Chapter 14
Kalliope
THREE WEEKS LATER
“Idon’t know what I’m going to do, Mommy.”
“It’s not for you to worry about. You pray on it, baby, and then you leave it to God.”
“I mean, do you think that I should call or something?”
My mother shook her head as she pulled her fingers through my hair. She sat on the last seat of the couch, and I was stretched out on the couch with my head in her lap.
I had gone to her house to spend the afternoon with her because Silas was in town. Andrès was spending time with him and getting their wedding attire.
The last three weeks, my mother, Khatya, Kelsey, my best friend, Adriana, and I had been running around like chickens with our heads cut off, doing everything that Alexandria Sheridan and Serena Beasley had told us to do.
We had gone for a final fitting of our gowns earlier today, and it was now four in the afternoon.
Mommy had ordered food from Soldier’s, a popular restaurant, and we had just finished eating.
Kelsey was lying on the floor, on her back, looking at something on her phone.
Adriana was curled up in my daddy’s big armchair, and Khatya was stretched out on the love seat with her feet dangling over the edge.
“You don’t need to call that woman and get involved in their affairs. That family must work their mess out. I know that you want to do what’s right, baby, because you’ve always had a big heart, but some things they’ll need to figure out on their own. You can only make things worse,” Mommy advised.
“But she hasn’t said whether she will be there or not.”
“I mean, your man did uninvite her man,” Adriana announced.
“Her man, not her, friend. Besides, you’re not even funny, sis.”
“Not trying to be,” she replied and popped her gum loudly.
“Mommy, what am I going to do? What if she thinks we don’t want her there?”
“She won’t think that. She knows her son.”
“Well, that’s at least one plate you don’t have to worry about since she’s not bringing a plus one,” Adriana quipped.
“Somebody, please give this girl a job as a comedian because sis thinks she’s on a roll,” Kelsey stated dryly, flipping onto her belly and kicking her legs back and forth.
“I just want my wedding to be drama free,” I stated.
“Good luck with that. Since when has that ever happened?” Mommy asked.
“It happened with my wedding.” Khatya spoke up, kicking her foot out.
“Girl, that don’t count. I’m still mad at you today about that,” Mommy replied.
My big sister had gone away for a weekend trip, not long after they had DJ.
She had begged Mommy to watch him because she and Devon needed a quick getaway to restore and rejuvenate as a couple and as parents.
They came back with a whole-ass wedding certificate, wedding rings on their fingers, and my sister’s last name changed from Robinson to Robinson-Steele.
“Mommy, that’s been ages ago. Come on. Me and the man have been married for almost two decades now,” Khatya pointed out.
“And I’ve still been robbed of my opportunity to plan and participate in my daughter’s wedding,” Mommy argued.
“Don’t worry, Mommy. You’ve now got the chance to plan Kalli’s,” Khatya countered.
“You guys aren’t helping me at all.” I groaned.
“Best friend, your mama did help. She said stay out of them folks’ drama.
Now unless you wanna be messy like my mama, you will stay out of it,” Adriana explained.
Then she leaned in closer and crooked her fingers and waved them toward herself, indicating I should lean in closer.
When I did, she finished her statement. “But if you wanna be like Mama, guuurrll, you should call them folks up, demand that she gives you an answer as to her status, and remind her ‘but ya mans can’t come.’”
Kelsey hooted and hollered from her position on the floor, kicking her legs back and forth even faster. I rolled my eyes, and Khatya turned her brow down in a frown. “What is Serena and Alex saying?”
I sighed. “I haven’t shared it with them yet.”
“Well, you might want to do that. They need to be prepared for any drama that may arise, and I’m sure they’ll need a final count,” Khatya advised.
“You’re right,” I conceded.
“Still doesn’t mean that you should call them people. Let sleeping dogs lie, chile,” Mommy warned.
“I just want them to be at peace, Mommy. I want my man to have happiness, the support of his family, and not be stressed over crazy stuff.”
“Honey, our whole family is crazy,” Mommy countered.
“With love,” Kelsey, Khatya, and I responded.
Mommy smiled and nodded. “As it should be.”
“My friendship with Andrès has always been drama free, easy, and light. Our relationship is relatively new, and it’s been the same way.
I know that people think we’re moving too fast, and we’re making a mistake by jumping straight from friendship into a relationship, but I know that man loves me, and I love him.
I want our wedding to reflect that same easy, light, and drama-free feeling. ”
“Who are people?” Kelsey asked.
“Your aunts and your grandmas,” I replied sarcastically.
“Grandma—not grandmas,” Mommy corrected.
“That’s right. Grandma Delia is happy for me,” I stated, referring to her mother. My grandma Sasha, my daddy’s mom, thought we should slow down.
“You cannot get caught up in what other people say you should do. If that were the case, I would have had this big old wedding complete with a big poofy gown, lace, and all. Devon and I were happy with eloping and making it personal between just us two,” Khatya stated.
“But you weren’t happy with taking that baby with you. You left him behind and didn’t keep that personal,” Mommy replied.
“Uggh, here we go again,” Khatya muttered.
“Don’t y’all start. This is about Kalliope,” Kelsey stated.
“All I’m saying is do what feels good to you,” Khatya replied.
“She’s right, baby. It’s about the two of you at the end of the day.” Mommy agreed.
“It’s a celebration of your love, not other people’s opinions,” Kelsey remarked.
“We’re about to have the wedding production of the century. But, if you want a little added drama, I can get my mama to call his mama,” Adriana teased.
“Don’t!” Mommy, Khatya, and Kelsey shouted.
I laughed so hard that I cried. I loved these women, and I couldn’t wait until Andrès was a part of this family, because he would be loved as deeply as they loved me.
“Are you okay, baby?” I asked, rubbing Andrès’s arm.
He was on his side, facing away from me, but he had been silent and had checked out of watching the show on TV a while ago. He turned onto his back and moved his arm so that I could lie on his chest.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“How was your day with Silas and the boys?”
He chuckled. “We had a great day. Did a lot of bonding, faced some hard truths, and just did shit that only men do when they’re together.”
“Hard truths like what?” I asked, reaching up and pulling one of his dreads loose from his bun.
“That Leon will always be an asshole, and nothing about that will ever change. That I sought his approval initially because my mama loved him and my daddy was moving away. That when it was clear he would never treat me like his son, though he talked a good game, I took the pain of rejection to heart.”
“Which resulted in your self-destructive behaviors back then. Two men you loved dearly had disappointed you greatly.”
“Yeah. I mean, it took a lot for me to open up to my dad when I moved to California. I was so angry with him, but I needed him at the same time. I couldn’t forgive him for living two different lives, breaking Mama’s and my hearts the way he did, and keeping my siblings away from me for so long.
Crazy part is that we’re all three years apart.
It’s like he had Solomon, took a break, three years later he needed another one, and he impregnated my mama with me, and then three years later, he impregnated Tora with Kalandra.
It all made sense why he didn’t marry Mama; he had another family already. ”
“But he didn’t marry their mother either, did he?”
“Not at first. He didn’t marry her until after his ass was busted. Still can’t believe she let that nigga get away with that,” he stated with a low chuckle.
I pushed up on my elbow and dropped a kiss on his forehead, nose, and lips before I lay back down.
“I remember that summer when you learned about them. You were so stoked and yet so devastated at the same time.”
“Yeah. I was twelve that year, and I had no idea how much my life was about to change. Don’t get me wrong; Daddy hadn’t always been there.
Being an over-the-road trucker gave him the perfect excuse for being away and having another family.
It was just knowing that when he was in town, he wouldn’t be staying with us anymore.
“I wouldn’t see him and Mama loving on each other and being happy.
We wouldn’t do things together as a family anymore.
That shifted the dynamic of what I perceived family to be and Black love.
Then when Leon’s ass waltzed up in there three years later, I put all that hurt aside, and I focused on making sure Mama was happy and that maybe we could have a chance at being a family again.
That nigga didn’t want that. He wanted my mama and nothing else.
He just accepted me as part of the deal. ”
“You now have three beautiful families, though, Drè. You’ve got your dad, Torah, Solomon, and Kalandra.
You and your siblings are so close it’s like you guys were raised together.
Then you’ve got your mom, and the two of you are family.
It doesn’t matter what Leon thinks, feels, or wants.
He can never break the bond between you and her.
Then there’s us. You’re about to marry into this loud, zany, opinionated family full of mostly women. We love you to pieces.”
He smiled down at me and dropped a kiss on my lips.
“I love you more, baby girl.”
I only prayed that his mother would prove me right and show up for our wedding.