Giani laughed. “Girl, you used to love this kinda shit.”
“Did I?” I asked before I could stop myself.
The question softened her expression for a second.
“Hell yeah,” she replied. “Couldn’t keep your ass in the house.”
Right when I was about to tell her that I didn’t want to sit with the crowd, a man yelled, “Tiffany, you and yo’ people bring y’all fine-asses over here.”
“Aight, bae.” Tiffany blushed and walked away, having forgotten about us that fast.
I couldn’t blame her. I was sure my man made me forget about everybody and everything, too.
“Want me to get you anything before I go?” Tink asked, looking from me to Giani and back at me again.
I was so consumed with everything going on around me that I wasn’t paying attention to him, still standing there.
“Nah. I’m okay,” I said, brandishing another tight smile.
“Sureeeee. Just make sure you find me if you need me, okay?”
“Okay.”
Satisfied with my answer, Tink drifted away, but I stayed where I was, still taking everything in.
Everything seemed cool, but it didn’t stop the anxiety from pressing down on my shoulders.
“You wanna eat?” Giani asked, pointing at the tables. “The food is good as hell. My Aunt Minnie can cook her ass off.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the spot she pointed to and saw an older woman with a polite smile, reaching for a plate.
“Yeah,” I said, stepping forward.
The food smelled too good. Might as well act as if I belonged there.
Even if I didn’t feel like it.
The woman handed me a plate and started loading it before I could tell her what I wanted.
“I’m giving you a little bit of everything,” she said, and it wasn’t up for discussion.
She added a scoop of potato salad and a helping of baked beans before placing a piece of chicken on the plate, the grill marks still running across it. Then she set a rib on top.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You welcome, baby,” she replied, reaching for the next plate.
I stepped to the side, balancing the food in my hand while I looked for somewhere to stand that wouldn’t put me in the middle of everything, but there wasn’t one. Every space was filled to capacity. I wanted no parts of that.
“You still do that,” Giani said suddenly.
I looked over at her. “What?”
“Separate yourself from everybody when you start getting overwhelmed.” She smiled faintly. “Booda used to hate that shit.”
The mention of his name made my chest twist. Before I could respond, Giani nodded toward the building.
“Come on. We can sit over there.”
