Especially when it would mean being late to see the only person who has never let me down and always gives it to me straight.
Alice calling and inviting me to have lunch was a lifeline I didn’t realize I needed until I reached out to grab it.
When my mother died, and my father remained as distant as always, she was the person who held me when I thought I’d never stop crying. She’s the only person who has no agenda when it comes to me. I don’t know why I didn’t come see her sooner.
Smile on my face, I knock on the door and get ready for one of her legendary hugs.
When she sees me though, she frowns and then blinks as if she’s surprised I’m standing there.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yes. Was just distracted.” Her warm brown eyes, untouched by timeand strikingly wide set, take on their characteristic twinkle. “Kwame, darling. Come here.” She beams a delighted smile and throws her arms around me for a hug.
“Hello, you.” I pull her close and inhale the calm clean green-tea scent that is her signature. I press a kiss to each of her soft cheeks and step inside her large entryway. “Did you forget you invited me to lunch?” I slip out of my coat and hang it on a carved mahogany hook beside her door.
She reaches out to grab my hand, her warm eyes full of apology. “Of course not, silly. Food is ready.”
I link our fingers and let her lead me through her spacious, sun-drenched sitting room, up a short set of stairs that lead to her massive kitchen and to a table next to a row of windows that makes the most of the building’s position next to the gorgeous Kalorama Park. “What a view. I understand why you wanted to live here, now.”
I sit and when she doesn’t join me, I look up at her and my smile falters. She’s watching me with a frown that forces deep furrows between her brows.
My smile falters. “What’s wrong?”
“You tellme.” She turns a pointed glance downward and clears her throat.
I follow her gaze to our still linked hands. “I’m consistent,” I say with a self-deprecating smile.
“Yes, you are,” she says and sits in the chair next to me. “So, tell me.”
“I met a woman. I care about her deeply.”
Her eyes light up and she lets go of my hands to clap hers together. “Oh my God. What could be wrong about that?”
“Her family hates Al Palmer. Something about an investment gone bad. But they blame him for ruining their lives. I’m not sure how I’ll overcome that once they know I’m his son.”
She reaches for my hand again. “Oh, Kwame. I know your father is very polarizing, but surely they won’t hold it against you.”
I sit back, irked by her excitement in the face of my tale of woe. “I don’t know.” I rub my temple.
“I’m sorry things aren’t going as you hoped. Kwame. But there’s a silver lining. You met someone. I was worried you were going to end up with Paloma.”
I laugh in surprise. “I thought you liked her.”
“I do. But she’s not right for you. I want what’s best for you.”
“I’m not sure Sin is best for me.”
“I’ve found sinning to be very therapeutic, actually,” she says with a nostalgic smile and faraway look on her face.
“I didn’t say sinning. I said Sin. That’s her name. It’s short for Arsinoé.”
“Oh. I see.” She taps her chin and purses her lips. “So you’re afraid those obstacles are insurmountable?”
“Yes.”
“Fear is just an emotion. You won’t know if they are truly insurmountable until you try to surmount them.” She grins, and I snort a laugh.
“Is she educated?”
