Jacob was way too careless with his attitude about this four-year-old phone call. “Bro, it was so long ago. When she called, she had a funky ass attitude, so I forgot about it.”
Joshua dropped his head. “I would have a funky ass attitude if my fuckin’ mama died too. What the fuck, Unc!” He stood. “I’m about to go see her. You comin’, Pop?”
Pop Jordan’s eyes hadn’t left his brother. “Nah, I’ll meet up with her another time. Let her know that I’m sorry about her mama.”
“Nah, you can tell her that shit when you talk to her,” Joshua responded. “Unc, you foul as fuck for that shit. You act like you don’t even give a damn that your niece called. That’s some real fuck nigga shit.”
He didn’t give him a chance to respond before he moved toward the back door. I gave Jacob a final look then shook my head. “Sorry, Pop Jordan, but your brother is a weirdo. You need to be careful with that shit.”
His top lip twitched a little as his eyes bounced between me and his brother. I left them to their stupidity. I hoped he beat the fuck out of that weirdo.
A Little Reunion . . .
I convinced this nigga to wait a few hours before he went to see his sister. He wanted to go to the school, but I didn’t think that was a good idea. From what I remembered about P’Nee, she could be feisty when provoked. Her leash wasn’t too sturdy. There was no way to know how she would take her reunion with her brother.
It was after seven in the evening now, and we had just pulled up at P’Nee’s house. I smiled at the Jeep in the driveway. That girl wanted a Jeep and swore she would have one since we were teenagers. I was happy to see that she got exactly what she wanted.
Over the years, renovations were made on the house. I never saw P’Nee or her mother here, so I assumed they hired a company and approved the changes remotely. Now that I thought about the timeline, the house had sat empty for a couple of years before P’Nee moved in. That made sense now that I knew her mother died.
“You ready, my dude?” I asked Joshua. “Remember, don’t go in there wide open. Ask the questions you want answers to before you make an opinion of why she was away for so long.”
Just like me, Joshua could be hotheaded without the proper guidance, even at our big age. We were both loyal to a fault, and that was why we rarely did the new friend thing. There were a few friends that we chilled with that we knew since we were younger. My grandma gave me the best advice when she told me that you couldn’t and shouldn’t take everyone with you.
Joshua nodded before he opened his truck door to climb out. We walked up to the porch, and he pressed the camera doorbell. I felt the nervousness coming off him.
A moment later, the front door opened, and P’Nee appeared. You could tell that she had been home for a while and had settled in for the night. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to venture over here, Josh. Please come in.”
She stepped aside to let us both in. I took in the house which was nice as hell. I had been in here years ago when a bitch that I fucked with rented it for a year before she moved to Florida. It looked a lot different now, as it should have. She asked if we wanted anything to drink. My jaw tightened when she offered beer. “You drink beer?”
She tittered. “I don’t, but I picked it up from the store today. I knew it wouldn’t be too long before Josh came over, after seeing you earlier, and I wanted to be prepared. If I correctly remember, both of you like Red Stripe.”She has a good memory.Our young asses drank beer from the time we were fourteen years old.
We accepted her offer and got comfortable while she went to the kitchen to get them. Well, I got comfortable. Joshua roamed around the living room looking at the pictures, certificates, and degrees that were on the wall. I watched my best friend’s emotions play Tetris on his face. I saw him moving around pride, hurt, anger, and confusion.
“Here y’all go,” P’Nee said as she set the beers down on the coasters on her coffee table in front of her couch. She went backinto the kitchen for a second and came out with an empty wine glass, a bottle of wine, and a platter with something on it.
When she set it on the table, I tilted my head in her direction.There is no way.“So, you just keep cornbread on deck, or was this specially made?”
She let out this cute giggle. “Like I said, I wanted to be ready. I do make cornbread often, though, for my faculty, staff, and students.”
The platter was accompanied with three small plates. I saw that she was on her hostess shit. There was no reason for me to act like I didn’t want any. I hadn’t tasted her cornbread in forever. “Aye, you want some, nigga?” I asked Joshua. I could eat all this by myself, but I wanted to be considerate this time around.
He chuckled. “Yeah, nigga. Don’t eat all that. Sis, you should have made more than this if you really wanted to be ready. We were greedy as fuck then. What do you think we are now?”
We all tittered softly. P’Nee got comfortable in her recliner that I could only imagine was probably her favorite place to sit. “Trust me, there’s more. How have you been, Josh?”
“I think the better question is, how have you been? You cut a nigga off like I did something to you. What’s up with that?” He went straight into it like I knew he would.
An uncomfortable expression covered her face. Her face dropped for a second before she lifted it to make eye contact with him. “That was not intentional, Josh. I love you, but it seemed easier to completely be done with Clover. There was a lot going on, and after so much time went on, I just settled into it being just me and my mother.”
“You’re saying a lot without saying anything, Sis. A lot was going on like what?” Joshua asked. His jaw was tight.
I planned to be a spectator during this conversation. I was here for moral support and now cornbread. P’Nee was beautifulin her leggings and T-shirt. It was clear that she took on her grandma’s and mom’s body profile. The Anderson women were a thick generation of women. You could see P’Nee’s ass from the fucking front. I pulled myself out of lustful thoughts.
“Josh, what happened doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago. How about we restart our relationship now? So, am I an auntie yet?” She diverted from the topic at hand better than a politician.
I side-eyed Joshua to see if he would let her slide or beat the horse a little more to make sure it was truly dead. When he reached out and grabbed a plate to put cornbread on, I knew that he would leave it alone for now.
“Nah, you’re not an auntie yet. No kids are coming from me until I find my wife. If that never happens, then I’ll stay a childless man,” he replied to her inquiry.
