Page 10 of Lyric Squared

Before I could gather my thoughts and wish him a happy birthday as well, he began again.

“Where’s Lyric?” His concern was as genuine as he was.

I felt Ever’s fingers clasp my knee and squeeze. A golf ball-sized lump of air formed in my throat, trapping my words behind it. But even if they weren’t stuck back there, I could hardly form a complete thought to even begin to speak coherently.

“Right here stuffing her face,” Luca informed him.

With a second nudge from Ever, my heart pumped again and my brain began to function properly. A sip of water helped me remove the lump from my throat and speaking came easy.

“Happy birthday, Ken!” I shouted loud enough for him to hear me.

“Appreciate that so much, baby girl.”

He didn’t mean anything by them, but those last two words stuck with me. They clung to me, blurring my vision and drowning everything out around me. I couldn’t hear anything and neither could I see.

Minutes passed before I was coherent again. The fuzziness of my ears subsided, and the smiling faces around me became clear again. Ever’s gentle rubs against my leg slowly brought me back to life, back to reality.

“Aight. I’m going to holler at you. Three months down.”

“Three to go.”

“Love you, bro,” Ken said before the line died.

The energy of the room immediately shifted. Everyone knew and understood Ken’s situation, and we all hated it for him. His loyalty was never to be questioned. Just like Luca had, he was spending his time behind bars due to the unwavering love of a sibling. Kale, his younger brother, got himself into some trouble that would’ve ended his future in the NBA before it even started. Instead of allowing one mistake to determine his brother’s future, Ken took it upon himself to take the charge that was meant for Kale.

For it, he’d been sentenced as a first offender and given a year in prison. He would only have to serve six months of it if he kept on the straight and narrow. So far, he’d done well. But with each day that passed that he was still behind bars, I felt the pain of losing a loved one to the system a little more. Tonight wasn’t much different. It felt like forever since I’d seen his handsome face or heard his voice. As relieved as I was to hear from him, the moment was bittersweet. He deserved freedom, not confinement.

“Well, we’re going to head out, Luca. Tonight was such a pleasure, per usual.” My father broke the uncomfortable silence that coated the air.

“I enjoyed seeing you all so much,” Ever responded, recovering while Luca was still attempting to.

“Luca!” Laike yelled from the other end of the table before nodding his head toward the gazebo. Everyone amongst us knew what he was hinting at except the three small faces that were seated between the adults.

“I’ll be back in a few,” Luca explained to Ever as he stood.

“It’s fine, baby. I’m going to get the kids ready for bed. I understand. Take your time.”

“Do you need help getting this cleaned up?”

“No ma’am,” Ever expressed to my mother, “that’s why we wrapped the table with plastic. Everything is going straight to the trash bins except the glasses we drank from.”

“Good. That was smart.”

“Trying to work smarter and not harder.” She chuckled.

“Well, I’m going to kiss my babies and then get out of y’all’s way. Those two will be a minute back there. They’re missing their third musketeer and it’s eating them up… just like when Luca was away.”

I simply listened, choosing to remain quiet because I was unsure of what to say. The brain fog had reappeared. So, in silence, I sat.

“Are you okay?”Ever asked, pulling Elle’s pants from her chunky legs.

“Yeah. Why’d you ask?”

“Because you haven’t said anything since we ended the call with Ken.”

“Yeah. I’m fine,” I lied.

“You’re not, Lyric. I saw the sadness in your eyes from the moment Luca answered the call.”