Page 13

“Baby, chill,” I laughed at Legacy as she stared at me through the mirror in the bathroom. We'd landed in Bali a little over ten hours ago and immediately went to bed and I’d forgotten to tell her that my parents would be here. Now, I regretted that shit. “You’ve already met my daddy, that nigga cool.”

“Your mom is different, Aceyn,” she sighed as she fixed her hair. I leaned against the door frame and watched her. Legacy moved freely as she fussed at me; I could only smile at her. “Chill that look out, too.”

“What look?” I laughed.

She watched me through the mirror as she fluffed the curls in her ponytail. “That one.” She pointed at me with her comb. “It’s like you're amused.”

“Cuz I am,” I replied with a shrug. “My mama cool as fuck, and I’ll be honest, I doubt we even see them for real cuz my daddy got all these plans for them.” I brushed my hand over my hair and smiled. “The only time we will cross paths is at dinner. They are on one side of the resort in their bungalow, and we are in ours.”

“Why does this still feel like a setup?” She narrowed her eyes at me, and I could only smile. “Aceyn–”

“Point Guard, listen.” I stepped into her space and pulled her back to me. “It’s cool. Now, let’s have some fun before meeting them for dinner.”

“What exactly is your idea of fun?” she asked me, and I shrugged. “Aceyn.”

“Just know, we are about to have a time, alright?” I let her go, slapped her ass then walked backward to the door. “That little swimming suit looks good as fuck on you, too, you know that?”

“Aceyn.”

“Let's go, Point Guard!” I laughed and turned to walk away.

I put on my slides in the room, checked myself in the mirror, and then waited for her to come out. Legacy may have acted like she wasn’t down for shit, but I could tell from the way her eyes lit up as we talked that she was looking forward to what I had in store. She left the bathroom, grabbed her bag from the bed, crossed her arms, and stared down at me.

“You ready?” I laughed, and she nodded. “You know we're about to have a good ass time, right?”

“So you keep saying,” she said as I stood. I pulled her to me, kissed her, then pulled back. “You’re walking on thin ice, though.”

“Man, bring your ass,” I laughed, then grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door.

I had to give it to Citrine; he’d outdone himself regarding this resort. Instead of being only a big hotel, he offered private bungalows with 24-hour concierge service. Our bungalow was a one-bedroom apartment on the water.

We walked to the hotel, went through the lobby, and went to our waiting car. I helped Legacy inside, then got in and relaxed.

“Are you sure I’m going to like this?” she asked, and I nodded. “What are we doing?”

“We have a five-minute drive, chill, and then ask questions once we get there,” I said, and she nodded. She reached into her purse, pulled out a pair of sunglasses, and put them on. “Point Guard?” She looked over at me and lifted her brow. I buried my face in her neck and inhaled. “You know you're fine, right?”

“Leave me alone, Aceyn,” she laughed and shook her head.

We came to a stop, and the driver got out of the car and came to open our door. I stepped out first, checked our surroundings, and then reached in to help her.

“What are we doing?” she hesitantly asked, and I shook my head. If Legacy wasn’t going to do anything else, she was going to ask a million and one damn questions. We got to our destination, and Legacy cut her eyes at me. “Sting rays?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding as I looked around. “We are going to swim with them.”

“Nigga,” she sighed, and I looked at her, surprised. “Don’t you know we have an unofficial beef with the rays?”

“Point Guard, what the fuck are you talking about?” I checked in, and we walked to the pool. A group of people were in front of us, so we stepped to the side and sat down.

“They took out Steve,” she replied.

My face twisted in confusion, and I stared at her. “Who the fuck is Steve?”

“The Crocodile Hunter,” she whispered as she looked around. “We haven’t forgiven them yet for this, and you about to have my ass out here swimming with them?” She shook her head like she was sad. “I can’t believe you.”

“If your suburban ass don’t shut the fuck up,” I laughed loudly. “You got my ass over here thinking it's something serious, and you talking about the damn Crocodile hunter!”

“It is serious,” she replied and crossed her arms. “I loved his show, and one of them damn sting rays’ cousin killed him!”

The group in front of us moved, so I stood and put my hand out to help her. “You ain’t trying to do this?” I asked.

“Oh no, we are, but just know, if one of them looks at me funny, I’m going to launch it across the pool by its tail,” she answered as we got in line. “It’s going to be a damn frisbee dealing with me.”

“Man, come on,” I laughed as we got in line.

The instructor explained the dos and don’ts of swimming with the rays, then we changed into our wet suits and went into the pool. Immediately, they circled us, and Legacy stuck to my side, not letting them get too close. It took a minute to relax, but we had a good time once she did.

“Alright now, I’ma launch your ass across the pool,” I said to one of them that kept bumping into me. Legacy looked up at me and started laughing. I may have talked shit to her about the Crocodile hunter dying, but she wasn’t lying. Black people still felt a way about his death, and we didn’t trust the rays just yet.

* * *

“How are you feeling?” I asked Mama as I dropped down next to her on the couch. She adjusted herself to look over at me and smirked. “What’s that look for?”

“How am I supposed to feel, Hood?” she asked, and I shrugged. She sighed, patted my leg, and nodded. “I’m good right now. I'm tired, but good. How are you?”

I ran my hand over my hair and dropped my head back to look at the ceiling to think. I didn’t have a legit answer because I hadn’t given myself time to think. I’d gone from worrying about her to looking after Legacy.

“I’ono,” I answered with a shrug, and she nodded. “I just want you to be okay.”

“And how would that look to you?” she questioned. “Doing chemo, sick and tired all the time?”

“Nah,” I replied. “Shit, to be truthful, I don’t know how I expected you to look. We have been fighting this shit my entire life, it feels like.”

“We have,” she agreed with a nod. “When I was first diagnosed, you were a toddler, so full of life and energy, and that kept me going. Fighting then was a no-brainer because you needed me.”

“I still need you,” I said, and she patted my leg. “I’m a grown-ass man, but Mama, I’m still your son. It’s shit I’ve never experienced that I’m going to need your help navigating.”

“Like what?” she laughed.

“Me being in love,” I shrugged. “I don’t know how to navigate this shit for real.” I pointed to the window in the direction of my bungalow. “That girl over there got my heart, and I swear I’d do everything in my power plus some to make sure she’s good. But, I know I’ma fuck up eventually, and if you ain’t here, who am I supposed to go to for advice.”

“Yo Daddy,” she replied, and I shook my head. “Bowlin will know what to say.”

“It ain’t the same.” I shook my head. “Pop can only tell me from a man’s perspective. I need a woman’s advice, and Bright doesn’t know anything, so don’t even mention her.”

“She’s a woman, Hood.”

“It’s Bright.” I cut my eyes at her and kissed my teeth. “She is still coming to you for advice, so that’s the blind leading the blind.”

“True,” she agreed. “But I think you’ll be surprised with what she knows.”

“Bright ass don’t know shit,” I denied.

“Hood, baby, I’m tired,” she sighed, and I nodded because I knew she was. Mama’s fight was coming to an end. I knew that without all the medical knowledge I had. She wasn’t gaining weight; her skin was pale, and she slept more than she was awake. Her body couldn’t handle any more chemo, and even though I hated it, I had to respect her decision. “If I could fight more, I would.”

“I know,” I said, nodding as I wiped my hand over my face. “Shit ain’t fair, but I know.”

“Life isn’t fair, Hood, and that’s okay, too. We had a good ass run, though, didn’t we? We laughed, joked, fought, loved, and enjoyed it.” I rested my head on her shoulder and nodded. “You’re a big baby; how will that girl handle you when you start pouting?”

“She doesn’t pay me no attention,” I chuckled. “Shit, mama, I don’t even think she realizes how obsessed I am with her.”

“Have you told her?”

“Every chance I get,” I answered with a nod. “You remember what you told me when I was a little nigga running behind a girl?”

“Wear a condom?”

“That,” I laughed. “But you also said tell her she’s pretty because if I don’t, then some other nigga is going to come and remind her of what I failed to do.”

“Do you hide your emotions?” she asked.

“Nah,” I denied. “When I leave here and go back to the room, I’ma climb in the bed with her, and she gonna wrap her arms around me and let me cry. No questions asked, no judgment.” I looked up to see her smiling with tears in her eyes. “She doesn’t know you’re sick. I haven’t told her yet.”

“Why not?”

“Her biological mama died of cancer when she was little, and the woman that raised her is fucked up,” I answered. “I want her to meet you and not know that I’ma lose you the same way she lost her mama. I want her to love you for you – because you raised the man who loves her. I ain’t ready to see her cry yet.”

“Tell her later,” Mama said, nodding in understanding. “Let her enjoy this time together and feel the love of a family.”

“Right,” I agreed. Pop entered the living room and sat on the couch beside Mama.

“You a spoiled ass nigga, Hood,” he said as he pulled mama to him. I moved my head to her lap, and she snuggled into Pop's embrace. “Go get your woman and lay up under her.”

“I’ma go get her and bring her back here,” I laughed. “She gonna curl up under me and try to hog mama’s attention, and we both gonna be pissed cuz you ain’t give mama a daughter, and I did.”

“Keep her suburban ass sleep, then,” Pop mumbled. I looked up to see his eyes closed and a smile on his face. “She good people, but I ain’t trying to share my woman with another person right now. It's bad enough yo ass in here right now.”

“You a hater,” I laughed. “And I’ma tell Point Guard you called her suburban.”

“She ain’t gonna believe you,” he replied with a shrug. “She likes my ghetto ass for some reason.”

“Shit beyond me,” I said, closing my eyes and getting comfortable.

“It’s cuz I’m a hood nigga, and the good girls love hood niggas,” he answered.