“How yuh mean man? Everybody fi a eat,” he says with a laugh. “And mi nuh know wah yuh eat, so mi take wah mi know everybody eat.” He passes her a chicken sandwich, then glances over at me with a grin. “Except my bro.”
She chuckles. “Thanks… bwoy yuh kind.”
“Bro, this a yours enuh.” He places a swim around burger and a bottle of water in front of me.
“Respect bro,” I say, nodding. I didn’t even have to ask and I didn’t have to tell him what I liked either. I’m not hungry right now, but when I am? Mi definitely a mash this up.
“Weh you get fi yoself?” I question.
“Mi buy a chicken sandwich fi miself.” He shows me his bag.
“Ah.”
Everyone pauses to eat for a bit, then the work resumes, soon as they’re done eating. I exhale loudly.
The hairdresser smiles and shifts to the front of my head.
“Only two lef, me G.”
I rest my head back in the chair, closing my eyes, until my phone starts ringing.
Probably Zara.
But it’s not her.
It’s my grandmother.
That’s odd, she’s never just called me out of the blue.
“Nickoi, how you doing?” she asks. There’s background chatter on her end, a bunch of voices.
“Mi good enuh, Grams. Mi just deh yah a get mi hair done. A wah gwaan?” I ask, curiosity piqued.
“Mi good, mi bwoy… A few of your family from foreign a guh come fi a family dinner the ones weh did have yuh sister and dem say dem never really meet you and yuh brothers, so dem want unuh come. Please no say no, and bring your family.”
I go silent.
A meet and greet?
Mi nuh inna this enuh…
But come through fi yuh granny. She wah yuh go bredda.
The pause stretches, and then she speaks again.
“Please? It wouldn’t look good if yuh nuh deh deh,” she tries to convince me.
“Ah… When is this?” I ask, resigned.
“It sudden, but you have clothes so yuh nuh affi worry yuhself. So dress up nice like yuh always do and come later around 5pm. And doh worry a just family and a nuh nothing big.”
Jah Jah.
“Mommy know bout this?” I really have to ask.
“No sah but a next to me she live, so she nuh muss affi come too,” she says. I sigh deeply.
The hairdresser touches my shoulder. “Yuh hair done now mi boss.”
