The house is nice, I’ll admit, but I don’t look around. I don’t wanna like it. So I keep my eyes on Vanessa’s back.
“We always do games before dinner,” Ace explains. “Then we draw names for the gift exchange.”
I smile politely, but all I can think is how stupid it is to draw names a week before Christmas given that most people shop online nowadays.
Whatever.
And now, we’re at our destination. A hush falls over the room, and suddenly, all eyes are on us.
Well, Jackson won’t make eye contact with me. Angela looks like she’s trying to hide her disdain. Kamryn is openly glaring at me, and Rico and Carlton are smiling tightly like they’re waiting for a bomb to go off.
Then Angela stands.
I feel Ace tense as she approaches us, and I want to tell him it’ll be okay, that I don’t hate his mother, even though I do. But I just watch as she embraces him, and I’ll be honest, I’m a little surprised by how genuine it looks. She’s holding that boy tight, and she looks like she wants to cry.
I didn’t think she had it in her.
Slowly, gingerly, he lifts his arms to hug her back, and it feels like the whole room exhales.
While I wait, I check her out. Unlike Vanessa, this bitch cares a lot about how she looks, and fuck her for being so beautiful and glamorous. She could give Diahann Carroll a run for her money, quite honestly. Too bad the inside is so rotten.
But my man melts into his mother’s cashmere-covered arms, and I realize how hard the last few months must have been for him.
When she finally pulls away, she looks at me with wet eyes and thinly veiled disgust.
“Raya,” she greets. “Good to see you.”
“You, too,” I lie.
Ace then makes his rounds, hugging his father awkwardly, dapping up Rico and Carlton after they speak to me, hugging, then mushing Kamryn.
I clear my throat, ready to say my piece.
“Hi, everybody. Good to see you all. Happy to be here.”
“Me, too,” Ace says as he leads me to one of the unoccupied couches. “And, listen, I wanna go ahead and discuss the elephant in the room.”
But before he can start, Angela holds up her hand. “No need. We’re just happy you’re back in the fold. We all just wanna move forward.”
Ace shifts in his seat, leaning toward his parents. “Okay, but do y’all understand that this is a package deal? Raya is y’all’s family, now. Do we all understand that? As a concept?”
“Yes, we received your emails,” Angela says quietly.
Rico snickers.
“And to that end,” she continues, “you’re welcome here, Raya.” She plasters on a tight smile. “You’re family now.”
Oh, I bet that tasted bitter in her mouth. I wanna laugh so bad, but I look at my husband and gather the strength to speak instead.
“I appreciate that,” I say. Jackson still won’t make eye contact. “And honestly, I can understand why you might have had reservations about me. I didn’t make the best first impression.”
Kamryn finally looks at me.
“I did lie,” I admit as I prepare to do it again. “But only because I was so impressed by your family. Where I come from is…very different from where you are. I mean, look at this house.”
Angela smiles for real this time. Stupid bitch.
“I liked Ace so much, and I was scared I wouldn’t be accepted.”
