“Girl, how you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“Tame Lil’ Chucky,” Amil added, and I snickered.
“Y’all better stop talking ‘bout my son.” She laughed.
“Where everybody at?”
“Enzo over there on the grill, Danae and Aura went to the store to get more ice, Dai and Pryce on the way. Oh, and Ebone too,” Thyri ran down.
“Awww, look at your dad and Aunty Fawn, Thyri.” I pointed at her father fixing my aunt’s hair.
“I know. They are too cute,” she agreed.
“Let me go say hi to everybody else. You know how this family get when you don’t give everyone a hug personally.”
“Girl, will talk about you like a dog,” Amil said, laughing.
One by one, I made my rounds, hugging everyone in attendance, trying to figure out how an intimate cookout became this grand thing. Kissing my parents, who seemed to be having a good time dancing to the old school cuts, I found myself helping set out the rest of the food, even though Grandma Lettie insisted I sit down somewhere.
About thirty minutes in, we had an Uno game going on, and as with any card game and a Sullivan, shit was getting intense.
“Jay, you can’t throw your Draw Two down on my Draw Four, my nigga,” Tay argued.
“Yes, I can. It’s a draw card, man,” Jay fought.
“No, you cannot. Throw a Draw Four or pick up that eight, my nigga. You buggin’.”
“Key,” Jay turned to me, “tell this nigga I can throw this Draw Two down.”
I was too busy laughing at them to fight either of their cases. “That’s not my business. All I know is my Draw Four led, and I ain’t the one that gotta draw the cards.”
“Milz.” Jay turned to Amil for a lifeline.
She shook her head. “You can’t, Jay.”
“Thank you!” Tay yelled, making Baby Jay put his hands up to his ears. “Oh, my bad, Jay.” He reached out and squeezed his arm twice, signaling to Baby Jay that everything was cool.
I smiled once Baby Jay nodded that he was good. These moments reminded me why being a Sullivan was one of my favorite things in the world. No matter what was going on, we always had us.
Jay huffed and picked up his cards, and I threw out a skip. “Uno,” I said. And then another on top of that. “Uno out. I’m going to get a drink. Anybody want something?” I laughed, standing.
They both ignored me, salty about their loss.
I turned to head to the bar, stopping in my tracks when I saw Aura, Danae, and Mehki walking into the backyard. My heart stuttered at the sight of him before my mind caught up.
“What the hell?”
Danae reached me before they did. “Aura’s idea, not mine. But in his defense, he doesn’t know y’all haven’t spoken,” she reasoned quickly.
“Thanks for the heads up,” I said before making my way over to them before Aura could start reintroducing him to people he may have already been familiar with.
Stopping in front of him to block him from moving, I crossed my arms on my chest. “You are not slick.”
“Who? Me?” Mehki played.
“Damn, Key,” Aura let out. “Why you all up on that man like that?”
