He slowly shook his head. “Yo’ ass need to slow down before you catch something you can’t get rid of, whether that’s an STD or a baby. Which . . . your mama and I got the fever. Shawn has ten grandkids, if you include Christopher’s two.”
Before I could respond, he said, “Chloe has a kid. Brian and Cooper are the only ones that don’t have kids, besides you. That don’t matter though, because their parents still have grandkids.”
I rolled my eyes. I swore, these two needed Ibuprofen or Tylenol for those fevers. Putting myself in their shoes, I had to admit that it would be something I would be looking forward to also if I had kids as old as me. I was already thirty-four. Most men my age had at least one kid. Hell, except my cousin, Brian. That nigga was probably over forty now and didn’t have any. The difference between him and me was that he wanted a family and hadbeenwanting one. I didn’t. At least I didn’t used to. That seemed to be changing somewhat.
“When you find the right one, your entire perspective on life changes. I didn’t know your mom couldn’t have children until after we were engaged. She didn’t tell me until after Serita had Kyla. She could see the longing in my eyes whenever I held her. I thought her withholding that from me for so long would tear us apart. We separated for a little while. It didn’t take too long for me to realize life wasn’t shit without her.”
“I never saw myself settling down. I thought I would end up an old playa.” I laughed, and he did too. Lowering my head, staring at my phone, I said, “She’s making me think differently, but ain’t no way I’m finna tell her that shit. She’s ten years younger than me. Too much time around her would probably wear my nerves thin.”
My dad laughed. “Only one way to find out.”
He was right. Arlie was a beautiful woman, and her pussy was magic. There was no way I could let her completely walk out of my life. I didn’t know how I would keep her without stayingtrue to who I was though. I opened our text thread and held my thumb over Kimaji’s phone number. Instead of calling, I opted to text her.
Hey. It’s Graham. Can we talk when I get back to Houston?
“I just texted Kimaji. Does Mama know what her mother looks like?”
“Yeeees!” my mama yelled from the kitchen.
“I knew yo’ ass was listening to our conversation! Ain’t shit private around you!”
My dad laughed loudly as Mama came where we were and dove on me. I swore she always thought she could handle me until I pinned her down. Everything made sense on why they spoiled me, especially Mama. She not only felt bad for me, but she probably felt bad for my bio mom. Once she wore herself out, I asked, “Did she ever ask to see me?”
“No. She didn’t want to make things more difficult for her.”
I nodded as my phone vibrated. I grabbed it from the couch to see Kimaji had responded.
Hey! Absolutely. I’m so glad you changed your mind.
I’ll be back day after tomorrow. I’ll call you when I leave Beaumont.
Okay. Thank you, Graham.
I turned to my mama, and said, “I’m going to meet her when I get back to Houston.”
“Who?”
“Kimaji. The woman who says she’s my sister.”
“Okay. I think that’s good, baby. Will you want to meet your umm . . . your mother?”
“I already know my mother. I don’t know if I will meethermother or not. She may have given birth to me, but it was you who ruined me with love.”
I started tickling her to get her playfulness back to the forefront. She was about to be sad, probably thinking she wouldget pushed to the back burner. There was no way I would forget about who raised me.
“Shit, ruined ain’t the word. I almost fucked you up for life. Y’all come eat.”
I smiled and nodded repeatedly as she stood from the couch, knowing that I was blessed with the parents I was supposed to have, despite whose genes were included in my makeup. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any drama when I met Kimaji. If there was, I would disappear just as quickly as I reappeared.
“I’m so nervous.Thanks for coming with me before your flight.”
I nodded at Kimaji. Graham probably wouldn’t want me to be a part of their conversation, but I knew I had to be near for my girl. He hadn’t reached out and neither had I. I knew he had been in Beaumont with his people. He’d told Kimaji as much. I just hoped he would have been thinking about me the way I’d been thinking about him. He said I was his . . . while I knew he meant sexually, it just felt like he meant more.
Hopefully, he would show up on time. I had to be at the airport in a couple of hours to fly to Baltimore to meet with Noah and his team. He was moving quick as hell. We just had a Zoom meeting yesterday. I hadn’t heard a peep from my record label . . . nothing about any more bookings or even recording the next album. My contract was for three albums, and I’d only done two so far.
When I saw a Range Rover pull into the lot of Kindred Stories, I knew it was him. We chose here to meet, since Kimaji wanted to pick up a couple of books. She loved to read, especially urban romance. The door opened, and he got out wearing a black sweatsuit. It was somewhat chilly in Houston today, only in the sixties.
“He’s here, Arlie.”
