Hey DreamTeam 👋🏾😍 Y'all responded so fast! Comment Goal is 40 for the next chapter. This one is nice and long like y'all think them (not an innuendo for all you dirty minded folk)
Anyways, happy reading DreamTeam 😘
Imani's POV
I sighed bring the last plate out and placing it on the table. I called my sister to come over, and help me get everything together for my parents but of course she flaked on me. I grabbed the serving spoons making sure to check on everything. This has to be perfect for my parents.
"Auntie Mani!" Jaylen yelled running over to me.
"Hey you." I said pulling him to me.
"You cooked all this?" Andre asked side hugging me.
"Yeah." I sighed. "I had no one else to help." I shrugged.
"Your sister told me she was sorry. She had a bridal party." He informed me and I nodded.
"It's cool, I understand." I said knowing she had finally picked up a heavier set of people and based her clientele.
"Yeah, where mom and dad?" Andre asked.
"Should be on their way. How bout you call em?" I said.
He nodded pulling his cellphone out of his pocket as I took Jaylen to the kitchen.
"Jay man you want to try some?" I asked him.
"of what?" He asked his head popping up off my chest fast.
"Of cake." I said.
"Mommy doesn't like me eating sweets before dinner."
"It's just a small taste, it's my first time making it and I want you to try it." I said.
He looked worried, and then nodded a little hesitant.
"Thank you," I said kissing his cheek grabbing him a small slither of the buttered pound cake I made.
"How is it?" I asked after plucking off a piece for him to put in his mouth.
"It's real good Auntie!" He said.
I grinned. "Well, I'm glad you like it. That's enough for now after dinner you can finish it." I said and he nodded.
"Go wash your hands man, I will be with you a bit. Cool?" I asked him.
"Yup." He said and left out of the door.
I grabbed all of the things I needed from the kitchen and left out.
"How did you have time to-"
"It's Friday." I said.
"And you made Mac and Cheese, Yams, Black eyed peas, collard greens, potato salad, fried ocra and cornbread. Then you got fried chicken and fish."
"And I have some ribs, I baked them but I put em' on the grill real quick, you know to get that charcoal taste. Matter of a fact let me go-"
"Imani-" he shook his head hearing the doorbell ring.
"Go get that please?" I asked him.
"who is it?" He asked.
"Probably Auntie Debbie and Uncle L." I said.
"Okay." He said and went to the front.
My mother, when ever my father got out of the hospital always had my family over to have dinner and celebrate him coming out. She believed that family being together was most important.
By the time my parents got to the house, my aunt and uncle were already here.
"Hey Daddy." I said giving him a hug.
"Hey Baby." He hugged me.
"You look nice." I complimented him.
"Really? "
"Yeah." I nodded. "Never looked better."
"Even when I'm all jacked up." He said popping his collar and I laughed.
"Have a seat daddy." I said pulling his seat out and he sat down.
My mother greeted my aunt Debbie, my father's sister and her husband before looking around the table seeing the pots covered with lids.
"Well who did all this?" She asked
"Your baby girl of course she's the most thing ever. I'd be happy to have her as my daughter." My auntie Debbie said.
"Baby." My mother said hugging me. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me ma." I said pulling her closer to me. I sighed as she hugged me close feeling weight drop off of me. It's not better hug in the entire universe than your mothers hug.
My father got up and kissed my cheek. "Thank you Baby Girl." He said
"No problem daddy. Please sit down." I said.
"I'm alright baby. The doctors say I could return to life as usual. " he explained.
"Just listen to your daughter and sit okay?" My mom asked and he nodded.
He sat in the seat and my mom rubbed her hands together . "Come with me in the kitchen and let me check what else you made." My mother said and I walked behind her.
"This stuff is looking good baby." She said and got her wooden spoon to taste the barbecue sauce. "Really good." She nodded.
"Ma." I sighed.
"Is this a red velvet cake? Oh I got to get me a piece." She said and got a knife.
"Mommy, please." I sighed.
"Yes baby?" She asked.
"Mommy I-"
I sighed frustrated that the doorbell had rung again.
"Probably your Aunt Ronda." My mother said already aggravated. "Look baby, we will talk later." She told me.
"Okay ma." I said and she left out of the kitchen.
I decided to sit in the kitchen a little longer knowing that my father's youngest sister Ronda would rock the hell out both my mother, and Is nerve.
She was the type to always have something to say, and never had her shit together and I hate that with a passion, but my father loves his sisters and always have so he wouldn't dare to tell her that she needed to shut up because he just didn't have the heart to.
But me, I do and will if she gets out the way on today.
I walked out of the kitchen grabbing the forks, spoons and knives.
"Hey everybody." I said coming into my parents dining room. I sat down, and we said prayer so that everybody could eat.
"Imani, my favorite niece come here." Ronda said.
I internally rolled my eyes following her directions.
"Yes?" I asked
"You made all this by yourself?"
"I did." I said.
"You gone be somebody's good wife." She said and I nodded.
"Hey, ain't no husband. Let's not speak one up." My father said.
"She can't be single all her life, and she's only getting older. Nathan, you and Ivory had Naomi when y'all were her age." My aunt shrugged.
I laughed seeing my father get a little upset. "We can stop this conversation, when I'm ready to meet someone who makes me happy, we can maybe pick up this discussion." I said.
"That's right baby, on your terms." My mother said shifting her eyes over to my aunt.
"Are you gay?" She asked me.
"Excuse me?" I asked her
"I mean you didn't specify so I'm asking. Are you planning to be happy with a man or." She asked.
"I'm into men. I'm just not interested in dating, and if I was dating someone it would be no ones business." I explained.
"Mm. That's different." She said and sipped her drink.
I looked down at my plate, and picked at my food.
"I don't think you should wait much longer. Maybe if you, I don't know dressed a little bit more then you could find someone. You always so-"
"The way she dresses is fine. She is allowed to dress how she wants, get married and have kids however and whenever she wants." My mother quickly interjects. interjected.
"Let's stop talking like I'm not sitting right here, okay?" I asked
"Stop it now." Auntie Debbie said looking into Ronda's direction forking up some more of the potato salad.
"I like how everybody is trying to make me out to be a bad person, I just asked some questions and gave suggestions. She saying she don't want to be dating and basically telling me it's none of my business it must be a reason girl. All I'm saying is most girls your age are dating, or have a man."
I sighed. "Just because I don't talk about it, doesn't mean that someone isn't occupying my time it means I don't want you in my business." I said before excusing myself from the table.
I went upstairs and into my old bedroom to lay down and breathe.
"What's up with you?" My sister asked laying across my bed at my feet.
"Nothing." I pouted.
"Something, you walked away from the witch. You'd usually just sit and ignore her ass. What's going on?" She asked again.
I sighed. "Things with Brandon huh?" She asked again.
I nodded not wanting to talk much about him.
"What?"
"He called me a slut." I said and she shook her head.
"Not what happened today, what happened to make you not to deal with him? You seemed to really like him before. Why such a sudden change of heart?" She asked.
"Everything we are doing, we are doing for Mommy and Daddy and I don't have time to sit and focus on anything else but work and school." I explained.
"Baby girl, stop being so hard on yourself. I don't want you to be like that." My mom said I coming into the room. "Your father and I will be okay, you enjoy yourself, live a little." She said.
"Ma-"
"I mean it. Your father was right, at your age you shouldn't be stressing the way you do. Ain't got no babies, working and going to school. If we never get another penny from you know that we love you and appreciate you and most importantly want the worlds of happiness to be in your lap. Don't let your father I determine your happiness. I don't want you to feel like you got to take care of us and feel a burden and Lord knows, I know you do." She said with tears in her eyes. "I just want for both of you to be happy. Me and your father, we gonna be okay if we know that you two are okay." She spoke.
"Mommy I'm happy, I just-"
"You're just too focused on making sure we are okay. I don't like it." She shook her head.
"Every since I could remember ma, you and daddy have been my biggest supporters. Put me through the best schools, made sure I had food and clothes and even when times were tough I could always get what I needed from y'all and I wanna support you all the same." I said.
"Imani you don't understand you're a baby, my baby and I don't want you hurting. We are okay, and your father and I thanks to you are as healthy as we can be." She said. "That's support enough."
I nodded my head letting her win. I know she felt like I was way too young to support them and cut out all the things that could possibly be happening in my life because I have to take care of my parents but it's more than that.
The work I do isn't work that you should have when you're close and connected with tons of people. On top of that, I don't know how to let people into my world, I don't know if I truly want to.
I embraced my mother and my sister holding on for dear life. I wanted to cry and tell my mother everything, but I knew I couldn't. "I love you." She said and kissed both Naomi and Is heads. Naomi pulled in tighter, and I did the same listening to my mother sing a song she had made when we were little girls.
The door bell rang again, causing us to come out of our hug. I wiped my eyes quickly, and fixed my mother's running mascara.
"Lord y'all got me in here looking like I ain't slept in days." My mother shook her head.
"You don't look like that." Naomi said
"She's saying that because she really hasn't slept in days." I explained.
"Ma, you haven't?"
"Hm?" My mother said.
"No, she hasn't. She hasn't stayed in the house since dad went to the hospital"
"Why haven't you slept?" Naomi asked.
"Well I can't sleep in no empty house, and that chair in the hospital couldn't make me comfortable." She explained.
"Ma." Naomi sighed.
"Your sister got on me about that already. I'm gonna get my rest."
"Good, now who is that at the door?" Naomi asked.
"I don't know, ain't got nobody coming over."
I looked at Naomi and I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Imani, it's for you." Dre said coming up the stairs with big eyes.
"Oh snap." My sister said going downstairs and I followed.
"Mr. Brandon!" I heard Jaylen yell almost making me pee in my pants.
Not Today, Not right now.
~~~
Hope you liked the update 😝
Update date: 07/20/16