Please Mean Well

Chapter 6 Symphony

SYMPHONY

The snowflake hanging from the ceiling began to sway when I tapped my finger against it.

I smiled, looking at all the decorations that turned the hallway of Cider Creek Elementary School into a winter wonderland.

I hadn’t been to something like it in my entire adult life, and if I was honest, a nigga was a little nervous.

I was playing an important role in Iylah’s life these days.

I hadn’t seen my brother since the day he ran away from us.

That was a few weeks ago. I went by his house daily to wait for him to pop up, but he never did.

I was really worried about him, to the point where I was ready to get out in the streets to search for him while Doodle Bop was in school.

I was even more confident in my suspicions about his mental state, which made me super uneasy.

Shaking my head, I shook thoughts of Rhap from my mind because tonight was about Iylah. When I went to Solaire, I knew there were missing puzzle pieces in my life. I thought the missing piece would be my brother, but it wasn’t him. It was the four-year-old princess he’d helped create.

She was a breath of fresh air, and her laugh always made it easier to breathe.

I remembered being her age with a parent who wasn’t always present.

Every night, I couldn’t end my prayer without thanking the Lord for bringing me into her life because she needed me.

We’d built a little routine, and who knew cooking dinner for her would bring me so much peace?

I thought nothing was more fulfilling than being on stage, performing in front of thousands of people, until I became an uncle.

The time spent with my niece would always be my greatest treasure.

I gripped the mini bouquet of roses in my hand a little tighter.

Jolting forward, I followed the crowd to the auditorium where the performance was being held.

There was a lot of chatter amongst the parents and families finding places to sit.

A shiver went down my spine, and I lifted my gaze until my eyes landed on Leigh near the stage.

She looked like a teacher dressed in her fitted, lime-green sweater tucked into a pair of chocolate-brown trousers and boots.

I hadn’t been able to get her off my mind since the night of my club appearance.

Who would’ve known a woman seemingly so innocent could get so nasty?

That little performance on the pole had me feeling like I had my own personal dancer.

I loved that she felt safe enough to share that side of her with me.

It made me want to hold her even tighter the next time I got my hands on her.

I winked, causing her to get bashful and look away.

I grinned on the way to an open seat I saw near the front.

The show started not long after I settled in my chair.

Each grade level sang a song for us, but I was biased.

My favorite performances were the two done by Leigh’s class.

My heart was so full as I saw my baby up there.

She was singing her whole heart out. She could have a future in music, just like her uncle, because even at her age, she could hold a note.

I shot to my feet, applauding with everyone else in the crowd.

Pride kept my chest puffed out as I went to find Iylah at the end of the recital.

She saw me first though, and she shrieked before running toward me.

I bent down and opened my arms wide to receive her.

She crashed into me, forcing a smile to my lips.

When she stepped back, I handed her the flowers. “You did such a good job, Doodle Bop,” I complimented her.

She cheesed as her little body twisted from side to side. “Tank you, Unca Sym.” She started looking around. When her eyes landed on me again, I could see a sadness in their depths. “Where Daddy?”

“Aw, he couldn’t make it.”

She immediately burst into tears, and I went into panic mode.

I still wasn’t good at dealing with baby tears.

I began to wipe them away. “Listen. Uncle will take you to get some pizza and ice cream, and you can pick up whatever toy you want,” I offered in hopes that it would calm her down. It didn’t work in the slightest.

The air shifted, and I knew she was there before she even said a word.

“She doesn’t need a grand gesture, Sym. She needs you.

Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. She’s sad and she’s only four-years-old.

That’s a big emotion for grown folks, so imagine being in her little shoes.

Acknowledge that instead of trying to make it go away,” she advised me with a soft hand on my shoulder.

Her touch gave me strength. I reached for Iylah, then pulled her into my arms. “It’s okay, baby.

I know you wish he was here.” She wrapped her arms around my neck before crying harder.

Even though it broke my heart, I didn’t move an inch.

I allowed her all the time she needed to let it out.

It didn’t even matter that we were in a room full of people.

We stayed like that until she finally calmed down.

“Unca Sym, can I have pizza now?” she asked in the sweetest little voice.

I nodded once. “Of course, you can.” Glancing up, I found Leigh watching over us like the nurturing guardian angel she was.

She gave me a cheeky grin that further sedated me.

I wouldn’t have survived the last few weeks without her help.

“Would you like to join us for dinner?” She tucked her bottom lip as the gears in her mind began to spin.

I clasped my hands together in prayer. “Pleaseee.” I wasn’t too proud to beg.

“Pweaseee,” Iylah copied me. She even did the prayer hands too. For added effect, she poked out her bottom lip. I knew we had her then. No one could resist her adorable puppy-dog eyes.

I knew the moment her resolve melted away because her shoulders eased down her spine. “Okay, fine. I’ll come. I just have to grab my things from my classroom. Then we can go.”

Iylah and I high-fived with a cheer. I stood up and took her hand in mine. “That’s cool. We’ll walk with you.”

Iylah released my hand to stand in front of me. Now she was giving me those eyes, making me her newest victim. “Up.”

I gave Leigh a look, then sighed. “I guess I meant I will walk with you.” Bending down, I lifted her into my arms with ease. Leigh giggled before leading the way to her classroom.

We stopped along the way as parents, students, and other teachers all wanted a minute of her time.

I couldn’t blame them, but they needed to hurry this up because I was ready to have her all to myself.

When we finally made it to her classroom, her steps slowed when she saw the bouquet of roses resting on her desk. She glanced at me over her shoulder.

“Did you do this, Symphony?”

“How’d you guess it was me?”

She shrugged, closing the distance to her desk. She ran her fingers over the roses like they were fragile. Or maybe it was her emotions that were fragile since I noticed her trembling lips. “No one else wants to buy me flowers.”

I didn’t like the way that sounded, but it worked in my favor.

“I always knew I was the smartest person on the planet, so it tracks.” I shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal to see her smile, even though it really was.

Leigh just didn’t know I’d buy her flowers every day for the rest of her life to see her smile.

She needed to stop playing with me. I was already missing a few screws in the head, and the look she was giving me had me ready to lock all the way in. I wanted her . . . I wanted her badly.

She finally picked them up and inhaled deeply. She looked at peace, hugging them to her chest. “Well, thank you. This is so sweet.”

“You’re welcome, Squirt.” I figured this was a fine time to christen her with her specially curated Unca Sym nickname.

She paused her admiration to give me an amused grin. “Squirt?”

I nodded. “Yeah, you said you wanted a cute nickname, didn’t you?”

She slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her smile, but I knew it was there. “And why Squirt?”

I smirked. “You know exactly how you got that name, and stop looking at me like that before I remind you of its origin.”

She gasped, dropped her eyes, and quickly began picking up her things. I chuckled when she raced toward us with her flowers and purse in tow. “I don’t want no problems, sir. Let’s just go eat pus-— I mean pizza.” She almost slipped up, but she caught herself.

I released a hearty laugh while following her out of the room. “Wise woman,” I whispered. I didn’t have the strength or desire to tear my eyes away from her ass as it switched from side to side in front of me. Leigh was going to be mine, and I could stamp that on my life.

We were settled into our booth at Nathan’s with Iylah sitting beside Leigh and me all on my own.

I was a little jealous. I wanted to sit by both of them, but whenever Leigh was around, Doodle Bop liked to act like I didn’t exist anymore.

I was always an afterthought, and I couldn’t even be mad.

Leigh just had a way about her where you wanted her all to yourself.

“Which pizza should we get, Doodle Bop?” Leigh asked Iylah, who was pulling out the crayons they’d given her, along with a coloring sheet with a picture of the logo on it.

“Sheese!” Iylah replied cheerily. “You like sheese?”

Lei nodded. “I do. I like pepperoni too.”

“I like cheese too,” I said, trying to join in the conversation. “And pepperoni.”

Iylah gave me the nastiest side eye before proceeding to crush my heart when she said, “Unca, sut up.”

My hand covered my mouth in shock, while Leigh couldn’t contain her laughter for even a second.

“Well, excuse the hell out of me,” I said with a frown.

“Guess I can’t talk to y’all either. It’s strict around this muthafucka,” I joked.

Folding my arms over my chest, I mugged Iylah then sat back in my seat.

Leigh nodded with tears in her eyes. “It really is. You better be careful.” Turning to Iylah, Leigh corrected her. “That wasn’t nice, Iylah. You hurt your uncle’s feelings. Look.” She pointed at me, and on cue, I did my best imitation of crying.

“Unca cry?”

I poked out my bottom lip and nodded. “Yes, you hurt my feelings.” I kept up my facade of a heartbroken uncle, but it didn’t work even a little bit.

“Unca cry,” she said again, but this time, her little ass started laughing, like my tears amused her twisted, little baby soul. I didn’t expect my tears to bring her joy. She definitely got that wickedness from her damn daddy.

My mouth fell open in surprise. “Oh, you driving yourself home. And, . . . and! I hope you got money to pay for your own food,” I told her with an attitude.

I didn’t care if she was four or forty; she wasn’t going to be talking to me crazy.

Valleigh was over there with tears in her eyes because she was laughing so hard.

“And that applies to you too, since you think it’s so funny. ”

I moved like I was going to slide out of the booth, but Leigh placed her hand on top of mine.

She knew her touch was my weakness. They were not playing fair at all.

How did I end up on boy island all by myself, letting them run all over me?

I needed to stand up for myself. This was emotional and verbal abuse.

I just knew it was: no research necessary.

“No, don’t go. She didn’t mean it.”

“Did you mean to laugh?” I asked with a quirked brow. She tried to swallow her laughs, but she failed miserably. “That’s a damn shame. Not you condoning bullying.” I continued to slide out of the booth, forcing her to stand up and rush around the booth to keep me trapped inside. “This kidnapping.”

She waved me off. “Whatever. You don’t really want to leave, and you wanted me to sit by you anyway.”

I leaned back casually with a smirk. “I surely did.” I had no shame.

She knew I wanted her. Iylah didn’t waste a second before she climbed out of the seat, then came on the same side of the table as us.

“Let me sit on the end,” I instructed, making everybody get up to rearrange ourselves.

Leigh sat by the wall, while Iylah sat between the two of us, just as content.

I smiled at Leigh over Doodle Bop’s head as the waitress walked up to take our order. We got one cheese pizza, then a pepperoni too. Since Iylah was busy coloring, I focused my attention on Leigh. I reached for her hand behind Iylah’s body. She allowed me to intertwine our fingers.

“I miss you. When you coming over to see me?”

“How can you miss me when I’m seeing you right now?”

Leaning behind, Iylah I hooked her chin, forcing her to turn her head toward me. “I need to hold your soft body in my arms. It’s the only thing that’s going to make me feel better.”

She blinked slowly, trying her best not to smile, but I knew I had her right where I wanted her. Soon enough, she’d be in an even better position when she was on the tip of my tongue and dick. But one thing at a time.

“What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “We can talk about it while we’re laid up, Squirt.”

She quickly covered her face with her hands. “Oh my God, stop it!”

I chuckled. “What I’m doing?” I leaned back against the booth with my arms folded across my chest.

“You keep saying all the right things.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

She slowly dropped her hands, then slightly turned to face me. I could see the uncertainty swirling in her eyes. “I don’t want to fall in love with your words.”

I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed the back of it. “Fall in love with my actions then.”

She melted right before my eyes, and if I could guess, I’d say the seat of her panties was soaked right then.

I licked my lips with a smirk. The pizza being set on the table kept her from having to respond, but I knew my words pierced her heart.

That was all I needed—for her to know I wasn’t playing, and when I saw something I wanted, I didn’t stop until I got it.