A Mother's Bond

15

Jay July 5, 2016
I stared down at the text message, rereading it for the fourth time. It left no room for misinterpretation. I was done. I was out. End of story. I sent it, letting out a breath of relief. I leaned back in my chair, smiling. I felt lighter already. I glanced at the time and cursed. 6:35 pm already. It was so easy to lose track of time in the studio. Solange and Mama T would be here by now. Bey was already stressed out. I didn't want her to have to deal with them alone. I knew for a fact she hadn't cooked, so I pulled up Domino's website on my phone and walked up to the main floor. No one was there, so I headed upstairs.

I heard voices coming from Sarayah's room. I walked over and peeked in. I raised my eyebrows at the scene in front of me.

Sarayah was sitting in the middle of her bed, Blue in her lap. She was laughing. Solange was in front of them, making faces and gesturing wildly, clearly in the middle of a story. Mama T was sitting beside Sarayah, laughing, hand over her mouth. It was so unbelievably normal. If you walked in on them, you would think they'd known each other forever, just another regular family. I quietly snapped a picture of them. I wanted to have this moment forever.

I felt someone stand beside me. I turned and saw Bey leaning against the other side of the doorway. Messy bun, grey sweatpants paired with a loose white t-shirt. Casual, yet she still looked incredibly beautiful.

She was looking at them with so much longing, it hurt. I reached out, lightly brushing her cheek. To my surprise she smiled at me. Confused, I smiled back.

She turned back to watch them. "You were right."

I nodded. "Yeah...about what?"

She chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "About our daughter. She's still in there. I was worried. I thought–"

She took a breath, cutting off her thought. I rubbed the small of her back, worrying that she was about to break down, but she surprised me yet again by smiling.

"It doesn't matter what I thought, because I was wrong. She's still our girl, Jay. I can see her now."

I silently agreed turning back to Sarayah. She must have sensed us staring at her because she looked up. I saw conflicting emotions flash across her face as she looked at us. I felt a small pain in my chest. Well, being her hero was fun while it lasted. I cleared my throat, getting everyone's attention.

"I'm ordering pizza. What do you ladies want on it?"

"Olive–" Solo began but Blue immediately cut her off.

"NO! JUST CHEESE! Olives are nasty," Blue said, making a face.

Solo laughed. "You don't get a vote. You already ate. In fact, isn't it your bedtime?"

The look Blue gave her was filled with so much betrayal you'd think Solo had shot her dog or something. I smiled at her antics. She definitely got her dramatics from Bey's side.

Blue frowned at Solo, folding her arms across her chest. "You're not my friend."

Bey shook her head, stepping into the room. "Okay, that's enough, Blue. Let's get you ready for bed."

She walked over to Sarayah and leaned down to take Blue. Sarayah moved back to avoid Bey, but if Bey noticed, she didn't say anything. She seemed to be taking everything in stride. I could only pray it would last. I took a moment to watch her leave before refocusing.

"Okay, so. Tell me what you want so we can get this ordered."

I sat in the desk chair, taking their orders. 40 minutes later we were sitting around the table eating. Sarayah was making a weird face, like she wanted to laugh. I shot her a questioning look.