Ma’s smile tightened as she pinched me hard on my side, making me flinch. I laughed and turned slightly to Jasmine.
“Ma, this is Jasmine. Jas, meet my mother, Sydney Banks.”
Jasmine smiled shyly and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Banks.”
My mother’s face lit up as she took Jasmine’s hand. “Well, aren’t you a gorgeous thing?” she said, pulling her in for a hug. “And you can call me Sydney, sweetheart. I’m a hugger, I hope you don’t mind.”
Jasmine let out a small laugh, returning the hug. “Not at all, Sydney.”
Ma stepped back, looking over Jasmine approvingly before turning to me. “And you brought company?”
I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling slightly awkward. “Last minute decision.”
“I bet,” she replied, raising an eyebrow, and gestured for us to follow her into the kitchen.
“Can I get y’all anything? Water, juice… something stronger?” she asked, heading to the fridge.
“We’re good, Ma,” I said, leaning against the counter. “I just came to grab those papers for the building.”
“Oh, right,” she nodded. “They’re in your father’s office.”
“I’ll be back,” I said to Jasmine.
She nodded and sat at the island, her gaze wandering around the room.
Coming into Pop’s office always felt like stepping back in time. Nothing had changed—his old books and vinyl records lined the shelves; even the decanter, still half-filled with his favorite whiskey, sat on a bar cart in the corner. Ma claimed she used this as her workspace, but I knew she mostly kept it this way to feel close to him.
“You like her, don’t you?” Ma said out of nowhere, picking up a manila folder off the desk.
I blinked. “What?”
She sucked her teeth and lightly smacked the folder against my chest. “Boy, you heard me. When was the last time you brought a girl over here?”
I took the folder. “It’s not like that.”
She looked at me skeptically. “Uh huh. So now you out here introducing random girls to your mama now?”
I shook my head, chuckling. “No, ma’am.”
Her expression softened. “Exactly. That’s what I thought,” she patted my cheek gently. “She seems good for you.”
“You said, like, ten words to her.”
“You look at her the way your daddy looked at me,” she said simply. “A mother knows these things.”
I followed behind her as she left the room, still turning her words over in my head. When we stepped back into the kitchen, Jasmine glanced up from her phone, her gaze flicking between us curiously. I could see the curiosity all over her face—she knew we weren’t back there just going over paperwork.
“Aight, Ma. We out,” I said, giving her a quick hug.
Jasmine stood and smiled. “It was really nice meeting you, Sydney.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, sweetheart,” Ma gave her another warm hug. “Hopefully, this one will bring you by for dinner sometime.”
Jasmine gave me a tentative glance. “That sounds nice.”
Ma turned to me with a stern look. “And you—don’t fuck this up, Cash.”
“Here you go,” I muttered. “Yes, ma’am.”
