“Resting his eyes.” Gem recited with her. “Yeah. The few times over the years I got to see him, I remember little things.”
Silent, Giselle nodded before handing the picture back to her and focusing on her food. It was in that moment that something dawned on her. Same parent. Different stories.
“When was the last time you saw him?” she queried, scooping some potato salad into her mouth next.
“Maybe three years ago,” Gem said after a little thought. “He used to send me gifts for my birthday every year… and holidays, and my mama collects child support.”
“Where is she now?” Giselle picked up a chicken wing and took a bite.
“Who knows? I woke up one morning to a note she left on my pillow in our condo and her bags packed and gone.”
“She just left you?”
Gem shrugged. “I’m used to it. Her being gone. I spent more time alone than anything. I guess that’s why I came here feeling some kind of way about you after hearing Daddy died.”
Daddy. Hearing another girl call her father that was eye opening as hell for Giselle. Studying Gem, it was obvious she was also drowning but putting up a good front.
“I guess I can kind of relate to that.” Giselle chewed thoughtfully. “I got shipped off to boarding school when I was fourteen. It only lasted a year, but my parents spent a lot of time traveling and doing shit for the greater good if you let them tell it. My mama was the fundraiser queen, a real socialite who had an event to attend every weekend. There were tea parties and debutante balls, all that boring country club shit you see on those soap operas. You didn’t miss much. I had nannies when I was little, and there was always a housekeeper or chef around to keep me company if they weren’t.”
“Damn. So, we both grew up alone.” Gem picked at the grass and squinted at the bright sun beaming down on them.
All this time, she thought Giselle was lucky that she got to live with their father, not knowing her time with him was also very limited.
“He was a busy man. Very important. He said he could be busy or we could be broke, but there really wasn’t any kind of in between.”
“Sounds like him,” Gem muttered.
For a minute, she watched Giselle go in on her plate before snickering.
“So, are we like… bonding or something?”
“Ew.” Giselle crinkled her nose. “Hell no. Don’t tell Remi either,” she warned, aiming her fork at her before digging into a pile of spaghetti.
“I thought you grew up with etiquette and all that other bourgeois shit. How you sitting there talking with your mouth full?”
“I’m starving.” Giselle swallowed another bite and picked up a rib. “My mama hated it. She was always telling me to eat like a lady, but I don’t do bird food, honey. My food better have had parents. Give me all the cows and chickens and slap some butter or cheese on them, and we good to go,” Giselle jested, sending Gem falling over laughing.
She had no idea she even had a sense of humor with how stuck up she seemed when they first met. Seated next to her on the grass, shoes kicked off, and legs crossed with a plate of barbecue on a five-hundred-dollar jumper, Giselle was about as relaxed as she’d been since arriving in Southwick.
“You like it here?”
“It’s alright.” Gem half-shrugged. “Tight knit. Auntie Remi is cool, and I like Maisie, Lou, and Crew. I don’t have a lot of options with my mama gone. I’m not eighteen yet, and going into the system isn’t appealing.”
“You’ll be fine here.” Giselle bobbed her head. “At least until you decide what you want to do after you graduate. Southwick is small, but it’s a good place to grow up.”
“I can’t believe you have something good to say about it.”
“I can’t guarantee where I’m gonna end up, but when all this legal shit is settled with the estate, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Remi was right. Don’t tell her I said that, either,” Giselle leaned in and whispered. “You deserve your share as his child, so I’ll make sure a trust is established. That will give you the freedom to decide what you want to do with your life.”
“The hell y’all doing over here?” Maisie walked over with a blunt dangling from her lips.
“Hiding from yo’ mama.” Giselle took a bite of her tender rib.
“Oh, she the one that sent me looking for you. Gem, she wants you to help her with something for them kids.”
“I swear she acts like I’m her little personal assistant.” Gem huffed as she brought herself to her feet.
“Get used to it!” Giselle called after her, focusing on finishing her plate, so she could drink some more.
