“The stations work in the community with the local churches when high-profile funerals take place. Police presence, first responders. It’s a lot of people out here. Traffic and roads are bad. Plus, I guess this group is known for a level of violence. Rappers or something, so having a presence stops one funeral from turning into two,” Grayson explained.
“They aren’t violent. Just Black men making money,” she said.
“Were you close to the little boy they buried today?” he asked. “My condolences on your loss.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t. I used to work for his mom. Just felt appropriate to pay my respects. It hits differently when it’s a kid, you know?”
“I’m very fortunate to not know what that feels like,” he answered grimly.
“You don’t have kids?” she asked.
“I do. Proud dad to a 16-year-old son,” Grayson said.
“Oh!” Stassi said in surprise. He looked damn good. She hadn’t expected him to have a full-blown teenager.
“I was a high school senior. Slipped up. Became a dad early. He’s the best thing that could have happened to me, though,” Grayson replied. His pride shone brightly as he spoke about his child.
The driver behind Stassi blew his horn, leaning on it impatiently.
“Okay, damn!” Stassi shouted as she peeked in her rearview mirror.
“Aye, my man, relax on the horn. Go around!” Grayson shouted sternly. “I guess this isn’t the time or place for life stories.” He chuckled, and Stassi smiled.
“I’m sorry. I’m distracting you. I’ll let you get back to it,” she said.
He leaned down into her window so that they were eye to eye. “Can I take you out, Stassi?”
It was so random and sporadic that Stassi’s mouth fell open and nothing came out.
She had just accepted a car from Day. She knew it didn’t mean they were together. Clearly, they weren’t. He had left the funeral with someone else, but she didn’t want to be messy. She needed a little clarity from Day before she answered this question.
The next car honked at her.
“Okay, okay,” she said. She pulled out her phone and handed it to him. “Put your number in.”
“Is that a yes?” Grayson asked.
“It’s an ‘I’ma let the fine firefighter call me so I can get to know him.’”
He entered his phone number and pressed send so that he had hers as well. He tapped the side of her car and she put it in drive.
“Don’t wait too long to call. Girls hate waiting to see if a man is really interested.”
She pulled away, and within seconds, her phone rang.
She answered with a smile. “Can’t call too soon either, sir. You don’t want to look thirsty.”
“I’m a grown-ass man. When a woman crosses my mind, I call. Actually, I prefer to pull up, but I ain’t been invited yet. I ain’t worried about looking thirsty. I am very interested, though, Stassi.”
“Never knew I was so captivating,” she joked.
“Somehow, I think you know better,” he replied with a laugh. “I got to get back to work, but I’ma hit you up later.”
“Enjoy your day, Grayson.”
“Today was the hardest day of my life,” Lauren said as she sat across from Demi at the dining room table. Everyone was gone. Just like every other funeral, after the official burial, the others went back to their lives. Their regularly scheduled programs continued while the people closest to the deceased were left to endure.
“I’m just glad it’s over,” Demi stated. “All those fucking people. My skin is crawling.” Demi had shaken so many hands and received so many hugs that he felt like he was infected. His OCD was working in overdrive, and his mind was exhausted. “Feels like I been running uphill all week. A nigga can’t even catch his breath. I’m mentally exhausted.”
