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I took a gulp of water before answering her. “It’s really nice, Cake. I like it. Where’s my niece?”
“She and Jojo are napping.”
I nodded, finishing the water and setting the glass on a coaster on the coffee table.
“How are you? I mean, how are you feeling?”
Another shrug from me. “All right.”
Sharla stared at me expectantly. “Vann, you’re my big brother and I love you and it really hurts that you won’t talk to me about this.”
I sighed, slumping against the back of the sofa. “I love you too, but this…I don’t—I’m good, Cake. I’m fine.”
“Can I see?”
This is my sister, the one person I loved most in the world, so after a moment of hesitation as my heart slammed against my ribcage, I grasped the eyepatch and the elastic attached to it, pulling it off to reveal my…defect.
Sharla left the loveseat and sat beside me on the sofa, closely inspecting my face with her eyes. Hertwoeyes.
Shit.
“Does it hurt” she asked.
I shook my head. “Not really. It hurt like hell at first, but not now.”
“Mama told me something about you getting a prosthetic eye?”
“Yeah, I got one. Hurts when I put it in though, and after it stops hurting, it just feels uncomfortable. The doctor said I’ll get used to it, but I don’t wanna deal with it right now.”
She nodded. “One thing at a time.”
“Yeah.”
As I covered my empty eye socket with the patch, Sharla said, “You look good. Skinny, but good. Mama ain’t been feeding you? Or you been on a booze diet? Mama told me about your late-night casino trips. You’re too cheap to gamble, so…”
I rolled my eyes—well, I rolled myeyeand replied, “Mama needs to stay out of my business, and did you forget that I had cancer? I ain’t allowed to lose weight after that?”
“No,” she said deadpan.
We both laughed.
“Enough about my unfortunate ass. How’ve you been, baby sis? Any dreams lately?”
“Not in a while, oddly enough.”
Before I could respond, her husband walked into the living room holding my long-legged niece in his arms.
“Romey-D, is that you?!” I gushed, using my personal nickname for her.
The beautiful two-year-old smiled down at me while nodding her “yes,” her hair big and wild on her little head. She wriggled out of her father’s arms and came to me. I was happy she still remembered me after all the months of my self-imposed confinement to Guilty, Mississippi. Climbing into my lap, she kissed my cheek and then she frowned, her tiny eyes fixed on my eyepatch.
“Awwww, you got a booboo?” she crooned with knitted eyebrows, and then she leaned in and kissed the patch. “All bedda?” she asked.
Smiling, I hugged her to me and said, “All better.”
CHAPTER7
BROOKLYN
