She giggled. “We do. Wait. How long are you gonna be there? I’m coming right now. Please wait for me.”
Alayah looked over at me.
“We can wait,” I said.
“Oooo!Who is that? Do you have a boyfriend?”
Alayah laughed. “He’s a friend. You met him when you were younger, but I’m not sure if you would remember him.”
“Oh. Well, I’m leaving the park now. It’s right around the corner.”
“We’ll see you in a minute,” Adrienne said.
They disconnected the call, and I could see the excitement in Alayah’s face. I loved that she was gonna be able to see both of her sisters at the same time. I just prayed no drama followed.
It wasn’t long before Amiyah was running up to the table. She damn near dragged Adrienne out of the booth so she could get to Alayah to hug her. It was the sweetest reunion. Alayah reintroduced us. She didn’t remember me, but it was okay. I got the feeling Amiyah never met a stranger. She had the bubbliest personality, and I could tell she was friendly. Ellie was intrigued by the three of them to say the least.
“She has freckers, too!” she exclaimed, pointing to the speckles that littered Amiyah’s nose and cheeks. “Uncle Killian, I really want some now.”
I chuckled. “Well, baby girl, I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t just get a marker and put freckles on you.”
She giggled. “I never seen brown girls with freckers. Only—” She looked around, then whispered, “white girls.”
That made the sisters laugh.
“Freckles can show up on anyone. It’s just more visible on people with lighter skin.”
“Awww,man.”
She was really disappointed about that. I could already see me getting a call from my sister later telling me she asked her how she could get the freckles she admired.
We stayed at Burger Bliss through the rest of Adrienne’s lunch break. We only had a few minutes left to spare before I had to get Alayah back to work. It was bittersweet when they all had to part ways. The little sisters hugged their big sister with tears in their eyes, and she cradled them in her arms with so much love. I watched as she gently wiped the tears from their eyes and kissed their foreheads.
“It won’t always be like this,” she promised. “One day, we won’t have to sneak to have a relationship. I promise, I won’t ever leave you again. Nothing but death will keep me from you. I love you both so much.”
“We love you, too.”
They shared another hug.
“How about a picture?” I suggested, extending my hand for Alayah’s phone.
She handed it over with no hesitation. With her in the middle and her sisters on either side, I snapped the picture of the three of them and handed the phone back to her. She gave a teary smile as she looked at it. They shared one final hug before we all went our separate ways.
In the car, Alayah was quiet as she stared at the picture. Suddenly, her head dropped, and her shoulders began to shake. Tears streamed down her face as she cried softly.
“Ms. Alayah, what’s wrong?” Ellie asked in a tiny voice. “You’re crying. Are you sad?”
Alayah sniffled. “No, baby. These are happy tears. I haven’t seen my sisters in a long time. I’m just happy I got to spend time with them.”
“Why don’t you just invite them to your house?”
If only she knew it wasn’t that simple.
“Maybe one day,” Alayah answered.
She wiped her face clean and relaxed into the seat. Reaching over, she grabbed my hand.
“Thank you.”
