Page 53 of Senior

“Does this mean I can’t tell my husband?”

“No, Shar!” we both said.

She held up her hands in surrender. “Okay! Geez. Ugh. Does Salima know?”

“She does,” I said, nodding.

“Good. Because we are gonna have to gossip about this. Deuce is finna be mad as hell. If he finds out, I don’t know shit and I ain’t see shit. Just call me Ray.”

Stephanie palmed her face. “What am I gonna do with you, girl?”

Shar giggled as she pulled her in for a hug. “Nothing. Just love me as is cause I’m not about to change.” She pulled back and looked at me. “You said you were snipped right? We don’t need another Ms. Tavia around here.”

“Sharina, get out of my house,” I said, mushing her head.

She laughed loudly as she placed the ear drops on the counter. “You don’t have to tell me twice. I’m going. Love y’all!”

Steph waved her off. “Love you too, silly ass girl.”

“Love you too, Shar.”

She blew us both kisses before leaving the kitchen. A few seconds later, the front door closed. Steph turned to me and pointed a finger.

“You need to learn to lock your damn doors.”

“For what? Everybody around here is family.”

“What if that was Deuce? Or one of the boys? They would run back to tell him, and he would have lost his shit.”

“Ima need you to understand that I ain’t scared of my son. That’s you worried about him finding out. You want to keep this a secret, not me.”

She sighed. “I’m gonna tell him. I promise.”

I shrugged and went back to finishing the kids’ plates. I understood her apprehension. But it was better to rip the band-aid off now, than later. Deuce could be mad. He might want to swing on me and that was fine. I’d let him get one lick in, then it was over for him because I knew for sure he couldn’t beat my ass.

“What’s going on with you?”

Deuce sat at my kitchen island, watching as I made my morning coffee. When I walked into my living room this morning, he was sitting there like he lived here, just like his father. Damn near scared the shit out of me.

“Nothing is up with me,” I said, nonchalantly.

“We lie to each other now?”

“You better remember who you’re talking to.”

“I know exactly who I’m talking to. My mama. My best friend. I know you, Ma. So you can’t insult my intelligence by telling me nothing is up.”

I sighed heavily. “Deuce, what do you want me to say?”

“Why did you ghost everybody for four days? I called and texted you and you were nowhere to be found.”

“Deuce, I was safe.”

“That’s not the point! Anything could have happened to you, and I wouldn’t have known where to find you, Ma.”

I looked at him. The frown on his face mirrored his father’s when he was upset. I could tell that he was genuinely concerned about my whereabouts.

“You came back and acted like nothing happened. Then you came on the compound the other day and didn’t even stop by the house⁠—”