“I’m done here,” Larry says. “I have a few items downloading. Once they are downloaded and all the controllers are connected, you can use either one to start the games. Do you guys want the box?” he asks.
“Put the old one in the box, along with all the old controllers.”
“The controllers won’t fit inside the box. I’ll just set them on top of the box.”
I nod in agreement. He packs up and then turns to Anu, who’s now sitting on the sofa with her tea. “Are you MAK or is it Ms K?” he asks.
“Yes,” she answers, and the guy is grinning like it’s fucking Christmas morning. He proffers his hand for a handshake. Anu takes his hand.
“A pleasure to meet you. My younger brother is in your music program and he’s very happy, which makes our mom happy. He talks a lot about you,” Larry rapidly says.
“Glad to hear that. What’s your brother’s name?” she responds with a smile.
“Jimmy. Can I say thank you so much for giving my brother a chance in the program? He’s always happy to say Ms K is a lefty like me and plays very well too.”
“You are welcome. The program is meant to help kids, and Jimmy is very good.”
“It’s really helping us, so thank you,” he says and pauses. “If I had known this installation was for you, I wouldn’t have charged so much,” he says, looking sad. As always, Patrick overpaid.
“Please, don’t be silly. It’s totally okay to overcharge my boyfriend for his petty behavior.” She gives me a nudge in the ribs.
I chuckle, knowing she’s trying to get a reaction from me.
“Actually, I wish you had charged more,” she says, smiling at him.
Larry looks confused.
“I was happy to pay your price, Larry. Paying your price to be this petty is fine with me. Thank you for coming.” I smile.
He sighs.
“Really nice to meet you, Ms K,” he says before leaving.
I go to lock the door behind him.
I return to sit next to her. My hand goes to her shoulder and pulls her closer to me. She doesn’t resist, which is good.
“You are still petty, though I’m sure Jacob will probably love having the newest Xbox,” she says, poking me.
“He can love it. In fact, I’ll have one installed for him in their unit, just to keep him from eating my food and threatening to marry my girl.”
She laughs.
“Good luck with that. His mom doesn’t want one in the unit because Jacob would be glued to it. By coming here, his time on the device is controlled,” she says, resting her head on my chest. Much as I won’t admit it, I like having Jacob around sometimes.
“How come he’s not in your music program?” I ask for the first time.
“Music isn’t for him; he likes to draw. You should ask him to show you his work.”
“Cool, maybe if I buy his drawings, he’ll stop eating my food.”
She laughs.
The buzzer rings and she sits up; we both know who it is. I get up and press the button to open the ground floor door. We both remain quiet, anticipating the person that has caused a silent riff between us. This is one thing I’ve never done before, yet I can’t wait to let this guy know Anu Kuti is taken and he’s not allowed to call her again.
Our doorbell rings. I inhale my annoyance of him and exhale my calm and open the door. His bright smile is immediately zapped. First action achieved.
“Hi, is Anu home?”
