Page 47 of 4 Corinthians

“He gotta apologize for saying that shit about my mama and Uncle B,” Mecca said, shaking his head. “That shit ain’t cool. Uncle B steps hard behind my mama but not because they are sleeping together.”

“Why then?” I believed him, but I still wanted to know why.

“Because she took care of everybody when we were younger,” Breighton answered for him. “Mahogany, Larry, me, and Mecca. She let us all live with her for a while.”

“Why?” This was the first time I heard that Breighton didn’t live with her daddy. She was always with him.

“Mahogany got sick, Larry's daddy disappeared, and his mama doesn’t want to be a parent. It was Nadine or boarding school.”

“And you?”

“I don’t like to be left out,” she answered with a shrug. “Plus, your daddy gave me the creeps.”

“Robert,” I corrected her.

“I know his name,” Breighton replied.

“Then use it; he didn’t let us call him daddy.”

“Fine,” Breighton agreed. “Now make your brother apologize.”

I looked at Kenbral and nodded. “Apologize,” I told him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, and Mecca let him go. Mecca pushed him away then went to stand next to Breighton and December. They sat down on their side of the table, and I sat down on mine. Kenbral came to sit next to me, and we went back to eating.

The doorbell rang, and I looked towards the door. Nadine walked in with two more kids. Breighton jumped from the table and hugged them, followed by Mecca and December.

“Okay, now we’re all here,” Breighton said. “Uri, Kenbral, this is Mahogany and Larry, your other cousins. The ones that Nadine helped raise.” It had been so long since I saw Mahogany that I didn’t recognize her, and I’d never met Larry before. We sat staring at each other, not knowing what to say. “Umm, say hi or something.”

“Hey,” we all said.

“Man, this is awkward,” December said, laughing. “Y'all family and don’t know each other.” He shook his head.

“It’s not our fault, December,” Breighton said, rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t say it was,” he said, rubbing his eyes. I noticed he did that a lot. He also blinked a lot, and his eyes watered like he was going to cry even though he didn’t. When I asked about it, December said he was fine, but I saw the look of worry on Breighton's face when he said it. “I’m just pointing it out. Y'all don’t know each other. So it’s a table full of strangers related by blood. There is basic stuff y'all should know that y'all don’t.”

“Like what?” Mecca asked him.

“Birthdays,” December answered. He looked at Kenbral and me. “I know their birthdays; what’s y’all’s?”

“April fourth,” I answered.

“March third,” Kenbral said.

“That’s crazy,” Breighton said, laughing.

“What?” I asked.

“Our birthdays are double numbers; Mahogany is January first, I’m June sixth, Mecca is September ninth, and Larry is October tenth.”

“Eleven, thirty-three, forty-four, sixty-six, ninety-nine, and one thousand ten,” Kenbral said, nodding.

“No,” Breighton said, shaking her head. “One, Trey, Four, Six, Nine, Ten. And that’s what I’m calling everyone from here on out.”

“Nah, call me Zero, I don’t like Ten,” Larry said.

Breighton laughed then shrugged. “Fine, you’re Zero, not Ten.”