“Ha! I’ve never made a face like that in my life!”
“Your face is my face, baby girl. Anyway, gone ahead and get in there with your family. Let everybody know I asked about them. Oh, before I forget.” Reaching into his glove compartment, Jaivion pulled out a white envelope with embossed roses along with Troi’s name. “Tell my niece I’m proud of the woman she’s become, and even though we don’t talk much these days, her Uncle Jai loves her to death. I know Troyan is smiling down at her… he would’ve been so proud to see his little girl becoming a wife.”
Accepting the envelope from her father’s hand, Yanna offered him a smile. “You know you can come up if you want to. Auntie Kamilla and Troi are both up there, I’m sure they’d be happy to see you, and Janis is in a whole different room.”
“Nah, I’ll let baby Troi have her night. I’d hate for Kamilla and Janis to try and jump my ass again.”
“You know what, I don’t even put it past Auntie Kamilla. She a thug.”
“Shit, you don’t have to tell me. Well, alright, I’m not gone hold you. If you need anything between now and tomorrow, just give me a call and I’ll be here.”
“I know you will. Thank you for everything. I love you.”
Jaivion tried to reply, but his words got stuck in his chest. He cleared his throat before smiling at his daughter. “Damn, you about to make a nigga cry. I love you too, baby girl, more than you’ll ever know.”
“Alright, let me get up there. Drive safely, okay.” Yanna smiled at her father before exiting the car.
Jaivion almost didn’t want to leave his daughter, the past few weeks being some of the best days he’s had in a long time. Though he never wanted Yanna to look at her mother as the bad guy, he was relieved she finally knew the true story and decided to give him a chance. Yanna watched as he gave her one last smile before she headed into the hotel. On the elevator, shechecked her outfit twice and ran her hand over her hair at least three times as the car ascended to the 15thfloor. Yanna had to chuckle at herself, not believing she was actually nervous to see people she’d spent every day of most of her life with. Perhaps it was because in a few short weeks she’s transformed into what seems like a different woman. Her level of anger decreased significantly. Her need to react to even the smallest of situations didn’t seem so pressing. The anticipation that the world would inevitably do her wrong seemed to dwindle each day. And while it didn’t completely fix the problem… it was like she was a whole new Yanna, and that was a feeling she wanted to hunt for a while. Finally, the elevator car reached the twelfth floor, and Yanna released a preparatory breath as she stepped out, heading to Troi’s suite. There, she knocked twice then stepped back in anticipation of who would answer the door.
“Ladybug!” Layla squealed as she opened the door, face lighting up when she took sight of Yanna. Wasting no time, she pulled Yanna into a tight embrace, holding her there before placing her at arm’s length. “Let me look at you. You look good, and well rested, like you’ve been actually sitting your behind down somewhere.”
“I have been.”
“Good, no stressing my grandbaby out, right?”
Yanna smiled, heart-warming at Layla’s claim of her baby, even though she wasn’t sure if it belonged to her son. “No, I haven’t been stressing. I’ve been doing the complete opposite actually, just trying to get my mind right.”
“Well, I’m so happy to see you.”
“Mumma Lay, who is that at the---- ahhhh oh my goodness, my Yanna boo boo!” Troi howled, running over to her cousin. “Don’t you ever leave me for this long again.”
“I won’t. I had to get myself together while trying to get Janis together too.”
“But you’re good now?”
“I’m getting there, but I’m far from where I was a month ago.”
“Good.” Troi beamed, pulled Yanna into one more embrace.
“Oh, my dad wanted me to give you this. He said to let you know he asked about y’all.”
“Aww, that was so sweet of him.” Accepting the envelope, Troi placed it in one of her bags. “Auntie Janis is all set up next door, you know she didn’t want to be in a room with so much alcohol.”
The day after Janis revealed her truth to Yanna, she received a call that a donor had been matched for her mother. Within two days, she was being prepped for surgery and receiving a new liver. The surgery went off without a hitch, and her body showed no signs of rejecting her new organ. Yanna wanted nothing more than to thank the person who saved her life, but to that day, the donor had remained anonymous. Nearly an hour after settling into the room, the ladies were in full turn-up mode, and it was like Yanna hadn’t been gone for weeks. Inside the suit, they celebrated Troi’s last night as a single woman. They were all enjoying wine while Yanna sipped sparkling cider. Yanna cackled as Layla and Kamilla tried to twerk, both looking like they were auditioning for an Uncle Luke video.
“What in thedoo doo brown, I wanna rockkind ofass shaking are y’all doing? I haven’t seen nobody do the P pop since I was a little girl,” Yanna teased.
“Excuse you, Jaiyanna, I used to catch all the niggas back in the day atIvory’swith these moves.”
“Yea, back in the day. Y’all need to get with the times, looking like two old ladies trying to get their groove back.”
“Shit, I ain’t never lost my damn groove.”
“Okay!” Layla cosigned, slapping fives with Kamilla. “Come on, lil’ girl, while you talking shit. Show us how to do it.”
“Yea, show us something. I know y’all good at throwing ass. With your knocked up self, come on.”
“Lady, don’t ever threaten me with a good time.” Yanna stood and searched through Troi’s phone for a song. She decided on Latto’s “Put it On the Flo Again”. Her and Troi both got hype, Troi propping her leg on the bed and bouncing her ass while Yanna turned… ass to ass while they threw it. “Ayyye, leave the club sloppy drunk come home and get my rocks off!”
