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“Averie, I want you to know from today on that I am not your enemy. I never was. I loved Rah so much that if he would’ve told me he wanted to be with you, I would’ve let him go and not thought twice about it. I hope now that we had this conversation and got an understanding of each other’s feelings that we can co-parent those beautiful kids together.”

Kyenna poured herself another glass of mimosa and filled mine back up.

“Now that Raya bitch, it’s always up with her,” she said.

We shared another laugh. I wasn’t fond of her either, and I didn’t want her around my kids at all without me around now that Rah was dead.

“To co-parenting,” I told her, raising my glass.

“To co-parenting.”

The doorbell went off, and Kyenna excused herself to answer it. She came walking back with Shameek behind her.

“Now this…this is what my brother would’ve wanted to see.”

“We’re good,” I told him.

“I came to get Kaiden for a little while so the girls could go get pampered.”

“They got to eat breakfast first and then we can go. Y’all both might as well stay and eat. I’m sure the kids would love to see us all sitting together,” Kyenna said.

Shameek looked at me and I looked at him.

“Sis, you cooked?” he asked her.

“I did. Why are you saying it like that?” Kyenna said.

“It’s just that you didn’t have to. You could’ve called your chef.”

“Rah is not here anymore. It’s just me. I’m not calling a chef to cook some pancakes and sausages. Let alone cut some fruit up. Now are you going to stay and eat or what?”

“Hell yeah, it’s a free meal,” he said.

“I can’t stay. I have an appointment that I can’t miss,” I told them. “Next time, though for sure.”

“Okay,” Kyenna said.

I sat my glass down and walked out the door without telling the kids bye. We had just made amends, but Shameek triggered me all over again. The family was closer to her than they were with me. Shameek and I were always cool; it was nothing like what she received. It was going to take me some time and before I let another woman see envy in my eyes, I’ll remove myself. I drove myself back home and got in bed. See, my life revolved around my children and work. Since Rah, there hadn’t been another man. No one could compare to him even if they tried. Rah had been dead for two weeks and I still couldn’t get our last conversation out of my head. I spent days in a trance thinking about him.

“Averie, you gotta chill foreal. I told you I fucked up cheatin’ on my wife wit’ Raya. I’ll never do that shit again. Why can’t you get out and go date or some shit? Every time I come to get the kids, you be on my dick. We be doin’ good and then you have a brain lapse or some shit.”

I hated when he rejected me. It only made me hate Kyenna more because what the fuck was it? Besides her loyalty. She was pretty and so was I. There was no way her pussy was that good because the bitch hadn't had any of Rah’s kids. My mama said as long as a nigga lay with you, you got a chance. I guess that’s why she kept fighting all the women off my daddy. That trick didn’t work for me. My ringing phone annoyed me for some reason. When my kids were home, I kept it on do not disturb.

“Hello.”

“What are you doing, girl? Want to go to the bar and have a drink?” my mama asked.

“Mama, I’m not really up for going out.”

“Averie, how do you ever expect to find another man? Rah is never coming back. Hell, when he was alive, he did not want you.”

“Really, Mama?”

“Baby, it’s not to hurt your feelings. I just need you to wake up and live in reality. You’ve waited on that man until his death. It’s time to live again, baby.”

“Give me a few hours, and I’ll swing by and get you. And mama, please refrain from getting too intoxicated. I’m not in the mood for you and all your male friends surrounding us at the bar.”

“Girl, get out that bed and get dressed.”