26. Gemini Black #2
She placed her hands on top of me, and Amina’s head, told us to close our eyes, and she prayed over our union.
I’m talking ten minutes straight, going to God, telling Him to bless this new journey that we were on together.
She asked God to bless the disagreements that we would have, and that we knew what to do to make up when we had those disagreements.
She told God to bless the words that we said to each other because words could sting when they were said in anger, and it could linger.
Anything that could possibly go wrong in our marriage, she asked God to rebuke it.
By the time she finished, Amina was crying, but I was cool.
She hugged Amina when she finished, rocking her back and forth. That hug went on for a few minutes, and once they pulled apart, that’s when we walked inside of the house.
“If my grandson would have called me in advance to let me know that ya’ll were coming, I would have had a spread of breakfast laid out for you two.
He didn’t give me much time, but I can whip something up.
I have eggs, pancake mix, and sausages. Are you two hungry?
” she wanted to know, as she led us into the family room.
“I’m okay. I’ll just take a water,” Amina let my grandma know.
“Grandma, it’s cool. We not going to be here that long. I’m trying to be back in Miami before midnight. I just wanted to slide through and lay eyes on you. You don’t gotta cook for us,” I said, even though I knew she wasn’t going to hear me out and was going to do whatever she wanted to do.
My grandma’s love language was feeding people.
You could come over to her house and tell her that you just came from eating, and she would still try to put more food on your stomach at her house.
When you think about it, I inherited that same trait from her.
I was always trying to feed Amina. I guess that was one of my love languages too.
“I’ll just whip up a little something then. Ya’ll are getting ready to get back on the truck, and I just want to send you off with some food on your stomachs,” she said exactly what I knew she would.
I let her have it. I wasn’t going to go back and forth with her because I knew that I wouldn’t win.
Since she was going to cook, we no longer went into the family room.
Instead, we walked over to the kitchen area.
I took a seat at the island, pulling out one of the stools, while Amina stood, taking the water from my grandma, that she handed to her out of the fridge.
Amina attempted to ask my grandma if she needed any help with breakfast, but just like I knew she would, she shut it down, telling Amina that she had it under control and to just sit with me.
“Amina, how does your mom feel about you getting married and not going back to London?” my grandma asked, making small talk, as she pulled the items out of the fridge that she was going to need for breakfast.
She asked Amina that question right after she finished drinking the water and placed the cap back on it.
“She’s happy for me, and Gemini. I thought that she would be upset with me because we did a shotgun wedding.
I’m her only child, and I know that she would have wanted to be there.
She understood though. She knows that Gemini and I both made a decision with our hearts.
She is sad that I’m not going back to London.
She’ll be in Miami this weekend so that she can see me.
She’s going to stay for a couple of weeks,” Amina let her know.
“You think she’ll leave London and move back to Miami so that she could be closer with you?” my grandma wanted to know, and her question made Amina smile.
“I highly doubt it. She’s built an entire name out there in London for herself.
Although I’m not there, she really loves it there.
It’s a place that she’s always wanted to live.
My mom would never move back to Miami. It’s the city where my father was murdered, so it’s too traumatic for her.
I’ll always go visit her, and I know she’ll always come down to visit me too,” Amina went on to say.
Hearing her mention her father, I knew that it was something that always put her in her feelings, so I reached my hand over, just to place it in her lap. She put her hand on top of mine, and I know that it was just a subtle way of her letting me know that she felt me.
My grandma offered Amina her condolences for the passing of her father, but after that, she quickly changed the subject.
If anyone knew about grief, and not bringing up loved ones that were no longer here, it was my grandma.
She knew not to linger on the subject. She immediately switched gears, getting in our business, wanting to know how it was on the truck for us.
Amina talked about all the states that we visited, the things she learned, the places that were her favorite and least favorite.
I sat my ass here proudly, listening to her speak because she sounded like a woman that enjoyed herself on the truck with me, and didn’t dread all the things that had taken place.
We stayed over here with my grandma for another hour or so.
The breakfast that she cooked for us was so good that I went back for seconds.
Amina barely ate her food this morning. She was whispering to me, telling me that she didn’t have an appetite, but she was forcing herself to try to eat something since my grandma cooked for us.
When my grandma wasn’t looking, her scary ass put some of her food on my plate, so that I could finish it for her.
Now, here we were, standing outside in front of my truck, and Amina was snapping pictures of my grandma and I together.
I even had my grandma hop up on the truck, sitting in the driver’s seat, and taking a few pictures of her there.
Once the picture taking ended, I wrapped my arms around her, and I could tell by the way that she was holding onto me that she wasn’t ready to let me go.
“I hate leaving you out here by yourself,” I told her, once we pulled away from each other.
Her sassy ass rolled her eyes at me, and I knew she was getting ready to say something slick.
“Grandson, you don’t have to worry about me. I live my life. You know I have a bunch of friends. I leave for Vegas on Friday,” she told me, and Amina wasn’t standing too far away, so she heard and laughed. I shook my head at that.
True to form, my grandma stood there in one of her Delta outfits. This time, it was a crimson-and-cream knit dress that felt below her knees. She came out here with the matching house slippers on and everything. Necklace too. I’m telling you, her ass didn’t play about Delta Sigma Theta.
“Man, what you going to Vegas for, and who you going with?” I wanted to know.
“I’m going with Gail. It’s her birthday, and that’s where she wanted to go. We’re going to be there for a whole week,” she said it proudly, like she had a bunch of plans to get into some shit while she was out there.
I shook my head at that, and stood here, talking to her like I was her daddy, giving her all the rules.
I was telling her not to talk to strangers, not to leave her drink unattended, and things like that.
She wasn’t trying to hear shit that I was saying because she waved my ass off, and then she went for Amina, so that she could hug her.
From where I stood, I saw where my grandma whispered something in Amina’s ear, but I didn’t know what she said.
It did make Amina freeze up for a second.
I watched as her eyebrows shot up, her eyes got wide as hell, and her lips slowly parted.
After she went through all those different reactions, I saw the way she looked my grandma in the eyes, and she didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh, cry, or tell her to repeat herself.
Amina didn’t say anything though. She just nodded her head. They hugged one last time and then pulled away from each other.
I hugged and kissed my grandma one last time and then assisted Amina with getting on the truck. My grandma stood there the whole time, watching. She was on the sidewalk, with her arms crossed, looking at us with a smile on her face.
I hopped on the truck, started it up, and before pulling off, we both waved at her.
“What she said to you?” I asked Amina the second I pulled off. She had to know that I was going to ask her that because she laughed.
“Nothing. It was girl talk,” she said.
“Tell me. You keeping secrets and shit,” I pressed.
“I’m not telling you Gemini. It’s between the girls,” I could hear it in her voice that she wasn’t going to spill it.
“Yeah aight,” was all I said in response to her. I dropped it after that, deciding not to keep pushing.
I made it out the community gate with the truck, and eventually I was out on the main road. It wouldn’t be long before I was hopping back on the highway. We were getting closer and closer to Miami. I could smell it.