I was stunned. My old man had never been this candid about relationships. I think his grief had him closed off for many years, but now it seemed like he was singing a different tune.
“Pop?”
“Yeah son?”
“Are you…getting back out here?” I asked carefully.
He huffed. “Somewhat. Your Uncle Victor said it ain’t right for a man to spend his life alone…. Yo mama been gone for almost twenty-six years son. She’ll always have my heart and remain my first love but the therapist lady I been seeing recently said that first loves don’t mean last love. I’m a stubborn old mule but maybe I can learn something new.”
I nodded, impressed. Now my Uncle Victor may have not always had the most sound advice, but he had been married before and after he and his first wife divorced, he dated around and then started dating his ex-wife again. They probably won’t ever get remarried but they are enjoying long-term partnership.
We chopped it up for a bit more, and then I promised Pop that I would swing by the crib later in the week to lay eyes on him.
Leaning back on the couch, I looked at my phone and decided I would hit up Reina.
Me: Hey lady. You made it in okay?
Reina: Yeah, I did.
Me: Cool, cool.
Me: You mind if I Facetime you?
I held my breath. I knew some women who didn’t like random Facetimes but I hated texting. Talking on the phone was okay, but I liked to Facetime more than anything. It was something about seeing a person’s facial expressions and body language that I really liked observing. They often gave me cues on how to proceed.
Reina: Give me about ten or fifteen minutes and you sure can.
My stomach twisted,and I ran to my hallway mirror and made sure I still looked presentable. My mom started growing my locs when I was two, and almost thirty years later, they reached the middle of my back. I usually kept them up in a loose bun until I could find somebody to retwist them. Once satisfied that my lining wasn’t crooked, I turned on my lamp and dialed her number.
She answered on the third ring.
My words got caught in my throat. Her eyes were a beautiful chocolate brown color, and she looked at me with curiosity. I found myself involuntarily smiling at her like an idiot.
“So Vasiah…. What’s the last thing that made you genuinely smile?”
The question surprised me because it wasn’t typical, but I answered it. Next thing I knew, five hours had passed, and she was snoring softly on the other end of the phone. I propped my phone on my pillow and turned off all the lights in my apartment, feeling like… a nigga could get used to this.
3
REINA
Iwoke up the next morning feeling confused and groggy. My phone was dead, but my bonnet was on, even though I was still dressed in yesterday’s T-shirt and my panties. Then I remembered that Vasiah and I stayed on the phone all night, and that’s when I felt giddy again. He was such an interesting person. We learned so much about each other, and I shared things with him that I didn’t share with any niggas, like how I was bilingual in Spanish, or how I liked to plan trips for me and my friends. I told him all about my childhood with Reign, and I even told him about my Nana. In turn, he told me how his mom died when he was five and the way that my father-in-law raised him. He told me how much he liked to draw and design video games for a living. Vasiah was a nerd in every sense of the word and…
I liked it. I likedhim.
Fuck. I was a goner.
“Delivery for a Miss LaReina King?” a stocky UPS deliveryman came into the shop asking. I looked up from my client’s hair, which I was pin-curling, and announced that I was the one he was looking for.
“I didn’t order anything,” I said as I took the box from his hands and jiggled it to see what it was.
“It’s somebody with the last name Hill,” he divulged, and butterflies danced in my stomach.
A gift from Vasiah? Wow, I like his energy already.
Opening the package, there was a medium-sized bouquet of my favorite candy, Hershey’s cookies and cream. We talked so long and about so much that I forgot I mentioned my favorite candy. And here he was sending me something that was so small but so significant because it showed that he listened. Scurrying to my office, I sat behind my desk and hit the girls on FaceTime, waiting for them to answer one by one.
“CALL ME CRAZY, BUT I THINK I FOUND THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!” I sang off-key to Jazmin Sullivan’s hit.
