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“That’s an awful nickname,” Anthony chuckled, finally giving in to Nori.
“Tell me about it. It’s a source of contention, but Casey won’t let up. Grant will always be his Granny.”
I felt tugging at my pant leg. “Mr. Jonathan, can I play on the trampoline?”
“I want to say yes, but I need to ask your mother first. She may think it’s too dangerous.”
Kiyah blinked at me owlishly before grinning. “Mr. Jonathan, I ride on motorcycles.”
I blushed from being told off by a three-year-old.
“I think she got you there, Jon,” Anthony laughed.
“I’m sure it’s fine, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Where is your mother?”
“She’s crying,” Kiyah answered casually.
“Crying? Why?”
“She always cries,” she responded honestly.
“Okay. Go have fun on the trampoline.”
“Yay!” she shrieked before launching herself off the deck.
“I feel so bad for them,” Simone sighed as she wrangled Nori from her father.
“Yeah, losing a spouse is gruesome,” Anthony weighed in as Simone sympathetically rubbed his shoulder. I witnessed firsthand what losing a spouse was like and how grief could consume someone. I was there for Anthony from the very beginning. I was there when he showed up at my house in the middle of the night sobbing after they received Jane’s prognosis, and I was also there when she died peacefully at the hospital. Planning Jane’s funeral proved difficult. Anthony was of no help; she was conceived due to a one-night stand and never knew her father, and she was estranged from her mother like Heaven and Hell. I was left doing most of the arrangements. The first year after Jane’s death was…trying. Anthony was never much of an outgoing people person, and to see him completely withdraw like a hermit crab and drink himself into a stupor was gut-wrenching. As time passed, Anthony slowly returned to his old self again as he embraced therapy; however, his grief stillclung to him like the smell of a fast-food burger joint. I did as much as I could for Anthony as his friend, but it wasn’t until Nori and Simone entered his life that he smiled again.
“You should talk to her,” Simone suggested.
“And do what? Start a widow/widower club?” Anthony asked in disbelief.
Simone clucked her tongue disapprovingly. “I’m just saying that it might help her out knowing she isn’t alone.”
“If she wants to talk, I’m here, but I won’t approach her. She’s been a widow for six months. Trust me. That shit feels like it happened yesterday.”
“Jesus…I wonder how Kiyah is handling all of this,” Simone mumbled.
“Anthony, will you watch the grill? I’m going to check on Kierra.”
“No problem. You don’t know what you’re doing anyway,” he joked, taking the surrendered tongs from me. I rolled my eyes and made a beeline to the downstairs powder room, where I heard muffled sobs through the door. I knocked softly.
“Kierra?”
She sputtered and choked as she tried to find the words. “Yep,” she finally answered after blowing her nose.
“I just wanted to let you know that Kiyah is outside playing with the kids on the trampoline. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine…I’m sure a trampoline is safer than a motorcycle.”
“Kiyah said something along those lines. She’s a brilliant girl.”
“She is,” she agreed. “I’m lucky to have her.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
