Page 5

“Damn.”

My mama and daddy had really done their thing. White, lavender, and silver balloons covered the wall ahead of me, mixed with different shades of purple and chrome accents. Right in the center, big silver letters spelled out:

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, SHAKAYLEN!

A long table sat beneath it, covered in white linen with purple floral arrangements, candles, and silver accents running down the middle. A smaller setup off to the side held my cake and desserts, while pictures of me from different stages of my life were scattered throughout the room.

I spotted one from elementary school and immediately shook my head. Hell nah.

They had really pulled out the embarrassing shit. My smile only grew as I walked farther inside.

For something that was supposed to be a small dinner with my family, they had made sure it felt like more.

And I loved every bit of it.

My mother walked up beside me with a huge smile on her face before wrapping her arms around me.

If there was one thing nobody could deny, it was that I was this woman's child. My mother and I looked so much alike that people constantly called us twins. And when Lha’Kayla was with us, you might as well have called our asses triplets. All three of us had the same warm brown complexion, similar shapes, and those unreal eyes that came straight from our mama's side of the family.

People who didn't know us had a hard time believing she was our mother. Half the time, they swore we were three sisters, and my mama ate that shit up every single time.

“Happy birthday, baby girl,” she said, pulling back to look at me.

“Thank you, Mommie.” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, baby. And look at you.” Her eyes traveled over my dress before she nodded approvingly. “You look good. I like this dress.”

“Thank you.”

Instead of saying anything else, she pulled me into another hug and squeezed me even tighter.

I laughed. “Okay, Mommie. You’re squeezing the life out of me now.”

“I don’t care. It’s my baby’s birthday. You are growing up on me so fast.”

I shook my head, but my smile never left my face. I loved the hell out of my mother. We were close enough that I could talk to her about almost anything, although there were still certain things that were reserved for Lha’Kayla’s ears only. My mama knew enough. She didn’t need to know everything. Some shit you just didn’t tell your mama.

When she finally released me, she led me toward the table where my Daddy was already sitting.

The moment I saw him, my smile slipped a little.

He smiled when our eyes met, but something didn't sit right with me. It wasn't his normal smile. It barely reached his eyes, and the way his fingers kept moving around the glass in front of him told me his mind was somewhere else.

My daddy wasn't the type to come right out and tell you when something was bothering him either. He'd hold shit in until he was ready to deal with it himself. My mama could ask him a hundred times what was wrong, and he'd tell her nothing a hundred and one times.

“Hey, Daddy.” I leaned down and wrapped my arms around him.

“Hey, baby girl.” He hugged me back before giving me another one of those small smiles.

I pulled away but didn’t move right away. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, baby girl.” He nodded and reached for his glass. “Everything’s fine.”

I studied him for another second. It didn’t feel fine, but I knew my father well enough to know that pushing him wasn’t going to get me anywhere. If something was bothering him, he’d tell me whenever he was ready. Besides, tonight was supposed to be about me enjoying my birthday, and I wasn’t about to spend the whole dinner worrying about something he claimed wasn’t wrong.

Once I took my seat, I looked across the table at Lha’Kayla. She was already grinning from ear to ear, and I knew that big-head bitch was about to say some slick shit before she even opened her mouth.

“About damn time you showed up.” She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Shit, a bitch is hungry, and yo’ ass took forever to get here.”