Page 81 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming

Suchi lets out a sigh. “Navigating life as someone who is intelligent isn’t easy. Being an intelligent woman makes it harder. Being an intelligent Black woman makes life almost impossible. There are way too many men who have a whitesupremacist way of thinking. They see a smart Black woman and feel the need tohumbleus. I’ve had men with barely any education quiz me on subjects I knew way more about than they did.”

“Those motherfuckers were weak.”

“Like dishwater.”

They both share a chuckle.

“Between that, and telling them about my background, including my mom, more than a few thought that I would ‘lose my mind,’ too. I’ve dumped a lot of losers, Kofi. It’s forced me to be very cagey about what I share with the men who I spend my time with. One man made a joke about how Camielle ‘ended up making nothing of her life.’”

“I don’t blame you for being cagey. You tell these fools about your mother’s struggles, and the first thing they think of is themselves. And your mom was drowning with no one to help but your dad and his family. That’s fucked up. She deserved sympathy, not ridicule.”

“Thank you. I don’t feel cagey with you, though. From the moment we first met, you felt … safe. You’re so easy to open up to, Kofi.”

“Thank you.” He grins and his eyes widen with recognition. “Wait, is your Uncle Tariq the same Tariq Brown who hosts a relationship podcast? I’ve listened to a few episodes.”

“Yes, and he’ll like hearing that.” Suchi smiles.

“Wait, I remember him talking about his family before. You’re his niece, cricket?”

“Yep, that’s me. He started calling me that when I was three because of how high I jumped.”

“I’m going to look for that documentary, too.”

“Okay. Good luck with that. The streaming service it’s on was marketed as a competitor for Echo, and we thought it might actually become the next big thing. In hindsight, going upagainst the biggest streaming service in the world wasn’t a solid business plan.”

“That’s crazy. Auntie Ree Ree works for NASA, right?” Kofi asks.

“She used to. Auntie Ree Ree works at Cal Tech, now. She’s a bad ass. Being a Black female astrophysicist isn’t for the faint of heart. She got the distinction of saying she worked for NASA, but with no one acknowledging her contributions.”

“Damn.”

“She took her wins where she can get them. She once sent her old quantum mechanics professor a photo of herself in space. He was a raging racist and misogynist.”

“I love the petty.” Kofi smiles.

“Me, too.” Suchi laughs.

“By the way, you are a fucking superhero,” Kofi gushes.

She eats some Japchae and sips her soju before speaking. “What are you talking about?

“You help heal young Black kids. That’s tremendous.”

Suchi’s eyes water. She wipes the tears and tries to speak. “Thank you. No man has ever said that before. In the past, I would tell them I’m a doctor, and that’s when their insecurity would come flooding out.”

Kofi wipes away her tear again and Suchi snorts. “I have got to stop crying in front of you.”

“Don’t make no never mind to me, baby. I’m here to wipe your tears away.”

“You really mean that, don’t you?” Suchi grins.

“Yes, I do.”

Suchi leaves her seat and sits next to him, rubbing her nose against his.

Fuck, she is so got damn cute.

“I might as well tell you everything, since you’re taking this so well.” Suchi shrugs.