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Smiling, Vann stilled his bouncing knee and lifted from the couch, stepping to where Bailey and I stood just inside the living room from the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Crouching down to meet her height, he proffered her his hand. “Nice to meet you, Bailey. You look just like your mother.”
“I know,” Bailey said. “I remember you. I saw you at Teetee Sharla’s house. You’re her brother.”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“You kept looking at my mom. You like her?”
With surprise etched in his face, Vann admitted, “I do. I like your mother a lot.”
“The get married kind of like?”
“Uh…yes. That kind.”
“I can tell she likes you too. She’s been singing ever since she picked me up from school and she smiled when she told me about you, so I guess I like you too.”
A wide smile adorned my man’s face as he said, “You don’t know how glad I am to hear that, little lady.”
VANN
It had been a week since I’d officially met Bailey Dembélé and there I sat on the living room floor helping her hold a Barbie doll fashion show while her mother sat at the kitchen table studying for her class. I was responsible for the Ken dolls and had to shake my head. These dudes had better wardrobes than me.
“Vann, they’re ready for Sean,” she advised me, sounding very official. She was even wearing a little sparkly headset. She’d informed me before we started that the show was for her latest collection.
“Uh…” I said, looking at the, at least, ten Ken dolls before me.
“Sean is the one dressed in the jeans and dinner jacket,” she advised, sounding a little exasperated, but in my defense, the dolls were identical, and I’d just made their acquaintances.
“Oh, right!” I said, grabbing my boy Sean and hopping him down the shoe box top Bailey had designated as the runway.
“He’s supposed to move with the music. Like, on the beat,” she said through a sigh.
Damn, was she tryna say I didn’t have rhythm? “My bad, Boss Lady. I thought I was.”
I moved Sean’s ass to the back of the runway, and this time, made sure I hopped him to the best ofDon’t Disturb This Groove,which Bailey had playing on the TV. I was trying to figure out how she even knew about that song.
“Much better! Next is Giselle. After her will be David Bowie. Be ready.”
I nodded, watching as she moved a doll wearing shorts and what looked like a bikini top down the runway, but quiet as it’s kept, I didn’t know which one was David Bowie either since all these cats were black.
“Vann! Your phone is in here buzzing,” Brooklyn yelled over the music that had changed toMaterial Girl. So, David Bowie was going to have to walk to that?
Damn.
“Who is it?” I yelled back without turning to look at her.
“Uh…your mom,” she returned.
“Here I come!” To Bailey I said, “I’ll be back, Boss Lady.”
“Okay, but hurry. I’m the designer. I can’t do this all by myself.”
I loved this kid.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
With a grunt, I got my big ass off the floor. Taking a seat at the table with Brooklyn, I grabbed my phone.
“You missed the call. Took your old ass too long to get up off that floor,” she said, grinning at me.
