Chapter 18
REINA
We walked up the short driveway, then entered through the metal gate.
The smell of barbecue permeated throughout the air, and a modest-sized group of people was spread out on the deck.
A few small children were playing tag in the backyard, and some teens were off to a corner, with their phones propped up, doing what I assumed were TikTok dances.
Frankie Beverly his family basically said they love me.
“Welcome to my home. Vasiah, go see if she wants a drink. Yo auntie spiked the punch, and I’m feeling nice. I wanna talk to her,” he ordered Vasiah.
“Pop, don’t be trying to steal my girl now.”
“Boy, if I were about twenty years younger, you would def have some competition!” he retorted, and we all fell out laughing again. I liked him already, and my nerves were dissipating as the minutes went by. He led me to the spades table, where I greeted his auntie and cousins.
“Can yo pretty self even play?” his auntie asked, eyeing me up and down with curiosity.
“Oh, honey… I’m the spades champ,” I replied and then proceeded to whoop them three times in a row. Vasiah eventually came over and handed me the spiked punch and let me sip from it while his dad and I talked shit.
“Alright, lil mama! I’m not gon’ underestimate you again,” his auntie groaned, pushing away from the table.
“Lil Varnell, you make sure you keep her. Keep a woman who knows how to play spades. Means she smart and strategic,” she winked at me and Vasiah.
By this time, his dad had leaned back and puffed on a Cuban cigar.
“Miss Reina,” he toked on the cigar and offered it to me. I took a puff, blowing perfect O’s, and handed it back to him. “I’m so happy to meet you in the flesh. You make him smile a lot…and maybe turn his hair grey.”
I beamed. “He makes me smile. I’m turning your hair grey, babe?”
Vasiah just shyly smiled, then leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Imma go get you a plate before Uncle Victor steals it all.” I watched him bop down the deck and turned back to his father.
“Watchu wanna know about me, Poppa Hill?”
He grinned. “You know, he’s my pride and joy.
Always has been. It’s been just me and him since his mama died…
We throw this barbecue every year in honor of her birthday…
it was my brother Victor’s idea. Anyway, Vasiah is a good man.
A lil’ awkward, but I’d like to think that I raised him right.
He’s successful, got a good head on his shoulders, and is smarter than anything I’ve ever seen.
What I’ve learned throughout my years of being a widower is that you can have everything in the world, but it means nothing if you don’t have anyone to share it with.
I’m getting older and just now trying to date again.
Now it's hard because I’m an old ass man with patience that’s as thin as the wind, but I don’t want my boy to never experience true love.
I have once… and I miss her every day. That being said, I know we don’t know each other well, but something in my gut tells me that you’ll be around for the long haul. I hope I’m right.”
I was floored. I didn’t have a witty comeback or anything, so we just sat in a comfortable silence, passing the Cuban back and forth.
I, too, wanted to be around for the long haul; that was for sure.
I was also surprised that today was Vasiah’s mom’s birthday.
Outside of our initial FaceTime conversations, he didn’t talk about her much, and I made a mental note to check in with him about that.
I didn’t talk about my dad much either, but that’s because even while alive, he spent more time with Reign whenever he decided to show his face.
My mom didn’t talk about him, and Nana never had anything nice to say whenever I would ask.
So now, I wanted to know more about the man who fathered me.
I had two phone calls to make this week.
My eyes roamed the backyard, searching for Vasiah, and I found him off to the side talking to a petite, sugar cookie colored woman.
She had long, black hair in a ponytail, denim shorts that showed off a heart-shaped ass, and a plain white tee with some dirty white Chucks on. I furrowed my brows.
“Who is that?” I nodded my head in their direction. Poppa Hill turned his head and turned back to me, sparking another cigar.
“That ain’t nobody but lil Mykita. She grew up in this neighborhood.
She’s had a crush on him forever,” he divulged.
My legs had a mind of their own as I quickly stood up.
I wasn’t a jealous son of a gun like my brother, but I needed to scope the scenery out.
Without another word, I sauntered over to them, and they seemed to be just making small talk.
Vasiah’s eyes brightened when he saw me, and he reached for my hand, bringing me closer and dropping an arm around my waist.
“Mykita, this is my lady LaReina,” he announced.
I noticed a flicker of hurt flash in her eyes, but kept my face neutral as I extended my hand.
She shook it weakly and tried to plaster a fake smile on her face, but I’d already clocked her.
She wanted my man, and unfortunately for her, I wasn’t coming up off him.
“LaReina! It's so nice to meet you. We grew up together.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Yeah, I was just telling Siah about the Comic Con event we always go to together. Are you coming? Are you into anime?”
I had never heard of a damn Comic Con, but I didn’t mind going if it was something my man was into.
“Well she –”
“We’ll be there.” I cut him off. “What are you dressing up as?”
Mykita’s slanted brown eyes widened. “Oh! Ummm… I’m not sure yet. Probably my favorite comic book character or something…Vasiah, how bout you?”
Hmph. This hoe brought up Comic Con and ain’t even know what or who she was going as. It gave that she was only going because that was something Vasiah was into. This fake ass Jhene Aiko looking lady couldn’t fool me.
“I think me and my lady gon’ match, I just gotta convince her,” he replied. I glanced at him, a small smile spreading across my lips.
“It won’t take much convincing.” I gave him a peck on the lips and turned my attention back to Mykita, who was turning slightly red.
It wasn’t my intention to make her uncomfortable, but I intended to kill any bright ideas she might have when it came to Vasiah.
I’d be giving him a piece of my mind too, when it was all said and done.
Mykita just gawked at us while I kept my expression neutral.
I was feeling generous, so I gave the girl an out before she embarrassed herself any further.
“It was nice meeting you. Vasiah, I’m finna see if your auntie got any more cheesecake left.
Uncle Victor def be stealing it all.” I sauntered away, gathering my thoughts.
This was unfamiliar territory for me, and as I watched through the kitchen window, Mykita’s weight shifted from one foot to the other.
Vasiah’s body language read like he was over it, yet I knew he was too polite to end the conversation.
“You ain’t gotta worry about that girl,” Auntie Ronnie announced her presence in the kitchen.
“I’m not.” I glanced at her and then busied myself with packing up some cheesecake.
“I know, but sometimes it's good to be reassured. I ain’t never seen my nephew like this before, and you a smart girl – I know you probably don’t trust the words that come out of a nigga’s family members’ mouths, but you seem like the missing piece to his puzzle.
Don’t let nothing or nobody question make you question your space in his life, especially since you both are so different.
That was a mistake I made in my marriage, feeling as if I wasn’t good enough or was enough and not trusting that Victor loved me, for me.
Eventually, we found our way back to each other, but yeah…
know that you are perfect for him as he is for you. ”
I took in her words silently, then went over and embraced her.
I needed to hear that. I silently struggled with figuring out how I fit into Vasiah’s world.
He didn’t pressure me or anything, but I wondered just how much our differences would impact us in the long run.
It wasn’t anything that I felt necessary to share right now, but eventually, I would.
“Miss Reina?” Poppa Hill called out from the doorway.
“Would you like to step with me?” The music had switched to Happy Feelings, and I smiled.
It seemed like Nana was smiling down on me again by playing her favorite songs.
I grabbed his hand and led him to the deck, where Uncle Victor, Auntie Ronnie, and some more guests were already dancing and singing.
Poppa Hill was smooth on the dance floor, spinning and turning me effortlessly, but I was keeping up.
Nana used to take me to her weekly stepper set parties when she was alive, and I was getting emotional.
“This was me and my wife’s song,” he said, smiling somberly.
“Yeah? My Nana’s too. She loved her some Frankie Beverly and Maze. She also used to take me with her to Stepper’s Set parties.”
“She raised you right,” he winked.
The music switched again, and we tore up the floor to three songs straight. I even had time to learn a TikTok dance from some of his younger cousins and recorded it with them.
“Aye, dancing queen… You got some time for me?” Vasiah appeared behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I melted into him and remembered that my baby had two left feet, but nothing felt better than this.
Tipsy, dancing amongst the stars, and falling deeper for a man that I never expected to fall for.