Page 29

SERENITY

C alifornia felt like home, but it also felt like another lifetime.

It had been two years since I last stepped foot in L.A., and even though my family visited me often, I hadn’t been home-home in a long time. But today, I wasn’t here just for a visit. I was here for Sevyn’s birthday.

And despite everything that had happened, despite my complicated relationship with my mother, there was one thing I would never do—miss celebrating my brother.

"Gio, you want some more strawberries?"

Sevyn’s voice carried over the noise of the backyard, his plate stacked with barbecue as he balanced Gio on his hip like a natural.

Gio nodded fast, his curls bouncing. "Mowe, Unc Sevy!"

I smiled, watching as Sevyn grabbed more fresh-cut fruit from the table and popped one into Gio’s mouth, grinning when Gio clapped excitedly.

It was wild how attached my brother had gotten to my boyfriend’s son.

But I wasn’t surprised. Gio wasn’t just Creed’s baby—he was family now.

And if there was one thing about the Bradshaw’s, it was that family came first. My daddy spoiled him like he was his grand baby, my grandparents loved him, even Ari, Uncle Leo and Aunt Aimee, and Sevyn?

Sevyn acted like he had been waiting for years to have a nephew.

"You want ice cream next?" Sevyn asked Gio.

"Mhm!" Gio clapped, kicking his little feet.

"Bet. But don't tell your daddy I let you eat all this sugar."

I laughed. "You are literally the worst influence."

"And yet, I'm still his favorite." Sevyn smirked, holding Gio closer as the baby snuggled into him.

"That’s debatable."

"Nah," Sevyn said, glancing over at me. "I know my competition. And I ain’t worried ‘bout you."

I rolled my eyes, my smile widening. This was why I came home. For moments like this.

Was I thrilled when Sevyn informed me he was celebrating his birthday at home this year? No. Because I knew that being home, meant I was going to have to see Sienna who never missed an opportunity to celebrate her golden child.

After spending most of the afternoon outside, I slipped away from the party and went inside to grab a bottle of water.

And that’s when I saw my mama. She was standing in the kitchen, pouring a glass of wine like she hadn’t just upended my entire life two years ago.

She looked… the same. Flawless chocolate skin. Regal. Like she had just stepped off a movie set, her long silk press flowing down her back, her face freshly made up.

Her eyes lifted, meeting mine through the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling window. For a long moment, neither of us said anything, until she disrupted the natural silence around us.

“Hi Tootie.”

“Hi Mommy.” I replied taking a sip of my water.

"You look good," she said, setting her glass down.

I lifted my chin, shrugging slightly. "I know."

Her lips twitched like she wanted to smile. I didn’t give her the satisfaction.

"How long you been in town?" she asked, turning to fully face me.

"Since yesterday."

"And you weren’t going to call me?"

I crossed my arms. "You were expecting me to?"

Sienna sighed, running a hand over her perfectly tailored blouse, like she was mentally preparing herself for this conversation.

"Serenity… can we just talk?"

I exhaled, setting my water bottle down and leaning against the kitchen island. "Okay Mommy, talk."

Sienna took a deep breath, stepping closer. "I know I hurt you."

I kept my expression blank. "Which time?" She flinched, but to her credit, she didn’t back down.

"I was wrong for what I said in Barbados," she admitted.

"And for the way I treated you growing up.

" I stared at her, waiting for more. "I don’t resent you, Tootie.

I never did. I just—" She stopped, her hands gripping the counter as she sighed heavily.

"I was selfish. And I blamed you for things that were never your fault. I didn’t see it then, but I see it now.

And I hate that it took losing you to realize how much I love you. "

A lump formed in my throat, but I forced it down. "You could’ve told me that two years ago."

"I know." She nodded, looking me dead in the eye. "And I hate that I didn’t."

I swallowed hard, my arms tightening around myself.

"Do you really mean that?" I asked softly.

Sienna didn’t hesitate. "With everything in me, baby. I love you. And I’m so, so sorry."

The lump in my throat grew bigger, and despite all my anger, all my pain, something shifted in me at that moment. Because for the first time in my life… My mother wasn’t making excuses. She was just owning it. And I didn’t know what to do with that.

"I don’t know if I can just… forget everything," I whispered.

"I don’t expect you to," she said. "I just want to move forward. If you’ll let me."

I let out a slow breath, closing my eyes for a second before nodding. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah," I said, looking at her. "We can move forward. But I need time."

Sienna nodded immediately, tears glistening in her eyes. "Take all the time you need."

We stood there in silence, the weight of years of tension finally beginning to lift.

“Can I hug you?” I looked at her before nodding and she immediately walked into my space, wrapping her arms around me. “I love you so much my beautiful girl. I promise to make this right.”

It wasn’t perfect. But it was a start.

After a moment, Sienna cleared her throat, removing herself from our embrace, wiping at her eyes before taking a sip of her wine.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something else too," she said.

"What is it?"

Her lips curled into a small smirk. "An opportunity." I raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever heard of a little show called Birds of a Feather ?"

I laughed dryly, shaking my head. "Mama, don’t play with me. You know damn well I know what show you’re on."

She grinned, nodding. "Well, they’re doing a seven-episode arc next season where my character’s turns me into my younger self."

I frowned. "Okay…?"

"And since you look exactly like me," she said slowly, "the producers want you to play the role."

I blinked. Then blinked again. "Me?"

"You."

I stared at her, completely stunned. I wasn’t an actress. Hell, the only acting class I had ever taken was that damn Drama 101 class at Tisch that one year.

"Mama, I’m not an actress."

"We’ll get you a coach," she said smoothly. "You’ll be perfect."

I hesitated, my mind racing. It was a huge opportunity. And yet, the only thing I could think about was Creed.

“How long will it take to film?”

“Couple of weeks. We start the second week of July.”

That meant weeks away from Creed during time that I had specifically dedicated to him.

During the season and while I’m in school we already didn’t have a lot of time.

A few weeks was too long. Weeks where things between us would shift.

But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe… I needed a break from our bubble.

I bit my lip, nodding slowly. "Okay," I said finally.

"Okay?" Sienna’s face lit up.

"Yeah. Let’s do it."

“Oh my God! I’ll call Rueben right now and get you all the details once I have them.”

I watched as she ran out of the kitchen excitedly, just as Creed came into the house from the backyard.

“Everything good in here?”

“Yeah.” I said as he came and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Things are good.”

“What did y’all talk about?”

“A lot of things. She apologized and I accepted her apology. We’re going to try to work on our relationship.”

“That’s good baby.”

“That’s not all.” I said wondering how I would break it to him that next month I would be away from him for a few weeks.

His brow arched as he waited for me to continue.

“She asked me to star in her show. Apparently, they need somebody that looks just like her and they want me to do a seven episode arc.”

“What? Baby that’s dope as fuck.”

“Yeah.” I nodded as he placed kisses all over my face. “There’s a thing though.”

“Okay?”

“Filming starts the second week of July so I’ll be in Atlanta for a few weeks.”

“Wait…”

“I know Creed.” I could see it in his eyes, he was thinking the same thing as me. Our time together was important. “Maybe we can spend a few weeks in Atlanta?”

“I can’t SB. I got a photoshoot with Nike and then I start training.”

“Well, it’s just a few weeks. I didn’t even know I wanted to do this until I did. I mean, this could be a huge opportunity for me.”

“And I’m not going to be the reason why you don’t take it, who knows what else this can lead to for you.”

“You sure?”

“Hell yeah, this is dope.”

“I love you.” I smiled up at him before placing another kiss on his lips.

“I love you. Now let’s get back out there before Sevyn slips my kid some more sugar.”