I look into Remi-Blu's eyes, I don't know how much we should tell them. I wait for her to give me some type of signal when I notice she nods her head. I smile at her and kiss her lips. Just a quick kiss. I realize we have four sets of eyes on us and they are waiting. I am going to give them answers but I'm not going to make this shit easy for them.

Taking my attention away from Remi I begin "Well, is there anything you would like to share Dad?" I wait patiently trying not to smirk as I wait for my father to answer me. He glances at my mother and Remi's parents.

Our mothers are strangely quiet. I can tell my father doesn't know what to say so I decided to lighten the mood.

"I am shocked to hear about the life you once led" I smirk as I watch my father look to Mr. Baptiste for backup. Mr. Baptiste covers his smile with his hand to hide his smile.

"What is there to say if you already know." My father says, "Maybe apologize for being a hypocrite." I say to my father "Esteban Gabriel Navarro" My mother looks at me with the don't mess with my husband's face.

"What Mom, he gave me hell for living reckless" I make air quotations "but I hadn't done half of what-" I'm ready to go off when Remi puts her hands over my mouth

"Shh" to stop my rant.

"What My Love is trying to say is there are a lot of things we want to share with our parents but we want to know if this is a step in bringing our families together or just our parents waiting to judge us? Remi was definitely in her Zador mode

"Of course we want to bring our families closer together" my mother says, giving my dad a look letting him know he better not say anything to set me off again. My father pats her knee to let her know he heard what she said.

"We are not going to judge you, we want to know what our children have been so busy doing that it kept you from your family" Mrs. Baptiste looks close to tears as she looks at Remi.

"They have been up to great things" Estefania adds in reminding us all that she was in the room. I smile at her and she always sticks up for me. I decided to share the things that concerned me before I went to prison and since I have been home.

"I don't mind sharing, because I don't care if you judge me or not." I give my father a pointed look but remain silent. "First I want to make sure you all understand that Tina and Divorced before my trial ended and I didn't meet Remi until the following January."

I look at all the parents making sure I make eye contact with each one. The parents nod their heads. I turn to check on Remi and she has a neutral look on her face. She had slipped on her Remi-Blu armor. She is okay so I continue.

"I did go to prison, but I wasn't guilty of all the charges." I focus on my father "Like it said in the news I was charged with murder and illegal distribution of

firearms and a few other things. But I didn't kill anyone" I explained to my father that I took responsibility because my product, the bullet, was found and the scene was traced back to my gun and ammunition business. So I took responsibility for it so I could protect my crew's reputation. " So I didn't pull the trigger but like any great Commander I protected my crew." Mr. Baptiste nods his head in approval

" I am not innocent, I have lived recklessly, I admit that. I was young and felt invincible, I have the strongest crew in Miami no on the East Coast" Remi turns and looks at me, I know she thinks her crew The Force de Femmes are, and they might be because all those women have the ability to move like Ninja's and play your mind like a Jedi. Plus her security team knows how to stop a threat with or without a weapon.

"Before I went to prison I had started the process of legitimizing my business-"

"Estelia's was the first legitimate business Ban started" Estefania added with pride and enthusiasm.

"Estelia's was the first, Fania named in honor of Mom, it is and has always been 100 percent legit" My mother smiles at that.

"I also purchased real estate and remodeled this building"

"You own this building?" my father asked looking skeptical

"Yes it is The Navarro building " I try not to sound too rude but I know he saw the name on the building.

" I own a few other buildings and -"

" He owns the building that Estelia's is in and he owns a coffee shop and he owns a big ass y-" Estefania jumps in again to let my parents know I have been doing good things. "And a few more things" I add, cutting Estefania off before she mentions the Yacht. That would lead to too many questions.

The air in the room is lighter, the vibe has improved, our parents are actually listening to what we are saying. Estefania gets up " I am going to have the chef serve lunch in here" she leaves the room to give the chef and staff instructions for lunch.

"Esteban, we didn't think you were a bad man, nor did we think you were involved in anything.." my mother searches for the right words, I know she doesn't want to offend me but my father doesn't give a damn.

" No, we didn't think you were a bad man or a criminal, let alone a Commander!" My father takes a breath to calm himself down and continues in a calmer tone "we thought you were a spoiled brat living off the money provided by your parents to start a good life" he seems proud of himself for not yelling and it makes me laugh.

"You will be happy to know I haven't touched that money, not a dollar nor a cent." I say somewhat smugly and for the first time this afternoon my father looks impressed. But because I just can't let it be, I add " I can transfer it back to you if you like" just as I expected my father's expression to change before he can speak . " Gabriel watch your damn mouth, Commander or not I will not allow any disrespect!" my mothers comments take away some of the smugness as I can hear the other parents agree with her, and Remi gives me a disapproving look.

Getting the conversation back on topic Mrs. Baptiste ask ( Exactly how did you become a commander and how did you convince my daughter to marry you knowing you were going to jail" I know she really wants to know to make this make sense.

"Remi do-" I try and ask if she want to tell about how I convinced her

"No, My Mommy asked you," she smiles. I know she is loving this

"Well the first time we met I knew that I wanted her to be my wife, it was a feeling I can't describe I just knew we would end up together" I start the story with how I felt when I met her the second time.

"We had a real connection and I don't think either of us was willing to let it go?" and that is the truth. Remi said she was looking for me to let me have it, but I know if she would have found me I wouldn't have let her go, and I spent almost four years dreaming of her without knowing it. I felt Remi squeezed my hand, and then she raised my hand to her lips and kissed it. And that is why I love this woman, she loves me openly and completely .

The chef and staff have come in and set up the table trays and served lunch, we begin to eat after my father says a prayer. I think we are going to be alright. We will just have to tell them about Estebana and Remi.

"Dominica, you've been quiet, did you know why Esteban was going away or about him being a Commander?" My mother asked Remi and put her fork down waiting for an answer. I could hear the pause while they waited for Remi to answer.

"I didn't know he was a Commander but I knew he was apart of the Culture and no I didn't know what the charges were when I agreed to marry him, it didn't matter to me" I know that was the truth, Remi decided before Estebana was born that we would be a family.

"That is a risky thing to do" Mr. Baptiste comments, Remi sucked her teeth in response.

" No riskier than sending me off to marry a stranger" Remi said but before Mr. Baptiste could respond Mrs. Baptiste asked

"Dominica, how do you feel about being a part of the Culture and living that life? Because I can tell you it will not be easy" my mother murmurs her agreement with Mrs. Baptiste.

"We just got Dominica back, that lifestyle is so dangerous" Mrs. Baptiste adds

"I'm okay with it and I feel safe even with the dangerous elements" Remi tells our parents and sips her drink while giving me a side eye.

I look at Remi and speak where only she can hear ''Do you want to share why we are safe?" She looks at me with so much trust and says something that really surprises me. "In this house you are the head, I'll follow your lead" she smiles at me, I can't resist and kiss her forehead.

"Do you all keep up with Culture news? "I ask our parents

"No, after what happened to our son, I vowed to leave the culture all together," Mr Baptiste said.

"Once we left we left it in the past" My fathers says.

" The Culture started to change right when I was going away. In the four years I've been gone things have changed for the better." I have our parents' full attention. I am glad that lunch is over because once I tell them the rest they may have choked.

"What type of changes?" My father asked.

"It's more organized, each crew can be an official part of the culture only if they abide by the "Book of Codes" I explain. "The Book of Codes" Mr. Baptiste asked.

"Well let me back up some, it all started about five years ago, when the Parlay system was introduced to all the East coast Crews. I attended the first meeting before I went to prison. There have been major changes to the culture in the time I've been gone."

"Myself and other Commanders are transitioning to legitimate businesses, we are moving away from that Gangster narrative" I look around the room to gauge their reactions.

"I can't believe that there was someone brave enough to bring the Zador and parlay system back" Mr. Baptistes tells my father. " "Brave or respected enough to hold the position for five years. Times really have changed." my father responds.

"So the new Zador is a former Commander? The last time there was a Zador he disappeared.?" My mother shivered as if the thought sent chills through her.

"How was Zador chosen and who is he?" My father asked

"The Zador is the person who initiated the bringing of the system back. And we just found out who they were two weeks ago at a special event" I could tell our parents were anxious to know that it wasn't me, they were not prepared for the answer they received.

Pausing to increase the dramatic effect I told them " Remi-Blu is the Zador".

I could hear Estefania crunching her ice. It was so quiet. I waited for our parents to process the information.

Simultaneously our parents responded "Remi-Blu?". Then questions were fired so quickly that we waited for them to stop before we spoke again.

Looking at Remi I told her " I think this is your story to tell our parents."

She agreed.