“Eat…”
“Go tell Lonni to feed y’all.”
The sun wasn’t even up yet, and they were up, ready to eat. I blamed the drugs my sister was taking when she was pregnant with them for some of their issues. It didn’t stop us from loving them though. Lonni and I were the only two left of our family. None of us knew our father, and my mother passed away rightafter our oldest sister from complications of a heart attack. She spent many nights walking the floors, worried about us until it killed her.
We never grew up poor. We were raised in a nice neighborhood and had a decent education. My mother was an educator and taught us everything we knew. Being that I was the only boy, I had to do just as much as the girls. Cook, clean, and keep the yard clean. We had it all. I still found myself wrapped in shit I had no business being in. A few armed robberies, carjackings, and one attempted murder charge. My grandfather started snatching my ass up and made me do things at his business that was now passed down to me. He would have me graveling cement in hundred-degree weather. That still didn’t do it for me. I was young and angry. Angry because I couldn’t fix my sister who was starting to spiral. Angry that my mama had to do it all alone while my dad was absent.
My oldest sister felt the need to find her father figure in someone else. Everything went downhill after that. She started staying out late and using drugs. It took a toll on my mama. She went from looking her age to ten years older as time progressed. Finally, my sister left the house, and we never knew where she was. It affected all of us. I would randomly bump into her if I was hanging out with my boys, but she wouldn’t say anything. Shit broke my heart to see her in that condition. When she got pregnant with the twins, she moved back with our mama and got herself clean, only to find out she had bipolar depression. We tried everything to keep her on the right track. The shit was going good until one day my mother left her home with the kids to run to the store and came back, to my sister overdosed on pills and the twins sitting in a tub full of water.
“Jah, did you send them twins in my room? It’s your morning to do breakfast, nigga.”
“Shit…I came to rest, not work.”
“Ain’t no rest in this damn house. Get your ass up and get breakfast going while I get them ready.”
I threw the cover off my head when she walked off. The bathroom that was joined to the bedroom was stocked with all my hygiene favorites. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and washed my face before throwing something on to drag myself to the kitchen. They had different appetites, which is why Lonni didn’t like to fix breakfast. I was the better cook anyway and they loved my cooking.
Reign hated anything that had a sticky texture, and Dream was a big fruit eater. I made him pancakes with blueberries, and Reign had grits, eggs well done, and bacon. While they were eating, I caught up with Lonni. This was the time she would give me all the bills. Due to her taking care of the kids, I suggested that she not work and let me handle the expenses.
“What you got for me this month?” I asked as I set our plates down.
“Since we added the therapy, it’s added another two grand to the bills. With your shit and mine too, I don’t want to stress you.”
“Do I look stressed? If I told you I got it, I got it.”
Lonni had no idea how much money my company was bringing in. All she knew was that we were both icing off our mother’s money. She was terrible when it came to money. All that time my mother spent saving for us, she wasted it on dumb shit like purses and hair. The house we were in was something I bought as soon as I got out of college. My mother helped me buy it because I didn’t have any credit, but I had money for the down payment. Lonni ass was living out of her car and too prideful to ask for help. It wasn’t until a few days before our sister’s funeral that I found out her ass didn’t have anywhere to stay.
“I appreciate everything you do for us.”
“I got y’all. All you need to do is take care of them while I work. What you got planned today?”
“I wanted to sleep in a bit, but since I’m up, I’ll take the twins out to wear them out before I start this next project.”
“When is that?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Meeting a new contractor and architect that’s trying to break ground in the downtown area.”
After we finished eating, Lonni cleaned the kitchen while I cleaned the kids up and got them changed into some decent clothing. Thankfully, my sister had Reign’s hair braided down because I had no idea how to do hair. Right as I was walking out the door with them, the speech lady showed up.
“Y’all heading out? I have a session with them today. Did Lonni not tell you?”
“Lonni!” I hollered.
“Damn, my bad. I forgot all about it.” Lonni rushed to the door.
“It’s cool. They need these sessions. I’ll just hang out while you work with them.”
She looked so different than the last time I saw her. Her hair was short and curled like some pin curl type shit. She didn’t have dark circles under her eyes like she was lacking sleep. She pushed her cat-eyeglasses up on her makeup-free face. I was good at reading people, but she had a stone wall up that not even a bulldozer could get through.
“I’m sorry. Maybe I should’ve sent a reminder. I’ll make sure to do that the next time.”
“Girl, come on, it’s cool. Jah ain’t got shit to do today,” Lonni said, dismissing me.
She briefly made eye contact with me before walking in the house. Since the kids were occupied, I decided to lay around and catch up on what the fuck was going on in the world. I tried my best not to focus on the news or anything. It was always badnews. I hated it, but I still liked to stay on top of the shit since I traveled a lot.
“Jah, I have to run to the store. Do you mind being a little more present while Ms. Cole is here?”
