Page 9 of Lemon Drop

“You still got Sanaa?” she asked, once we’d sobered up.

“Nah, her mama came to get her a little while ago.”

It had taken me a minute to go back to sleep after Bria left, not because I wasn’t tired, but because our conversation had taken an unexpected turn. Caught up in my thoughts, I guess I was silent a moment too long.

“You good? Did she show out on you?” Kiana queried.

“Sanaa? Nah. She’s a sweetheart. It’s just… Bria told me something and I’m not sure why,” I admitted hesitantly.

“Come on and tell me so I can tell you why.”

I thought back over the brief, slightly awkward moment this morning…

“Girl, thank you again. I be so serious when I tell that man to hold on to you,” Bria said as she crossed my threshold and stepped out into the bright, already-hellish day.

Sanaa hugged my legs and I bent to press a kiss to the zig-zag part dividing her two thick Afro puffs.

“Bye, Ms. Paz!” she sang.

“See you later, suga,” I said before smirking at her mama. “I’ma let that headache go one day,” I told Bria.

“Mama, I forgot Nya,” Sanaa announced suddenly, speaking of the doll she’d brought with her last night.

Bria sighed. “Sanaa! I swear! Ask Ms. Paz if you can run and get her.”

“Go ‘head, baby,” I said, giving her an indulgent smile.

She took off running until Bria and I both called, “Walk!”

“Girl, come back in. It’s hot as hell out there,” I invited.

Bria walked back in and shut the door.

“Paz, you know I’m serious, right? He is a headache, but that’s a good man, right there!”

I held up a hand. “Bria… wait. Saadiq is just my boss.”

She kissed her teeth. “Not sure he knows that. Paz⁠—”

She paused at my raised brow. “And even if he weren’t, may I remind you, respectfully, that he has a son conceived while he was with you, if I recall correctly. Cheating is the ultimate no for me.”

I’d watched it almost break my mama, even as my remorseful father did everything he could to earn her forgiveness. I might not be able to keep a man from cheating, but I didn’t have to accept it, either.

I saw a look cross Bria’s face, something that strangely resembled guilt, as she bit down on her bottom lip.

“Things aren’t always as simple as they seem, Paz. That was a complicated time. Just know that both of us were wrong. Saadiq would’ve never⁠—”

“Got her, Mama!” Sanaa suddenly made a loud reappearance.

“All right, little loudmouth. Let’s go, honeybun,” Bria changed course just that quick, extending her hand to her daughter.

They left a minute later, Bria’s last words to just think about what she said were whispered hastily as she pressed her cheek against mine…

“And that’s it?” Kiana asked, suddenly.

“Yeah. I don’t really know what she meant.”

My cousin sighed. “Girl, she meant she wouldn’t be tripping if you rode her ex into the sunset.”