Page 10 of The Phyre that Burns

“Hey, Phee.”

“Hey, Phy. What’s up with you?”

“Shit. Just got off work, and I’m at home eating dinner.”

“Did Ma call you?”

“Yeah. She invited me over for dinner next week. Your father is supposed to be out of town. I hope that’s true because I won’t hesitate to turn my ass around.”

“She told me the same thing when she called to invite me and Kevin.”

I still felt some type of way about my sister marrying Kevin, Kavia’s older brother. After the fallout between our parents and me, our father threatened to cut Phoenix off if she chose to follow in my footsteps and go against his wishes. She was an eyewitness to what happened, and I thought it scared her into submission.

I was cut off financially, but I still offered to let her move in with me and promised to figure out a way to pay for both of our schooling. Not wanting to make things worse, she declined.

Strangely enough, Phoenix and Kevin found their way to each other authentically. Thankfully, Kevin wasn’t as bad a guy as I thought. He genuinely loved my sister and treated her like the princess she was. As long as he continued to do so, he’d be all right with me.

“Are y’all going?”

“We don’t have any other plans, so we’ll be there. What’s going on with you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. I guess I can sense something is different. Are you dating someone?”

“You know I don’t date, Phee. I fuck women when the need arises.”

“Oh my God. I can’t stand you.”

“I’m always honest, though.”

“So, nothing is going on?”

“There is something, but I don’t want to talk about it yet. I might jinx it.”

“Really? When will you be ready to talk about it?”

“Soon.”

We talked for a while longer before her husband wanted her attention. I was more relieved than anything that her marriage worked out. I wouldn’t tolerate my baby sister being miserable. I was miserable enough for the both of us.

“Aww,y’all didn’t have to do all this for me,” I cooed. “I’ll be back in six months.”

My brother invited me to dinner, and it turned out to be a surprise dinner with my parents, Devyn, and her husband, Tariq, and a few other family members.

“Six months is a long time, bestie. I already miss you,” Devyn said before pouting.

“It’s not as long as y’all are making it seem, but I sure appreciate the send-off.”

Before taking my seat, I went around the table to greet everyone with a hug and thank them for coming. I was already excited to eat becauseDevyn’s Soul Foodwas one of my favoriterestaurants. The fact that it was named after my best friend, and she and her husband owned it, was a bonus.

Instead of placing individual orders, we were served family-style, and huge bowls of my favorite dishes were placed in the center of the table for us to pass around. After my father blessed the food and wished me well on my next assignment, we filled our plates.

“Where’s Bubba?” I asked Devyn.

“He’s with Tariq’s parents. I didn’t feel like tussling with him tonight, so Mama Kia volunteered to watch him,” she responded.

“Which means I got big plans for your friend tonight,” Tariq added, speaking only loud enough for his wife and me to hear.