She reached out for me. “Relationships, all relationships, need water to grow.”
“I’m watering my relationships.” I took her hand, squeezing it. “I’ve been a little… sad, so I haven’t talked to them that much, but I’m watering them.”
“I’m not just talking about them,” she said gently. “Youneed water, too. Don’t close yourself off from people who love you because you’re sad. Let people in. Let yourself be watered.” She squeezed my hand. “Let yourself be loved on.”
“You did a good job in there,” Monica said, interrupting Aunt Addy’s stirring words.
I took a small step back, blinking the tears away. “Thank you.”
Monica flashed a quirky smile. “Addison said you looked like a mermaid, and I couldn’t unsee it.”
I snickered. “Yeah, she told me. I’m going to work on kicking my legs tomorrow.”
“She was all arms out there, but she was moving!” Aunt Addy added as the two ladies laughed a little too hard. “Monica and I are going to head home. I’ll make you some bacon.”
“I can’t eat bacon,” I reminded her. “Temporary vegetarian.”
“Oh shoot, that’s right!” She shook her head. “I know you wanted to prove you can do hard things, but when you come back and the house smells like bacon, that’ll be the real test.”
I nodded. “And that’s a fact!”
We said our goodbyes, and I headed to the locker room to get changed.
Thinking about what Aunt Addison said about my friendships, I got to the car and looked at all the unanswered texts from my friends—even my work friends. Only Aaliyah and Nina knew what was really going on, and I didn’t have the energy to fake it with everyone else. I reread my last text conversation with Lamar, who knew nothing about my aunt’s condition and yet I didn’t have to fake anything with him. I didn’t have to pretend to be happy or in good spirits; he made me happy and put me in good spirits. On the drive to Aunt Addy’s house, I thought about all the messages and a knot formed in my belly.
I really haven’t been a good friend.
I parked beside Monica’s van, and I replied in the group chat with my girls. I then reread the last text from Lamar, realizing I’d never texted him back. Not really thinking about how it was before eight o’clock in the morning, I sent a message.
Jazmyn Payne:I owe you an explanation.
Lamar Anderson:About what? What are you doing right now?
Jazmyn Payne:Just finished my swim lesson. I’m sorry to text so early. What are you doing?
Lamar Anderson:I’m heading into the gym now.
Jazmyn Payne:I hope you have a good workout, and that work goes well today. Can you give me a call tonight?
Lamar Anderson:Yeah, it’ll be good to hear your voice.
My stomach fluttered.
Jazmyn Payne:Okay, talk soon!
I squeezed my eyes shut. It didn’t matter how many times I called him a friend or tried to play it cool, he gave me butterflies.
And that scared me.
I tucked my phone into my bag and went into the house. Aunt Addy was back in bed, so after a shower and changing into comfortable clothes, I went to sit in her room to watch TV with her. When she fell back asleep, I went to get something to snack on when I got a text.
Nina Ford:GIRL! Eleven o’clock! URGENT three-way call!
The capitalizedgirltold me everything I needed to know. Nina didn’t usually request an urgent conference call, so when my phone rang at eleven, I went to my room and was ready to hear whatever was going on.
And it was worth it.
Besides the belly laughs that I’d needed more than anything, Nina damn near confessed her love for a man. She didn’t say it with her words, but she didn’t have to. It was evident that it was different with him. Nina kept a roster for her own reasons, and she enjoyed the company of all the men she entertained. But I’d never heard her talk about a man the way she talked about the Fun One, as she called him.
