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“And that boy,” my mother added. “What’s his name again?”
“I’m pretty sure you’re talking about Lance,” I answered, sitting up just in time to catch the inquisitive look on my mother’s face when she followed up, “But what do they call him?”
“Hawk.”
“Yeah, Hawk,” she repeated with a nod. “He’s gotten really handsome over the years. And he’s making good money now too. You should’ve gotten with him when you had the chance.”
“Funny you should say that,” I sighed, biting my lip and averting my eyes as my mother leaned in to ask, “Wait a minute. Are you two…?”
When I didn’t say anything, her eyes went wide as she squealed, “Briyana!”
“What?” I asked, giggling a bit as I defended, “Just because you haven’t really seen me in person like that since I was teenager doesn’t mean I still am one.”
Nodding, she agreed, “You’re right. You’ve grown into a lovely young woman, Briyana. And I am so incredibly proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished thus far.”
Honestly, I’d gone so long without hearing those words from her that I’d started to think they didn’t matter to me anymore. But the way my chest immediately swelled in response told me they absolutely did, the lump of emotion in my throat forcing me to swallow hard so that I could tell her, “Thank you, Mom.”
With a nod and a smile, she patted me on the thigh and asked, “Now tell me what you’ve been up to since you’ve been here. And how long are you planning on staying? Cause I have a feeling it won’t be long.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Being back in Houston was never supposed to be a permanent thing for me. More like a pit stop until I could figure out my next move and get back on my way. But for now, I was accepting the detour for what it was as I shared in some small talk with my mother for a little while, made plans to have dinner with her at some point, and then sent her on her way just as I received a text from what had turned into another bright spot in this entire situation.
“Everything good? Need me to come through?” - Lance
His concern made it hard for me not to grin as I made my way up to my room while typing out a response.
“I appreciate you always being ready to ride out lol but nah, everything is fine. Turns out the emergency was just my mom.” - Yani
“Your mom? Is she aight?” - Lance
“Yeah, she’s fine. She just found out that I was in town and came over to like… start being a mom again, I guess.” - Yani
Reading the text back after I’d sent it, I realized it might’ve sounded a little harsh. But the high of our reunion wasn’t enough for me to be completely convinced that she wouldn’t find another reason to disappear again, keeping me cautious as I read Lance’s latest response.
“And how did that go?” - Lance
“I said what I needed to say. She cried, and apologized, and hugged me, and told me she was proud of me. And then we made plans to do dinner soon, so I guess it went how it was supposed to go.” - Yani
“I legit can’t tell if you’re happy or annoyed.” - Lance
“A little of both, tbh.” - Yani
“Well I’m happy y’all finally talked, if it means anything.” - Lance
Since I suppose it was better than the two of us going without talking to each other for the rest of our lives, I found myself both agreeing with him and using it to my advantage when I asked,“Happy enough to let me keep this shirt? ;)” - Yani
“Not that damn happy lol” - Lance
“It looks so much better on me tho.” - Yani
I was tempted to send him a picture as a reminder when I heard a knock on my bedroom door, my eyes flashing up from my phone just as my father said,“Hey, Bri Bri. You got a minute?”
“Yeah, as long as you don’t have another surprise guest standing behind you,” I groaned, shooting a side eye his way as he announced, “Introducing…”
“Dad, you better not,” I warned, only making him chuckle as he replied, “Nah, I’m kidding. I just wanted to make sure you were alright after that last…surprise.”
With a nod, I answered, “Yeah, I’m fine. I mean, it wasn’t all sweet. But we made some plans that’ll hopefully help us be able to move forward.”
