Page 21 of You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

“Wow. You fully on a high school tip right now.”

“Whatever, man. You done? Wanna walk back?”

Joy straightened up and pointed down the block. “Nah. The ice cream spot is officially open for the summer. Mama needs some matcha honey in her life.”

“Bitch … did you seriously get us to run this way just so you could get some ice cream?”

“You fucking bet. I waited all winter for this shit.”

Feyi threw up her hands as they got in line behind a mom and her three colorful and sticky kids. “Unbelievable.”

“I think it’s a big step,” Joy said, “but not necessarily in a bad way. He’s trying to be your friend while y’all take it slow. He’s looking out for your work. It sounds lit as fuck, if you ask me, and besides, you don’t have to stay there the whole time. Just go for like a week and check it out, do the show and come back.”

“Maybe … I feel like I’m gonna miss him for the rest of the summer if I don’t go anyway.”

“Aw, look who’s catching feelings!” Joy crowed.

“Man, fuck you,” Feyi replied, and flinched as the mom whirled around to glare at her. “Sorry, ma’am.”

Joy snickered. “You kiss Nasir with that mouth?”

“Shut up,” Feyi hissed, but she was smiling. “I’m tired of talking about him. Tell me how things are going with you and what’s her name?”

Joy blushed. “Justina.”

“Whoa, whoa! A name and you turning red? When did this get serious?”

“I don’t know.” Joy was usually slick and light when she talked about her affairs, but this time, there was something real there, and it was uncomfortable in her mouth.

Feyi didn’t even feel like making fun of it. She knew there was a part of Joy that believed she wasn’t going to get a happy settled-down story, something Feyi suspected came from her Ghanaian parents, something about being deviant, maybe not even deserving what “normal” people got. Other people’s stories could sink in like that and fuck you all the way up, especially when it was family.

“You really like her, huh?” Feyi asked gently. “Is it a culture thing? I don’t think you’ve ever dated another Ghanaian before.”

Joy nodded. “I didn’t think it would matter, you know. But then Justina started telling me how she got married because her parents pressured her into it, and whew, I remember when mine tried to do that to me. It’s like, I got out, but she didn’t, you know?”

“You think she wants to?”

“Yeah, I know she wants to. And that’s the scary part. It was different when what we were doing was just fun and games, but now it’s, like, real. And if it’s real, then so is her husband. Is she gonna blow up her whole marriage? For what, for me?” Joy shook her head. “Nah, that’s too much pressure.”

Feyi adjusted her bun and looked at her best friend. She could feel the sun against her shoulder blades, warm and steady as the ice cream line moved forward. Joy was biting her lip, clearly worried, and a creeping suspicion made its way into Feyi.

“Do you love her?” she asked Joy, and it was incredible, how quickly Joy’s face shut down into a careful and managed blankness, walls spinning up out of nowhere.

“Bitch, please. It’s not that serious.” Her tone was dismissive, and Feyi knew the conversation about Justina was over. She could feel a cloud gathering around Joy, so she changed the subject quickly, before it grew too gray, too heavy.

“Wanna help me pick out my outfits for this trip?”

Joy spun around with a gleeful smirk. “Oh my God, you’re going! Yes!” She did a fist pump and a little dance. “Your Instagram is going to be on fire.”

They came up to the ice cream window and put in their orders, Joy all but vibrating with glee. The kid behind the window scooped out their cones and handed them over while Feyi tapped her phone to pay.

“Thanks, sugar mama.” Joy licked the cool green of her matcha honey scoop as they started heading back to their apartment. “When are y’all flying out?”

“I think he’s flexible; it didn’t sound like he had set dates.”

“Okay, cool. We need to decide your look for the trip. Gotta get new braids; those ones are getting a little fluffy.”

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe blond?” Feyi took a bite out of her ice cream and caught a rivulet of chocolate running down the side of the cone.