Page 52

Nova

Me and God still weren’t on good terms, but as much as I tried to convince myself that he didn’t exist, I knew that he did.

Which, in a way, made it much harder to talk with him like I used to.

He ignored me for fifteen years, so my plan was to ignore him now.

Which was too bad for him, because if I was talking with him, I’d tell him thank you for making sure I was here for Mama when she needed me the most.

Ms. Cora died early today. Mama was asleep when the call came.

She hadn’t left her room at all this morning.

She said she was tired from the late night, but I recognized the difference between fatigue and grief.

Poor Mama had lost so many people she loved over the years.

All I wanted was to do something to put a smile on her face.

I wasn’t sure what time Skye would be calling.

I promised her that I’d go with her to talk to Quinton about her moving in with me and Mama.

The thought of having that conversation made my heart race.

Quinton and I already had one heavy talk last night.

Two in a row may be pushing it, but I’d do whatever I could to help Skye, especially if it meant her coming to live here. I wanted that more than anything.

I woke up early to cook breakfast. I didn’t burn anything, and that was a sign of improvement.

I used to be a really good cook, but I hadn’t used those skills in so long I wasn’t sure if I still had them or not.

Maybe today I’d cook something special for Mama for dinner.

She deserved a break, even though Mama wouldn’t see it that way.

Cooking was her therapy. Whenever she was upset or had a lot on her mind, she liked to bake.

Leah and I used to say Mama made the term bittersweet a real thing.

After the coffee finished brewing, I took it up to Mama, along with a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. I knocked on her bedroom door before pushing it open.

Mama sat up when she saw me with the tray of food. “What have you done?” She smiled.

“I made your breakfast.” I lowered the tray so she could see the food and her coffee, with a little cream and a little sugar, just how she liked it.

Mama took the tray and placed it on her legs. “Thank you, baby.” She patted the space beside her.

I kicked off my shoes and climbed into bed with Mama. “You okay?” I asked, which was a pretty crazy question being that she’d lost one of her closest friends. Of course she wasn’t okay.

“I will be,” Mama said. “You know, I was going to spend the night with her last night. She was weak, but she was still able to talk. She told me to go home and get some rest and come back today.” Mama chuckled. “That old cow knew she was leaving me.” Then her eyes watered.

I leaned my head on Mama’s shoulder. “I’ve heard that people wait until their loved ones are out of the room or away from the hospital before they transition. You think that’s true?” I raised up to hear her answer.

Mama nodded. “I know it’s true. Your dad did the same thing.

The doctor told us it would be the day before.

They didn’t see him making it one more day, but he did.

The day they thought he would pass, I didn’t leave his side for a second, other than to run to the bathroom.

That next morning, I went downstairs for coffee.

One of the nurses told me that I probably hadn’t even made it downstairs before he went. ”

I wanted to crumble, but I had to be strong for Mama. I wasn’t there when Daddy passed, but I was here now.

I stayed with Mama until she finished her food. One thing I could say about Mama was that she refused to let life keep her down. By the time I cleaned the kitchen, Mama was dressed for the day.

“Going somewhere?” I asked, thinking the answer was going to be no.

“Yeah, I’m going to meet Carlos.” Mama raised her hand. “Excuse me, Sheriff Jones, at Cora’s house. He’s in charge of all the arrangements, and Cora would haunt me if I let him pick out her burial outfit.”

“You need help?” I asked, drying my hands on the dish towel.

“No, I think I need to do this alone.” Mama hugged me.

I didn’t push because I understood the need to be alone when you were working through your feelings.

Mama was halfway out the kitchen before she turned back to me.

“Last night I asked Lance if he’d take you to get a phone.

Now that you’re venturing out more, I think it’ll be good for you to have one. ”

“I was thinking about that too. Guess the likelihood of getting one like I had before is probably slim, huh?”

Mama laughed. “You can get one like that, but be prepared to be talked about. Your sister and daughter talked about me for a long time because I didn’t want to get rid of my flip phone. I still think I could’ve kept it. These things are distraction machines,” Mama said, holding her phone up.

“I can tell.” I thought of how everyone looked at their phones. I noticed it in the hospital, at the café yesterday, when I had lunch with Mama and Leah. There weren’t a lot of people in there, but the ones who were there kept their heads lowered to their phones.

When Mama left, I called Lance to see what time he’d be coming by.

He had business to take care of today, so he wouldn’t be over until later.

After I hung up with him, I called Skye.

She didn’t answer. I may not have known a lot about raising a teenager, but I did remember what it was like to be one, and I was pretty sure Skye was probably sleeping in.

That was what I used to do on a Saturday. Especially a Saturday after a game.

Since I had nothing to do and nowhere to go, I started prepping for dinner. Mama loved red beans and rice with cornbread and yams. I was pretty sure I could still cook red beans. The yams I wasn’t so sure about, but I’d do my best.

I was peeling the sweet potatoes when someone knocked on the front door.

Lance had said he’d be later, but I thought he meant a lot later than that.

I wiped my hands on Mama’s apron and went to the door.

When I peeped out, I was surprised to see Skye.

She didn’t call, and I wasn’t ready to leave yet.

“Hey, I was waiting for you to call,” I said, opening the door to let her in.

“Sorry,” she said, looking around. “Is Gran here? I need to talk with her.”

I was confused but tried not to let it show. “No, she’s at Ms. Cora’s. She passed away last night.”

Skye looked at me for the first time, and her eyes were red like she’d been crying. “Ms. Cora died?” Her eyes watered again.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were that close to Ms. Cora.” I pulled some Kleenex from the box next to Mama’s recliner and gave them to Skye.

“I’m not, but I know how much she meant to Gran. Is she okay?” Skye asked, sniffing and wiping her eyes.

“She’s handling it well. You don’t have to worry about Gran. She’s a strong woman.” I tried to reassure her. “Did something happen? You didn’t talk with your dad without me, did you?”

It wasn’t until the questions were out that I figured her visit had nothing to do with any of that, unless she’d talked with Mama about living with us.

“No.” Skye sat on the sofa and slumped back. “I’m not moving out.”

My stomach flopped. “Okay.” I swallowed, unable to push any words past my disappointment.

“I want to, but I can’t leave Dad right now.” Her voice broke.

I sat next to her and braced myself for the question I had to ask and the answer I was afraid to hear. “Is something wrong with your dad?”

Skye lifted her eyes to me. Tears ran down her cheeks. “Teeah’s gone.”

My world stopped, and every part of my body went numb. “Teeah’s gone?” I repeated the words that I was sure I’d heard her say. “What ... Gone how?” I held my breath and waited for what felt like a lifetime before she answered.

“She moved out.”

I closed my eyes and exhaled the biggest sigh of relief.

I held my chest, which was burning at that point.

With so much happening at once, the only gone I could imagine was death.

I didn’t know what would’ve happened if Skye had said that, but once I was coherent and able to think straight, I should’ve known that wasn’t what she meant.

There was no way Quinton would’ve allowed her to come and share that news.

Come to think of it, I doubted he knew she was sharing the news that she’d moved out either.

Skye and I sat for a minute in silence, my mind running through all the questions I wanted to ask but couldn’t.

Why did she move out?

What happened?

Did they have a fight?

What was it about?

I wanted to know the answer to all those questions, but Skye shouldn’t be the one answering them. “Do you know where she went?” I asked, figuring that was okay to ask.

“Dad said she’s staying at the condo for a while,” she said, as if I knew about the condo.

“The condo?” I asked.

“Dad and Teeah bought a condo in Perkins Rowe. It’s a rental property, but no one’s staying there right now.”

“Oh yeah, Mama told me about Perkins Rowe. I thought it was a shopping center.”

Skye nodded. “It is. There are also eating places, a movie theater, and in the back are condos.”

I didn’t know what to say after that. Should I tell her everything was going to be okay when I didn’t know if it was or wasn’t?

Did I sit there and wait until she told me what she needed from me?

I felt so lost. I had no idea how to help her.

How to make her feel better. In the midst of trying to figure out how to help Skye, those burning questions were still nagging at me.