Page 93
As much as she got on my nerves, I knew I was blessed to have a friend like Xi to help me sort out my brain when things became too foggy for me to navigate. After finishing my message to my mom, I tossed my phone aside and picked up my notebook to fine-tune my song for the showcase until it was time to meet up with her and deal with our problems.
“Well, well,” my mother stood, hugging me as I planted a kiss on her cheek. “It’s good to see you. I wasn’t sure you would show up.”
“I texted you back and told you I would.”
“I know, but, well—anyway. How are you?” she inquired as I sank into the chair across from her.
“I’m cool. No complaints. What about you?”
“Son,” she started, but our server was right on time and appeared quickly to ask what we needed. Since I wasn’t sure what direction our conversation was going, I went ahead and ordered my food just in case I needed to take it to go and get the hell out of dodge.
“Jamie, I know you’re upset with me,” my mom continued once we were alone again. “And you have every right to be. I misjudged Nyx and completely overstepped my boundaries.”
My mother was a straight shooter, so it wasn’t surprising to hear her own her shit. The timing was what was fishy.
“You had a change of heart quickly.”
“I can’t reveal all the details, but you were right about her, and I was wrong. That’s all that matters. I shouldn’t have spoken to her that way.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” I agreed. “But that’s my fault because, for years, I’ve allowed you to butt into my life however you wanted without setting that boundary. Judah and I talked not too long ago, and he pointed out that I’ve been so stuck on my issues with Pop that I’ve never addressed ours. I love you, Ma. But when it comes to certain things, you’re just as bad as he is.”
“Now, Jamie—”
“No, Ma. It’s my turn to talk. For years, you’ve been inserting yourself in my life, popping up at my house when you feel like it, and giving me unsolicited advice about what I should or shouldn’t do. I know your heart is in the right place, but you’re going to have to learn how to ease up a bit. I’m not a child. I’m a grown man with my own life. If I need your help or advice, I’ll ask for it. And I don’t mind you dropping by, but I need you to start giving me a heads-up first.”
“I wasn’t aware I was smothering you.”
I couldn’t read her tone, so I wasn’t sure if she was upset or not, but either way, it didn’t matter.
“I’m not saying you’re smothering me, but the same way Pop doesn’t know what to do with himself now that you two have separated, you don’t either. Your time is split between work, Judah, and me because you have nothing else to do with yourself. But we’re adults. We still need you, but not as much as we used to. You need to ease up a little bit. Find a hobby, or something that makes you happy other than us.”
“Hmm,” she hummed, straightening her shoulders. “I never thought the day would come when I’d hear those words from your lips.”
“Well, whether you thought it would come or not, it’s here. I’m your child, but I’m my own person.”
“I understand that, Jamie. And maybe I have been invading you and Judah’s personal space too much lately without realizing it. I’m sorry. If backing off is what keeps my relationship with you intact, I’m committed to at least trying to do that. I can’t promise it’ll happen overnight. I’ve raised you for over thirty-plus years.”
“Then you should trust who I’ve grown to be,” I countered. “And have faith in my decisions. The way you spoke about Nyx pissed me off because I’ve spent months getting to know her. She went from being guarded to finally letting me glimpse damn near every part of her, and by being judgmental, you shattered that and all the self-confidence she’s managed to snatch back from the lame-ass nigga who robbed her of it.”
“I’m aware,” my mom appeared genuinely remorseful, which made me ease up on her a bit. “Trust me, if I could go back in time and handle things differently, I would.”
“Ain’t nothing you can do about the past except learn from it moving forward. I know your job shapes how you view the world, but being paid to prosecute people in court doesn’t give you free rein to do so outside of the courthouse.”
“I hear you, son. I do. Okay? And I’ve apologized to Nyx as well and promised her that if you two fix things, I won’t get in the way.”
“Thank you for that.”
“You don’t have to thank me. It’s the least I could do for screwing everything up in the first place. And for what it’s worth, I hope you two are able to fix it, Jamie.”
“Me too, Ma. Me too.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
NYX
I’d had more than enough time for things to settle, and I still couldn’t believe all the drama with Shane and Nina was finally over. I had to pinch myself at times to even convince myself it was real.
“I’d just like to say, I’m so glad we’re able to finally put the foolishness that’s been plaguing our family for the past few months to rest,” my mother said, placing the last baking dish on the table. “Now, my baby girl can start over without such a dark cloud hovering over her head.”
