Page 22

“They got to eat breakfast first and then we can go. Y’all both might as well stay and eat. I’m sure the kids would love to see us all sitting together,” Kyenna said.

Shameek looked at me and I looked at him.

“Sis, you cooked?” he asked her.

“I did. Why are you saying it like that?” Kyenna said.

“It’s just that you didn’t have to. You could’ve called your chef.”

“Rah is not here anymore. It’s just me. I’m not calling a chef to cook some pancakes and sausages. Let alone cut some fruit up. Now are you going to stay and eat or what?”

“Hell yeah, it’s a free meal,” he said.

“I can’t stay. I have an appointment that I can’t miss,” I told them. “Next time, though for sure.”

“Okay,” Kyenna said.

I sat my glass down and walked out the door without telling the kids bye. We had just made amends, but Shameek triggered me all over again. The family was closer to her than they were with me. Shameek and I were always cool; it was nothing like what she received. It was going to take me some time and before I let another woman see envy in my eyes, I’ll remove myself. I drove myself back home and got in bed. See, my life revolved around my children and work. Since Rah, there hadn’t been another man. No one could compare to him even if they tried. Rah had been dead for two weeks and I still couldn’t get our last conversation out of my head. I spent days in a trance thinking about him.

“Averie, you gotta chill foreal. I told you I fucked up cheatin’ on my wife wit’ Raya. I’ll never do that shit again. Why can’t you get out and go date or some shit? Every time I come to get the kids, you be on my dick. We be doin’ good and then you have a brain lapse or some shit.”

I hated when he rejected me. It only made me hate Kyenna more because what the fuck was it? Besides her loyalty. She was pretty and so was I. There was no way her pussy was that good because the bitch hadn't had any of Rah’s kids. My mama said as long as a nigga lay with you, you got a chance. I guess that’s why she kept fighting all the women off my daddy. That trick didn’t work for me. My ringing phone annoyed me for some reason. When my kids were home, I kept it on do not disturb.

“Hello.”

“What are you doing, girl? Want to go to the bar and have a drink?” my mama asked.

“Mama, I’m not really up for going out.”

“Averie, how do you ever expect to find another man? Rah is never coming back. Hell, when he was alive, he did not want you.”

“Really, Mama?”

“Baby, it’s not to hurt your feelings. I just need you to wake up and live in reality. You’ve waited on that man until his death. It’s time to live again, baby.”

“Give me a few hours, and I’ll swing by and get you. And mama, please refrain from getting too intoxicated. I’m not in the mood for you and all your male friends surrounding us at the bar.”

“Girl, get out that bed and get dressed.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours.”

My mama had me at sixteen years old. We grew up more like sisters than mother and daughter. Sometimes I enjoyed it because she could relate to me. Other times, I hated it. She would sleep with men my age and it was disgusting. We could never go out and she wasn’t showing so much skin that I made sure to keep something to go across her legs when we went out. You would look at me and wonder how she raised such a wholesome woman. I did it on my own. The only thing I took from her was begging a man to stay with me that didn’t want me.

Hours later, I pulled up in my mama’s driveway and she walked out with shorts so tight that they split her pussy lips. At fifty, she was fine. As her daughter, I just wanted her to dress her age just a little bit. She could still be in fashion without catching a yeast infection in the process.

“What do you have on?” she asked.

“What’s wrong with what I have on?” I asked her.

“We’re going to a bar, Averie. Why are you wearing jeans and a crop top?”

“Because I’m dressed appropriately and comfortably. Why are you dressed in those tight shorts splitting you like the Red Sea?”

“Oh, girl, please.”

We arrived at District 12. This was our favorite spot. It had some of the best wings and truffle fries. We’re not even going to get on the drinks and DJ. By the time I paid valet and we got in line, my mama was already finessing our way to the front of the line. Being her daughter came with its benefits and this was one of them. Instead of waiting in line, we walked in with one of the nightshift bartenders. The bass shook the walls as we walked in. The smell of hookah was loud but not louder than the cleanliness of the building. The TVs were lined up around the building, showing everything from sports, reality TV, to news. Women stood around the high-top tables taking pictures and dancing.

“Can we get four double shots of Tequila,” my mama said before her ass hit the seat.