I looked at the slush inside the transparent container, then eyed mine before raising my gaze to meet Kofi's. "Okay."
I raised the cup to my mouth with my brows furrowed and took a sip. Only then did I remember where we were sitting. The noise from the traffic and people passing us intruded on our public, yet private, twosome.
Kofi watched as I took a cautious sip. The cucumber was refreshing and the lemon and ginger were mellow together. "What else is in it?"
"Cantaloupe, celery, kale, pear and—"
"Stop." I pushed the cup across the table to the sound of a horn blast.
"What's the problem?"
"All of that is nasty enough without you naming a bunch of other things I might not like."
He laughed, shaking his head. "You're too—"
"Extra?" I said.
His low chuckle was music to my ears. "I was going to saymuch."
"It means the same thing."
"I hope it doesn't offend you."
"Nah, my Mom has been telling me I'm extra since the day I could talk."
I gobbled a couple more fries before asking, "You eat this way all the time?"
"Most of the time."
My face fell into a horrified expression. "There's definitely no fun in that. When I first came here, I pigged out every single day."
Kofi smiled again. "I'll bet that’s why you wound up in the gym."
While wiping my hands, I shook my head. "Not really. Part of it was because I felt I was stuck in a groove. Study, school and more study, and then work. Plus, I was gaining weight."
"How long have you been in Miami?"
"Sometimes I think it's been too long." My mother's voice tried to intrude on our conversation, but I turned down that dial and tuned into the present moment. I didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with my mother. "I left Jamaica when I was seventeen and I've been back and forth ever since. I'm thirty-one now."
"I've been here since I left high school too. Now, I'm thirty-three." Kofi looked at me as if he could see into my mind. "So, what's keeping you here?"
He was coming too close to things I didn't want to talk about, so I turned the tables on him. "I could ask you the same question."
He shrugged one massive shoulder. "Opportunities. Meeting my goals."
His answer was a non-answer, pretty much the same as mine, but I'd circle back to that subject.
"How often d’you go home?" I asked.
"Not as often as I'd like."
"Seriously, Kofi?"
He laughed while scanning the area around us. "What are you taking me to task for?"
"Let me put this another way.” I sighed as if he was being difficult. “When was the last time you visited your family?"
"Christmas."
