Bree #2
I looked up before slowly turning in the direction Kayla described.
The second my eyes landed on them, I slid lower into my seat.
Sure enough, sitting a few tables over was Mama Sina and Judge Emory.
Not only were they together, but they looked entirely too comfortable.
The type of comfortable that raised questions.
Mama Sina was smiling. Judge Emory looked relaxed.
Neither one of them appeared concerned with the fact that if certain people saw them sitting together, assumptions would start flying.
“What the hell?” Lauren whispered.
“Wait a damn minute.” Nia leaned closer to her screen.
“See. I knew I wasn’t tripping.” Kayla pointed dramatically through the phone.
I was still trying to process what I was looking at when the front doors opened and my heart damn near jumped clean out my chest. Walking through the entrance like they owned the place were Kade, Cassian, and Yayo.
The three of them scanned the restaurant before making a direct line toward the table Mama Sina and Judge Emory were sitting at.
Judging by the look on Mama Sina’s face and the way Judge Emory immediately sat up straighter, neither one of them looked like they invited company. Matter of fact, both of them looked caught completely off guard.
I lowered my Kindle on the table and watched as Kade pulled out a chair, followed by Cassian and Yayo doing the same.
Whatever conversation was about to happen clearly wasn’t planned, and knowing the people involved, there was no chance it was going to stay pleasant for long.
The longer I watched, the stronger the feeling in my stomach became.
Something was about to happen. And whatever it was, I had a feeling none of us were supposed to witness it.
“Umm, Ysis, if you coming, I need you to come faster because your husband and his brothers just rolled up on this man and you know like I know when they all in the same room, shit can get real...extra.” I flipped the camera around so they could see exactly what I was seeing.
“Keep us on the phone girl. Cazmir gone blow a gasket if we try to leave this office.” Nia said, already looking over her shoulder like she was considering it anyway.
“Girl bye. Fuck Cazmir. I’m on my way now. Ysis, I’ll meet you there.” Kayla said.
“I’m coming as fast as my belly will allow me.
” Ysis said, walking outside. A few seconds later she was climbing into her car and propping the phone up against the dashboard.
I sent them my location and turned my attention back toward the table, continuing to watch as words were exchanged between all four men.
Damn, I really wished I had gotten a closer seat.
In light of everything we’d learned over the last few days, it wasn’t hard to understand why Kade and them rolled up in here.
The question wasn’t why they were here. The question was what Mama Sina and Judge Emory were doing here in the first place.
Out of all the drama, secrets, betrayals, and family revelations we’d uncovered recently, this was not the tea I expected to stumble into today.
But baby, my cup was sitting right there ready to be filled.
“Y’all better hurry up and get here because they leaving with Judge Emory in tow.
” I lowered my voice as I watched all four men stand from the table.
The second Kade, Yayo, Cassian, and Judge Emory disappeared through the doors, Mama Sina remained seated for a moment before pressing her palm against her forehead. She looked exhausted.
Once the coast was clear, I told the girls to hold on before grabbing my things and making my way across the restaurant.
“Hi Ms. Sina. How you doing?”
“Bree?” She looked up in surprise before smiling.
“Hi baby. What are you doing here?”
“I came to get some lunch and spotted you from my table.” I motioned toward the now empty seat across from me.
“Would you like to join me?”
“Might as well.” She sighed, gathering her purse and water. “Since my little date just got busted up.”
Date? My eyebrows shot up. The second she followed me back to the table, one of the girls spoke up in my AirPods.
“Date? Who was she on a date with?” I couldn’t help but smile at their reactions. Lord, my friends were terrible. Flipping the screen around, I let Mama Sina see the group FaceTime. She pursed her lips, shook her head, then broke into a smile.
“Y’all are some nosey little heffas, you know that?”
“Hi Mama Sina!” they all chimed at once.
“Mmhm. That’s exactly what some nosey people would say.”
“I’m almost there,” Ysis announced, her eyes focused on the road.
“Me too,” Kayla chimed in from her own vehicle.
“We gotta get back to work,” Nia said reluctantly.
“But keep us in the loop.”
“I hate being responsible.” Lauren said, looking equally annoyed.
“Liar. No you don’t.”
“I do when drama is involved.”
Eventually both of them disconnected, leaving me, Kayla, Ysis, and Mama Sina still on the call. Right on cue, my food arrived and I wasted no time taking a long sip of my apple sangria. Between the stress, the secrets, and whatever the hell I’d just witnessed, I felt like I’d earned it.
Mama Sina watched me over the rim of her glass before clearing her throat. “So how much did you see?” I swallowed hard, not wanting to lie.
“Enough to know that you and your date look like y’all got history.” I raised my eyebrows before taking another sip of my drink.
Before Mama Sina could answer, our waiter returned and took our orders.
At the same time, Kayla and Ysis walked through the front doors of the restaurant.
Looking at my friends, it was easy to see why their men were absolutely obsessed with them.
Kayla looked gorgeous as always, carrying herself with the confidence of somebody who knew who she was.
Meanwhile Ysis was glowing. Pregnancy looked good on her.
She carried herself with a grace and elegance that never seemed forced.
Rarely did I see her looking anything less than beautiful and somehow motherhood only seemed to amplify it.
“Whew. Now what did we miss?” Kayla asked as she slid into the seat beside me while Ysis took the seat next to Mama Sina. What started as a nice, quiet lunch by myself had officially turned into a full-blown lunch pow-wow with Mama Sina’s tea sitting front and center.
Mama Sina took a sip of her water before finally answering the question we’d all been wondering about.
Apparently she and Judge Emory had known each other since college.
Life eventually pulled them in different directions, and while nothing serious had ever happened between them, he’d always been kind to her and had a good head on his shoulders.
After seeing her at Kayla and Yayo’s court hearing, he’d reached out and they’d been talking ever since.
Today was the first time they’d gotten together in person to reconnect and, according to her, her sons managed to bust up the date before it really got started.
“Damn.” Ysis blew out a breath.
“I’m not surprised though, and Ma, you shouldn’t be either. By now you know exactly how they operate. I’m just glad they didn’t cause a scene.”
The waiter returned with menus and drink orders before Ysis requested a strawberry lemonade, a Caesar salad, and the restaurant’s lunch special, which happened to be a blackened salmon filet served over garlic parmesan risotto with roasted asparagus.
Kayla ordered another sangria, a fresh round of oysters for the table, and a Cajun shrimp pasta while Mama Sina requested a Coke along with the lunch special as well.
Once the waiter jotted everything down and disappeared again, we settled back into our conversation.
I couldn’t help watching Mama Sina closely. There was something different about her today. She seemed lighter somehow. Not completely carefree, but lighter than I’d seen her in a long time. Maybe reconnecting with somebody from her past had done her some good. Lord know's she’s been through enough.
“You know,” Kayla said, reaching for one of my oysters, “If Judge Emory really likes you, he gone have to survive the gauntlet first.”
Mama Sina frowned. “The gauntlet?”