I sat there speechless.
Nika picked up her fork, looked at it, and twisted the fork from side to side. “Girl, this is some nice dinnerware too. Rich shit. It’s giving take-a-dump-on-a-gold-toilet-and-wipe-my-ass-with-hundreds.”
At that moment, Reo stopped eating his cheese and grits, tilted his head to the side, and watched Nika. I wasn’t sure if he was stunned or curious.
With her fork, Nika pointed at the flowers in front of her. “And these centerpieces are dope as fuck. I’ve got dibs on these two in front of me. Nobody take them.”
She pointed her fork at Hiro and then Kenji who both stared at her in shock. “They’re mine and I’m serious about that shit.”
I blinked. “First of all, you’renottaking the centerpieces—”
“Why not?” She snapped her view to me. “You can take them at weddings. This party is sort of like that—”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to do that at weddings either.”
“Shit, Nyomi. Every time I go to weddings I take a couple centerpieces, bring them home, take the flowers out of it, wash any glitter and whatnot off the petals, air them out, and then the next day sell the flowers to the flower shop for a little something. I get a couple coins but every cent counts.”
“They probably think you’re homeless and are being nice by giving you a couple quarters here and there.”
“Nyomi is right.” Zo jumped in. “No reputable florist is reusing old wedding centerpiece flowers and selling them.”
“Shit. Whatever.” Nika shrugged. “Don’t sleep though. Once I got a whole dollar.”
“All that work for a dollar?” Zo shook his head. “This is what Deja means by the whole poverty mindset thing—”
“Deja just be reading bullshit on the internet and spouting it out.” Nika picked up Zo’s fork and appeared to be appraising its worth too. “Every dollar counts. When it’s time for me to retire. Bay-be, I will not be broke or living out a cardboard box.”
“Nika, what are you doinghere?” I raised my eyebrows. “I thought you were on the plane heading to New York.”
“On the plane? No way. I wouldn’t leave Deja here by herself. That’s my cousin. We don’t rock like that.”
I shrieked. “Deja is here too?!”
Kenji uncomfortably shifted in his chair.
“Hell yes. Deja is here. Girl, where have you been?” Nika scrunched her face up in annoyance and then whistled. “That new dick must begoodbecause you’re usually on point and know everything. Now your whole head is dick-matized.”
Hiro had been munching on his chicken and waffles. Instantly, he began to chuckle and ended up coughing to not choke on his food.
I was still not done with all of this new information. “Why is Deja still here?”
“Girl. . .” Nika placed Zo’s fork next to hers. “Naruto didn’t tell you that dude kidnapped her?”
I looked around the table for this new person. “Who the fuck is Naruto?”
“Girl. Naruto. You know him.”
“Nika, I promise you I don’t know a Naruto.”
“You do. That motherfucker over there with the pink hair.” She pointed down at Kaoru as his girlfriends fed him pieces of the honey-butter cornbread.
“That’s not Naruto. That’s Kaoru.”
“Close.”
“Whatever. Who kidnapped Deja?”
“Dude with the long braid.”
