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He was pointing to a picture I hadn’t spent much time on. One where they were all posed around Anastasia who looked to be celebrating some sort of sports milestone according to the framed volleyball jersey she was holding. But it was the identical smiles amongst the kids and their dad that really did it for me, making me smile too as I told him, “It’s a great picture. You and your father lookjustalike.”
“Yeah, that was my guy,” Kendall replied with a half-grin, taking a moment to stare at the photo before he acknowledged the man who’d raised him as, “Big Snoop.” And once I saw the way saying that name aloud made his eyes begin to gloss over, I was quick to put a hand of support against his back, rubbing gentle circles until Kendall released a heavy sigh and asked, “You ready to roll?”
“Yeah, I’m ready, Pup,” I answered with a teasing smirk that had Kendall shaking his head as he warned,“Don’t you start.”
“It’s such a cute nickname, though,” I cooed as I followed him towards the front door.
“Which is exactly why my mama is the only one who can get away with callin’ me that shit,” Kendall replied once we’d made it out to the porch. And it was almost as if she’d been listening to our conversation the way his mother was right on cue with it, letting Anastasia out and then locking the door behind us all as she said, “We’ll meet you over at the school, Pup.”
While I giggled to myself, Kendall responded to his mother with a confused look, his eyes tightening when he asked, “What’s with the outfit change?”
It wasn’t until he said that that I noticed Anastasia wasn’t the only one who’d changed into something a little nicer, the two of them almost making me feel underdressed in the simple t-shirt, jacket, and ripped jeans I had on as Mama Dogwood replied, “You said there were gonna be cameras there, didn’t you?”
“Well yeah,but…”
“If I’m gonna be on television, then I gotta come correct,” she said to her son with a cocky smirk.
And coming correct was exactly what she was doing, the leather shorts, turtleneck, fitted overcoat, and leather boots she was wearing giving both body goals and Fall wardrobe inspo that had me quick to compliment, “I think you look great, Mama Dogwood.”
“Thanks, boo,” she replied with a grin, slipping into the passenger seat of the car Anastasia was driving as she said, “See y’all in a few.” And once she shut the door behind her, Kendall and I followed suit, getting good and secured in our own car as Kendall asked, “Why you gas her up like that?”
“Cause she’s a baddie and deserved to be recognized as such,” I answered, the pride in my voice making Kendall chuckle when he argued, “No,you’rea baddie.She’smy mother.”
“And also a baddie, which I’m sure is how she bagged your fine ass daddy,” I told him, Kendall responding with a mean side-eye that had me quick to tag on, “May God rest his soul.”
Shaking his head, Kendall set out for the twenty-five-minute drive across town to his old high school that I immediately noticed was in a neighborhood a lot different than the one his mother currently lived in. But the area still had this certain charm about it that I found incredibly endearing, the sight of kids riding their bikes and playing ball on a hoop in the middle of the street taking me back to my own childhood and bringing a reminiscent smile to my lips as we pulled into the parking lot that was already packed with cars.
Thankfully, a spot near the front had already been reserved for us, making for an easy transition from the car straight into the school. And as we walked the halls that Kendall had called home for four very formative years, it was like a glimpse into his teenage past, the trophy case near the gym dedicated to the school’s sports accomplishments prompting me to take a closer look where I discovered a whole little shrine dedicated to the Dogwood family.
There was a listing of all the records Kimberly had set and the awards she’d won for basketball, along with a picture of her holding a state championship trophy.
There was an action shot of Anastasia in the middle of spiking a volleyball, along with a long list of all the awards she’d won during what must’ve been a dominant high school career.
And then there was a framed certificate acknowledging Kendall as the National Gatorade Player of the Year, the picture of him with shoulder-length locs that accompanied it making me giggle as I sang, “Oh my goodness, your hair.”
For as much as I loved the brush cut he wore now, I could admit that he looked good either way, a smirk on my face when I told him, “I justknowyou had all the girls asking if they could come over and give you a retwist.”
“And they were all well compensated for their services,” he replied with a slick grin that made my nose wrinkle as I shoved him in the arm and groaned,“Eww!”
Of course, my reaction only made Kendall start laughing as I shook my head at him with far less amusement. But before I could actually say anything about it, Bleu Taylor approached us asking, “Y’all couldn’t wait ‘til we had the cameras rolling to start being all cute?”
While I was lowkey starstruck, Kendall greeted the sports reporter with a hug and a casual, “What’s good, Bleu?” And when it was my turn to say hello, I couldn’t help mentioning, “Is it weird that I feel like I already know you even though we’ve never actually spoken a single word to each other?”
“Oh my God, I was literally thinking the same thing!” Bleu admitted, taking it a step further when she said, “Like, do I introduce myself, or do I just give her a hug?”
“I think we should hug,” I told her, the both of us giggling as we extended our arms for a quick embrace. And once that was over with, Bleu got right down to the business, telling Kendall, “Okay, so since there are already people lined up outside waiting to come in and get their turkeys, I was thinking we’d just start off by getting some b-roll footage of you interacting with the community. And then when the event is over, we can do the actual interview either in the gym or on the stadium bleachers outside.”
Kendall was already nodding along when Bleu proposed, “Ooh. Or maybe we should walk the halls and talk,” turning to her camerawoman to ask, “Natalie, what do you think?” And while the two of them talked strategy, I decided to make myself more useful, telling Kendall, “I’m gonna go see if your mom and sisters need some assistance.”
After pressing a quick kiss to my cheek, Kendall sent me on my way towards the school’s gym that was already buzzing with activity. And even though I hated to admit it, the orderly fashion in which everything was being handled had me wanting to give Kimberly her props when I approached where she, her mother, and Anastasia were all standing at a table to ask, “Is there anything I can help with?”
Knowing this was neither the time nor the place to be handling our personal issues, I was intentional about keeping it cute. But I shouldn’t have been surprised when Kendall’s older sister opted not to do the same, completely ignoring me to the point that her mother had to say, “Kimberly Ann, she asked you a question.”
“Sorry. I thought she was asking the whole group,” Kimberly replied, her response tempting me to roll my eyes since she knew good and damn well who I was talking to. And I was glad that Anastasia decided to call her out on it, frowning when she looked over at her sister and questioned, “Why would she be asking us? Aren’t you the one in charge here?”
With a sigh, Kimberly finally made eye contact just long enough to tell me, “We’ve pretty much got everything covered, so you can just jump in wherever you see fit.” And then she was off, leaving me to make sense of her very vague instructions while Anastasia moved a little closer towards me so that she could both hand me a turkey and offer a suggestion on how to handle the situation.
“If I was you, I’d drop this shit right on her foot.”
