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“Ma, I didn’t say yes.”
She sat up slowly. My mama knew her children too damn well. That was the problem with the family. We could lie to strangers all day. My mama knew where the lie sat on our face. Which is why we hated to look her in the face. She always said out of the three of us, I was the best liar. Now she had me sitting here like she could see straight through me.
“I’ve been watching you with her.”
“Here you go,” I said, shuffling the papers on my desk.
“Don’t, here you go, me. I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m telling you I know my son. You stay in that girl’s business more than you stay in mine. You know where she’s at, who she’s with, what time she left, and what security she has for the day. Rah was protective, but even his ass gave that woman room to breathe.”
“All I’m tryin’ to do is keep her safe.”
“I know–”
“Then what is the issue?”
“The issue is, protection don’t usually make a man look ready to kill somebody because they kissed a woman on the forehead. It also doesn’t get upset when a woman is trying to move on with her life.”
I looked up. I just knew Jaharee’s ass had been running her mouth to our mama.
“Can you please stop listenin’ to Jah.”
“She ain’t told me anything. I have eyes, too.”
“Can we not do this here?”
“Where you want to do it? Every time you come home to the house, you’re gone before anybody can finish a conversation.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“I see,” she said, standing.
My mama started walking towards the door before turning around.
“Whatever is happening with you and Kyenna, be careful.”
“Careful how?”
“For everyone involved. She loved your brother. You loved your brother. That doesn’t mean life stops because he died, but grief can make people attach themselves to things before they know if it’s love or survival.”
“This ain’t grief,” I told her.
“Then if you’re serious, act serious. Don’t play with that girl like you did with Nikki. Don’t have her looking stupid. Y’all can stop sneaking,” she said.
“I hear you.”
“And call Nikki’s sister. You not calling is making you look a little suspect.”
“I will.”
“Today, Shameek,” she said before opening the door and leaving.
All I could do was sit there. The family was noticing the shit between Kyenna and me. For months, I had been worried about Kyenna being the one scared of what everyone would think. I was the one making the shit obvious. My phone went off with Kyenna’s name.
Ky: You at work?
Me: Yeah
Ky: I need to talk to you later
