“Jon, I don’t give a damn what time it is. I just found out that our children have been leading a double life and lying to us for a decade. I’m having a drink or two before I lose my fucking mind,” she proclaimed. Her hands violently shook as she poured herself a glass of bourbon. She slammed the bottle onto the cart, gulped some of the contents down, and whirled around to confront us. “How long have you known about this, Jon?”
“Since the night of the rehearsal dinner,” he confessed.
“How did you find out?”
“The how isn’t necessary, dear.”
“Howdid you find out?” she asked. Her tone was a little firmer than before, leaving no room for bullshit.
“I overheard a conversation between them and nearly witnessed an intimate act. Grant confessed to me when I called him out, and I didn’t want to tell you until after the weddingbecause you were already stressed about it, and I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
Mom nodded and polished off the remainder of her drink.
“Who else knows?” No one spoke. “Hello? I’m not speaking to myself here.”
“Uncle Ant and Ms. Simone,” Kiyah confessed.
“And Kieran,” I added.
“How did Anthony and Simone find out?” Mom asked.
“They bumped into us in Austin, and we kinda confessed,” Kiyah replied.
The room fell silent again, and all eyes remained on Mom as we waited for her to process and suffer a subsequent meltdown.
“So, what now? I hope you don’t think I’m giving you two my blessing.”
Kiyah’s breath caught in her throat. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly.
“Kierra, you shouldn’t be so harsh,” Dad claimed.
“Fuck that, Jonathan. This relationship is dysfunctional as hell, and you can’t change my mind. No one in a happy, loving relationship hides it from their family for a decade.”
Kiyah began to sob.
“Mom, chill out,” I warned, snatching some tissues off Dad’s desk.
“Don’t you tell me to fucking chill out! You’re probably the reason why Kiyah’s been AWOL for seven years!” she shrieked.
“Okay, let’s just take a breath,” Dad said, trying to play referee. “Kierra, I know this is all new information for you, and it’s confusing, and you’re just trying to make sense out of it all—trust me, I’ve been there. But we can’t lose our heads. What’s done is done, and we need to be supportive,” he said, trying to reason with her.
Mom chuckled humorously and placed her hands on her hips. “You know what being supportive has gotten us, Jon? Twosecretly married siblings, 1/2 of an abusive lesbian couple, a son who sticks his dick in everything that moves, and a man-child son who pinches pennies tighter than Ebeneezer Scrooge. I don’t know if our support is worth shit. This is fucking weird, Jon, and you know it!”
“Let’s go, Kiyah,” I whispered, pulling her out of her seat.
“No, Grant. Please stay. Your mother is still processing,” Dad said, trying to come to her defense. Truthfully, there was nothing to defend. She was entitled to her feelings, but I wouldn’t stick around and get shitted on.
I dragged Kiyah out of the office with Dad still begging us to stay and talk it out.
“Yo, what’s with all the shouting?” Casey asked, entering the house as we were leaving.
“Kiyah and I have been married for seven years, and Mom’s not taking it well. Have a good day, Case,” I announced, leaving him dumbfounded in the middle of the foyer.
Kiyah was still crying when I helped her into the passenger seat and buckled her in. I’d barely buckled myself in when there was a knock on my window. Mom stood there with a deep scowl on her face and that stupid cat tucked under her arm. Her muffled voice came through the glass.
“Roll down the window, Maxwell.” I cracked it an inch. “All the way down.” I complied and waited for a tongue-lashing. She cleared her throat before saying, “Listen… there is nothing you two can do to make me stop loving you, but it’s gonna take me a hot minute to wrap my head around this.” She leaned down to get a good look at Kiyah. “Look at me, Ki.” I glanced at Kiyah, who had given our mother her full attention. “Kiyah… I spent many sleepless nights throughout the years wondering if my daughter was dead or alive and if I’d ever see her again. I don’t know what went down between you and Grant, and honestly, I don’t think I want to know, but that shit was cruel. I hope you getthe therapy that you desperately need.” Her gaze shifted to me. “Both of you.”
“I will, Mom,” Kiyah whispered.
