Page 21 of Omar

"Fine means trash, Ash. We been through this."

"It means fine, Nene. The chair works, the mirror's clean, Gloria don't bother me. I got my own clients coming in. It's not my salon but it's a chair and a mirror and that's all I need right now."

"You miss the Atlanta spot?"

"Every day." I leaned my head against the bathroom wall. "Mrs. Henderson texted me again yesterday. Asked when I'm coming back. I didn't know what to tell her."

"Tell her the truth."

"Which version?"

"The one where you're handling business in Brooklyn and you'll be back when you're back. She don't need the details. She just needs to know her hairdresser ain't dead." She paused. "How's Brooklyn treating you otherwise?"

I paused. Thought about Omar standing on that corner looking at me like fourteen years hadn't passed. Thought about the way my chest had tightened when I saw his face, the way my body had recognized him before my brain caught up.

"Brooklyn's complicated," I said.

"Complicated how?" Nene's voice sharpened. She could read me through a phone line better than most people could read me in person. "Ash. What happened?"

"Nothing happened."

"You just paused for three seconds before answering. Something happened."

I closed my eyes. "I saw someone. From before."

"Before before? Like Atlanta before?"

"Like Brooklyn before. Like sixteen before."

Nene was quiet for a second. Then: "Oh shit. You saw that boy."

"He's not a boy anymore."

"Clearly not if you pausing like that." I heard her shift on whatever she was sitting on. "Omar, right? The one you told me about. The one from when you were kids?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"And nothing. I saw him. He saw me. We didn't talk."

"But you wanted to?"

I didn't answer. She didn't need me to.

"Ash." Nene's voice was softer now. "Be careful. Supreme's got eyes on you twenty-four-seven. If he finds out you even looked at another man..."

"I'm not looking at anyone. I saw someone from before. That's all."

"Okay." She didn't believe me. "Just... be smart about it. Whatever it is. You too close to the number to blow it now."

"I know."

"You still saving?"

"Every week."

"How close?"