Ommy climbed from my lap and sat on the cushion next to me. “I wanna talk to you. Sit down baby girl, take a load off.”
Without another word Niema sat down and looked anywhere but at me.
“I’m not gonna pretend to know what conversation you and your brother had attempted to have. All I do know is that it didn’t go too well, because you both are just alike. You gotta talk things out and be willing to hear one another out.”
Niema nodded. “But I?—”
“Let me finish. I promise you’ll have the floor and both of us will be listening.”
Niema just looked.
“At your age I didn’t have a mother either. All I had was Knoxx and my father. Two overbearing men who thought they knew everything in my opinion. The thing is I was so sheltered that I didn’t know the first thing about boys or their intentions. I knew my intentions, and to me that’s all that mattered until I went over to a boy's house and he had other plans. Imagine my sixteen-year-old ass held up in a bathroom calling my older brother crying because I wasn’t ready for what watching a movie at a boy’s house entailed. Now, I’m not saying Aron is like that because I don’t know him and neither does your brother. However, if a boy or man is truly interested in you, your first date won’t be on his couch or in his front room. Your standards shouldn’t even allow that. You are not a come see me type of girl, you deserve to be dated before anything.”
I looked between Niema and Ommy and I didn’t know what to say. Shit, Ommy’s opening speech was fucking flawless and I could tell Niema felt that shit too.
“Do you hear me?”
Niema nodded.
“I know he’s probably asking you when you’re coming to see him. So y’all can get to know one another better, right? Why can’t he do that over dinner? Matter of fact, why can’t he do that over here? Read intentions, because I’ma say this straight up in front of your brother. Most niggas ain’t shit. They’ll say whatever to get whatever and it doesn’t matter the age. You have yourwhole life ahead of you. Read the game and if you’re confused about any of it, I’ll lend a listening ear and so will your brothers. I’m sure they know more about the immaturity of the male mind better than anybody. Also when you’re ready to take that step you’ll know and it definitely won’t be on somebody’s mama’s couch during a come see me moment.”
Niema chuckled.
I was looking upside Ommy’s head because I think I counted about two insults during that part of her speech. “You had me until you got to th?—”
“You want to say anything, baby girl?” Omyia asked.
“No, everything you said made sense. Thank you.” She stood and walked over to hug Ommy.
I sat there baffled because this was that shit I was talking about. It was that female shit. “So you received her better than me and was just tryna gi?—”
“Delivery, North.” Ommy waved me off. “Now that’s out of the way, are you two brick walls going to eat dinner or are we still beefing?”
After that difficult ass conversation dinner went well. Not only had Niema dropped her attitude, but Ommy’s pops dropped Ssiah off. Like always he gave his mother minimal attention and went straight to Niema who loved spoiling his ass. Ommy and I stayed in the kitchen to clean up after dinner then retreated to the bedroom. She claimed she wanted to have a movie night in the basement, but we never made it down there. After a hot steaming ass shower it was time for both of us to knock out.
“You know I love you, right?” I peered over at Ommy as she did her nightly cleansing routine in the mirror.
“Nah I don’t. That’s the first time I’m hearing you say that.” She smiled.
“Well I do. Not because of what you just did back there, but because of your whole fucking being. It's everything about you for me, mama. You’re everything I swear I never knew I needed.” She had me in her sounding like a fucking Ne-Yo song.
“I love you too, North.”
I laughed. “I know you do. The way you’re about to start crying told me that much, Avery.”
She laughed through the tears.
“Do me a favor though.”
“Anything.”
“If we do have a daughter, when the time comes tell her that you held that thang shut until you were like forty. I ain’t really got time to be catching cases in my prime. Nah mean?” I walked into our bedroom with her in tow.
“That doesn't even sound right.”
“It doesn't have to. Lie. Now get your ass in the bed so I can turn the light off. I don’t feel like beefing with you in about thirty minutes about whose going to turn the fucking light off.”
She laughed. “Dramatic.”
