Page 3 of Half Sight Whole Heart

ZYRO COLEMAN

She looked away quickly, but I caught her not only the first time, but the second time as well.

I didn’t smile or move. I just offered her a nod.

I’ve never seen her before, but I saw she’d come in with a lil’ youngin’ that looked just like her. She walked beside my cousin, Mahlia. She spoke to my family. When she smiled, it didn’t come close to reaching her eyes—not both of them, anyway.

Her left eye was clouded, but she was still beautiful. Fine, too.

Whatever my Uncle Tim was talking about, I ain’t heard it.

My arms were crossed, my shirt was tossed over my shoulder, and I was paying attention to her.

Mahlia told me she was bringing a friend, and I brushed that shit off ‘cause she was always tryin’ to hook me up with a nappy-headed bitch she knew.

I watched her every move. She was now near the table that held food, helping her son poke a straw into a juice pouch.

She kept one hand on his back as he gulped that shit down.

My eyes darted to Mahlia, who was watching me with a smirk.

She said something to her friend, her friend nodded, and then Maliah slid her way over to me.

I took a sip of my brown liquor in my red cup.

“What you lookin’ at?” she asked, nudging me with her bony ass elbow.

“What’s the kid’s name?” I asked instead of answering her question.

“Ermias. He’s five and don’t ask me ‘bout no baby daddy ‘cause she don’t like to talk about him,” Maliah rambled.

I frowned and looked at her sideways. “I ain’t ask you allat.”

My cousin laughed loudly and ignorantly.

I smirked and put my eyes back on the grill, pretending to watch Uncle T flip chicken. I took another slow sip.

“Why you ask about her kid, though? You didn’t even ask about her. You want to know her name?”

“Nah,” I told her, squinting and shaking my head. “If I did, I’d ask her.”

“Just like you could have asked her son’s name,” Mahlia shot back, grinning.

“You real irritating sometimes, you know that?”

“And you real obvious sometimes, you know that? She’s a good girl. Not looking for anything. I told her she needed to let her hair down and get her back blown out or some.” Maliah snickered. “Is that bad advice?”

I cut my eyes at her, lips tight so I wouldn’t laugh.

“Yeah, man. That’s fucked up advice.” I chortled and took another sip, letting the brown liquor warm my insides.

Mahlia cracked up and damn near dropped her cup.

“She blind?”

“She has sight in one eye. Other one—nah. She still does normal shit though. Eriss doesn’t let shit stop her from being normal.

Eriss. I took note of her name.

I nodded.

“Eriss doesn’t have time for the games, and she’s tired of bullshit. I ain’t gon lie, I did invite her so she could meet you.” Mahlia cut her eye at me as she sipped.

I raised a brow.

“Nah, I ain’t the one.”

Mahlia snorted. “Who you fuckin’ wit’? Leesa? You still talkin’ to that bird?”

I licked my bottom lip. “Some like that. It ain’t nun serious.”

“Do she know that? Why is she here?”

Shaking my head and letting out an obnoxious snort, I watched Leesa switch her hips and bring her ass in my direction. It looked good, though. Her ass and legs matched. She knew how to wear a dress and knew who she was wearing it for.

“Why is she here?” Mahlia pressed again. “Ruining my damn plans.”

I nudged her, almost knocking her over. “That’s why you don’t make plans fo’ me.”

“Heeey, bae,” Leesa said, approaching me and Mahlia, who rolled her eyes.

It wasn’t a secret to Leesa that Mahlia didn’t care for her. I don’t think Leesa liked Mahlia either, but she wasn’t crazy enough to voice that shit to me. I ain’t play ‘bout my family.

“Dang, I couldn’t get a shirt?” she pouted.

Mahlia rolled her eyes and took off back to her friend.

“You ain’t get no shirt ‘cause I ain’t invite you. Why you here?”

Leesa tossed her long weave over her shoulder and sucked her teeth. “I have to have a reason to come to your house?”

“Yeah.” I frowned. “Do I pop up on you?”

“No, but you could.” Leesa shrugged. “Why didn’t you invite me, though?”

“Because this is my family, Lee. I don’t have to invite ‘round my folks just ‘cause I’m fuckin’ you,” I let her know as kindly as I could. How she received it would be on her.

“That’s cold, Zyro. You’re not the only nigga that I can get attention from,” she snapped.

That’s why I didn’t do the relationship shit.

Some females were too fuckin’ emotional and thought that when they were getting dicked dropped into them, it gave them the right to stalk a nigga.

That wasn’t the case here. Leesa knew off top that I wasn’t wit’ that shit.

She knew we were just fuckin’ and if she wanted to be wit’ a nigga who could give her more than what I was willing to give her, she could gone on ‘bout her business. I wouldn’t give a fuck.

That’s why I told Mahlia that I wasn’t the one for her damn friend.

Waving Leesa to move around because that was the same shit she always said, thinking that would move me. I ain’t give a fuck who gave her attention. When I called her, she came running. No, sprinting. She came sprinting.

I took another sip of my drink while eyeing Lessa, who still ain’t moved from around me. I didn’t want to have to act like an ass at my damn family reunion. I’ll yoke her ass up and toss her on her ass if I have to.

She huffed and took a few steps back. “Will I see you later?”

I shook my head. “Nah, not tonight. Get home safely.”

Leesa rolled her eyes and turned to leave. I watched her ass jiggle in that tight ass dress.

“Nephew, she was dressed to be on a pole, not for a family reunion,” Uncle Tim jested. “Fuck you find her ass from?”

I snickered and darted my eyes back over to Eriss. She was smiling and moving her hands around as she talked to my Aunt Mena, Mahlia’s mama.

My backyard was full of family. Before my grandma Lou passed away, at the age of nineteen, I told her I would keep the family together because it was important to her.

So far, I’ve been living up to my promise.

I went to a trade school and became a mechanic.

I worked under my Uncle Tahj for a few years before venturing out on my own.

Zyro’s Pit Stop was my baby. I put all my sweat, blood, and tears into that shop.

That shop bought this house, which was sitting on acres, and my parents’ house.

Mama jokes all the time and says the only thing I was missing in my life was a woman.

A real woman. She was always cordial to Leesa when she was around, which wasn’t often, but she didn’t care for her.

Mama wanted me with someone who had shit going for herself, and Leesa wasn’t it.

She was just some fine shit that I fucked when I needed my dick wet. Nothing more.

The DJ I hired for the reunion played a song that had everyone lined up and doing a line dance.

I watched Aunt Mena pulling Eriss with her, who tried to wiggle free.

She fell in line with the rest and was hitting the moves effortlessly.

My Mama came out of the house and joined in, her knees bending like she was still twenty-one.

Everyone was laughing, stopping, and clapping, the whole damn yard moving in sync.

Mahlia ran over to me and pulled me to join in.

With my cup still in my hand, I fell in line with the rest.

It was one in the morning when I sent everyone on their way.

If they were too drunk to drive, a designated driver was making sure they made it home safely, but they had to get the fuck up out of here.

Mahlia and her homegirl stayed to help clean.

Her son was asleep in a tent that kept the mosquitoes away.

She had to go and get him home, so when she picked up the last paper plate off the ground, I approached her.

“You can go ahead and get him home. It ain’t too much more clean up,” I said.

“Um…okay. We’re actually staying at a hotel in town.” Eriss replied softly and then squeezed her eyes shut. “Sorry, you didn’t even ask for all of that.” She glanced toward the tent. “He had fun. Thanks for having us here at your beautiful house.”

I smirked and nodded. “Yeah, he had a ball. Go on. I’ll finish here.”

Eriss hesitated. “You sure? I can—”

“I’m sure,” I cut her off with a small grin. “You’ve done enough.”

I couldn’t help but look at her cloudy eye. It wasn’t ugly. She…Wasn’t…Ugly.

Eriss caught me looking, but she didn’t flinch. She kind of held my eyes like she was testing me to see what I’d say or do next. Maybe she was used to folks asking her questions about her eye.

I cleared my throat. “Let me help you carry him to the car. It’s the least I can do. He’s knocked out cold and would be dead weight.”

“I appreciate that.”

Mahlia came over and silently looked from her friend to me. Leaving the two in that spot, I headed to the tent and unzipped it to pull her son out. Light as a fucking feather.

We walked in silence to her car. She unlocked it and opened the back door. When Eriss attempted to move me out of the way so she could buckle him up, I glanced back and chuckled, “I got it.”

Mahlia wrapped her arms around Eriss and whispered some shit in her ear that I couldn’t make out.

“Giiirl,” Eriss mumbled. “No.”

I stood to my full height and shut the door.

Eriss thanked me again before jogging around to the driver’s side of her Toyota Camry.

I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched Mahlia get in her vehicle.

She could have stayed here tonight, but there was no telling what my cousin had up her sleeves or what nigga she was entertaining tonight.

Mahlia pulled out first, honking her horn at me.

Eriss followed behind her. I watched them drive down the dirt road until I could no longer see their taillights.

My phone rang as I headed to my front door, dragging a bag of trash. I squinted. The number that popped up, I was familiar with.

Love Grove Police Department.