“Will, they’ve never done anything?—”
“Enough!” I barked, slamming my fist on the table. It startled the babies, but Granny and Aunt Toya simmered them down easily. “You really want to sit here and act like they’ve done no wrongs toward me?”
“Will, I just feel that sometimes you overreact to certain situations.”
I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief. Since she wanted to go here, I was about to tell her exactly how I felt. Something I should have done a long time ago. Slowly, I rose to my feet, planted my fists on the table, staring into her eyes. She appeared nervous about where this was headed.
“Overreact? Was I overreacting when I came home crying because Tabitha had the entire class calling me ‘sissy?’ I was nine then. I remember it like it was yesterday. Elliot overheard, came into the kitchen and said I must be a sissy since I was crying like one. You said nothing.
“Then there was that time Tabitha and her friends pushed me off the jungle gym during recess. I dislocated my shoulder. When I told you what she did, you told the hospital that I had fallen by accident. Don’t worry, though. Alice slapped every last one of those girls who were involved.” I winked at Alice, and she smiled ear to ear, showing all thirty-two.
Elliot pointed a shaky finger at me. “I will not let you paint my daughter as a villain.”
I placed my hand on Jacob's shoulder when I saw him about to stand. I knew he wanted to protect me, but I needed to handle this on my own. This was long overdue.
“I believe I told you not to address me.” I gazed at my mother, who had tears streaming down her face. I was unmoved. “Nothing to say?” I paused, waiting for an answer. “No? Okay.Well, let’s talk about how Tabitha brought her boyfriend home for dinner, and it just so happened to be my boyfriend as well. You sat there while Jeff lied and said he never wanted me, and I confused him. Even after I showed you the proof, you allowed your husband to send me to my room while you all ate dinner and mingled with the boy who had just broken my heart. I sat in my room crying for hours, listening to you all talk and laugh with him like I wasn’t shit!
“If that wasn’t enough, you continuously allowed this man and his daughter to make comments about my sexuality. They actually compared me being gay to being a fuckin’ child molester! Saying I should never be able to adopt a little boy. So, dry those fake-ass tears. Just call things for what they are. You were so concerned with keeping this bastard happy that you purposely overlooked any mistreatment toward me.”
By the time I was finished, Granny was handing Miracle back to Tech. She grabbed her cane off the wall, standing in front of Mom and Elliot. “What is he talking about? Jeff dated both him and Tabitha?”
My mother made me keep that information to myself. She didn’t want the family to find out. I was so embarrassed about how things played out that I had no intention of telling anyone. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized I had nothing to be embarrassed about. She knew how this would make her look, so she convinced me to keep my mouth closed to save face.
“Mom, it’s complica?—”
“I don’t want to hear it! I know my grandchild, and I know he isn’t lying. What the hell is wrong with you?! Why would you allow this man to treat him this way?”
“Mom, you always told me when I got married, it was my job to make sure my husband was happy.”
Granny’s eyes enlarged, and Aunt Toya shook her head in disappointment. “Make him happy, yes. Neglect and mistreatyour own flesh and blood, no! Had I known my baby was going through this, I would have taken him from you. No wonder he barely comes around if you all are involved.”
Elliot’s face was beet red. “Ms. Nina?—”
His words were cut off when Granny raised her cane, and she hit him upside his head. “Get out of my house!” she yelled.
“Oh shit,” Tech murmured with wide eyes.
“Mom!” My mother gasped and bent down to help Elliot off the floor.
Granny looked down at her in disgust. “Get him out of my house. You should be ashamed of yourself. From this moment on, I don’t want him or his bitch of a daughter around my family. If you stay with him, that’s on you, but he will not be welcomed around here.”
My mother continued to cry, but she helped Elliot to his feet before walking out with him. The room was silent until Oscar spoke up.
“Granny’s still got it.”
The room erupted in laughter, breaking the tension. It felt good to get everything off my chest. I had been bottling all these emotions up for a long time. But for the first time in a long time, I was at peace with where I stood with my family.
Chapter Twenty
TECH
“Miracle is out like a light,” Will said as he walked through our bedroom door.
Today, all the brothers with Ol’ Ladies and kids had gone to an amusement park called The Wild. The park had three different sites where you could get an up-close view of wild animals.
The first trail we went on was the safari. The kids got to see lions, tigers, cheetahs, elephants, and a slew of other animals. They even got to feed the giraffes. I believe that one was Miracle’s favorite. Will had her in some kind of baby contraption strapped to his chest. She was barely blinking as she looked at the giraffe in fascination.
When Will started feeding the giraffe, Miracle burst into giggles, seeing its long tongue stick out for the food. After we finished the safari, we went to the aquarium. The aquarium was so big that it took us an hour and a half to get through it. Mainly because they had a station designed to feed stingrays. The kids interacted with the stingrays for twenty minutes before we could move on.
