When I pulled up to my Nan’s house, my pops was sitting on the porch with Tink on his lap. “You don’t have to get out. I’ll be back.”
I got out and walked over to the porch. “Where is Nan?” I asked my dad as I reached out and picked up Tink.
He popped a cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and took a full drag before blowing out smoke. He scratched his forehead.
“She’s sick, man. I came in here, and she said she couldn’t breathe. Next thing I know, she passed out. Right there in front of me,” he said as he used his hands to show me. “I can’t watch her. I ain’t took care of no kid since you, and hell, I barely did that.”
I heard Royce behind me. “Is that your baby sister?”
I turned to tell her to go back to the car when my father hopped up with the cigarette cuffed in the corner of his mouth. “Sister? Nigga, you at the school lying to them girls? Sweetheart, that isn’t his sister. That’s his daughter,” he said dramatically.
“Hmph, daughter, huh?”
I kissed Tink on her cheek as I bounced her up and down. “Yeah, my goal is to do whatever to make sure my daughter has a better life than this.”
She nodded. “What’s her name?”
“Breann. Breann Shanae Milton.”
I turned to my pops. “I’m going to take her with me. Where did they take Nan? To General?”
“Yeah,” he replied.
I walked in the house, grabbed what I could, and came out to my pops all in Royce's face. She looked uncomfortable, so I hurried down the porch steps.
“Pops, chill.”
Royce turned to head to the car, and the sound of my pops’ exaggerated response made me snap.
“Nigga, I said chill!”
He threw both hands up. “Shit, you can’t help but see all that wagon she’s dragging.”
Royce got into the car as I set up my daughter’s car seat in the back and put her in. I went around and got in. There was so much I wanted to say, but I knew once we got back to school, whatever Royce and I had was going to end before it got started.
CECILY’S INTERLUDE
Thank you for informing me.
Sincerely,
Dean Cecily August.
I typed and hit send, then quickly closed my laptop and got up from my desk. Things felt like they were shifting, but not in the way I expected.
I hurriedly grabbed my keys and left the house. The fifteen-minute drive to my destination felt longer than usual. Upon arrival, I said a short prayer before stepping out. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I approached the door and knocked. It didn’t take long before he answered. "Auntie, what are you doing here?” Jesaiah asked.
Something about him looked different; he appeared flushed, tired, and mentally exhausted. I peeked over his shoulder. “Do you have company?”
“No, come in,” he muttered.
I didn’t want to do the small talk, but I also didn’t want to ignore what I saw in him. “Are you okay?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Tired, I guess. You good?”
I walked around his clean apartment. I wasn’t sure why he lived here when he had something to call his own. I knew this was all Toni’s doing because, in her eyes, his having the best meant loving him.
I turned to him and got straight to the point. “I’ve been seeing and hearing things about you. You cannot be a menace on campus. I’ve raised you better than that. Jesaiah, I am your aunt, but I’m also the dean, and if I have to, I will—”
