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“A few reasons. Nothing illegal.”
“That’s good,” Meegan laughed.
“I’ve been really open this week. Is it cool if we table therapy-type stuff for another time?”
Meegan thought for a second before she nodded. She knew very surface level things about Olin, but she trusted Xeni with her life. She would never send Meegan off with some guy she couldn’t trust. Not to mention her cousin. She’d seen Duke less and less as his star continued to rise, but her cousin had always been an absolute sweetheart and was serious about surrounding himself with good people. If Olin had made it to Duke’s inner circle, he’d already passed all the tests that mattered. Plus there was no way she was gonna spill all her own heartbreak beans on the table, even if they were alone in the yogurt shop. So, in that sense, they were definitely even.
“Why don’t you tell me about yourself?” Olin asked.
“Sure. I teach at Whippoorwill, which Xeni told you. I love it. I love working with kids. Let’s see, I’m an only child, but I’m close with my seven million cousins.”
“I’ve only met three of them, I think.”
Meegan laughed. “My grandfather was a whore. He had a lot of kids and those kids had a lot of kids. My mom and Duke’s mom are half sisters. My grandma was the only white woman he had kids with, that we know of.”
Duke was part white, Afro-Cuban and Filipino. Meegan came from an extended family of mixed Brown and Black people. She and her very white mom stuck out like sore thumbs, but they were loved. She wouldn’t change anything about her big family.
“Hmm, something we have in common.”
“That we have white grandmas?”
“Well, kinda.”
Meegan watched, chewing on a pineapple gummy as Olin pulled out his phone. He handed it over so she could look closer at the picture of Olin with three other men. The oldest in the bunch was definitely his dad.
He pointed to the man to his left with medium brown skin, “This is my brother Wes and this is my baby brother Alex.” Wes was at least half Black and Alex looked like he had some Asian ancestry. Meegan looked at all their faces again and could see the similarities along with the differences. “My mom had me, left my dad. Showed up six years later and dropped off Wes. Left again. Came back two years later, dropped off Alex and left again. We didn’t see her again until Alex graduated high school.”
“Your dad raisedherkids? That she had with other men?”
“Yup,” Olin nodded. Something sad and dark crossed over his eyes, but disappeared just as quickly.
“So you understand family drama. My mom went to my grandpa’s funeral and found out she had two brothers and ten sisters. She was pregnant with me and my aunt Alma was pregnant with Duke’s oldest sister, Cynthia. They’ve been besties ever since.”
“And sisters.”
“And sisters,” Meegan smiled back at him and finally he seemed to relax.
“Can you tell me whyyou’re single?” Olin asked. “You’re very beautiful.”
“Why thank you.” Meegan kept her tone light but she could feel her cheeks warming up. “Just your run of the mill stuff. Fell for some people who didn’t love me like I loved them and now they are all married and I’m sitting here like a dumbass.”
“Nah, not a dumbass at all. It seems like they missed out.”
Meegan took the compliment and reminded herself of what Xeni said about Olin not being a kinkster. He didn’t need to know all the details. “No. Their partners are lovely people. I’m still very close with one couple, but you know the sting of heartbreak and all.”
“Are you still in love with them?” he asked bluntly.
“Wow. Geez, now we’re getting deep.” Meegan laughed.
“Sorry. Now you can see why I’m single.”
“It’s fine. And no,” she said honestly. “Anything lingering is more about my own embarrassment, if that makes sense. Thinking about how wrong I read the situations or didn’t communicate what I actually wanted, all that. Just thinking human thoughts, you know. But no, definitely not in love.”
Olin hummed in agreement, dropping his gaze down to his melting yogurt.
“But my friends are awesome. My mom and I are getting along great. I like my job. I guess I’m just waiting around for Mr. Right to magically show up at my doorstep.”
“And in the meantime, you’re free to help out a desperate stranger.”
