Chapter 18
Yosiah
“Well this is unexpected,” Mom commented when I released her and turned her attention to Xylina. The smile on her face slowly faded and her face went blank. “Xylina.”
Xylina stepped into me and hugged my arm. “Thanks for inviting us, Mrs. Bedford.” She grinned at my mom.
Mom’s eyes narrowed. “It technically wasn’t an invite for two, but…” Her eyes ran over Xylina.
“But we’re here now,” I cut in, seeing this was going downhill fast. Turned out, even going to my parents’ house required a certain look. Xylina said since it was my birthday I couldn’t dress like I would every day.
While she wore a white shirt dress set with a denim vest tied right under her breasts and knee-high, sparkly blue boots, she insisted I wear a light blue, short-sleeved button up with khaki pants.
Xylina wanted me to do something flashier, but I shut it down.
Instead, she decided we’d coordinate and we agreed on this.
Mom still didn’t look happy, but she cleared her throat and plastered a smile on her face.
“Anyway, we’re all ready and have been waiting for you to arrive. C’mon.”
Mom turned and headed for the back of the house.
“Glad that I’m always welcomed,” Xylina muttered, causing me to snort.
“Don’t take it personal. She takes time to warm up to people,” I explained.
“Only been four and a half years.” Xylina rolled her eyes, causing me to chuckle lowly.
We walked through the kitchen and back door, stepping into the backyard where the smell of BBQ filled my nose.
My dad never turned down the opportunity to fire up the grill and Mom loved hosting gatherings.
They had the sunroom and patio area redone when they first purchased the house.
The sunroom was an open space with automatic screens and floor-to-ceiling windows. One of the screens opened to the patio.
The firepit was lit. It was a small circle cove area with built-in seating surrounding it.
Erik and Ryo sat around it, looking to be in a deep conversation.
They had a built-in pool and pavilion a couple feet away.
It too had automatic screens built-in and they were raised, opening the area.
A firepit coffee table with outdoor furniture, a mounted TV, a mini kitchen area where the food was currently set up, and ceiling heaters completed the space.
We stepped into the pavilion. Roman was the first to notice us. He pushed up from the couch with a grin and approached me. “About time your slow ass showed up.” Roman stepped up to me and we slapped hands.
“Roman, language,” Mom and Mama Chelle said at the same time. Mama Chelle and Reginae were both sitting on the couch but rose when they saw me.
“My bad.” He smirked. Then he turned and his eyes widened when he noticed Xylina. “Oh, you brought the missus too. Xylina, it’s nice to see you.” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, causing her to giggle.
“Hello, Roman.”
Michelle and Reginae had come over now. “Happy birthday, my third son.” Michelle approached me with her arms open.
“Thanks, Mama Chelle.” I hugged her and she kissed the side of my face. “You’re just as handsome as always too.” She pinched my cheek before releasing me.
“Hey, Siah.” Reginae approached with a mild grin.
“Wassup, Nae.”
“Happy birthday.” She threw her arms around me.
“Thanks, Nae. It’s good seeing you.”
Her head tilted upward and her smile grew. “It’s your birthday, of course I’d be here.”
Xylina cleared her throat. “That’s one long hug.” She stepped to my side as I released Reginae.
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting you to come. I thought this was a family dinner.”
Xylina narrowed her eyes. “Then why wouldn’t his wife be here?”
“Not like you’re invited to anything else.” Reginae smirked.
Again, Xylina hugged my arm, pressing her chest into me. “That was then and this is now. Right, hubby?” Xylina stared up at me while batting her lashes.
“Son, you’re finally here.” Dad appeared just in time.
Breaking away from Xylina, I walked up to him and slapped hands before he pulled me into a fatherly hug.
“Food smells good, Pops.”
“You know I’m the grill king.” He chuckled, patting my back before releasing me. “It’s scary, looking at you is like looking in the mirror. His eyes shifted. “I see you brought your wife too.” He raised a brow.
I glanced over my shoulder where I’d just left my wife. She was having a conversation with Roman. I squinted, trying to make out what had her laughing and smiling so wildly. Both were extroverted social people, so it could be a number of things they were talking about.
“Yeah, she went all out for my birthday, so I didn’t think it would be right to just leave her alone at home.”
I faced my dad again. “So you two are getting along better?”
My shoulders lifted. “We’re working on it.”
He nodded. I knew Dad still carried guilt about my marriage. He was constantly fishing for information about how things were between me and Xylina. This was the first time I was able to mention something positive.
His hand went to my shoulder and he gave it a squeeze. “I’m glad to hear it. I hear her father’s business is in the ground and he’s looking at some serious jail time. Ironic, if you ask me.”
“Or karma’s finally hitting him.”
Dad chuckled and nodded. “You can say that again.”
“Here’s the last of the meat, honey.” Mom walked over to us with a pan of what looked like burgers.
“Duty calls.”
Dad walked off with Mom in tow and I turned back to Xylina and Roman still talking. “Get your own wife,” I joked, wrapping my arm around Xylina’s shoulder and pulling her into my side.
Roman’s eyes bounced between us and a sly grin spread on his face. “Careful, Yosiah, you’re actually sounding like a real husband right now.”
I chuckled. “There’s a first time for everything, right?”
Roman turned his eyes to Xylina. “Looks like you finally wore this guy down, huh?”
“I sure did.” Xylina hugged my waist. “First time my stubbornness paid off.” Roman laughed while I smirked.
While we waited for the last of the food to finish, Mom put on music and everyone sat around the pavilion making small talk.
Once everything was done, Mom lined up the sides on the counters—baked mac ’n cheese, pasta salad, baked beans, grilled corn on the cob, and potato salad—next to the ribs, burgers, and hot dogs and we all lined up to make plates.
“Oh no you don’t, it’s my son’s birthday. He’s first,” Mom told Roman who’d raced toward the food.
“Are you sure this is just a birthday dinner? This is a lot of food,” Xylina observed, eyeing the spread.
“Mom’s never been good with portion control, especially on my birthday.”
“I’m sure you’re not used to a homecooked meal, so I made sure there was enough that you can take home leftovers,” Mom commented.
“We have a chef. He always gets home-cooked meals,” Xylina commented.
“So I take it you don’t cook?” The two of them stood in a stare off.
“She doesn’t, but it’s not a big deal. Our chef’s one of the best,” I interjected.
“A chef isn’t the same thing. No matter how much money we had, we never hired one for a reason.”
“Now, now, Zoya, don’t knock it until you try it. A chef comes to the house twice a week to cook for us,” Mama Chelle jumped in and mentioned.
Mom scoffed. “My gran would be rolling in her grave if I allowed such a thing.”
Mom was raised by her grandmother mostly because her mom worked a lot after her dad ran out on them. A lot of her ways some might have deemed as old school.
“Well I for one don’t think there’s an issue with the two of you having a chef. No one wants to be stuck in the kitchen all day.”
“It’s not like she has anything else to do. The least she can do is cook for my son.”
Xylina propped her hand on her hip and mugged my mom. “For your information…”
“Actually, Mama, Xylina recently got a gig working as a stylist for the singer Simone.”
“Seriously?” Reginae cut in.
“Yep. She sees how valuable I am.” Xylina shot a deadpan look in my mom’s direction.
I was starting to get a headache. The two weren’t around each other often but I’d never noticed how bad it was.
“Go ahead and make you a plate, Xylina. I need to talk to my mom.”
“Sure thing, hubby. I’ll make us both a plate.” Xylina placed a hand on my arm and pushed up, pressing her lips gently against mine. She shot a look in both Mom’s and Reginae’s directions before walking off.
Mama Chelle snickered. “Your daughter-in-law has claws, Zoya. You better watch out.” She walked toward the food too with Reginae huffing and following her.
Sighing, I faced my mom and gave her a small smile. “Can you chill some, Mom? We’re all here to have a good time and celebrate my birthday. I didn’t bring my wife here to play referee between you two all night.”
Mom hummed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Your wife? I wasn’t aware you even looked at her as such.”
“I’m just trying to make the best of the situation. No sense in being miserable over something that can’t be changed.”
Mom didn’t look convinced but flicked her wrist. “Fine, I’ll play nice. You know all I want is for you to be happy.”
I wrapped an arm around her. “I know and I’m appreciative. You always have my back, but I’m a grown man. I don’t need you coming to my rescue, you know that, right?”
Mom smirked. “You sound just like your father. Yeah, yeah, I hear you.” I laughed and led us toward the tables where Xylina was now sitting with a plate in front of her and one next to her.
The tension eased once everyone got their food and sat around the rectangle table to eat. Once grace was said, we dug in.
“Tell us about this trip. You went to a ry what now?” Dad asked. We were discussing how my birthday was brought in.
“Ryokan. It’s a Japanese-style hotel,” Xylina mentioned.
“I think I heard of it. It’s in the mountains, right?” Ryo asked.
“Yeah. That’s the one, Ryokan Cashmere Spa and Resort.”
“Mhm, Shantelle mentioned it to me once. There’s a waitlist to even get a reservation. Surprised you were able to get one.”