“I can’t help it. It’s the big sister in me. I don’t like feeling as though people are being picked on for no reason. I go into protector mode but please tell me if I’m being overbearing. I’ve been working on it.”
I stared at her because I didn’t believe she thought her overprotectiveness was a flaw whatsoever. “You have?”
She smiled sheepishly before she shrugged unbothered. “I’ve been meaning to work on it but it keeps taking a backseat. People like to play with my people far too much for my liking. As you can see from Natalie’s shitty behavior there’s always a bitch standing in line to be checked.”
“And it really makes your day to do so.”
Her grin matched mine and she nodded without remorse. “Hell yeah. They should be glad it’s me and not Lyric or Rye. Rye swings first and has me get her out of trouble and Lyric likes guns. I’m really the lesser of the evils.” She stopped and eyed me up and down. “But with the way you cleared Natalie and her little minions with that read I definitely have a kindred spirit.”
I cringed cause I was really trying not to remember how I’d behaved. “Thank you. I know I’m not Ami’s mother but I hate for her to even feel my vibes when I go off like that.”
“I know from experience that girls will seek the love their fathers showed them or denied them and will immolate the strength and love of their mothers that made them feel safe. Ami won’t ever feel any negative vibes from your handling business. She’ll see that you’re not about to let someone treat you or her disrespectfully.”
I nodded and handed my card over to finish purchasing the boots and the jacket. I’d got them because I knew I’d regret it later if I didn’t.
“I appreciate that very much. I have a tendency to think negatively first.”
She smiled gently and nodded as if she understood exactly how I felt. “That’s learned behavior so you can unlearn it. We want to be perfect for the people we love and thinking that we’re falling short will make you act out of character.”
I took the bags and thanked the woman who had boxed up my purchases before we walked back toward the table. We dropped off our bags before filling our plates and sitting down to enjoy our meal. Natalie and her people were gone and I was happy just to sit around and have girl talk without the mean girls.
“Are you going to tell us how you got access to this box? I’m all for stunting on a bitch but I also hope you didn’t have to go through hoops to get this done. Like the way you cleared that ho when she tried you, though.” Lyric gave me a wink of respect but I could tell she was concerned that I was overextending myself or she was worried about the cost of everything.
I glanced around and saw everyone but Aphrodite looking at me intensely. “I promise it’s not costing me a thing.”
I knew what her look of disbelief stemmed from. She wasn’t counting my pockets but she was again concerned because they probably knew the cost of a box.
“As I said it’s a family benefit.” I shifted before placing the burnt end in my mouth. I knew immediately that they came from Sampson’s restaurant because they were perfectly glazed and had the perfect balance of meat and fat.
“Family?” I could hear Rye’s wariness at the question and I wondered if she had beef with her family too. I knew there was some type of political scandal involving her birth father but I wondered if she hated all her relatives.
I put down my fork and wiped my mouth before checking on Ami who was happily playing in her stroller. “My family owned the land that they built the new stadium on. They put a clause inside the contract stating we got a discounted suite for the lifetime of the stadium. Our family trust is set up so that any business interest we have is distributed equally among the family members, the box is one of those interests. My relatives aren’t big on organized sports and normally they rent the suite out for a profit on their weekends. I took advantage of never having used it at all and secured it for the weekend.” I gave the explanation and then picked up my fork, hoping the conversation would continue on but the silence was deafening. When I glanced up I could see all eyes looking at me like I’d grown another head. All except one.
Of course she knew.
“So you’re like…a Black American princess.” Lyric’s eyes were wide like I was some type of unicorn.
I shook my head hoping they weren’t going to feel weird about what I’d said. “Nope. Just regular nanny Sterling.”
“Well, you were never just that.” Aphrodite gave me a look like I needed to stop counting myself out and all I could do was nod.
“How long have you known?” That question was directed to Billy because it was clear she wasn’t at all surprised about my confession.
She folded her lips together and gave me a look like she’d been caught red-handed. “Since you were hired. I trusted the background check that your cousin’s company provided but that still wasn’t something I was going to risk. Not with the sensitivity of Money’s situation and a little one involved.”
Her explanation was unnecessary but I appreciated her wanting to ease my mind that she didn’t think I was a weirdo.
“Understandable. Normally, folks stop before they get into the full history, but once they start to hear theSandersname the treatment flips.”
“Sanders. Like the Sanders family?” I saw Aphrodite’s face perk up and I knew she would recognize the name. Most people would for various reasons but pair that with her knowing where I was from and the fact that I was a trust fund kid and she would easily see that I was a part of that clan. The way she said it had everyone else perking up and I knew I was going to need to explain.
“Yes.”
“But you introduced yourself as Sterling Williamson.”
I nodded at Rye’s words because that was technically my name. “My mother is a Sanders, married and divorced so I kept his name, she did not.”
“Damn, if it’stheSanders family I’m thinking of you really are a B.A.P. Girl, your family founded like all of Black everything back in the day. Record labels, magazines, y’all were on the forefront of most Black cultural curation.” Rye seemed to take what I said in stride, which I appreciated but I still didn’t want them to switch stuff up just because of my family.
