**
“You designed this house?” I asked Clarke as we walked along the beachfront property Amethyst had given me months ago. This was the first time I’d been here, and even though it was a needed vacation, it was also a bittersweet moment. Amethyst had this designed for me, for us, for those times when we needed to get away, to relax, and be in the moment that was specific for us. And I was standing here with my sisters instead.
“Yep,” she answered, nodding. Clarke ran her hand over the glass table that sat under the window before turning to face me. “I didn’t have anything to do with the furniture, though. That was all, Amethyst.”
“It was his mama,” I corrected her as I shook my head. I walked around the living room, looking at the small details that only Mama Diamond could have added to make the room pop. The cool blue, gray, and white color scheme of the living room blended perfectly with the bright white and gold kitchen. “Amethyst can't decorate to save his life.”
“Who decorated his house?” Clarke asked as they followed behind me.
“Me,” I laughed. “Every few years, he would come to me and say he was tired of looking at the same things and would ask me to change them. He started doing it in college when he got his first apartment, and it rolled over to his house.” I shrugged as I looked around the kitchen. It was huge, and I instantly got sad. This looked like a family vacation home. A place where I’d cook breakfast while he slept, then he’d cook lunch while I worked, and at night we’d cook dinner together.
“I gotta get me a nigga with money,” Berkeley said, walking into the kitchen. She looked around, nodding in approval, then turned to me. “I know you aren’t fucking with him anymore--”
“Don’t overstep now, Berkeley,” I said, cutting her off. I may not have been dealing with Amethyst, but that didn’t mean I was open to sharing him with my sister. “Amethyst will never be one I gladly hand over.”
Berkeley held up her hand and reared back. “First off, eww, I don’t believe in swapping spit with my sisters’ nigga, so don’t disrespect me like that.”
“I apologize,” I said. I was never too big or grown to be corrected. I jumped to conclusions before she could fully speak. “Go on.”
“As I was saying,” she said, dropping her hand and looking around again. “Can you teach me your ways? I only seem to attract the street niggas. You’d think I’d know better with having a degree and all, but honest?” She shrugged and smiled. “I don’t. It’s something about a hood nigga that just melts my panties, and I know it’s an issue.”
“No clue how to help you with that,” I laughed and shook my head. “I played the friend role for years, and when I did step out of that role, I only got a good few weeks, and then it was snatched away from me with nothing to show but the use of a plane, cars, a house, and a few debit cards.”
“You got more than that, and you know it,” Spelman said. She linked her arm with mine, and we moved from the kitchen to look at the rest of the house. Each room had small details that made me smile. Mama Diamond and Clarke had outdone themselves.
“This is the only room you can’t see yet,” Spelman said as we came to the last room.
“Why?”
“It’s not done yet,” she replied. I tried to turn the handle, but it was locked. “And that’s exactly why we locked it. We knew that if we told you no, you’d try and look anyway.” I let go of the handle and turned to face her. Spelman leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “You can see it in a few days. We can’t show you the room until it gets here.”
“Just tell me what it is, and I will pretend that I’m surprised when y’all do show me the room,” I replied, and she shook her head. “Why not?”
“Because it needs to be completed when you see it. It’ll mean more when you see it, trust me.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “Now, let’s get something to eat. I’m hungry.” I rubbed my stomach, and Spelman laughed.
“What do you have in mind?” she asked, and I shrugged. “Yale, just tell me what you want so we can get it. We don’t have time for the guessing games today.”
“Something spicy,” I said, nodding. Spelman pushed off the wall, and we went back to the living room to find Clarke and Berkeley. “Preferably pasta.”
“Spicy, pasta,” Spelman replied and rolled her eyes. “You need a protein.”
“All of them,” I laughed, and she glared at me. “Okay, okay, fish of some kind. We are on the coast. It’s only right.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “What time is your meeting?”
“In an hour, I need to leave now to get there on time,” I answered as I picked up my purse. I had an appointment to look at some diamonds that I wanted to use for Pyrite’s engagement ring.
“You okay to drive?” Clarke asked, and I nodded. “If you don’t want to, I can take you.”
“I got it,” I said, shaking my head. “I will text y’all when I’m on my way back.”
Before leaving the house, I grabbed a set of keys from the table and walked to the garage. Two sports cars were parked, but they weren’t what I wanted to drive. I pressed the fob, and the black Lexus GX’s lights flashed, then the engine started. After getting in, I connected my phone to Bluetooth, then opened the garage and pulled off.
I got to my destination, parked, took a deep breath, and picked up my phone. I dialed Amethyst’s number, knowing he wouldn’t answer, and waited until the voicemail played.
“Hey, it’s me. I’m not calling to yell, scream, or cuss.” I stopped and laughed softly. “It’s been a few months since I’ve even called, and this will probably be my last message for a long time. But I’m at the beach house, and I wanted to say thank you. Those pictures didn’t do it justice; it’s more beautiful in person. I don’t know what happened, Amethyst. I really don’t, and I’m not going to question why or how we ended up like this, but I’m okay. I just wanted you to know that I’m okay.”
