Always With You

•t w o

The One With The Reunion pt.1.

We arrive at the mall 10 minutes before the arranged time with London, so Omi and I decided to begin some birthday shopping. We head into H & M first. Naomi and I were just minding our own business looking around when I heard a voice I didn't think I'd ever hear again.

"Kenya." The voice says. I reluctantly turn around to face my long last twin sister, Kiana. We looked nothing alike. Yeah there were some similarities but we were completely different people. She was wearing a little black dress with a blue torn jean jacket with black Jimmy Choo heels, her hair in a messy bun with some strands hanging out and a small navy blue bag.

"Kiana. What are you doing here?"

"I just moved here from Chicago. Wow, is this Naomi?"

"Yeah. Uhm, happy birthday." I say awkwardly while looking for any signs of London.

"Thanks, you too. Look Ken, I'm really sorry for what I did. I might be a little too late but..."

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Roars London. SHIT! London appeared out of nowhere. Her voice was heard before her body was seen. She was wearing a large turquoise sweater and beige capris with white Stan Smith's. She had her blonde braids in a high bun.

"London, this is not the time nor place for this." Says Kiana.

"I agree. Let's head to a coffee shop or something." I try reason with London. After 2 minutes of persuasion, London reluctantly agreed to going to the coffee shop.

"Mommy, who's that?" Naomi asks.

"She's my sister babe."

"I thought Aunty Lo was your sister?"

"Well, she is but so is Kiana."

"Why don't I have a sister?"

"Uhmm, we'll talk about that when we get home, okay?" She nods her head and continues playing on her tablet.

To say the air was tense,would he an understatement. As we made our way into the cafe/coffee shop, I couldn't help but think of my childhood. Daddy wasn't there. He left a few months after Kiana and I were born. At some point I used to think it was my fault but London assured me that I wasn't missing out on much. When Kiana and I turned 6 that's when mama got into drugs. She was never home that much after that. London practically raised us. Things there after were tough. Kiana's animosity towards didn't help either. So when I found out I was pregnant with Nai, I moved to LA with London, Kingston and the twins. Leaving my sister and a painful past in Chicago.

We were seated at a corner booth, which was secluded from the rest of the shop, which was a good thing because things could go south real quick. London choose to sit next to Naomi while I sat next to Kiana. After what felt like hours of silence but just mere minutes, I decided to start the conversation.

"So what brings you to LA, Kia?"

"Well, I just recently passed my bar exam so I got a job at the District Attorney's Office here." She replies.

"Wow, really. Uhmmm, congratulations."

"Who would've thought you could succeed at something other than hoeing." London says.

"LONDON!" I scream whisper.

"I guess I deserve that one. But I have a valid reason for what I did, well I hope its valid."

"Like there's a valid reason for ruining Naomi's life."

"Look. I didn't know Kenya was pregnant, okay. Miles and I just happened."

"You didn't know? We shared a room together, how the fuck didn't you notice?! You took the away the one good thing I had. You had everything. You had the friends. The looks. The boys. The popularity." I screamed, earning a shocked look from Naomi.

"That's $5 dollars is the swear jar mommy." Her comment earns her a smile before returning to the conversation a bit calmer.

"I mean, I didn't want to notice a lot of things. You and London always had your shit together. I was so angry that you guys didn't care that mom wasn't around. Y'all just continued living life like she was never there."

"What were we supposed to do? Give up on life, cause mama ain't there. It broke me that she left. I was a 21 year old with 2 kids. How do you think I felt? I didn't want to show it cause of you two. I had to be strong. I cried myself to sleep almost every night." London says on the verge of tears, which makes me want to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Lo. I had no idea. I guess I was just being selfish. Ken, I'm sorry I ruined your relationship. I just thought that by doing that you'd feel my pain." Kiana replies wiping her own tears.

"Its cool. We all make mistakes. But don't think for one moment, I trust you. That's going to take a while to fix." I say.

"I totally understand. Lo?"

"Ken is right. Its going to take some time for things to return to 'normal'."

"I willing to do anything to get my sisters back. Its been a lonely road without you guys." She says.

After the crying stopped, the tension slowly fell away, conversations flowed, over all it was a good day. Reconnecting with my sister is by far the best birthday present ever.