Page 106 of Buy Back My Love

I looked him over too before I could help myself. White graphic tee, tan pants with black crosses running down the legs, black Chucks, chains at his neck. Simple, but it looked good on him, especially with all them tattoos showing down his arms.

“You don’t look bad yourself.”

His smile widened. “Oh, so you been looking?”

“Don’t push it.”

Before he could come back with something else, Nina yelled my name from the bottom of the stairs.

“LEE!”

Her head popped around the corner. “Come on! We finna go. Melissa found the next spot.”

I looked back at Van. “Duty calls.”

“Go have fun.”

“I was already having fun.”

“I can tell.”

I pointed at him as I started toward the stairs. “And stop following me.”

Van laughed. “You keep showing up where I’m at.”

“Boy, bye.”

I made it back downstairs, and Anika grabbed my arm almost as soon as she saw me.

“What y’all talk about?”

“Nothing.”

Nina looked at me. “That was a long nothing.”

“Mind your business.”

Anika lifted her drink. “I’m still watching y’all.”

“You need water.”

She ignored me and grabbed my hand instead. Princess grabbed hers, and the seven of us spilled back out onto Bourbon with Melissa trying to keep everybody headed in the same direction.

Lee

This was my first Thanksgiving free in five years, and damn near everything about it looked different from the last one I remembered.

Before I went away, Thanksgiving was always at Grandma Gwen’s house. Didn’t matter who was mad at who, who had a new boyfriend, or who swore they weren’t coming that year. By the time dinner was ready, everybody ended up at Grandma’s.

She passed during my second year inside. I still remembered getting that call on one of them hard plastic phones and trying not to lose it with everybody around me. I couldn’t even go somewhere by myself and cry. Missing her funeral was one of the hardest parts of those five years, and I had spent so much time thinking about my first Thanksgiving home that I never really let myself think about the fact Grandma Gwen wouldn’t be here for it.

I missed her bad, but I was still happy as hell to be home.

This year, Thanksgiving was at the house Anika and Trevon had just bought out in Semmes. Thanksgiving and a housewarming all in one because apparently my little sister was grown-grown now.

The place was packed. On our side there was Mama, me, Anika, Mama’s sister Aunt Josie, her husband Uncle Melvin, Melissa, and Melissa’s brother MJ. Trevon’s people filled in the rest, with his mama already elbow-deep in the kitchen helping out, relatives crowded around the football game, and cousins and kids running in and out the back door. Trevon kept getting pulled in five different directions trying to host everybody, but he ain’t seem bothered by it.

Mama had been watching Anika all day. Every time somebody complimented the house or told her dinner smelled good, Mama got this proud little look on her face like she wanted to remind everybody she had raised her.