“Ermias ate?” I asked.
She smiled. “He said he’ll eat later. Thank you for asking.”
I sucked my teeth. “You ain’t gotta thank me for that, love.”
“My nephew is a real man,” Uncle Tim said between his missing front teeth.
“Preciate that, Unc. It runs in the family,” I told him, patting his back.
“Damn right! Ain’t no fuck niggas over here!” he hollered.
Eriss and I cackled, and once he was done placing that batch of cooked fish in the basket, we walked over to the table together.
While she fixed my plates, asking me what I wanted and liked, I could tell Eriss was a little reserved.
“What’s up? Talk to me,” I said.
“Is she or any other females going to be a problem?”
“No. Never. Not when I know you’re gon be my wife.” She stopped dropping salad on the plate and appeared shocked at my revelation. “Don’t say nothing you don’t mean.”
“I never do, baby.” I smiled. “Stop acting surprised like this wasn’t supposed to be our endgame.
“I don’t deserve you,” she gushed, handing me my plate. Eriss looked as if she wanted to cry.
Holding my plate with one hand, I pulled her into my body. “No, love…I don’t deserve you.”
14
ERISS JACKSON
Knocking on my parents’ front door, I slid my hands down my jeans to wipe away the sweat. Nervous wasn’t the word. They knew all I’d been through with Delion, and here I was bringing Zyro to meet them, hoping they wouldn’t treat him as if he were just like Delion. My dad had met Zyro briefly at the shop, so bringing him to their house as my boyfriend may shock him.
Zyro gripped the back of my neck gently. “It’s gon be a good visit, baby. They’ll love me and I can’t wait yo Mama.”
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. “My dad can be a bit old-fashioned. I hope he doesn’t say anything about your tattoos, but ignore him if he does. He means no harm.”
Zyro chuckled, looking so good in his dark jeans and colorful Ralph Lauren polo shirt with the Ralph Lauren boots. He smelled good, too. Real good. “I got you, baby. I’ll be on my best behavior. Promise.”
The door swung open before something nasty slipped out of my mouth, and there stood my mother, her eyes widening in surprise as she took in Zyro’s imposing figure. “Eriss, honey! And you must be Zyro. It’s so nice to meet you.” Her voice was warm and welcoming.
“Nice to meet you, too, Ms. Jackson. “You’re beautiful. Eriss had told me so much ‘bout you and your husband. I’m honored to even be here.”
Even I had to melt. Mama looked like she was in love, the way she grabbed her chest. She beamed, stepping aside to let us in. “Please call me, Lou. Come on in, you two.”
As we stepped into the living room, my father looked up from his newspaper, his expression neutral as he sized Zyro up. He stood, it taking him a moment to rise from having two hip surgeries. I was about to help him up when Zyro reached out instead.
“Thank you, young man,” he said.
“It’s no problem, Mr. Jackson.
My dad hugged me. “This is my baby right here. You taking care of her and my grandson?”
“I sure am. They deserve the world,” answered Zyro.
My father sat back down with a loud grunt. “You still working over at that shop in Love Grove? They allow that with all those tattoos?”
I groaned and looked over at Zyro, who sat down across from my dad, still smiling. I wanted to bring Ermias with us so bad, so they would focus more on him than Zyro and his tattoos. Zyro wanted to talk to my parents first and made me drop Ermias off down the street first with my mom’s sister, Lela, who had her grandkids over there. Ermias was ecstatic because he didn’t see them often.
