Cookie released Imani, looking around Jamal's apartment. The place was still fairly messy. "For a Queen, you sure keep a messy place," she looked at Jamal. She pointed at him. "What you need is a good maid up in here." She stopped for a second. "You cookin' chicken?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. Um.." Jamal grabbed Cookie's hand, leading her toward the kitchen.
"Did you fry it?" Cookie asked.
"No, it's stewed, but it's here this way."
"Stewed?"
"Might be a little spicy for you."
Michael jogged into the room, following after Imani, Jamal, and Cookie. "Uh, who is this?" Cookie asked, pointing to Michael.
"Hi," Michael greeted.
"Oh. That's Michael."
"Michael," both of the men introduced.
"Uh, we're sort of living together," Jamal told her. Imani could tell he was nervous as all hell. "Uh, look, Mommy, I know you're hungry."
Cookie smiled. "Oh, honey you didn't tell me you was datin' a little Mexican," she said, pinching Michael's cheek. "Look at her. She's adorable." Jamal gave an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, I said a 'little Mexican.'" Michael laughed. Cookie leaned closer to her children as all of them walked to the kitchen. "You need to get La Cucaracha to clean up around here a bit." Imani couldn't help the guttural laugh that escaped her lips.
"Uh, what are you wearing?" Jamal asked, looking at Cookie's outfit as she took a piece of chicken out of the pot.
"What I got locked up in," Cookie sighed. She leaned on the counter, going to town on a chicken leg.
"Well, we gonna change that real quick," Jamal said.
"Yeah, Ma," Imani agreed. "You kinda look like a prostitute." She fluffed the fur on Cookie's coat.
"And why didn't you call me?" Jamal asked. "I would've picked you up."
"I just got out," Cookie said. "Good behavior."
"Alright, so whatchu' gon' do now?" Jamal asked.
Cookie stared straight ahead. "I'm here to get what's mine."
"He said that?" Anika asked, sitting in front of Fallon, who had her head down on her desk. The two were in her office, discussing what Lucious said to Imani earlier.
"Yep," Fallon sighed, lifting her head to look at Anika. "He said our music wasn't worthy of being on the label." She gave a dry chuckle. "Don't you just love being talked down by your own father?"
Anika licked her lips, standing from her desk. "Look, Fallon," she walked around to the front of the desk and sat on the edge. "I don't know why he's riding you and your sister so hard. But, what I do know is that I've heard your music. And, whatever it is Lucious is looking for, or says he needs from you, you got it. Both of you do."
The two shared a smile, and Anika grabbed a small stack of files. "Now, I have to deliver these to your father, but when I get back, I was thinking we could go to lunch."
"You offered, you're paying," Fallon pointed her finger at Anika with a smile.
Anika chuckled, shaking her head. "Fine by me."
"Good, 'cause I'm starving," Fallon sighed, standing with Anika. Anika wrapped her free arm around Fallon as they walked out of her office. "All I had today was hummus."
The two women got onto the elevator, making small talk. "So rude," they heard Becky say. She sighed, sitting down at her desk.
"What's wrong with you?" Fallon asked, stepping off of the elevator.
"Some lady just came barging in to Lucious's office, completely disregarding me," Becky rolled her eyes. "Then Lucious chewed me out like it was my fault."
Fallon laughed. "What lady?" she asked. That didn't sound any of the staff. Not even Imani would barge into Lucious's office, and she was probably the most hot-headed person she knew, aside from the whining Hakeem does when he doesn't get his way. Fallon grabbed a handful of peanut M&Ms from the glass dish Becky kept on her desk.
"Girl, I don't even–"
"Fallon?" a voice interrupted Becky. It wasn't a voice she recognized. Fallon turned her head, seeing a woman in a snake-print blouse, white pants, and a white fedora.
"Do you know her?" Becky whispered as the woman approached them.
"I don't think–" Fallon was abruptly cut off by the woman pulling her into a tight hug. Fallon's hands dropped to her sides and she stood there awkwardly.
"Look at you," the woman smiled, cupping Fallon's face. "My baby."
A look of confusion spread across Fallon's face. She reached up and removed the woman's hands from her face. "Do I know you?" The woman's smile dropped slightly. Tears welled in her eyes, daring to fall.
"You don't remember me?" the woman asked. Fallon shook her head. A tear rolled down her cheek. It looked like the woman just got her heart ripped from her chest.
"Hey, you ready?" Anika asked, leaving Lucious's office.
The woman in front of Fallon quickly wiped away the stray tear and her face hardened as Anika put her arm around Fallon.
Fallon gave a soft smile. "Uh, yeah," she said. She looked back to the woman. "It was nice meeting you, Miss."
Anika and Fallon walked away, leaving the woman standing there at Becky's desk.
"You son of a bitch!" Cookie stormed back into Lucious's office.
Lucious looked up from the file he was reading. "Knocking exists for a reason, Cookie," he sighed.
"Fallon doesn't know who I am!" Cookie fumed.
"How could she?" Lucious asked, chuckling. "She wasn't even a year old when you went to jail. You can't blame her for that."
Cookie scoffed. "We agreed that you would tell her who I am." She pointed her finger at him. "You said my children would know who I am!"
"And they do," Lucious told her. "She knows who you are, not what you look like." He stared blankly at her, waiting for her to say something else. "Now," he stood from his desk. "If there's nothing else you need, I have a meeting to get to." He gathered the papers on his desk and headed for the door. "Welcome back, Cookie."
"Wait, that was Cookie?" Fallon asked, sitting across from Anika and Imani. The two stopped at a bistro for lunch, Imani tagging along with them. Imani nodded. "She looks way different than I imagined."
"You couldn't tell?" Imani asked. She sipped on her lemonade.
"Imani's right," Anika added. Imani's eyes widened. That's something she'd never heard Anika say. Especially to her. Those two would butt heads about the color of the sun if they could look directly at it. "You look just like her."
"She's just not how Dad described her," Fallon shrugged.
"That's 'cause Dad's an asshole," Imani deadpanned. Anika bumped her shoulder, holding back a chuckle. "I'm serious! He's an ass."
"Did you talk to her yet?" Fallon asked.
"Yeah, she came to Jamal's first," Imani told her. Since she and Jamal were the only ones who actually made an effort to speak to Cookie in jail, of course Jamal would be the first child she reunited with. "She likes Michael. Called him a 'little Mexican." Fallon went to say something, but only a laugh came out.
"Now I see where you get your attitude from," Anika commented. She took a sip of her tea. "I can already tell she don't like me."
"I mean, are you really surprised?" Imani asked.
"She's just threatened by you—" Fallon started to say, getting cut off by the loud, sarcastic laughter of Imani.
"I'm sorry," Imani laughed. "Threatened? Don't lie to her like that."
"I'm not lying," Fallon said. "I mean, think about it. Dad divorces Cookie in jail, and when she comes out, Nikki's in her place." Anika pointed at Fallon, agreeing with her. "What would you do in that situation?"
"I would be mad as hell," Imani rolled her neck. "That's fucked up."
"My point exactly," Fallon, stuck her fork into a cherry tomato and popped it into her mouth. "She's been replaced, and she's bitter about it." Imani sighed, leaning back in her chair. Her mother wasn't bitter, she was done dirty. She has every right to be angry. She missed out on all of her kids's childhoods. All of her kids were adults, and she missed everything. But, none of that mattered. Because Cookie Lyon was here to stay.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hi! What'd you think of this chapter? How do you think Fallon and Cookie will get along as the story progresses? Tell me your thoughts!