“Pretty like mommy?”
“Prettier—‘cause your mama acting real ugly right now,” I said, flipping Drea off.
“Ooh, you childish,” Drea laughed as she wiped the syrup off Gunnar's chin.
Mama chuckled, shaking her head. “So what’s her name?”
“Nairobi.”
She hummed thoughtfully. “Nairobi,” she repeated slowly. “That’s different. Pretty though.”
“She seems nice,” Drea added. “At least from what I could tell at Monica’s birthday, before y’all rolled up like the damn truancy police.”
Mama folded her napkin neatly on the table. “So, when am I meeting her?”
“Soon,” I said, a little too quickly. “She’s been dealing with her father’s passing. She got some things to settle before I bring her around.”
“Ain’t it been like a month? What else she gotta settle?” Drea asked.
“Leave it alone, D. I’ll bring her by when the time’s right. Fuck around and y’all will scare her off.”
The table went quiet save for the sounds of Gunnar happily smacking on his food. Mama sighed and reached across the table to tap my hand. “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her. Hope she’s bringing you some peace.”
Nairobi and I were good. I’d gotten what I both thought we wanted—she wasn’t running, but part of me still braced for the other shoe to drop. I was trying to focus on the present, but sometimes it felt like walking on eggshells…careful not to say or do anything that might trigger her flight mode.
Because I knew one thing for sure—if she left this time, I don’t think I’d recover.
After brunch, Mama and Gunnar went into the living room to watch a movie, leaving me and Drea to clean up. The house was quiet aside from Gunnar’s occasional outbursts as sunlight spilled through the kitchen window and caught the steam off the sink. I wiped down the counters while Drea dried the plates and hummed along to Alex Isley playing low from the Bluetooth speaker.
“So…” she said, dragging the word out. “How are things with you and Nairobi?”
I shrugged without looking up. “We’re cool.”
“Mmhm,” she hummed skeptically. “You sure? ‘Cause I saw the way your face practically crumpled when Mama said she hoped Nairobi’s bringing you peace.”
I rolled my eyes. “You always in somebody’s business. Your ass should’ve been a damn investigator instead of a hairdresser.”
“Well actually,” she said, holding up a finger. “My profession makes you a really good listener. I pick up on everything—body language, especially the smallest tics. It’s a gift.”
“Here you go,” I muttered.
“Look, ‘Taine.” She paused the music on her phone and leaned against the counter. “You love a project—you treat relationships like some kind of computer code.”
I glanced up at that.
Drea crossed her arms. “I’m not saying you don’t love her, or that she doesn’t feel the same. I’m saying make sure you’re not trying to save her. You’ve been playing the protector role foras long as I can remember. First with Mama after our sperm donor dipped, then me after my little situation.”
“She’s not a project, D,” I said quietly, still wiping the same spot on the counter. “She’s been through some shit, but I’m not trying to fix her.”
Her tone softened. “I didn’t say you were. I’m just saying make sure she's as invested in her own healing as you are. She gotta face her demons head on. You ain’t gotta tell me her business, but has she ever been to therapy? Maybe she needs to go see the lady—especially if she’s serious about making y’all work.”
Fuck.I looked down at the towel in my hands, trying to ignore the lump forming in my throat. I’d gotten on Nairobi for trying to carry the weight of the world, and here I was inadvertently trying to carry her shit as mine.
“I just want her to stop feeling like she’s alone in everything.”
“And what—the solution is to be the knight in shining armor who’s gonna fix it and hold it for her? That’s not love, that’s martyrdom. You deserve balance, not another problem to solve. Don’t you get enough of that shit with Jelani and ‘em? Plus, it’s supposed to be a partnership, not you swooping in to save the day.”
I exhaled, nodding slowly. “I hear you.”
