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“I’m not sayin’ you scared, Kyenna.”

“Nigga, you implied it.”

“All I said was you give the hoe too much grace.”

“I give her grace because I was once the woman standing on the other side of this shit.”

He looked at me, confused. “What you talkin’ ‘bout? You’ve never been the other woman.”

“I was the wife. Averie was the ex, and Raya was the side bitch. We all had a position. We all had feelings involved. I know what it feels like to think another woman is trying to take something from you.”

“What she got that you want?”

“I don’t want her thinking I’m trying to replace her as a mama.”

“My niece ran through the door calling you Mama Kyenna. You didn’t teach her that today. She learned it over the years. Rah had no fuckin’ problem wit’ it. Neither should you.”

I hated when he used Rah against me because it worked every time. That was always my cue to let shit go. Ryleigh came running through the kitchen with her bag of dolls. She barely had the bag zipped. I took the bag from her and placed it on the island so I could get it zipped up.

“Ryleigh.”

“Yes?”

“You’re going to your grandma’s house until tomorrow. Why does each baby have so many outfits?”

“They have to bathe and change clothes,” Ryleigh said.

I looked up at Shameek and laughed.

“I can’t even argue with you,” I said.

“Ryleigh, take some of the outfits out so we can zip the bag. Can you do that for Uncle Meek?” He asked.

Ryleigh looked at me with sad eyes, and I looked at Shameek.

“You mean.” She grabbed the bag and took off running.

“Please don’t ever have kids,” I told him.

“My nieces and nephew are enough for me. I wasn’t ‘bouta have all that shit all over the place. She got six big ass dolls in a bag and seventeen outfits. Where the fuck are they goin’ to the damn club?”

“Meek.” We both laughed.

Ryleigh finally made it back down, and the bag was zipped.

“I’m hungry,” Ryleigh said.

“I’ll fix you something real quick,” I told her.

She ran off to the den while I made her turkey sandwich and fruit.

“You remember when your brother took her to eat ice cream for breakfast.” I laughed.

“Nigga had my mama hot ‘bout that shit. Then gonna have the nerve to say ‘ice cream got milk in it’. I knew then Ryleigh had his ass wrapped.”

“He would argue any point. It was times I just stopped talking because he was going to be right,” I said.

“Usually he does be right.”