Page 40 of Buy Back My Love

I laughed. “You survived.”

“Barely.”

“You got everything unpacked yet?” I asked her.

Before she could answer, the woman jumped right back into the conversation. “Unpacked? Her house so empty you could hear a mouse piss on cotton. We saw the estate-sale signs in the neighborhood and came over here hoping we could find some nice what-nots for it.”

“Mama!” Leona looked at her like she couldn’t believe she had said that in front of everybody.

I smiled. “I put the signs up yesterday. Glad somebody actually noticed them.”

Leona shook her head and reached into her purse, but Skye stepped closer before she could get her money out.

“I love your lashes. Who did them?”

“A girl named Shawni,” Leona answered. “She works in a private suite off Azalea.”

“My baby look good, don’t she?” her mama asked, looking directly at me.

Leona’s head snapped toward her. “Mama.”

I looked at Leona anyway. “Yeah, she does.”

“And she single.”

“Mama, no I’m not.”

Her mother waved her off like she hadn’t heard a word she said. “Trust me, son. She is.” Then she looked at Leona. “Pay the man so we can go… and see if your new man will carry these damn lamps to the car.”

“Mama, please.”

I laughed and picked up both lamps before Leona could argue with her anymore. She paid my dad, then followed me outside toward her car while her mother went ahead of us.

“Please excuse my mama,” Leona said as she popped the trunk. “She don’t know how to act.”

“It’s cool.” I set the lamps inside carefully. “I like people who are blunt.”

“She makes me want to smoke a blunt.”

I laughed, and Leona did too. Her mama had already gotten into the passenger seat, but apparently that wasn’t far enough away to keep her out of our conversation.

“Go on and schedule a date!” she yelled through the open window. “We need to hit Hobby Lobby. We ain’t got time for y’all to be out here courting.”

Leona closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. “See what I mean?”

I was still laughing when I looked back at her. “So you do have a man?”

Her smile faded a little, and she looked down before answering me. “It’s complicated.”

I nodded. At least she was honest about it. “Well, if it ever gets uncomplicated, let me know. I’d like to take you to dinner.”

Leona looked at me for a second, but she didn’t say yes or no. I wasn’t about to press her either. If she had somebody, complicated or not, that was enough for me to leave it where it was.

I walked around and opened the driver’s door for her. She looked at the door, then back at me. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Leona got in, and I closed the door behind her before stepping away from the car. A few seconds later, she backed out of the driveway and headed down the road.