I called Hopeton as soon as I turned onto Eastern Parkway.
“Bredren,” was his greeting.
“Yo, where you at?”
“At home.”
“Okay, I’m heading to you from the airport. Gotta drop the truck off. You need anything?”
“Grab me a goat roti if De Hot Pot has any left.”
“You got it.”
About half an hour later, I showed up at Hopeton’s with the rotis. We ate in his big kitchen. I had a lot to catch him up on.
“Goat roti extra pepper sauce, small corn soup, banana Solo for you,” I said, placing the food in front of Hopeton.
“Goat roti extra pepper sauce, side of plantains, bottle of water for me,” I said, sitting down. For some reason, I always announced the orders when laying out food. It was just one of my many random quirks.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Hopeton, who knew exactly why I was there, asked.
“C’mon, now,” I replied. “I’m coming to you from JFK. You know exactly why I’m here.”
“Okay, okay,” Hopeton laughed. “I’ll ease off. How was your weekend?”
I shook my head, like I couldn’t even explain how mind blowing it was.
“That good?” Hopeton asked.
“Yeah. That good. This girl is incredible. I feel like a ninth grader.”
“Did you bring her to Bed Stuy?”
“Yep. But her homegirl and her homegirl’s new man came with us, so the pressure was off.”
Hopeton gave me a thumbs up and said, “That’s a good thing. No sense in rushing it. I’m sure your parents loved her.”
I told him they did. “My mother was thrilled that the first girl I’ve ever brought home is from Cap Haitien.”
“Sounds like you’re making up for lost time,” Hopeton noted.
“Well, we’ll see,” I replied. “This may not go anywhere- the whole set-up is twò konplike. But at least it lets me know that I am indeed human.”
“Yeah, capable of romantic feelings,” Hopeton agreed. “I’m happy to know that- I was worried for you.”
I gave him the finger and changed the subject to something innocuous.
“How ‘bout them Mets?”
Hopeton and I barely talked about the dinner at Bobo. At this point, Mundo and his manipulations had become little more than white noise. Just as Mr. Henriques had predicted.
