Page 78 of Love & Streetball

She croaked out a barely audible, “Okay,” then ended the call.

For a long minute, I didn’t move. I stared at the dark screen of my phone like Mama was going to call back and tell me they revived him. The last time I seen my father was three months ago. He was healthy. He couldn’t be gone.

“Kane.” Slim stood in front of me and all I could do was bury my face into her stomach and cry. Her hand was at the back of my head, holding me in place. That saying was true. Fix shit before it can’t be fixed. Even though we were cordial around each other, me and him never got to the point where we could talk about me and Slim. This heartache…it had me wondering if this was his karma for not accepting who I wanted to be with. Slim was a good person, and he just wouldn’t accept her.

Still…he was my father.

I broke.

All the way down.

I buried my face against her stomach and cried harder than I had ever cried in my life. My shoulders shook, and every breath came out rough. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t care that I was supposed to be strong. I was a big deal in Heartville and was sure the news of my father’s passing will be on every news channel and in the paper by morning.

Slim held me tighter. She didn’t tell me to calm down. She didn’t feed me any of that shit people said when they didn’t know what else to say. She just held me.

“I can reach out to Angel so she can handle the news,” Slim said softly, rubbing my back with her palm in circles.

Angel was both of our publicist. She handled the reports, press coverage, and overall public narratives for me and Slim. I could even respond. I just barely nodded.

“Whatever you need me to do, baby, I got you,” she pressed.

God, I loved her so much.

Dressed in a Tom Ford all black tux, I adjusted the dark shaded covering my puffy eyes. My baby stood beside me in a fitted black dress, her locs pinned back from her face. She reached over and fixed the collar of my dress shirt.

“You need some water?” she asked. I shook my head.

“All I need is you,” I admitted truthfully.

My voice sounded rough. Between crying and barely sleeping, I didn’t have much left in me. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard Mama telling me he had a heart attack.

The funeral director approached us with his hands folded in front of him.

“Mr. Stone? We’re ready for the family.”

I stared at him until Slim’s hand slipped into mine.

“Aight.”

Mama was sitting on a bench near the entrance with my grandmother beside her. She had a tissue balled up in one hand.

“Mama.”

She lifted her head, and her mouth trembled before she could say anything.

I bent down and helped her stand. She held on to my arm with both hands.

“I don’t know how to do this, Kane.”

Neither did I.

I kissed her forehead because I couldn’t find an answer that wouldn’t sound like some bullshit.

“We gon’ walk in together.”

Slim started to loosen her grip on my other hand.

I looked back at her. “Where you going?”