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“Yes, you did. You must be Quest,” she smiled.
“Yes, ma’am. Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand, but she frowned in a way that slightly made him nervous. I found it funny because he was talking all that shit, and two seconds into the visit, he was shaken. It just spoke to the way Quest was raised. I smiled, thinking about watching him raise our kids the same way.
“We do hugs in this family.” Aunt Xora explained, not waiting for him to respond.
“I thought I heard you,” Hailo entered the kitchen with Christian clinging to her hip.
“Nice of you to join us, boo.”
“Stop being dramatic. I told you I was coming.” Taking Christian from her arms, I held him in the air because I knew it would make him smile.
“Your dad would like to see you,” Uncle Ross said, ruining my mood.
My eyes found Quest because he was my safe place no matter what room I was in. The subtle tilt of his head urging me to comply made me roll my eyes.
“I’ll take good care of Quest.” Hailo volunteered, taking Christian back and smiling at him.
“Oh, we’re cool now?” Quest asked.
“As long as you do right by my girl,” Hailo declared, but I had already given him the scoop on Lo, so he didn’t take her response any kind of way.
“Then we’re great,” Quest replied, smiling at me.
Uncle Ross placed his arm around my neck and guided me down the hallway.
“Why do I need to speak to him?” I asked because I had no intention of conversing with my parents or Tyson outside of the usual pleasantries.
“He’s your father.”
“Is he?” I asked, peering up at the man who had dried my tears more than my own father.
“Nobody knows more about my brother’s demons than me. Sol, he’s made a lot of mistakes, but we all have. We’re all trying to grow and be better.”
That might’ve been true for some family members, but I didn’t see that for my parents. I didn’t turn around when he pushed the door open out of respect for my Uncle and his good intentions.
“Look who made it to dinner,” Uncle Ross announced.
“Solana,” my father turned around, shock written all over his face. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting it, but the way his eyes glossed as he stood up suggested maybe there was hope after all. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Nice to see you too.”
“Quest is in the living room with everybody else.” Uncle Ross’s words shifted the energy.
“Quest is here too, huh?”
It wasn’t what Dad said but how he said it that caused my feet to move into a defensive stance.
“Everybody else’s spouse is here. Why wouldn’t I bring him?” I asked.
He didn’t get a chance to respond because Mom came strolling in the door with a drink in each hand.
“Oh, I didn’t see you come in.” I could tell the way Mom was grinning that she was drunk. I was often the one left to care for her, so I knew the look well.
“You sure you need that?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Hi, Solana. It’s always a pleasure to see you.” Her sarcasm laced words caused me to shake my head.
“Hi, Mom,” I sighed, crossing my arms.
