Me:
She showed up to suite with Nana in there?
A few moments later, her response came through.
Ma:
Initially, no. She was in the stands. In the nosebleed section. She bought her own ticket. But I told her that if I had to come down there and get her, she wasn’t going to like it. LOL. So, she came up and spent the second half with us. Meet us in the suite.
That shocked the hell out of me. I put a little pep in my step so I could get out there. I stripped out of my uniform and tossed it in the laundry bin as I made my way to the showers. Once I was clean and dressed, I hollered at Kew, McKissick, and Woodson, then headed toward the exit. I walked past Wilcox, sitting quietly at his locker by himself. He looked over at me as I passed. When he realized it was me, he gave me a death stare. I laughed in response and kept walking. He was the dumbass that fumbled her, not me.
I took my time getting to the suite. When I got there, I greeted my family. My grandfather got a hug.
“Did you enjoy your birthday, Pops?” I asked him as we hugged.
“I did, Grandson. Thanks for doing this.” He pulled me tighter. “Kaynaan, forgive your grandmother. I know she doesn’t always say or do the right things, but?—”
“Still making excuses for her.” I shook my head. “She’s like, seventy something years old, Pops. When you gon’ let her suffer the consequences of her actions?”
He eyed me. “Never, if I can help it. That’s my wife. Despite any and all of her flaws, I love that woman. It’s my job to protect her.” He lowered his voice. “Even when she fucks up. If you plan to love that pretty little girl that’s over there wearing your jerseyfor as long as I’ve loved Georgia, . . . you’re gonna have to learn to do the same. You tell her she’s wrong, but you don’t let nobody hurt her. Not even yourself.”
His words hit me in the heart, because even though my grandmother had her issues, my Pops was as solid as they came. When he gave advice, he dropped knowledge. I knew my girl was hurting. And I knew I was the reason she was hurting.
“Fix things with your grandmother, then fix things with your girl. I don’t want her baking my great grandbaby in a cesspool of worry and sadness.”
“Pops, about that?—”
He waved me off. “Your brother-in-law showed me the post.”
Shiloh’s husband had always been a little bitch who did everything he could to get close to my grandfather. Little did he know, he would never have any part in Grand Aviation beyond being upper management. He would never be an executive, so all his posturing was for nothing.
“I know what a stepdaddy is, and I recognized from the images that she was referring to you.” Pops took a beat. “If this is your child, then it’s my great grand. All that other shit doesn’t matter. In this family, we don’t believe in steps; we believe in love.”
“Tell it to your wife.”
“I did. Now, worry about your own woman.”
“Me and Nana aren’t gonna be able to just sweep this under the rug. We’re gonna have to have a talk.”
He nodded agreeably. “That sounds productive. But in the interim, speak to your grandmother. Don’t give her the cold shoulder. She’s well aware that she’s in the doghouse with you. She doesn’t need you to treat her badly.”
I didn’t have it in me to give my grandmother the cold shoulder. I loved that lady. I was just pissed with her at themoment. I walked over to her. “What’s up, Nana?” I threw my arm around her shoulder.
She leaned into me. “Hey, Grandson. You played a really good game. I was proud of you.”
I kissed her on the forehead. “Thanks. Hey Nana, can we do a late lunch tomorrow before y’all head back to Londynville?”
“Why do I feel like this isn’t a social lunch?”
“Because we really need to talk.”
She sighed. “Call me tomorrow and let me know the time and the place.”
I kissed her again. “Cool.”
I finally made my way over to Wyndi, who was sitting in the corner by herself. She was in her phone.
“Hey.”
