Aldrich
STERLING WAS STRESSED out.
It wasn’t hard to tell by the way she’d been running around for the last few weeks.
When I clarified that I wasn’t doing a lot for my folks coming, because I knew my mother would handle it when she got here, I was met with her panic over the idea that the house wasn’t ready.
Did I find it funny that she was worried that it would reflect badly on me that the house wasn’t together?
Yes. Because it wasn’t a big deal. There were four other bedrooms besides the ones that she and Ami used and I hadn’t gotten around to doing anything with them.
I gave her permission to do whatever she wanted just like with Ami’s room.
I felt bad for putting these decisions on her but she seemed to thrive in making these types of decisions.
She sent me over ideas and within a few days the deliveries had started.
The same mattress that she had ordered for her bed, one that I quickly copped because that shit was nice as hell, had been placed on all the guest beds she’d ordered.
The headboards were upholstered and each room was unique but still had this really nice hotel room vibe to it.
She’d done these floral arrangements and put out welcome baskets and stuff and I was just feeling worthless because I hadn’t thought to do anything like this.
I had no issue with letting her do what she wanted because she seemed to thrive getting it all together, but I felt bad for only answering one or two questions about my people and then letting her have at it.
By the time I’d gotten back from picking my family up, she already had dinner on the table.
I can’t lie that I felt some shit in my chest with the way she was just handling everything but I knew I was taking advantage of her kindness.
Ling was a giver and if circumstances were different I’d be more than happy to take.
But she worked for me and I needed to talk to her agency to up her pay or give her a bonus or something since she was doing far more than her job description at this point.
Maybe she’ll let me gift her those diamond earrings I got her as a thank you instead of an I’m sorry. “She’s beautiful, mijo.”
I knew my mama was gonna start the second she laid eyes on Sterling.
Her eyes lit up and I could tell she was enjoying watching how Sterling had already bonded with Ami.
Despite being there to take care of my daughter, Sterling was cognizant of my family wanting to see her and hold her even though I could tell she would get anxious when the baby was too far away from her at times.
She was already attached and my baby was too.
Hell, so was I, which was surprising given how things had started out with us.
I was grateful things had gotten better with us and I knew a lot of that was owed to the woman that was currently lying on the floor doing tummy time with my little sister Cassie and my baby.
I’d stepped out on the back patio through the door off the den near our rooms and my mama had no issue following.
My mother had a slightly lighter skin tone than me and was probably around Sterling’s height.
Folks always told her she looked like Sheryl Lee Ralph because she had the same wide smile and big dimples that she’d passed on to me.
Her hair was a shoulder-length style she’d had it in most of my life.
I nodded at her assessment of Ling because I couldn’t deny what anyone could see with their own two eyes. “She is. Super smart and very intelligent. She will be an outstanding role model to help Ami.”
“Role model to help?” My mama was looking at me like I was full of shit and I was trying not to laugh.
She was a Black woman who’d had the audacity to marry a Dominican man whose family was not all that open to her being their son’s wife.
My father to his credit hadn’t given a damn what they thought.
My grandmother was always saying little things about my mother.
According to her and my father, he had had enough and cut off his whole family.
It was crazy because my mother had lighter skin than anyone in my father’s family.
They were just hoping that with his smarts and education he would try to blanqueamiento, which was marrying someone lighter to raise the social standing of the family.
People can talk all that shit they want about there not being a race issue in the Dominican Republic.
Ask Haitians about the treatment they get from Dominicans.
It was worse for my mother because not only was she Black but she was also American.
Her good job and high status within the community didn’t mean shit to them.
She’d taken to calling me mijo after my father died.
She said that she wanted to keep the spirit of the endearment he used to call us alive even though he wasn’t.
“Yeah, I think the agency did a good job.” I kept my eyes off of her and on the pool that I had cleaned earlier this week so that my siblings could enjoy it.
My Black ass hadn’t been crazy enough to have that shit cleaned when there was no one else here.
My seeing all that body Sterling had in a bathing suit would’ve had me thinking thoughts I shouldn’t have.
Thoughts I had already been having and I needed to stop.
“Richie, mijo, don’t you have a degree?” She acted like she hadn’t insisted on my getting my degree despite my having been drafted.
Sonya Dinero wore the biggest smile on her face after my name was called.
The picture of her holding my degree outside of the coliseum was framed in my office right up there with my trophies that I’d accumulated over my career. Real talk, it was my proudest moment.
I chuckled at her question cause I knew she was about to talk shit. “Yes.”
She folded her arms and snaked her neck at me and I could hear her saying silently acting like I ain’t raise you right.
“Then why are you over here acting like you’re stupid?
I’m more than sure that your book smarts translate into street smarts and I say that because you are my son. I didn’t raise a fool.”
I was fighting a smile cause I was gone troll her for as long as I could. “What are you trying to say?”
My mother rolled her eyes again and looked like she wanted to pop me in the back of the head. “That you have feelings for her.”
My eyes looked immediately behind me toward Sterling because this lady hadn’t been here for a full day yet and she was already seeing too damn much. “What would give you that idea?”
Her silence softened and I was almost afraid of what she was going to say. “I see how you watch her. I know what that looks like because as I watch the videos of when your father was alive and he looked at me the same way.”
“What way?”
“Like you can’t take your eyes off of her. I stayed away, not because I didn’t want to come and help, but because I wanted you to have time to settle in without my interference. And I’m glad I did because you’ve realized that you didn’t need me to lean on, you had someone else.”
“You hadn’t even met her but you set me up?”
Her brow rose and I knew she was wishing she could still put belt to ass since I was sassing her. “And if this turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to you?”
“I’ll buy you a new house.”
“Mijo, you would’ve done that anyway. I would tell you to think bigger but I will just go and talk to my future daughter-in-law and tell her what I want.”
“Do you need anything?” It was easier to look after her than to have her trying to mind all my business and tell me about things I wasn’t ready to face.
“Never. You already do too much as it is, Richie.” My mother was pissed that I refused to take any of the money that had been left to me from my dad.
Not that I was arrogant enough to think I was going to make it to the league, I just knew that her having a larger nest egg was more important for her to heal properly than me having money in the bank to blow.
Thankfully, I went to a D1 school on a full ride so the money wasn’t needed.
Now that I was successful it was even less reason for me to take anything from her and she let me know every time I did something that I was too much.
I leaned over and kissed her cheek, forcing her to smile despite her wanting to boss up on me.
“Nothing will ever be good enough for the way you held everything together for us after Daddy died. That strength is priceless.”
“Save that charm for the woman in there that is going to be your forever. I’ve been able to be number one in your life for many years but in just a few months you’ve found me two replacements and I couldn’t be happier.
” The way she smiled when she turned to look at Sterling with Ami had me thinking she’d really been plotting on the two of us getting together.
“Not replacements.”
“When I see the type of joy that you have on your face looking at her, I’m more than happy to be third place, mijo.
” She leaned up to give me a kiss on the cheek before she covered the spot with her hand affectionately.
“And how she handles my grandbaby is so perfect to watch. I wonder if she knows she loves that baby even more than she loves you.”
My throat damn near tightened up hearing her say that cause there was no way Sterling was feeling me like that. There had been no sign that she’d harbored those types of feelings. “She doesn’t love me, ma…”
My mama shrugged in that factual mama knows all way she’d been doing my whole life.
“Maybe not yet, but watch what I say. We’re going to always give you your space, Richie but it’s especially important now because you have your own family unit that you’ve formed.
Don’t get so caught up worrying about us that you neglect them. They are the priority now.”