Chapter 11
Arlie was staring at me hard from that barstool.
I wasn’t sure why, but I was about to find out.
Just as I was about to get up, she stood and made her way to me.
My eyebrows lifted slightly. I could see my dad watching from his peripheral.
He told me I was doing the right thing by being here today and doing everything I did.
I refused to tell her it was all my idea though.
I didn’t want to let on just how much I was feeling her without knowing if she felt the same or was at least willing to explore a relationship with me.
She sat next to me and tucked her feet under her, then leaned against me.
I licked my lips as I stared at her. I lifted my arm and put it around her, staring at her as she snuggled against me.
I wanted to pull her to my lap and cradle her like a baby.
Instead, I kissed her forehead. When I lifted my head and saw my dad and Uncle Shawn smiling at me, I chuckled.
I was gonna hear all the bullshit on our way back to my house.
Everyone would be staying with me tonight.
I was off for two weeks. I didn’t tell Arlie that part.
I’d gotten suspended for two weeks. At this point, I didn’t even care.
That just gave me more time to make sure she was okay.
Seeing her today had hurt my heart. I could tell she was struggling, but I could also tell how our presence had made a difference.
The bags under her eyes were extremely pronounced, and the sadness in her eyes was damn near debilitating.
I knew she wasn’t gonna stay at the repast, so I made sure to get Uncle Shawn to a store where he could get everything they needed to make gumbo.
Aunt Sonya wouldn’t be safe in a grocery store out here.
People idolized her, especially in Texas.
The same was becoming true for Sharee. She’d been in a lot of music videos over the past few years and had made appearances in TV shows as well.
When I told Noah about Arlie’s brother dying, I knew he would want to be here, but he took it a step further.
He wanted as much representation from YKMN as possible.
Since it was last minute, he knew he wouldn’t get as much, but it was worth a shot.
It was easy for my family to be here since they were in Beaumont and Dallas, not far from Houston.
Everyone else was primarily based in Baltimore. That took a little more planning.
Everyone was talking about random things.
I glanced down at Arlie to see she had fallen asleep.
Kimaji smiled while looking at her. They were so close.
I was thankful for Kimaji, because I wouldn’t have known anything had it not been for her.
I would have found out about his death, but that would have been it.
“I’m glad she’s resting.”
“I can imagine she hadn’t been sleeping well.”
“No. It’s been rough the past few days.”
I nodded, then asked the million-dollar question. “Was that your mom y’all got into the car with at the cemetery?”
She nodded with a slight smile on her face. “That’s her. She saw you and was completely frozen. I didn’t tell her that we had connected.”
I nodded. “I look like her.”
“You do. So much so.”
“So, umm . . . when do you think I can meet her?”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. “For real?”
“Yeah, but don’t tell her.”
“She usually gets home around four on weekdays, and she’s off on weekends.”
“Okay. When do you have time?”
“I’m wide open. My only obligation is to my girl.”
I nodded again as the door opened. Kimaji stood, and Arlie sat up and turned toward the door.
I turned to see her dad and her brother’s daughter.
He froze in his steps. I didn’t know if he was shocked by the number of people in the house or if it was that he knew the caliber of the people in the house.
He finally made his way to where we were, and everyone stood.
Arlie stood and went to him, taking him to where everyone was. She took him right to Noah, and his eyes widened. He cleared his throat. I could tell he was emotional. “Daddy, this is Noah.”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t know whether to be excited or to punch him in his throat.”
Everyone looked shocked, but Arlie laughed hard as hell. We were all glancing at each other. I was hoping we didn’t have to jump in. He extended his hand to Noah, and said, “My wife loved you. She’s gone to glory, but I’m still a lil salty about how much she loved you and your brother.”
Everybody fell out laughing, including Noah. RJ stood and said, “And I’m the brother.”
He shook his head slowly, then shook RJ’s hand as well. Arlie took him around to everyone, introducing him, and her niece sat on Kimaji’s lap. She looked so tired. When Arlie made her way back, I stood, and she said, “Daddy, this is Graham.”
He frowned slightly and extended his hand. As I shook it, his eyebrows lifted. I believed he recognized me from that bullshit on TV. Once he sat, Arlie said, “Graham, can I talk to you?”
I nodded and let her lead the way. I followed her to the back door that led to a patio.
She sat on a covered swing, so I sat next to her.
We remained quiet for a couple of minutes.
She turned in her seat and grabbed my hand, caressing it between hers.
I brought my hand to her cheek and lightly stroked it with my fingertips.
“Graham . . . God, I don’t know where to start.”
“Start wherever you feel comfortable starting,” I said somewhat softly.
She nodded. “This is beautiful. I would have never expected this from you. When I threatened you and you didn’t show up, I thought I had lost you forever.
” She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“My wants have changed. Actually, they changed after you left my hotel suite in LA. I want to get to know you better.”
“So, you saying you wanna be attached to a nigga?” I asked, fucking with her.
She laughed as I pulled her to me. When she composed herself, I kissed her lips.
“I wanna get to know you too. I guess you know I’m feeling you .
. . ever since I left your hotel suite as well.
You said you didn’t want any attachments, so I was prepared to avoid your ass.
I knew there was no way I could be around you without catching feelings and stalking your ass all over the country. ”
She giggled. “I’m glad we’re on the same wave. I’m scared, but if you can go out on a limb with me, then it’s worth a shot.”
“I could feel the chemistry between us on the plane. I just didn’t know how you felt about the age difference. I’ll be thirty-five next weekend.”
“Oh! What are you doing to celebrate? Will you have to work?”
I glanced at her, then decided to just tell her. “I got suspended for two weeks, so no. I don’t have plans.”
“Because of what happened?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn. I’m sorry. Are you gonna be okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good financially. I work because I want to, not because I have to. While what we did had nothing to do with my job, they had to respond to the fallout because I was wearing my uniform.”
“Okay. Well, we have to do something.” She took a deep breath, then asked, “You ever been in a relationship?”
“Not since high school. You?”
“Same. You ever been in love?”
“Not since high school.”
“Same. Damn.”
I chuckled. “I guess we’re more alike than we are different, huh?”
“Yeah, but high school was only seven years ago for me. That was seventeen years ago for you.”
I side-eyed her. “So you saying I’m gon’ have to suffer through these age-gap jokes? Let me rethink this relationship decision.”
She giggled and playfully hit me on the arm. “So, let me be clear, Graham. I won’t be seeing anyone else. What about you?”
“Just, you and big mama. Like I told you last week, this my shit. Ain’t no fucking way my parents would be here if I didn’t want you to be mine. No fucking way.”
I tapped her nose with my pointer finger. This felt better than I thought it would. I could only hope that this was the real deal.
“I thought your mama was about to give me the business.”
I frowned slightly. “Why?”
“About the bullshit on TV.”
“You do realize I’m almost thirty-five, right? I mean, I was spoiled rotten, but Sidney Taylor ain’t crazy enough to give a woman the business behind me unless the woman was crazy as fuck and on bullshit. She knows how serious I am about being with you simply because she’s here.”
“Oh. The way she was staring at me, at first, had me nervous as fuck. She told me not to ever let nobody make me uncomfortable in my house. After she said that, I knew we were good.”
I chuckled. “She can look intimidating, that’s for sure.
The only place you truly have to be worried about her at is the courtroom.
She don’t bullshit around. That’s homefield advantage for her.
That’s why her and Noah get along so well.
He has a law degree and damn near idolized her back in the day. ”
Her eyebrows lifted. “I would have never guessed. The only personal shit I know about Noah is where he was discovered, his past relationship with your aunt, his ex-wife, his kids, and who his mama is. That’s it.”
“Yeah. You had to be around that shit. I remembered when I first met him. He came to our house with Aunt Sonya before they were even a couple. Her and Uncle Shawn were beefing something serious back then. Those niggas always had drama. My whole family was dysfunctional back then, including me and my parents. Thank God for evolution, ’cause shit. ”
She giggled and leaned into me. I closed my eyes for a moment and nodded. This felt right.
“So you’re saying that you’re in a relationship with him?” a reporter asked Arlie.
We were out having lunch in the city, being social and being together in public. While I wasn’t totally comfortable with that, I went along with what she wanted to do. She’d said that if we made it look scandal-free, they would eventually leave us the fuck alone.