“Nice to finally meet you. LaLa, now I see what you mean when you say they’re the same damn person.”
“Told you.” Layla shook her head, taking a hearty gulp of her wine.
“Who the fuck is LaLa? Man, hell nah, what time is my sister getting here because I’m liable to snap on yo ass today.”
Again, Nouri laughed at his son’s antics just as the doorbell rang. “That must be her right there.” Nouri went to open his front door, allowing Maya and Logan to enter.
“Hey, daddy… oh, how you doing, Ms. Layla?”
“I’m alright, beautiful. Good to see you again, good to see you too, Logan.”
Everyone engaged in a round of greetings, Maya gushing over Yanna’s huge baby bump as Nouri poured them all glassesof wine… sparkling cider for Yanna. Kas made Nouri pour him something a little stronger before standing in the middle of the living room. He looked down at his watch just as they all heard the sound of a car door closing.
“Even though I got about three bones to pick with you right now, I got a lil’ surprise for you.” Kas informed.
“For me?”
“Yea, for yo sneaky ass,” Kas replied as three light knocks sounded against the door. He took the liberty of opening it himself and heard both his mother and father gasp. Onyx stood at the entrance with Troi by his side and Kian in his arms. “Sup, Nyx?”
“Sup, bruh. Hey, mumma.” Onyx greeted as he stepped in.
“Hey, my big baby. This sure is a pleasant surprise.”
“You don’t even need to be bringing up surprises, mumma. Nyx, wait until I tell you about her…later though.”
“Yea, later.” Onyx noticed how comfortable his mother seemed to be in Nouri’s home and got a good idea of what Kas would tell him. Shaking away that unwanted thought, he greeted and hugged Maya, and dapped Logan. Then pulled Yanna in for a hug as well. Nouri was the last person he approached, and it was intentional. For a moment, they just stood there. Father and son, perfect strangers, damn near identical twins. Onyx’s eyes were stern, but the bit of sadness that rested behind them was still evident. Remorse and rumination lingered on Nouri’s visage while he tried to force the emotion threatening to spill from his eyes at bay. Nouri cleared his throat, choking back tears when Onyx held his hand out for him. “Nouri.”
“Son.”
“Let’s just stick with Onyx for now, yea?”
“O-okay.” Nouri nodded as Kian began to whine and writhe in his father’s arms. He’d been restrained for too long andwanted to get down so he could explore the foreign home. “And who do we have here?”
“Ki, quit that whining, lil’ boy. Look, this yo papa man, say hi.”
Layla had tried to hold it in, but hearing Onyx refer to Nouri as Kian’s papa tore her emotions apart. Tears falling from her eyes seemed to have a domino effect, and soon all the women were in tears. Little Kian continued to whine, attempting to climb down.
“Can I?” Nouri asked Onyx, holding his arms out for Kian. Onyx nodded and placed Kian in his grandfather’s arms. Nouri bounced him gently, speaking to him in Farsi. As if he were spewing magic words, Kian instantly stopped crying and laid his head on Nouri’s shoulder.
“I’ll be damned,” Onyx murmured.
“Wow. Can we take him home with us?” Troi said it jokingly but was also dead serious. Not even Layla could calm Kian so quickly.
Nouri continued to speak Farsi to Kian, simply letting him know he was his papa and although he’d gotten it wrong with his father, he hoped he could get it right for him. Stroking his plaits, Nouri told him he wasn’t going anywhere and hoped he had the chance to be a part of his life.
“You will,” Onyx answered, causing Nouri’s neck to snap up. One thing he’d tried to teach his son before he left was how to speak Farsi. What Nouri didn’t know was that once he left, Layla made sure Onyx continued to learn the language. Onyx, in turn made sure Kas learned, even though he wasn’t quite as fluent as Onyx.
Nouri’s eyes lit up, knowing that although he’d essentially abandoned them, his sons still held on to a part of him and his heritage. “Hey, I understand you don’t want to know me. Butyouhave to understand that Iwant to knowyou. My grandsonand your wife too. I know I really fucked up, and you had to grow up long before your time, but?—”
“You’ve apologized to me once, and that was enough. My brother wants you to be a part of our lives. My mumma wants you to be a part of our lives. My wife wants Kian to know his grandfather, to know his auntie Maya and Uncle Lo. So, for them, I’ll try. I can’t promise to be like Kas’ friendly ass right off the bat, but I will try. That’s about all I got for you right now.”
“That’s all I can ask for,” Nouri responded, eyes misting and heart swelling with content. Father and son pulled each other in for a hug, and if only for just that moment, everything seemed right in the world.
Yanna squeezed Kas’ hand, knowing that he wanted nothing more than for this moment to happen. He direly wanted to build a bond with his father, but he wanted his brother, the man who’d raised him, the man who’d taught him everything, to be okay with it too. Kas returned her sentiment, silently willing himself not to cry like his mother and sisters.
“Um, I hate to be the one to bust up the merriment or whatever, but what is cooking in that kitchen? It smells so good my stomach is growling.”
“Oh, it should be just about done. I was only expecting five guests, but there should be plenty to go around. I made Baghali Polo ba Mahicheh.”
