Chapter 11. Lyric
Lyric
LIP OF THE DAY:
Berry Bliss
“Yep. White folks live here,” Grammy Viv says from the passenger seat. “We don’t put those signs up. We know we matter.”
“Grammy! Please. I told you one of Juniper’s moms is white. Be nice.”
“I’m just stating facts, Lyric. Tell me the last time you saw one of us with a sign like that in our yard? No thanks, it will bring us more trouble than it’s worth. And don’t worry, I’ll be on my best behavior with your lil date.”
“It’s not a date. We’re just friends.”
“If you say so.”
I sigh and watch as Juniper opens the front door to her house and heads toward us.
I don’t want to bicker, I am already too nervous.
Let Grammy think what she wants, I know that this is just a friend thing—and a business thing.
But I am going to try to be a little more open, like Kiana said, and part of that is showing Juniper one of my favorite spots.
Juniper is at the car door now, and I watch her smile falter a little when she sees the front seat is occupied.
I should have warned Juniper that Grammy was coming, that where we are going is also one of her favorite places, but between racing home from school and getting Grammy out the door, I forgot to text Juniper.
Hopefully, I can explain later. I unlock the doors, and then turn to greet her as she slides into the back.
“Juniper, this is my grandma Vivian. Grammy, this is Juniper,” I say.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Vivian,” Juniper says evenly, and I’m grateful that she doesn’t seem outwardly weirded out that I brought my grandmother.
“You too,” Grammy says, with a glance and nod in the rearview mirror to meet Juniper’s eyes. “I promised Lyric I’ll be on my best behavior, so don’t you worry, soon as we get where we’re going, I’ll leave you two alone on your lil date.”
“It’s not a date, Grammy,” I say with gritted teeth as I start the car and pull away from the curb.
“Yeah, uh, we’re just friends, Ms. Vivian,” Juniper chimes in. “I’m new to Lansing, so Lyric has been showing me around.”
“Well, Lansing is just as dull a place as they make them, nothing here except a sad capitol building and some mediocre restaurants, but you know, it has decent hospitals at least. I can’t imagine you’d find anything about Lansing exciting after coming from Chicago. Now that’s a fun city.”
“Grammy—what you know about Chicago?” I say, side-eyeing her.
“I know plenty, spent many a night in my twenties going to clubs and other stuff. That’s none of your business.”
Juniper laughs in the back seat. “Chicago does have some great nightlife, if that’s your thing.”
“Oh, it was my thing back in the day. Now I got this broke hip and can’t barely move half my face, but I used to cut up on the dance floor. You like to dance, Juniper?”
“I like to dance, but I won’t claim to be good at it.”
“Well, I didn’t say anything about being good. Long as you can do a two-step, find some joy in it, you’ll be fine.”
“I can definitely do two-step.” Juniper laughs. “I love music.”
“Oh yeah?” Grammy says. “What records you like listening to?”
I drive as Grammy and Juniper talk all things soul and funk, and then careen right into a conversation about the best holiday albums of all time.
I can’t decide if the way Juniper and Grammy are hitting it off is really cute or extra annoying. How is it that in less than five minutes, Grammy has learned more about Juniper than I have all school year? And where did Grammy get all these opinions about Christmas music?
“Eh-hem.” I cough about twenty minutes later when there’s a short silence. “Hate to break this up, but we’re here.” I pull the car into the driveway of a large Victorian mansion sitting on about three acres of land.
“What is this place?” Juniper asks, peering out of her window.
“A teahouse,” I say.
Juniper flashes a surprised smile at me. “Wow, OK. You bringing me to a teahouse is unexpected, but I’m here for it.”
“This is one of our favorite places,” Grammy Viv says, unbuckling her seat belt and then struggling to open her door. “That’s why I tagged along. Lyric knows not to come here without me.”
Juniper jumps out the back and gets the door for Grammy Viv before I have a chance to.
“Thanks,” I mouth to her, and she takes Grammy’s arm and waits for me to lock up.
Juniper nods and then says to both of us: “This looks right out of a Hallmark Christmas movie.”
“Oh, I don’t watch that channel anymore,” Grammy Viv says. “It’s full of dumb white people being happy. I like Lifetime better—those movies have a little more grit, more murder and such. Plus—this spot is Black owned. So, we find joy here, but not happiness. Happiness is for white people.”
“Grammy!” I scoff. “You can’t just say—”
But Juniper is laughing again. “You’re not wrong, Ms. Vivian. You’re not wrong. I just love a cheesy Christmas romance. So, sometimes I’m willing to endure the white people in Hallmark movies for the season and cheer alone.”
“Well, if you like holiday ambiance, just wait until we get inside,” I say as we make our way to the front entrance. “Ms. Mills goes all out on decor this time of year. It’s impressive.”
“What are we here for?” Juniper asks then.
“Sweets and good company!” Grammy Viv says before I can.
We step through the front doors and a little bell tinkles.
The foyer of the house is covered in fresh garlands made of pine and cranberries, and there are poinsettias on every antique surface.
The entire place smells like cinnamon and molasses, and a fire roars in a sitting room off of the entryway.
“Whoa,” Juniper says, taking it all in, “this is amazing.”
“I thought you might like it,” I say. “I mean—you said you liked the tacky decor at school, so I wanted to show you how it’s really done.” I nudge Juniper with my shoulder to let her know I’m teasing.
Before Juniper can respond, a petite Black woman with hair the color of fresh snow emerges from a room with a huge smile on her face.
“Lyric, baby! Sister Viv! It’s so good to see you both. I’ve got everything set up just how you like it.” She gives Grammy a hug, then wraps me in her arms before stepping back to look at me. “Just as beautiful as ever. What’s the color on your lips, Lyric? I might need to take myself to Sephora.”
“Nice to see you too, Ms. Mills. And you don’t need to go to Sephora, just take yourself right on over to the nearest drugstore. The color is called Berry Bliss by Miss Mac. It’s a Black-owned drugstore brand.”
Ms. Mills runs over to a drawer, opens it, and grabs a Post-it to write down the name of the color. “Oh, I’m gonna look for that for sure. And who is this?” she says, smiling big at Juniper.
“This is Lyric’s lil date, Juniper,” Grammy butts in, a twinkle in her eye.
I sigh and ignore her. “Ms. Mills, this is my friend Juniper. She’s new this year, and I thought she’d like this place.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Mills,” Juniper says, extending a hand.
“Come on in, girl,” Ms. Mills says, pulling Juniper in for a hug.
“Any friend of Lyric’s and Sister Viv’s is welcome here.
Now—I have the sitting room all set up for you young folks.
Sister Viv—come with me. I have a nice spot for you in the kitchen.
We need to catch up. Did you see this week’s Below Deck? ”
Ms. Mills takes Grammy’s arm, and the two of them disappear down a narrow hallway, gossiping about reality TV.
“Come on,” I say to Juniper, leading her into the formal sitting room with the fire. We take our coats off and sit in two big armchairs close to the flames. The rest of the room is filled with five small tables and chairs.
“Are we the only ones here?” Juniper asks.
“For now. The teahouse opens to the public on Saturdays and Sundays, but we’ve known Ms. Mills since we moved to Lansing.
She’s like family. She helps me out with Grammy Viv on days I can’t be home in time, and instead of paying her, she lets me bake and prep things here when I can.
Sorry I didn’t warn you about bringing my grandma.
I meant to, but I was rushed and forgot. Hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind. I really like your grandma. She’s hilarious. If you’re open to sharing, you said you take care of her a lot now, so what do you mean by that?”
“She had a stroke a few years ago and has some long-term effects that limit her mobility. And I think she mentioned her hip in the car. I spent last summer helping her recover after surgery. She just needs more support than she used to, but it’s not a big deal. We make it work.”
Juniper nods and after a beat says, “That must be a lot sometimes, on top of school and your job. She’s lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one,” I say too sharply. “Grammy basically saved my life. She could never be a burden.”
“Oh—no, I didn’t mean to imply that she’s a burden. I just meant that you, uh, have a lot on your plate, that’s all. It’s impressive you can keep up with it all.”
I don’t, my head screams. I feel like I’m drowning all the time. But I swallow this down and change the subject.
“So, uh, get comfy. You’re about to experience the best hot chocolate of your life, and then we’re going to help Ms. Mills make hot chocolate bombs before the rush tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry—have I just stepped onto a movie set?” Juniper says, looking around. “This is unreal. I’ve got to tell my moms about this place…”
“You and your moms are really close, huh?” I say.
“Yeah—we are.” Juniper nods, biting her lip. “I mean, we have our issues, but we’re a unit—they’re my best friends.”
“Well, that’s a new one,” I blurt out.
Juniper’s eyes flash confusion for a moment, but before I can say anything else impulsive, Ms. Mills comes bustling into the room.
“Alright, girls,” Ms. Mills starts, setting down a tray of treats and handing us two steaming cups of hot chocolate. Mine is in a mug shaped like a gingerbread woman and Juniper’s in a mug shaped like a Black Santa. “Here you go—hot chocolate to warm the soul.”
“This mug is amazing.” Juniper laughs. “I love a Black Santa. Thank you!”
“Really?” I say with a grimace. “Black Santas weird me out. To me, they always look like those racist caricatures of what white people think Black people look like.”
“Caricatures? My word, Lyric,” Ms. Mills tuts. “It’s about representation, and Black joy, and seeing ourselves in figures that everyone just assumes are white. You think too much.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree, Ms. Mills,” I say, grinning at her sweetly.
“Just as stubborn as your grandma.” Ms. Mills laughs. “Now, don’t rush yourselves, but whenever you’re ready, I’ll be in the kitchen and ready to have your assistance.”
“Thank you, Ms. Mills,” I say, inhaling the chocolatey goodness.
“Yes, thank you!” Juniper echoes. “I hear all other hot chocolate will be ruined for me after this.”
“Well, that just means you’ll have to come back and see me again,” Ms. Mills says, beaming. “Now, I need to get back to Sister Viv—we have so much more TV to talk through.”
Juniper and I sit in silence for a minute, listening to the fire roar and letting our hot chocolate cool a bit. Then I raise my mug. “A toast,” I say, meeting Juniper’s eyes. “To do-overs.”
“To do-overs,” Juniper says. “And maybe sharing some real things about ourselves, so we can make this look authentic for your followers.”
I nod. “Yes, that too.”
We clink mugs and then bring them to our lips.
“Holy shit, this is good!” Juniper says, coming up for air a few moments later, a thin foam mustache dancing on her upper lip.
“You’ve got, uh, your lip…”
Juniper wipes away the film and goes in for another sip. “What is in here? It’s like drinking a straight-up truffle.”
I laugh. “I told you. Ms. Mills don’t play.”
“Thanks for showing me this place,” Juniper says after another few sips. “It’s the coolest spot I’ve been to in Lansing so far.”
“Yeah, for sure. And … thanks for being so chill about my little anger outburst at the rink. I have a hard time when plans change or get ruined, and I seriously underestimated my ice-skating coordination.”
“No worries.” Juniper nods. “I get in my head sometimes too.”
It’s more than just getting in my head, I want to say to her, but I bite my tongue instead and stare into the fire.
When I finally glance at Juniper, she’s looking at me with an open and calm face.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Doesn’t seem like nothing,” Juniper pushes gently.
“Look, I’ve just gotten really good at relying on myself in life.
It’s just been me and Grammy Viv for a long time—and then I met Kiana—and those are kind of my only people.
I’m a pretty private person, despite my presence on BeautyStarz.
It’s hard for me to trust anyone else. So, I just need you to get that moving forward. ”
Juniper nods, still looking at me softly. “OK. I can do that. Thanks for telling me.”
I don’t know why, but all of a sudden I feel like crying. I take a big sip from my mug to hide my face.
“Just one more question,” Juniper says after a beat.
“Uh-huh?” I say.
“What’s your favorite color?”
I laugh. “What? What kind of question is that?”
“Uh, a normal question, that I should know the answer to if we’re going to be a BeautyStarz couple. Mine is blue. Navy blue, to be exact.”
“You’re gonna laugh at mine.”
“I won’t.”
“You will.”
“Try me.”
“Ballet pink,” I say softly.
“I’m sorry—what was that?” Juniper leans in closer like she didn’t hear.
“Stop playing. You heard me. And I told you you’d laugh.”
“OK, OK. I’m not laughing, I’m just—that was unexpected. I’m going to need some more details, please. I just never see you wearing anything close to that color. I thought you were going to say something like teal, royal purple, indigo blue, or some bold color you wear on your lips sometimes.”
Now I laugh. The hot chocolate has warmed up my belly, and I’m starting to actually enjoy this banter with Juniper.
“Listen—it has to do with the tea set my grammy Viv gave me as a little girl. It was my favorite toy ever, and the cups had this spray of ballet-pink flowers all over them. They were so pretty—if I’d had my own room growing up, I’d have painted my room that color. ”
We go quiet then, and I realize I’ve shared a little bit more about myself.
“Alright, well, ballet pink it is. I’ll remember that.” And Juniper isn’t laughing as she takes a final swing from her mug.
“You ready to make these hot chocolate bombs?” I say, after downing the last of mine. “We can have Ms. Mills take some candid pictures of us on my phone too. You know, for documentation.”
“Oh, I’m ready,” Juniper says with a grin. “Let’s do this.”