Chapter 15
SIENNA
The next morning while Syn was off at practice, I cut on some holiday music and found another area of his mansion that could use a little holiday spirit.
The dining room was my focus. Compared to the rest of the mansion, it dragged.
I drew out my plans inside my notebook, then smiled at the diagram.
After completing Whimsy’s schedule for the morning, she and I hopped into Synder’s Cullinan and headed to the store.
She and I picked out a plethora of Christmas items. Whatever made her eyes sparkle, I purchased extra quantities.
By the time we made it back to the house, it was time for lunch.
Whimsy and I ate a quick meal of chicken nuggets and fries.
Just as Whimsy went down for a nap, the security monitor alerted me that someone had come through the gate.
Thinking it was Synder arriving home early, I pouted a little. I wanted to have the dining room decorated before he arrived home. The doorbell sounded, confusing me. Since it wasn’t Synder who’d arrived, I wondered who it was. He hadn’t given me heads-up that someone would be stopping by.
Glancing at the security monitor mounted to the wall inside the foyer, my eyebrows crashed together. Yakira was on the other side of the door with her hands on her hips. Taking a fortifying deep breath, I went to the door and cracked it open.
“Hi! May I help you?” I asked.
Yakira slowly dragged her eyes up and down my body.
“May I help you?” I asked after she did the same slow perusal again.
“I’m here to pick up my niece,” she informed me.
“Sorry, but Synder didn’t tell me that you’d be here to get Whimsy.”
Yakira frowned, and her head snapped back. “Are you kiddin’ me? Go get my niece ready before I smack you.”
“Smack me? That’s extreme, don’t you think?” Last night, her friend threatened to smack me, and now here she was threatening to do the same. Even if I could let Whimsy go with her, I wouldn’t.
“No! What I think is, you ‘bout to get yo’ feelings hurt if you don’t go get my niece.
Matter fact, move!” Yakira attempted to push me away from the door, but I pushed her back out and closed the door in her face.
Quickly, I locked it, then shook my head while she stood on the other side banging on the door.
As if I had all the time in the world, I grabbed my phone and called Synder. Although I hated to interrupt him while he was technically at work, Yakira was his blood. She was rude to me, but she was still his sister.
“Hey, baby,” Synder answered on the second ring. He sounded out of breath.
“Hey,” I replied, visualizing the sweat dripping off him. “Your sister is here to get Whimsy. Are you okay with that?”
“Shit!” he swore. “I meant to change the gate code. No, Whimsy can’t go with her. I’ll handle it, aight.?”
“Sure,” I stated just as my phone beeped. It was Big N, head of my security team. Hanging up with Synder, I took Big N’s call.
“Is it snowin’?” he asked.
“No, the weather is perfect,” I replied.
“I’m close,” he assured me.
“Good. I’ll let you know if the weather changes.”
“Bet.”
Big N hung up, and I shook my head. Living with twenty-four-hour security had its perks. However, Big N would take things overboard. If I hadn’t given him the right safe words, he would’ve riddled Synder’s mansion with bullets just to catch one rat.
Yakira’s loud shouting and continuous banging drew me back to the door.
There was another muffled voice, much deeper, yet matching Yakira’s energy.
Peeking out of the bay window, I saw Yakira standing in the driveway, barking into Kewan’s face.
Anytime I saw him, he was silent and assessing.
His voice was much deeper than I expected.
I cracked the window open to hear what was going on.
“Syn’s orders to escort you off the property,” Kewan stated.
“What? No! Call my brother, right now!” Yakira demanded.
“Naw, I’m not interrupting his day. Either leave, or I’ll have the authorities escort you to jail. It’s up to you.”
Yakira growled loudly, then stormed off.
Shaking my head, I let the window down and sighed. I wished she wouldn’t have been the way she was. Whimsy needed her auntie in her life, but not if she was bringing unnecessary drama her way.
As I decorated the dining room, I did so with love and cheer in my heart.
I did so, praying that one day, Synder and all his family could gather there for holiday dinner.
I did so while imagining all the many pictures they would take.
Hopefully, one day, there would be tons of laughter and memories made inside this dining room.
Hours later, Synder arrived home. The look he wore on his face caused my jolly mood to sour a little bit.
“Hey,” he spoke to me.
“Hi,” I replied. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m cool. The gate code has been changed, and you don’t have to worry about my sister anymore. As of today, I’m cutting them the fuck off.”
Shocked, I said, “Wait, Synder. You said so yourself that your family completely relies on you. Boundaries, yes. Cutting off… That’s a bit harsh.”
“I warned Yakira to leave you alone. I’ve never allowed her to show up here and get Whims. Not ever. She was lookin’ for a problem, plain and simple.”
That was discouraging. Still, I said, “Well, I didn’t give the situation a chance to escalate. I called you.”
“Which was right to do, my baby. I’m tired of my family, and every time I think they’ll get the picture, they don’t. Yakira has been this way for years, and I’m done lettin’ her think that shit is cool.”
“Listen, Synder. I know you’re upset, but Yakira is your sister. While I don’t agree with her showing up out of nowhere today, she is your family. Is there some type of group counseling you all can do to find some common ground?”
Synder glanced at me. “Tried that a few years ago. Nobody showed up.”
Devastated on Synder’s behalf, my eyes clouded with tears. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “It’s all good. What I wanna talk about is how nice the dining room looks. You did that by ya’self?”
Pleased, I nodded. I recognized his deflection as dropping the subject, so I did.
“It’s dope, baby,” he praised. “Which room is next?”
Giggling, I hunched my shoulders. “By the time I do the entire mansion, Christmas will have gone.”
“There’s nothin’ wrong with leaving the decorations up for a while,” he stated.
Excited as if I lived here, I clapped and squealed. “Really?”
He grinned. “Really, lil’ baby.”
He tweaked my chin, sending shards of fire through my body. “Okay… Your shower is waiting. Dinner will be ready soon.”
He smirked. “Good lookin’ out.”
As he walked away, our eyes locked and held. Neither of us said a thing. However, the tide was rising between us, and I wouldn’t be able to withstand the waves.
While lying in bed that night, I opened my journal and wrote a small prayer for Synder and his family.
They were heavy on my heart. So much so that I spent the next few minutes texting most of my family.
Telling them that I loved them wasn’t out of the norm.
Still, I wanted them to know that they were on my mind. That was how my family and I moved.