Page 49 of Gator
“Oh great,” Miranda mumbled as the woman headed straight for us.
The woman leaned down and gave Yaya one of those impersonal air kisses society women liked to give.
“Happy Birthday, Mother.” Her voice dripped with fake sincerity, the kind that said she knew people would be watching, so she was putting on a show. “This is such a quaint little birthday party.”
“It’s perfect. Miranda did such a marvelous job, I couldn’t have planned it better if I did it all myself.”
“Mother,” Julius said with a cold, guarded tone that sounded nothing like him. I’d known they weren’t close, but I’d never seen him like that. It was almost like he’d pulled on a suit of armor and was ready for an attack.
“Julius,” she replied with a tight smile, scanning the room like she was checking to see if anyone was watching her. When she realized people were, she gave Julius another of her annoying air kisses. Then her gaze landed on me. “And you are?”
“Harlan Thibodeaux, ma’am.” I offered my hand. “But most folks call me Gator.”
Her eyebrows rose slightly. “And what exactly do you do, Mr. Thibodeaux?”
“Security work,” I said, keeping my tone easy. “Bodyguard, mostly.”
“Ah.” That one syllable was packed with a ton of judgment. “Well. I suppose everyone has to make a living.”
I could feel Julius tense beside me, but I stayed loose. “Yes, ma’am. I do alright.”
“I’m sure,” she said, her gaze flicking to Julius’s outfit. “You’re looking very… colorful.”
That was enough.
“With respect, ma’am,” I said, stepping just slightly forward, “He looks amazing. That’s one of the many things I admire about him. He shows up exactly as he is. That kind of courage isn’t easy to come by.”
Julius’s mom blinked like she hadn’t expected anyone to stand up for her son. “Well…” She sniffed. “I hope you’re prepared for what that entails. His… personality has never made life particularly easy.”
“I’m from the swamps, ma’am,” I said smoothly. “We’re not exactly known for doing things the easy way. But we take care of our own. Always.”
She didn’t say anything else—just gave a tight nod and wandered off toward the drink table like she hadn’t just tried to insult her son in front of his yaya.
Julius let out a long breath. “Well. That went better than expected.”
“I told you,” I said, sliding my arm around his waist. “Your mama’s just a woman with opinions. I’ve wrestled gators. I’ll be fine.”
“You havenotwrestled gators.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He shook his head, but a little smile twitched at his lips. “With you, I’m not sure about anything.”
Over the next little bit, I watched while Yaya opened gifts and talked with her friends and family. Julius never left her side, handing her presents and taking the trash from her when she was done. When the last gift had been opened, Miranda announced that it was time to eat.
Julius and I filled our plates and took our seats. He’d mentioned that the food had been cooked by a family friend, and it smelled amazing. His yaya was sitting at the head of the table with Julius next to her, and his sister and his niece were busy making sure everyone had what they needed. I looked around and didn’t see his mother anywhere.
I asked Julius about it, and he let out a wry laugh and rolled his eyes.
“She made her appearance and showed everyone up in her fancy clothes and with her expensive gift. In her mind, she did her part, and people saw what a good daughter she was. I’m sure she snuck out so she wouldn’t have to eat this peasant food.”
“Well, her loss, because I can’t wait to dig in.”
“Yeah, Jimmy Don makes some really good BBQ. His mother and Yaya were best friends most of their lives, so he insisted on cooking for her.”
“If you need to go help your sister, I’m okay here.”
“Miranda loves doing this part. I’ll jump in when it’s time to clean up. She gets that from Yaya. She used to have the hardest time sitting down and eating when we had family dinners because she just always had to be up making sure everyone was taken care of.”