17. Like a Hole Had Been Filled
Chapter seventeen
Like a Hole Had Been Filled
Moni
Minutes later, the sound of approaching helicopters grew louder.
It’s them!
My heart began to race.
Nervous excitement bubbled up inside me.
I shifted from side to side, unable to keep still.
It felt like it had been years since I’d seen them, instead of weeks.
Plus, I wanted my sisters to be impressed by the East, to like Lei and his aunts, but not feel too overwhelmed by everything.
Even more, I hoped I was making the right decision with moving them so quickly into Lotus Blossom.
There was Banks—I hoped he wouldn't cause a scene when I let him know about the move.
My hands trembled.
As if hearing my thoughts, Lei grabbed my hand. “Everything will be fine.”
Please, God. Let him be right.
His reassuring touch soothed my racing pulse, grounding me back to the present— our present, entwined together in this new life we had made for ourselves.
Slowly, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.
In the distance, the helicopter was no longer just a sound but a visible entity, dark against the soft hues of the sun.
My palms began to sweat as I watched it descend towards Lotus Blossom. The rumbling of its engine echoed.
Duck got to my right and pointed near the entrance. “Why is there a carousel?”
I continued to look at the sky. “Your aunts.”
“Aww.”
“There’s mermaids in front of the house too.”
“Real ones?”
I snapped my view to him. “Duck, mermaids aren’t real?”
“We don’t know that.” Duck looked that way. “Wow. Those are definitely mermaids. This is going to be the best cookout ever.”
“Let’s hope.”
He moved his view to the sky. “How old are your sisters again?”
“Jo is twenty. Chloe is seventeen—”
“But about to turn eighteen soon?”
I snapped my view back to him. “Duck, don’t make me hurt you.”
“Oh no. I was just asking.”
I continued to side-eye him. “TT is eleven.”
“Okay. I’m assuming Jo is off limits.”
Lei tilted forward and frowned at him. “Moni’s sisters are our family now, so yes. They’re off limits.”
“Oh.” Duck sighed. “I just heard they were hot.”
“Who the hell told you that?”
Duck shrugged.
I tapped his shoulder. “Keep your meat balls and panty grabbing away from my sisters.”
Duck held his hands up. “Who me? I’m always a perfect gentleman.”
“You showed your penis to my ladies-in-waiting.”
Aunt Min shrieked behind us. “Duck!”
Aunt Suzi hit his back. “Not the ladies!”
Duck looked at us like we were crazy. “Hey, they asked to see it.”
Lei scowled. “We’ll be talking later.”
Duck cleared his throat. “Yes, Mountain Master.”
The helicopters got closer.
I looked at Lei. His eyes were calm as he watched the approaching helicopter, his grip on my hand never wavering. The firm set of his jaw told me he was as ready as I was, but also as nervous and hopeful.
I leaned his way and whispered, “They’ll love you.”
He swallowed.
Suddenly, the chopper was over us. Dust and leaves rushed up and swirled, making it hard to breathe.
The helicopter descended, its blades whipping up a gust of wind that sent more loose leaves and dust swirling.
Lei and I stepped a few feet forward.
God, I hope they love the place.
I stood on tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of my sisters through the helicopter's windows, but I couldn’t see anything.
My heart pounded in my chest as it landed and the door opened.
Oh.
Disappointment washed over me when I saw it was only the DJ with his equipment.
I turned to Lei, trying to mask my frustration with a smile. “That's Hendrix. Banks always uses him for parties.”
Lei nodded, appearing mildly interested. “Well, at least the DJ is here. Let's hope he knows how to play good music, or Aunt Suzi might just kill him.”
“You’re joking right?”
He frowned. “She’s my father’s sister.”
I blinked. “Shit. I’ll be sure to tell him to focus on that.”
We shared a brief laugh, but my mind quickly shifted back to the anticipation of my sisters' arrival.
As Hendrix and what I guessed to be his assistant began carrying equipment out of the helicopter, the second helicopter came into view.
My nerves spiked again and I let go of Lei’s hand and hurried over as it landed, the whirring blades gradually slowing down.
Come on. Come on.
The door opened and my heart sank once more. Out stepped Aunt Betty, followed by some young hottie. Dude must have been in his late twenties.
That must be her new boo she went on the cruise with.
Although almost hitting sixty, Aunt Betty looked to be in her thirties and took advantage of that youthful beauty by dating in that age bracket or going even younger.
Banks hated it but being that Aunt Betty had damn near been celibate during most of his childhood, fully dedicated to raising him, his brother, Marcelo and some of the others. . .well everyone ignored the young boyfriends and let her be.
I took in the other women getting off the helicopter.
Now who the hell are these people?
A whole group of women who were probably from Aunt Betty’s church got out one by one. It must have been around ten of them. Each dressed in green tops and jeans. A few had on hats.
Banks. . .no one said that all these people were invited.
And while Aunt Betty had her new boo holding her lucky wooden box of dominoes, her friends carried an assortment of items—baskets and Tupperware containers filled with food. Others had stacks of cards, bags of ice, several bottles of Hennessy, and one woman even lugged a huge pot which I was pretty sure smelling like stinky chitlins.
Oh God.
A wave of embarrassment crashed over me. This was not the grand, elegant impression I had hoped for.
I glanced at Lei, worried about his reaction, but to my surprise, his eyes lit up with excitement.
“Welcome, everyone!” Aunt Min exclaimed, rushing forward to greet them. “It's so wonderful to have you here! We don’t get many visitors in the East.”
Aunt Suzi followed, clapping her hands together. “Look at all these wonderful goodies! And this pot of. . .well it smells. . .interesting. . . how delightful!”
I went over to Aunt Betty and hugged her. “Where are the girls?”
“You don’t know how to greet anybody?” Aunt Betty grinned and checked out the house. “You done moved up and forgot how to say hi.”
“Hi, Auntie.”
“And hi to you.”
“Where are the girls?”
“I heard the pilot say something to our pilot on the radio about them doing another loop around those dragons because Chloe was begging to see them again.”
I parted my lips. “Are you serious?”
Aunt Betty touched her chest. “Chile, those dragons gave me a heart attack. I’d seen them from the road before many times, but up in the sky. . .now I’m not sure they aren’t real.”
Her new boo held out his hand. “Hey there, I’m Jay Rock.”
“His name is Jason.” She gestured at the garden. “Chile, this place looks good. You have moved up, Ms. Mountain Mistress.”
She snapped her fingers. “And you know we have to talk about that but look at this place. Banks said it’s yours. Just gorgeous. I’m going to have my wedding here.”
“You’re what?”
Aunt Betty headed off with Jason. “Come on and let’s get a good look at this garden. Got a carousel and everything. We can put the altar right there, baby.”
I stared at them. “Oh, she’s tripping.”
Aunt Suzi and Aunt Min headed off with the other women.
“Didn’t even introduce anybody. . .like it’s their place.” I shook my head and checked Lei. “Did you hear that? She's planning on having her wedding here? Girl, bye.”
Lei laughed. “Your family will fit right in with mine.”
“I don’t know about that.” I checked the sky. “And I can’t believe the pilot turned the helicopter around for Chloe. What is that all about?”
Lei finished laughing. “I told the pilots to make the ride fun before they got here and of course to show off parts of the East.”
“Oh.” My heart warmed. “That was nice.”
Finally, the third helicopter appeared on the horizon.
“That’s them.” My heart pounded in my chest. “Oh my God. I’m so nervous.”
Lei chuckled. “And you’re making me more nervous.”
“Sorry.”
This was the moment I'd been waiting for; the moment my sisters would finally arrive.
The helicopter descended and I could barely contain my excitement as it landed and the doors opened.
I wanted to jump up and down like a crazy person, but this time I made myself remain in one space, doing my best to play it cool.
The first to step out was Jo. Tall and slim, today she wore a thin green jean jacket, incredible hulk t-shirt, and fitted green jeans with a gold belt made of bullets.
Oh. Banks must have taken them shopping.
To my surprise, her short mohawk looked at least an inch longer and now the tips were dyed green.
O-kay. They really embraced the South color fast.
That worried me a little bit.
Would they still want to move with me to the East?
Chloe came out next with a polka dot green midriff that I would have never let her wear. It was showing off her flat stomach. She also had on a little jean skirt that barely hit the mid part of her thighs and green knee-high boots.
Oh hell no. I hope you enjoyed your vacation because you are not wearing another outfit like that around me.
TT jumped out with her teddy bear Snuggles. And it was the cutest sight. She wore matching green overalls with Snuggles and a lime green shirt. Long pig tails hung to the side of her head and hit her shoulder, telling me that Aunt Betty had done her hair.
Oh my God. My sisters are finally here.
There they were, all dressed in green from head to toe and stepping onto the helipad with wide-eyed wonder. Their gazes took in the sprawling mansion grounds as if they'd been dropped into a fairytale.
I swore I caught Jo cursing a few times.
The corners of my lips twitched upwards.
Yep. Shit is about to be better for us. I’ve been busy hooking us up.
TT was the first to spot me. With a gasp, she pointed and started sprinting towards me. “Moni!”
It didn’t take her long to get to me either.
“TT.” I braced myself for the impact as she slammed into me and flung her arms around my neck.
“You were gone forever!” she squealed into my ear.
I released a breathy chuckle, hugging her tighter. “I missed you so much.”
“Me too. I didn’t look at any of the new Max and Maddy episodes without you.”
I hated that cartoon and only watched it because she liked it, but I grinned anyway. “Awesome. We’ll catch up later this week. Okay?”
Before TT could respond, two more bodies crashed into us, laughter bubbling from their throats.
Jo and Chloe hugged me so damn hard I struggled with breathing. But I didn’t move or stop them, I could have died right there, suffocating in their love.
Jesus. I had no idea how much I’d missed them.
Like sure. . .I understood that I had wanted to see my sisters, but with them now next to me, I felt like a hole in my chest had been filled.
Tears welled up in my eyes. “Hey, guys!”
Chloe let me go first and whispered like it was a big secret, “Did you know you were on TV?”
“Yeah. I’ll explain more of that after the cookout.”
“Oh.” Jo looked around. “I thought Banks had messed it up about it being a cookout and you were really doing a carnival for us.”
“So. . .they’re uh. . .extravagant here in the East.”
Chloe parted her lips in shock. “There are mermaids! Oh my God. I love mermaids! I’m getting some pictures by them. Jo, come on over real quick so we can take a picture—”
“Girl, I’m not your photographer and you already took about fifty selfies on the helicopter.” Jo still hadn’t let me go. “And we’re just seeing Moni. Chill out.”
TT climbed off me. “Snuggles loves this place already.”
Jo finally let me go and gazed into my eyes. “Are you good?”
“I’m doing great.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“I saw that shit on TV today with the tea. Girl, you know you don’t know how to make no tea.”
I laughed.
“Anyway, the cool old dude, Leo, he said right on TV that Mom knew his wife and there was a picture and everything in the background.”
Oh shit. I forgot they would have seen that too.
I let out a long breath. “So. . .yes. That picture is real. Mom was here in the garden, but I never knew—”
“Moni, that doesn’t make any sense—”
“Jo, I’ll explain later—”
“I need you to explain now—”
“Mom was really here? No way.” Chloe looked around the garden. “How would she have gotten here?”
“Look. It is a long story. I will explain later.”
Jo’s eyes watered. “If Mom was really here, then I want to go to the spot where she was at. Right now. Fuck a cookout.”
For some reason, those words hit me hard.
Chloe went silent telling me that she agreed.
TT stared up at me.
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll take you three there, but first let me introduce—”
“And that’s where I’m going to be the whole cookout. Wherever Mom was at is the place I’m standing.” Jo appeared to be struggling with not crying as she crossed her arms over her chest. “But first I need proof that she was really here and an explanation—”
“Look. Give me like ten minutes or so,” I gestured toward Lotus Blossom, “I want to introduce you to everyone then show you our new house where. . .you all will be moving in today—”
“What house?” Jo quirked her brows.
I pointed at it. “That one.”
Jo gave me a skeptical expression like she would believe it when she truly saw us all moving into the spot.
Meanwhile, Chloe leaned her head to the side. “But then, where do we sleep and live? Is it on the third floor or second or—”
“The whole house is ours.”
“Moni, that’s not a house.” Jo scowled like I was lying to her. “That’s a fucking mansion.”
“Stop cursing and just. . .I’ll explain everything.”
TT tapped my side. “Moni, who are all the people behind you? I know one is the Mountain Master. I did some reading on the East’s system and that is the Deputy Mountain Master. I forgot which one is the Red Pole.”
Chloe smirked. “The Red what?”
Of course TT would know all the titles by heart.
“Mountain Master?” Jo kept those arms crossed over her chest. “I’m not calling him that. I don’t know that man.”
Oh, God.
All three of my sisters stared off behind me, clearly curious and perhaps a bit overwhelmed.
“Alright. I want you all to be on your best behavior.” I glanced over my shoulder.
Lei stood several feet behind me. Next to him were Duck, Hu, and Chen, as well as my ladies-in-waiting—Thandi, Lan, and Fen.
All of them were dressed in blue, a stark contrast to the green my sisters wore. I could only imagine what my sisters must be thinking about this new group of strangers.
Off in the distance, Aunt Suzi's voice rang out, “Sister, the babies are here!”
Oh fuck. I better hurry this up before the aunts rush over.
Surely thinking the same thing, Lei stepped forward. His expression was a mix of calm and anticipation.
I took a deep breath.
This introduction was crucial and I hoped it would go smoothly.
Lei stopped in front of my sisters and extended his hand to Jo first. “Welcome to the East.”
Hope and anxiety swirled in my chest.
Jo remained silent and just looked at his hand like he must be tripping.
Fuck.
And my whole body went stiff.
Be nice, Jo.