“I know y’all didn’t come here together,” Jordan said, making everyone else look at us. “It better not be anything going on here.” He pointed between the two of us.
“Chill, bro. Where should I put this stuff?” Coye asked, holding up the gift bags.
My brother looked at us again skeptically but didn’t say anything else. I was glad Coye spoke up because I didn’t know what to say. A part of me wanted to take heed to his warning, but I wasn’t ready to stop talking to Coye just yet.
“Auntie!” Brielle came running toward me at full speed.
I bent down and scooped her into my arms. “Happy birthday!” I hugged her and kissed her cheeks.
“Thank you! You got me some gifts?” she asked as I released her.
“Of course I did.” I tapped her nose, and she ran off to speak to Coye.
I made my rounds, speaking to everyone.
“Hey, Daddy.” I sat next to my dad on the couch as he ate a plate of food.
He looked like he’d lost weight since the last time I saw him. I didn’t like the way he looked, and it worried me. I’d done goodnot thinking about it as much, but seeing him like this made it come to the forefront.
“Hey, Babygirl. How are you feeling?”
I twisted my nose because it stung a little. It felt like I would cry, and I didn’t want to ruin my niece’s party. My father’s voice didn’t sound as strong as it usually did.
“I’m okay.” I didn’t want to say too much, and my voice quivered. “How are you?”
“I’m as good as I can be. Just happy to spend time with you all. Brielle is so happy because of all the gifts she got.” He chuckled.
I shook my head and laughed. “She’s so spoiled.”
I looked around the room and caught Coye looking at me as Brielle showed him something one of her friends got her. Sometimes she acted like she liked him more than me. Coye winked at me, and I quickly turned my attention back to my father. I was glad that he had his eyes on his plate and not me.
“Like someone else I know,” my father said as he looked up.
“I plead the fifth.”
We both laughed and started talking about something else. He seemed to be in good spirits, and it made me happy, but at the same time, I was sad because I didn’t know how much longer he would be around. The thought of that made me sick to my stomach.
Instead of focusing on it, I spent time enjoying my family and making sure my niece had the best birthday.
“Why doyou have me outside so early?” River asked as I opened the car door for her.
“Because we have somewhere to go.” I kissed her cheek, then closed the door once she was settled into the seat.
It had been a couple of days since Brielle’s birthday party, and we hadn’t had a chance to see each other. We talked and texted, but we both had been busy with work, so I planned a day for us to spend some time together.
“Where do we have to go this early morning?” she questioned as soon as I got in the car.
I chuckled and grabbed the cup I had for her out of the cupholder.
“To have some fun, and look, I got you a protein shake.” I smiled and passed the cup to her.
She cut her eyes at me and frowned. “Ooh, a protein shake.”
An amused laugh escaped me from the expression on her face. She did not look pleased. “Don’t be like that, Babygirl. I put real effort into that drink.”
River sucked her teeth, then took a sip. I waited to see if she had something else smart to say. Since she took another sip, I pulled away from the curb.
“It does taste good, but it still doesn’t make up for the fact that you got me out here and the birds are barely awake.”
