on another man's time, depending on guards to open cages and dictate when to eat, sleep, and move, does something to a man's mind. The weak become weaker behind bars. Goon entered knowing what to expect because of his uncle Chef, who cycled in and out of prison throughout Goon's childhood and always made sure to put him and Khaos on when he was free. The lesson was clear: if you do the crime, you sit up and do the time. No snitching from a real man. Chef knew his day would come and prepared to be away from his family.
The hardest part of Goon's own time wasn't the confinement. It was being separated from his family. Leaving Khaos to become the man of the household while Goon sat in a cell, especially with Chef locked up around the same time, placed an enormous weight on his younger brother. It fell to Khaos to hold everything down, to make sure their mother, aunt, and cousin were straight. He was shoved into the role of family leader and rose to the occasion. Anything Goon needed, Khaos handled it, ensuring the family never went hungry. The respect Goon holds for his brother runs deep, along with guilt. Growing up, Khaos followed behind him, wanting to do everything he did. Goon was supposed to keep him in school, away from the streets. That didn't happen.
After praying and going on his morning run, Goon returns to the apartment dripping with sweat. The smell of porridge with cinnamon and nutmeg fills the kitchen. His mother Paulette is at the stove, mixing the porridge while a fresh pot of coffee brews, a phone tucked between her ear and shoulder as she talks to Aunt Maxine. Goon maneuvers around her wheelchair. His mother has been in that chair since he was locked up the first time, having lost a leg to diabetes. She greets him with the nickname only family uses, asking about his run. He complains about the crowd and asks when she'll finally let him move her out of the apartment. She deflects, calling the community and apartment home, forgetting she's mid-conversation on the phone. Paulette Wraithe loves things to remain the same, a woman who resisted change even when her two sons were determined to give her more.
His mother is a Jamaican immigrant who worked relentlessly, raising two boys in a small one-bedroom apartment on Winthrop Avenue. She slept on the couch so her sons could have the room. Every night, Goon would hear her tired footsteps on the stairs after work, bringing the cold or warmth of the outside with her, never complaining despite every reason to. A man she trusted to stand on his word failed her, leaving her to raise two boys alone. That burden fell on countless Black women in their neighborhood, trying to put food on the table while leaving the eldest to watch the youngest. Goon knows his mother feels she failed at keeping their heads in books when the streets called louder.
On the phone, his mother mentions that Mika and others called about sending another barrel back home. She's been filling and shipping barrels to Jamaica since she moved to the States, spending money on shipping and sending cash even when they barely had enough for themselves. The relatives with hands out never contributed, always reminding her not to forget family, and the guilt worked on her. Goon cares only about his grandparents, who never asked for much. He's offered to buy them a new house, but they refused, loving their small home in the mountains of Jamaica, the house his grandfather built and raised all his children in. Goon lived there for the first four years of his life after his mother left him with them as an infant and sent for him later. All he knew was that shack of a house with windows that never closed, no air conditioning, one open-planned room, and a walk down the hill for water. Being back in the States made him realize that was better. While in prison, he didn't think about Brooklyn. He thought about his grandparents' house, the sun on his skin, the smell of trees. Last year he finally visited for a week and it felt nice to disconnect, listen to his grandfather talk shit, and eat his grandmother's cooking.
Goon tells his mother they're not sending more barrels, calling her Sharon because it gets on her nerves, a name his grandfather uses with his thick accent, the name everyone in the family calls her even though her real name is Paulette. She threatens to beat him playfully as she spoons porridge into a bowl. Inez emerges, cleaner than when Goon found her nights ago, her sleek black hair in a ponytail, face clear, swallowed up by his sweats and shirt. Goon's mother greets her as "Likkle girl," the nickname she's always used because Inez is the only girl. Inez slips into the chair across from Goon, avoiding eye contact. She's been avoiding him since he scooped her out of that house a few nights ago, unable to face him knowing what he and Khaos witnessed her doing. It was easy to deal with when she was high, but once she came down, the shame of being caught fucking for her next fix became unbearable.
Goon calls her name lowly. She answers but still won't look at him. He's used every word to convince her to do better, but how do you tell a grieving mother to stop grieving her child? This is how she copes. It doesn't make it right, but it takes the pain away, lets her breathe without the permanent ache in her chest. He says rehab. She says when she's ready, as if she has a choice. He tells her she doesn't have much of a choice. She fires back that he's not her father. He never said he was. She tells him to stop acting like it. He bites the inside of his cheek and calls her selfish. Tears threaten as she asks how she's selfish, saying she's trying to live. He says they're all trying to live. His mother wheels over and rubs Inez's back, telling her this life isn't good for her or her mother. Inez lowers her head, torn between her family begging her to be better and the pain begging for temporary relief. Goon raises his voice, saying she's basically telling them fuck her family, that he shouldn't have to see her like that. His mother places her hand on his, telling Maxine on the phone that it's under control. Goon takes a deep breath. Inez says she doesn't have to live with this. Goon says they're all living with it, asking if she thinks he doesn't take blame too.
Khaos emerges from the back room. Whenever he couldn't sleep, he found his way to their mother's apartment, and both brothers always found their way to Paulette. When Goon first came home, he came home to more money than he went in with and wanted to move his mother out the hood. She refused, moved to the bottom floor instead. The landlord, who watched them grow up, let her move into a bigger unit because she's now handicapped. With gentrification, the hood isn't even the hood anymore. Goon pays her bills and lives with her because he can, because she needs help, and because he refuses to live in a nice neighborhood while leaving his mother in the place they came up in. Inez rocks in her chair, hands over her face, saying she should have been better, shouldn't have followed behind his father. Their mother wraps her in her arms. Goon leans back and looks at his cousin, more than a cousin, a little sister he protected like one. For the first time, he doesn't know what to do. He knows what to do, but getting her clean would force her to deal with the pain without escape, might make her hate him. He abandons breakfast, grabs his keys, and leaves.
The weight of it follows him. Knowing what's happening versus having it thrown in his face, the crying and silent begging for a way out, are different things. The reality is their family is broken and money won't fix it this time. Time won't either. Time has only made things worse, the pain sharper, the memories more distant. He jogs down the steps, gets in his truck, and pulls away with no destination, just needing to clear his mind, to stop hearing the tears that remind him of the wailing through prison phone calls. He drives toward a safe spot, through Brooklyn, his home, every block and neighborhood known to him. As a boy forced to become a man too early, Brooklyn was his playground, figuring things out alone with a little brother determined to do the same. Those same streets sent him away from his family. He heads toward Canarsie Pier, his thinking spot for years. He did some of his dirt in Bayview projects, and shit wasn't always good at home. As much as his mother worked to give her boys a better life, she wanted them to remain innocent, not realizing the streets were making them into men.
He parks, hops out, sits by the water, watches some Mexicans catching crabs over the railing. Rules were meant to be broken, those crabs meant to be eaten. He inhales the sea water, closes his eyes, allows himself to breathe. He's usually the calm one, the one with solutions, but today he can't. His phone buzzes twice. Cappadonna's name appears. He answers. They exchange Islamic greetings. Cap asks if shit is cool. Goon says family shit, asks what's up with him. Cap reminds him about the block party. Goon laughs because it slipped his mind. Cap asks if he's straight. Goon says not really but doesn't want to get into it, assures he'll be there. It's Labor Day weekend, and Brandon throws a back-to-school block party to give back to the kids before school starts. Every business on the block participates, including the tattoo shop Havoc and Sim own. Cap tells Goon he knows he may look at him like a guidance counselor but he's also something else, and Goon cuts him off, laughing, because only this nigga can make him laugh when the walls are closing in. Cap does it on purpose, knowing it makes people feel better. Cap may be the oldest of Capone, Corleon, and Capri, but he's like a big brother to everyone, always tossing out wisdom. They exchange love and fuck nigga, then end the call.
Goon takes in the fresh air. People take it for granted, but not him. When air was taken away and all you inhaled was bounce that ass in a cell block full of men, you learned to appreciate small things. He always takes a moment for the sun rise and set, basking in Allah's creations. Life is always on go, so you forget to stop and smell the flowers. That's why he sends his baby flowers every week. She's all work, and he wants to remind her to stop and smell the roses. She's his rose, and he can't wait to stop and smell her, all of her.
At the block party, kids get their faces painted, bounce in the bounce house, line up for fake tattoos. Goon and Havoc sit under a tent, Havoc applying water to fake tattoos. Goon asks why Havoc is so quiet, then notices the line of kids. Havoc says he could help. Goon snatches the sponge, and Elijah runs over. Goon greets him as Prince Inferno. Elijah smiles, says nothing but the sky. When Goon first met Elijah, he was a meek little boy who cowered when spoken to, so broken it broke Goon's heart. Now he has that Inferno confidence Sim instilled in him, walking with his head up, unafraid to speak his mind. Goon loves witnessing him come into his own. Elijah signs something to Havoc, who snorts, hands occupied. Elijah says he has his ears on. Goon asks if everybody knows sign language but him. Elijah giggles, says Havoc teaches Zayah, so he's learning too. Goon calls Zayah a damn baby. Havoc shrugs, says his God daughter will know how to communicate with him since they never cared to learn. Goon jokes that he doesn't want to talk to Havoc using words, let alone his hands. They laugh. Goon puts flames on Elijah, who runs off to show Peach, still in line. Peach skips over, they hit the IG shake, she hugs him. He asks what she wants tatted. She wants white flames like Suga mama. Capri is getting her flames today, and Ryder wants to be just like her step mama, everything Capri does. She wants to be a lawyer too, started using Capri's old law school textbooks. Goon asks why the flames are white. She says because Suga mama is very important and has to wear different hats but is always an Inferno. He daps her up and applies the tattoo. They get the kids through and off to other things.
Goon asks Havoc if he's straight. Havoc is naturally quiet, hard to get conversation from. Yasin is the mouthpiece between them. Half the time Havoc doesn't have his ears on. Havoc says he heard Synthia got a boyfriend. Goon asks word. Havoc says Kobe let it slip when they went out to eat. He cleans up and asks what the real hold up is with Syn, noting they're in each other's skin abroad but strangers at home. Havoc says Tiny's different. Goon says nothing wrong with that. Havoc removes locs from his face, stands, stretches, says her little ass scares the shit out of him. Goon says he feels that, thinking of Zoya. She scares the shit out of him too. Independent, hardened, robbed of affection, walls taller than prison walls. Zoya is everything he should avoid, but he's drawn to her like a bee to pollen, a moth to flame. She plays like she isn't into him, but he knows better. He's Goon. Every woman wants him, only a select few experience him. He could have any woman, and he wants Zoya Caselli. She'll give him a run for his money because she's afraid, afraid to let love in, to let walls down, because everyone she'd let in took advantage, made her look like a fool. He studied her, learned who she is and what she requires without her telling him. Watching someone long enough teaches you what they never say. He needs to understand her to make her his wife. Her toughness is because she had no other choice. Each encounter, he sees her wanting to put down walls, let someone else take control. He's ready to put her in her healed girl era, wants her biggest concern to be beef bacon prices. He has to earn her trust, not easily given with the Casellis. He has to show he's different from the fuck heads she dealt with. Truthfully, that's why Zoya runs. She knows he isn't like those other niggas, and it scares the shit out of her.
Kincaid yells that Queen is coming onto the block, turning on with Queen's red G wagon behind him. Quasim comes out the barbershop as if he knew his queen was near. Blair parks in her spot, kills the engine. The tints are so dark you can't see inside. Kids have moved on, so Goon and Havoc leave the tent. Quasim swaggers across the street, opens the door as Blair steps out. It was this time last year when Tookie came through the block and Goon heard about it from prison. Blair wraps her arms around Quasim's neck as he kisses her lips. Havoc bypasses them and opens the back door, smiling as he signs to Izayah. Quasim says he's consistent, unbuckles her, takes her out. Zayah is only a few months old, doesn't know what Havoc is saying. Havoc says hi to Blessing, asks if she missed Goddy. Goon snorts at Goddy. Havoc says he's her God daddy, they're unique, tells Goon to worry about his. Havoc takes Izayah, neither Sim nor Blair says anything. She looks like a baby doll in his arms. He cradles her, kisses her forehead. The passenger door opens, Capri steps out on her phone, telling someone she returns to work next week and can set something up, thanks Director Robinson.
Goon walks around, helps open the door. Cherry is ready to jump out when she sees him. Capri laughs, backs away so he can unstrap her. Once the strap is off, Cherry leaps into his arms, slaps his cheeks, smushes her face to him. Goon's God daughter means the world to him. Capri and Meer didn't have to make him her God father, but they trusted him. A nigga with a rap sheet as thick as the bible, a man who didn't believe in himself until his freedom was taken. They trusted him to guide and protect this little soul. He doesn't take it lightly. He moves differently because he never wants Cherry visiting him in prison, never wants her to see him in greens while trying to understand why he can't leave with her. He kisses her cheeks, tosses her in the air while she giggles. Whenever babies giggle, it's contagious. Capri watches in horror. He teases her as Lady Inferno. She says he gives her a mini heart attack every time, but Cherry loves it, tries to make her father do it too. She runs her hand through her hair. Quameer pulls up on his bike as if summoned. Peach waits across the street for the go ahead, then she and Elijah run over. Goon jokes that only Goo can toss Cherry up like this, her daddy's a sucker. Capri laughs, asks how long he's been out there. He says a few hours, asks where the boys are. She says with her mother, didn't want to bring them out in the heat, still figuring out how to be out with all three, Cherry is enough. She laughs nervously. He can tell she's still getting used to being a mother of three, a wife, with a career. He tells her Rome wasn't built in a day, she's got this. She takes a deep breath and thanks him, saying she thought she had it under control with one baby, but two at the same time, shit.
Meer crosses the street and kisses his daughter's cheeks, teasing Cherry for acting funny now that her Godfather is in town. Cherry nuzzles deeper into Goon's neck and side-eyes her father while Capri laughs. She always acts this way with them, Capri says, because Goon spoils her. Whatever Cherry mama wants, Goo gets it for her. Cherry clings tighter, giving her parents the stink eye, and Meer, wounded that his princess doesn't want him, tells Goon to watch her then since he wants to be God daddy of the year.
Goon asks what the two of them are getting into. Meer explains it's Labor Day weekend and he's trying to be hugged up with his wife, having brought the bike out because they're grown and married. He never misses a chance to remind anyone he's married, the loudest married man Goon knows. Capri says that as much as Goon would love to watch Cherry, her father is coming to pick the kids up to bring them to the lake house for their last weekend there. When Goon protests that he can watch his girl, Capri smirks and tells him his boo is on her way over. Meer laughs at how Goon tries to act casual when he's clearly about to throw the baby at her at the end of the block.
Capri mentions that Zoya is bringing Navy so they can finally meet her, and asks if Goon has met her. He knows about Don's fiancée before Don even knew who she was, because Navy's family and his were cool. He used to live on Navy's grandparents' block when he was younger, and his moms and Navy's grandmother went to the same church. Back then everyone looked out for each other, especially when you were from the islands. Brooklyn was sacred, the Caribbeans within the states, and it didn't matter if you were Jamaican or Guyanese like Navy's family, you just looked out for one another. His uncle Chef and Ro used to run together before Chef went to prison the first time, cutting up in the same Brooklyn streets Goon and Khaos walked. Ro went legit while Chef stayed in the streets until they gunned him down or put a needle in his veins behind the wall. Goon says he knows her family and kisses his God daughter's temple while she keeps giving her father the stink eye.
Capri notes that Brooklyn really is small and mentions that Navy is coming on Zoya's birthday trip next month. Meer complains about how many times the girls are going to throw the trip in their faces, and Sim says Anjo claims she isn't going. He whispers something in Blair's ear, and for a second Blair reconsiders the whole girls' trip. Capri calmly walks over and yanks her best friend away from her husband, telling her not to let him hold her captive. Blair slowly turns to look at Sim, who eyes her like a lion does a gazelle. When she asks if he's working against her, he says never, he wants to work with her, that he needs that second baby boy, and licks his lips while Blair silently unravels. Capri balls her best friend's lips up, pulls her away, and declares no babies are happening until after the trip. Meer kisses his wife's forehead and agrees, no more babies this way either.
A black Range Rover pulls onto the block and parks at the end, and everyone watches the truck intensely, waiting for whoever will step out. Capri skips down the block when Zoya steps out. Goon watches every part of her as Capri hugs her and she tenses up, patting her best friend's back like an orphan that needs love. Zoya is dressed down in a black maxi dress, samba adidas sneakers, and a bucket hat pulled down low, her hair blown out and hanging down her back. Navy gets out the passenger side while Zoya opens the back door, still talking while she fucks with something in the back. When she backs away, a Cane Corso hops out and sits at her feet. She holds his leash and rubs his head while Capri rubs him. Quasim asks when she got a dog. Meer shrugs and says she adopted it because it was going to be killed or some shit, and when both men look at him, he defends himself, saying they always run their mouth on the phone.
Cherry has found comfort on Goon's shoulder for her nap. Zoya walks over with her dog, staring at Goon with a smile fixed on her lips, and greets Meer and Sim. Sim looks down at the dog and asks if his ass bites. Zoya laughs and says not unless she tells him, that he's friendly. Meer fires back that if a dog has teeth, they're gonna bite, and Zoya corrects him, saying she never said he didn't bite, she said he's friendly. Sim hesitantly puts his hand down for the dog to smell and then softly rubs his head, and the dog allows it. Meer jokes that she couldn't get a cute dog like Beretta, that she had to get some beast. Zoya greets Goon with a simple "Hi, Gerald," and he responds with "What's up, Boobie," winking and making her blush as he holds his God baby.
Peach squeals Navy's name and runs from the ice cream vendor toward Capri, who is walking over with Navy. Capri looks at her stepdaughter, confused, and Peach explains she watches all of Navy's YouTube videos, that Navy is the reason she wanted to go to Chicago for her birthday that year. Navy extends her arms and asks if she ever got to go. Peach nods and says her daddy took her. Navy tells her she loves that she went and had fun. When Elijah hollers at Peach about her ice cream flavor, she screeches that she'll be right back and takes off toward her cousin.
Don got engaged to a celebrity, Zoya teases Navy, who shrugs and says she just talks shit and travels. Navy is introduced as her sister-in-law to Meer, Sim, Gerald, Blair, and Capri. She waves and teases "Hey everyone and Gerald," and Capri, noting how much Peach loves her, asks if she does birthday parties because she may need to book her. Meer tells his wife that Navy isn't fucking Barney, and Navy laughs. She points out Jett, her security, standing tall and buff down toward Zoya's truck, explaining that every member of the Caselli family has security, even if they don't know. Goon found that out when he was sleeping outside Zoya's old spot, and even knowing it, he never went home, because his job was to protect her, always.
Ryder announces she's going to get Beretta because that's Bando's boyfriend, and runs toward the tattoo shop with her ice cream. Quasim laughs at the dog's name, and Zoya defends him, saying that was his name when she rescued him. Elijah takes a bite of his ice cream and says all he got is a stupid cat. Blair calls him out for calling Pyro stupid when he has to force her to sleep in his room. He apologizes with a "Sorry, mom," sulking because he wants to be the cool kid, and Blair kisses his cheek and tells him to go do whatever because Des is coming to pick the kids up soon.
Ryder comes back with Beretta in her arms. The spoiled yorkie nearly jumps out of her arms when she sees Bando, and both dogs' tails go crazy as they smell each other. Zoya laughs that Beretta bullies him so bad and he loves it. Ryder takes his leash and holds it the way Zoya shows her, and Zoya warns her to be careful and not bring him near all those people. Bando is well trained, walking beside Ryder and stopping to look up at her for commands.
Zoya says she needs to change Cherry's diaper before her dad comes, and tells everyone to decide what they're getting into tonight as she carries the sleeping baby toward the barbershop. Meer mutters that he's trying to get into his wife, following behind her. Peach is told to be careful with Cujo. Zoya calls Meer's name, and when he turns around, she holds up her middle finger and tells him fuck ya, and Meer laughs, jogging to catch up with Capri. Blair and Quasim lean against his bike while Navy goes to call Don, leaving Goon standing with Zoya.
She asks where her hug is, and he calls her Ms. Lawyer, teasing her new title. She comes over with her arms extended and wraps them around his neck, and he holds her, kissing her neck, telling her she's Boobie for real. She giggles that she can't keep up with Baby Cakes and Boobie, and steps back, saying until it becomes something else. He pulls her back for another hug, squeezing her, and asks if she's taking care of herself. She admits it's the same thing, work and more work. He scolds her for not listening and not taking any time for herself, and asks what he can do to make sure she's actually doing it and not just trying.
Zoya has a cute, innocent smile she does, and he's learned that when she's nervous or feeling something, she messes with her nails, rubbing her pointer finger against the back of her thumb. He watches her powder pink nails pick at the skin on her thumb as she tries to respond, and she jokes about a massage under the Burj Khalifa, but says they all can't have what they want. Capri calls her over toward the barbershop, and Goon quickly pulls her back, telling her she can get whatever she wants with him, searching her eyes. Her mouth won't say it, but her eyes tell him she knows. She tells him later and walks away.
Quasim is snickering behind him, and Blair kisses his lips before removing herself from his grip because Capri is calling her too. He jokes that he remembers when she had him gone like that, and she tells him no, she remembers him running from her and giving mixed signals. He tries to grab her and she backs up, and he asks if it's like that. She says she's a girl that knew what he needed before he knew it, and she applied the pressure. He asks if he didn't apply anything, and she blows him a kiss, telling him he always applies pressure. He calls "Love you, Queen," and she stops mid-skip and turns back. "Love you, King."
Goon laughs because it took a while for them to get there. It wasn't always butterflies and rainbows when it came to love. It could be, but the love worth fighting for will have you with dirt on your hands and chest exposed, because loving someone was the most vulnerable and messy act. You had to open yourself to someone even if you didn't know the outcome. He knows loving Zoya is worth the fight. She is worth the storm, and he's prepared, knowing he has his work cut out for him. He snaps his fingers in Quasim's face because Quasim is staring a hole in the back of his wife, and asks if he's straight. Quasim says he's chilling, and Goon smirks, telling him chilling looks good on him. Quasim agrees, saying shit feels nice too.
Navy has gone into the barbershop behind Zoya. Goon asks Quasim if he thinks he's got a chance with Zoya, and Quasim says yes. When Goon asks how he figures, Quasim points out that Queen had to damn near beat his chest in to snatch his heart, and this feels like that same situation. He asks what made Quasim keep running from what he wanted. Quasim explains it was guilt. It's easy to toss dirt on the coffin when you lose someone, but it's not the physical part of mourning that fucks with you, it's what comes after they're already in the ground. New grass has sprouted and covered their grave, but the shit is still raw and hard to process. It doesn't matter how much time has gone by. It feels like a lump of food you can't choke down. He felt guilty for moving on, felt like he didn't deserve happiness. Survivor's guilt is a muthafucka. Quasim has always been that person for everyone around him, visiting Goon when he was locked up, letters in the mail, sitting on the phone letting him process, never counting favors because he's built that way, the most solid man on the planet and too humble to take credit.
Goon asks if he believes that shit now. Quasim smirks and slowly nods, saying his wife and kids remind him every day how blessed he is, and that Harley put this in play for him, she wanted this for him. Goon holds out his hand, they hit the IG shake and pull each other into a hug. Quasim tells him to get his girl, that Zoya is a tough nut to crack. She's strong because she had no other choice but to be. They're stubborn but they mean well. If Anjo would have given up on him, he'd still be in that house reliving everything.
Their moment is interrupted when Alaia and Erin run out the barbershop behind their husbands. Cappadonna is running and laughing while Capone chases his brother with a barber's cape around his neck, roaring that he's going to fuck him up for zeeking his shit. Cappadonna runs every morning for fun, and Capone is in shape but isn't getting up at the crack of dawn to run. Erin yells that it's not that bad, trying to make her husband feel better, and Capone replies that he loves dolphins, irritated, while his wife tries to soothe him. Erin tells Alaia they're both fucking liars, and Alaia laughs.
Cappadonna rounds by them and stops to take a breath. When Goon accuses him of playing, Cappadonna reminds him that he lined him up in prison. Goon nods, remembering. A nigga on the block had been lining people up and fucked up Cappadonna's line up, so Cappadonna fucked him up, took his clippers, and started lining everyone up. His shit was shaky at first, but only somebody brave would complain, because complaining meant a fucked-up line up and getting your ass beat. By the time Goon made his way to his cell, Cappadonna had gotten decent, so Goon felt comfortable, prepared to take down his big ass if he fucked his shit up too. Quasim laughs and asks when the last time Capp cut hair was. Cappadonna says it's been a minute, there's so much other shit going on, and ducks when a wave brush comes flying their way. He taunts Capone that he's taking CeeCee to SeaWorld, knowing Capone wouldn't do anything like that to his daughter. Erin replies that she doesn't understand why she has to pay for what he did. Alaia stands with her legs crossed, laughing so hard she can barely breathe, and Erin is about to break into a whole lecture about the dolphins when everyone collectively hollers at her to stop. She curses them all out, mushes her husband, and goes back into the barbershop.
Cappadonna claps his hands together like he didn't just cause mayhem and asks what they're getting into tonight. He says he and Anjo need a night out, they've been on their parent shit and he needs a night with his baby. Quasim agrees, saying between Promise and the twins they ain't did shit. Cappadonna looks across the street and winks at his wife, who blushes, and asks if he's talking about her. "Always, Joy," he replies. Havoc exits the barbershop laughing, and Capone hollers out the door for her to tell his ass fuck you in sign language. They all bust out laughing when Havoc does the sign before Alaia closes the door. Cappadonna says he's just trying to chill with wifey and not blow a nigga's head off, and suggests a pool party at Quasim's lake house since his pool is bigger. Quasim shrugs, ready for whatever.
Goon looks down at a text message that comes across his screen. It's from Sharon: Inez left earlier and hasn't come back. She left her phone this time and money is missing from her wallet. He shakes his head and slips his phone back into his pocket, knowing he isn't going to chill tonight. He tells the group some shit just came up, but to turn the fuck up. They all hit the IG shake, and both men know it's some personal shit. Quasim tells him to hit him when he's good, and Goon says bet. He looks toward the barbershop where Zoya is showing Ryder that her dog knows how to give paw, and calls out to her that he'll see her. She asks if he's leaving already, and he says yeah, some shit he needs to take care of. She doesn't look convinced but quickly checks herself from caring too much, telling him cool, see him later. He could have corrected it, told her why he was leaving, but they aren't there yet. In due time, he'll be able to open up to his baby and show her what his life is really about.
