Chapter 31
Theories are thrown around about the statistical probabilities of having one dark brother and one light-skin ne.
“But why are we focusing on their color and not on the fact that Keston kept his brother a secret from CJ?”
I’m almost in tears listening to them debate why this could be.
“Maybe he doesn’t love me . . . or trust me enough,” I gulp.
Giselle takes in my teary eyes and calls a halt to the speculation. “One of us needs to go to St. Nicholas to lend you support.”
I perk up. But then droop back down. “I can’t ask any of you to leave your life to come hold my hand. I’m being a big baby. You have your school. Katana has her babies. Lisa just got married.”
“I’m in between jobs,” Mikah says. “I’ll take one for the team.”
“More like you’ll take the whole team,” Katana snorts.
“Don’t you wish you were me,” Mikah smiles.
“I swear the two of you need a time out,” Giselle says. “Okay, it’s decided. Mikah will go to St. Nicholas.”
“Oh my God,” Lisa moans. “Mikah and CJ alone on an island with pirates and mysterious brothers.”
“I know,” sighs Giselle. “A recipe for disaster.”
“Let’s start to pray now,” Katana quips.
“Ha!” Mikah fake laughs.
“Um. Can you bring my Nespresso machine and a bunch of capsules, please?”
“Seriously?” Mikah asks. “Not a GPS tracker, spy camera glasses, or I don’t know . . . handcuffs?”
“Handcuffs?” I echo.
Katana shakes her head. “Welcome to Mikah’s world.”
“Oh. Funny. No just my Nespresso machine and a lot of capsules will do. I need to stay on my toes. Caffeine will help. All this healthy coconut water is not doing the job.”
“Rub it in,” Lisa sighs.
I thank my friends from the bottom of my heart. “I love Keston. But I need to know the truth.”
“Why don’t you just ask him?” Katana suggests. She has the most experience with a serious relationship, but her husband is one in a million.
“What do I do? Walk up to him and say, ‘Hey, do you have a brother?’”
“Yes!” They all shout at the same time.
“I’ll think about it.”
We say our goodbyes with Mikah adding that she’ll text me her flight information. “I’m real excited to come hang out with you, CJ. We’ll get to the bottom of this, don’t worry.”
“You might even find some pirate treasure,” Katana says, envy heavy in her voice.
“Nothing would be as valuable as those two munchkins you have there,” says Mikah, seriously.
Katana gazes at her sleepy son and daughter with love. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“Love you guys,” I shout, as the screen goes dark. I feel immensely better knowing Mikah is on her way. She’s not my no-nonsense best friend, Giselle, but she’s no one to fool with. Mikah’s job as a runway model has taken her around the world and she knows people. I’m sure she can handle Kelley Kips and Tabitha with no problem.
As for Keston, I have to figure out what to do. He was so happy last night about his project; I don’t have the heart to douse that good cheer with accusations about deceit.
One glance at my watch reveals he’ll be at the bar soon. Time to get my butt moving.