“No clue,” I answered as I stood. I took my cup to the sink and poured out the water. “I didn’t even ask.” A soft smile tugged at my lips as I stared out the window above the sink. In the backyard, Toddles lay in the middle of the yard, enjoying the sun. She was dressed in a black tutu and wearing her black pearl necklace. “You dressed Toddles?”
“Girl, no,” Consonance laughed. “I thought you did. You know that damn pig and I don’t get along for longer than a few minutes.”
“Because you called her bacon,” I said as I continued to watch her. If Consonance or I didn’t dress her, then that left only one person. I moved away from the sink and headed towards Amethyst’s office.
“Where are you going?” Consonance called out. I could hear her heels clicking against the hardwood floor as she followed me. “Yale?”
I pushed open his office door and took a deep breath. Instantly, the smell of his cologne filled my lungs, and I stopped. He’d been here; I looked around, trying to see if anything wasout of place, but came up short. My feet started moving on their own accord, and before I knew it, I was at his desk, typing in the password to the computer so I could pull up the security system. I sat down as I checked over the cameras.
“What the hell had you moving so fast down the damn hallway?” Consonance asked as she walked into the room. I looked up in time to see her eyes widen.
“You smell it too, huh?” I questioned, then went back to look at the footage. It took me a few minutes, but I found what I was looking for. Amethyst had been here in the house while I was getting ready, but before Consonance arrived. He stood in the bathroom doorway, watching me as I showered for a few minutes, then went downstairs and got Toddles ready. I leaned back in the seat and shook my head. “He was here. In the house, while I was in the shower, and I didn’t even know.”
“Friend-”
“Nope,” I said, cutting her off and shaking my head. “Whatever you’re going to say doesn’t matter because I have something to do today. Amethyst’s disappearing act isn’t going to be on me today. I have to bury my husband.” I looked up to see Consonance staring at me, concerned. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”
“You know, usually when people say that, they’re lying,” she replied, and I shrugged. “Are you lying?”
“Probably,” I answered as I stood. “But if I keep saying it enough times, then it’ll eventually become true.” A car pulled up in the driveway, and I sighed. “The car is here, time to go.”
“We could always skip it and just hang out,” she offered, and for a brief moment, I considered it. I didn’t need to go to the funeral, but I was going to anyway. I was going to put up the front that Grant and I were a team. I was mourning for the man and for my marriage. The only way to walk away fully would be to put both of them to rest.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Let’s go.”
I rounded the desk, looped my arm through hers, and we headed out of the room. Toddles had made her way back to the house in the time that we were gone, so I let her in. She wasn’t going with me, but I wasn’t leaving her outside while we were gone. After I got her some water, we left the house.
The driver stepped out of the car, rounded it, and opened the back door for us. Consonance got in first, then I followed. My eyes locked in on Quincy, who sat with his back facing the front of the car. He had three little girls sitting on his left. Each of them was looking at me as if I were the outsider. Their dark eyes held secrets that I would never know. If I had to guess their ages, I would say between three and seven.
“We’re running late,” Quincy said without looking at me. His focus was on the window beside him. The car started moving, and I put on my seat belt. We weren’t far from the funeral home. “When we get there, I don’t want to hear shit. No crying, noise, nothing.”
“You don’t have to talk to the girls like that,” I said, shaking my head.
Quincy looked away from the window at me and kissed his teeth. “I wasn’t talking to the girls. They know what the fuck to do,” he said in a dismissive tone. “You are the problem here, Yale.”
“Excuse me?” I reared back, confused as hell.
“Not this time,” he said, shaking his head. “Your fucked up attitude, smart ass mouth, and all the shit that came along with you need to go. You have responsibilities now.” The car pulled up to the Kilmore family church and stopped. A group of people stood outside. The driver got out of the car, rounded it, and opened the door closest to Quincy. “When you get out, take the girls’ hands. I’ll carry Cami since she’s asleep.” He got out, picked up the smallest girl, and then stepped away from the door.
The girls followed behind Quincy.
“The fuck is going on?” Consonance asked, and I shrugged. “That nigga got one more time to say something to me, and I’m going to make a call.”
“He isn’t worth it,” I said as I got out of the car. The small group of people by the front of the church continued to talk. Consonance got out and closed the door behind her. “He’s grieving and needs someone to piss off. He lost his brother and daddy.”
“The devil is collecting his children,” Consonance replied, and I tried not to laugh. It was mean but also truthful. “But that doesn’t excuse his peanut head having ass from being rude.”
“It doesn’t,” I said, nodding as I watched Quincy. He adjusted Cami in his arms before nodding to the two little girls. They turned and took my hand without saying a word. I looked over at Consonance, who only shrugged. We walked into the church and were escorted to the front row. Quincy had opted for a closed-casket funeral, which didn’t bother me.
The music lowered, and a tall man approached the podium. His eyes lingered on me for a moment, then he looked around the whole church and blew out a deep breath. “God is good,” he said, swaying slightly.
“All the time,” the church replied.
“And all the time,” the man said.
“God is good,” they finished.
“Giving honor to God, the creator of all,” the man said. “We are here to rejoice in the life of our dearly departed brother.” The man pointed to the large picture of Grant next to his casket. “Y’all knew him as Grant, but he was my friend. My business partner to a degree. Whenever we were together, we knew we were going to have a good time.” He stopped talking and turned his attention to me. “He always said that his family was the most important thing to him. Everything he did was to make sure theywere taken care of. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for them. His wife, Yale, was his pride.”
