I paused. “A… record player?”
“Yeah,” she said laughing. “I’m gonna go get some records today. I think it’ll look really cute in the kitchen. You know that empty counter I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with?”
“Oh,” I said slowly. “Okay.”
“I called you right before this call,” I added. “It sent me one of those messages asking if I could call you back.”
“Really?” she said, sounding genuinely surprised. “I didn’t even realize. I was probably on the phone. I’m sorry.”
I didn’t say anything, but I already knew she was talking to Coffee. They could be on the phone talking for hours if they wanted to.
“It’s cool,” I said. “Today shouldn’t be long for me anyway. I should be home early for dinner.”
“Okay,” she said, not fully convinced. “I’ll see what Kennedi wants and cook that.”
“I love you,” I said.
“Love you too.”
Once we hung up, I set my phone down just as there was a knock at my office door.
Before I could say anything, Kemi cracked it open and leaned in. “Your brother’s here to see you.”
“Let him in.”
The door opened wider, and Kordai walked in. We locked eyes and grinned at the same time. I stood up and met him halfway, pulling him.
“I was just finna say,” he joked as we pulled apart, “why the fuck didn’t I just walk in—then I remembered you not rude like Kross and Kendrix.”
I laughed. “Them niggas act like Olivia Givelle didn’t raise them.”
He sat into the chair across from my desk, stretching his legs out. “Yeah, I actually have home training.”
Although our parents had four boys, we were all close in different ways. Kross and Kendrix clung to each other like glue. Mama always said it was because they were the middle kids, stuck in between everything. Me and Kordai were close. We were different being the oldest and the baby. It was a weird duo of the protector and the shadow. He followed me everywhere growing up, and it honestly never bothered me.
“So,” I asked, leaning back against my desk, “What are you doing over here? You ready to get back into real estate or investing?”
He looked at me like I’d lost my damn mind.
“Hell naw,” he said. Then corrected himself. “Matter fact—fuck naw.”
I burst out laughing, shaking my head. “I had to ask.”
He laughed too, shaking his head. Now that he was home, we could joke about it. But before and during—wasn’t a single thing funny about what he’d been through. I hated the nights Mama cried, the way my parents’ house felt weird every holiday, or the fear of wondering if he was okay mentally.
“I’m just trying to figure out what my next move is. I don’t wanna rush into some shit just because it looks good on paper.”
“That’s fair. Take your time,” I said. “You earned that.”
He nodded, then looked around my office. “You still killing this shit though.”
“Trying,” I said honestly.
Kordai leaned back in the chair and shook his head. “Man, I really came by here to holla at Pops’ ass, and he ain’t even here.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I talked to Mama earlier. Pops took her to breakfast, so he should be coming in soon.”
Kordai sucked his teeth. “Well damn. He could’ve said that. I was laid up with an old friend and rushed over here for nothing. I coulda stayed right where I was.”
