You Should Know (BWWM) ✅

Chapter Thirty-Five

Yvette's feet hit the concrete the second her door flew open. She had a flower shirt on with knee-length tights underneath and a puffy ponytail on top of her head. Skin dark like Elowen's yet facial features resembling her father's. The moment she turned her head, she saw Elowen and started screaming in joy. "MAMA!" She threw her arms out and took off into Elowen's grasp.

Mrs. Walson carries groceries out of the trunk causing Vernon to take the time to greet her until Yvette was free. "Mrs. Walson!" he called out while rushing down the walking path. "I'm Vernon. It's so nice to meet you." He gave her a hug then took a load of groceries out the trunk before closing it. "You look amazing. Young!"

"Oh, boy." She blushed while swatting at him. "You're talking nonsense. I'm almost in my fifties."

Vernon gasped. "You don't look that age at all."

They went back in the house to put up the groceries and by that time, Yvette wasn't clinging to Elowen's arms anymore. Vernon followed Elowen to the living room where the young girl played with her toys and got lost in whatever kid show that was on the small TV. "Yvette?" Elowen whispered. Her big grey eyes looked at her mom then to the man behind her. "I want you to meet someone. This is Vernon."

"Daddy?" She dropped her dolls to get a closer look at the man.

Elowen giggled at the word. "No. Not daddy. This is mommy's boyfriend, Vernon. I really love him and I want you to meet him." She pulled Yvette up from her spot to shake Vernon's hand. Instead, Yvette gave him a hug and even kissed his cheek. "Awe, she's never done that to a stranger before."

"Does that mean she likes me?" He smiled. Elowen nodded.

Mrs. Walson chose to barbeque on Elowen's first night back home. Henry was pretty good at it and wanted to show off his cooking skills for Vernon. Elowen watched Yvette and Spencer play around in the front yard. It was always a family event when she cane home. Although she didn't have much family since they all moved further up north when housing prices went down.

"I got a girlfriend." Henry beamed while dusting his hands off on his pants.

Elowen rolled her eyes as a smile spread across her face. "Spencer told me you were mad at me for not calling on your birthday. What happened to that?"

"I was just turning seventeen. Not twenty-one," he scoffed.

"Oh, well congratulations. What's her name?"

"Jean. She's the hottest girl in our grade and a cheerleader. I was her lab partner one day and her boyfriend the next." He put his chin in his hands then sighed. "She's the hottest black girl in our grade." His eyes drifted away from hers.

She leaned forward to grab his chin and forced him to face her. "I don't mean to pressure you guys about who you date. I just don't want you to-"

"End up like you? You don't have to worry about that, Elowen. Yvette is dark enough to blend right in. She won't even know that Philip is white." He smiled at his older sister brightly. "I don't even like white people. I can barely tolerate Roy. He's only cool when it's him and I. Then his friends come around and he's a whole new person."

"You ever ask him about Philip? Maybe he thinks his brother is... you know." Henry's smile went crooked as he thought about the fact of Philip being dead. It was on everyone's mind but no one wanted to talk about it. Especially with Vernon around. "Nevermind. Forget I even said anything."

Henry sighed. "You haven't gotten any letters have you?" Elowen looked away from him. "Yeah. I didn't picture Philip as the type to hold a gun."

"You done helping me out, Henry?" They looked over at Vernon who was waving his spatula in the air. Henry jumped up from his seat on the patio set to help him flip burgers. He didn't even say goodbye to Elowen. "That's what I thought!" He winked at his girlfriend then turned back to the grill.

Vernon passed out meat to anyone who wanted a burger while Elowen placed the fries on plates. A small argument broke out when Spencer said she deserved more fries because she's growing when really Elowen knew it was because it made her butt bigger. "Everyone gets an equal amount except for Yvette because her stomach is smaller." The three year old burst into laughter when she heard her name. "See. She likes that idea." Spencer rolled her eyes while accepting her plate.

"I've actually been waiting for us all to sit as a family so I can announce some good news." Everyone shot a look at Elowen.

"I don't think I want to hear this news. Yvette is enough, Elowen!" Spencer begged.

Elowen gasped when Vernon basically spit his soda out of his nose. "No! I made the deans list!" Her mom said a quick prayer before breaking out into a silent cheer. "I did really well last semester and I got the letter a few months ago. I'm looking at a ton of scholarships that'll cover the rest of this year and the next."

"I'm glad that my big sister is working so hard to be a teacher. Are you looking forward to having Yvette as one of your students?" Henry chuckled.

Spencer kicked his leg from under the table causing his leg to jump. "This isn't funny. She's making better grades than you are and you are in high level classes which is basically college classes." She looked at Elowen a bit confused. "Right?"

"Those classes are nothing like the classes the white folks get at their well-funded schools," Vernon commented. "I'm going to school for political science. I plan to be a black man in Congress. One of the few."

"That's cool," Henry smiled. "I want to be a basketball player."

Mrs. Walson grinned. "He has the height on him." Everyone nodded. "Tell me more about your grades, Vernon."

He dropped his burger to look at Mrs. Walson respectively. "Well, they aren't good enough to make the deans list, but they're pretty good. As and Bs scattered here and there. I also know Elowen has always been one to make good grades. She told me that there was a point in her life where she didn't know what else to do besides that."

"That's not true cause she had Yvette," Spencer snorted. No one laughed at that but Vernon and Henry. "I'm just saying. On top of that, have you ever heard about Philip? He's like Yvette but two years younger."

Mrs. Walson clenched her fist at the words coming out of Spencer's mouth. "She's never going to know Philip so stop talking about the boy and eat your food." Her daughter listened promptly and downed her burger to the point that she couldn't breathe. Elowen stared at her mother in shock for a brief moment before going back to her food. "I didn't mean it with any disrespect but, Mrs. Hill stopped coming around a long time ago. Let us take the hint."