Chapter 8
Lucy
2016
"So what's so big that you had to talk to us separately?" Kim asks our mom and aunts as she, JJ, and I sit at Aunt Steph's house in her personal living room after eating lunch. They sent our uncles and dads away from the house along with our brothers and cousins.
"What we're about to tell you is something that will not only help you portray us in the movie but is extremely important to our and your lives." Auntie Jacque says.
We wait for them to continue.
"We weren't born in 1966 and '67," Auntie Steph says. She doesn't pause to let the ridiculous information sink. "We were born in '98 and '99. Our moms are Michelle, Nicole, and Lori Wallace. We're originally cousins. "
Auntie Steph stops and lets Mom talk. "When we were 18 in 2017 we were put back in 1985 to replace our moms' cousins. We were placed back in 1985 to be with the men that God had crafted for us and to do what our cousins didn't."
Auntie Jacque picks up. "In 1997 during the Home Again tour when your dads and uncles were fighting, Brooke had a heart attack. While we were helping him, God sent His archangel Gabriel to give us a choice— of going back to 2017 or staying in 1997. If we had gone back, we wouldn't be your mothers. If we stayed, we'd continue to live the life that we have. We obviously stayed."
When they finish, we stare at them as if they were crazy. I start laughing at the same time that Kim and JJ do. "That was funny." I says in between forced giggles.
"We're serious. We can show you our birth certificates from 1999." Mom says and we stop laughing.
"So what?" JJ jumps up. "So what about Lynn, Annie, and Andra? Who are they? Are they you?"
"No. They are themselves. I know it's hard to wrap your head around at first, but it gets easier. When we were put in 1985 they were put in our places in 2017. When we decided to stay, they were born in our places in '98 and '99." Auntie Jacque answers.
"Do they know who they are— were?" Kim asks.
Mom nods. "They remember. God gave them that. He wanted them to remember what He gave them and what they could've had. But they've grown up in the early 2000s. It's hard to act like you don't know, that you aren't any different from the rest when you've lived through the time."
"Fuck," JJ curses.
"Watch your mouth." Auntie Steph snaps. JJ ignores her.
"That's why y'all favor them," I continue. "They're you and you're them. You have an understanding with them that we'll never have with you."
"It's not like that," Auntie Jacque shakes her head. "They need someone to guide them through this. It's still new to them. They remember a lot of their childhood in the '80s but it gets mixed in with the '00s. It's harder for them."
We roll our eyes. Everything is always harder for them. "Does Daddy and Uncles know? Our cousins?" Kim asks.
"Your dads and uncles yes. I'm sure they're telling the boys." Mom answers.
"So what now?" I ask with an attitude. "We act as if we don't know this?"
"You use it for the movie. We...we had to tell Abdul about this in order for him to get an idea of how our lives went. He's under a contract that keeps him from talking about it to anyone. We had to approve the script before Chris ever saw it to make sure it didn't contain anything about us. It's why we have a more hands-on approach than NE." Auntie Jacque says.
"The way Abdul has written the script keeps our secret. But there are times when we act...strange. Those are the times when our secret affected us a lot. We would jump through time. We would skip hours, days, months, years one time. But things would still be going on. We would respond and everything. But we couldn't remember those times," Auntie Steph sighs. "Except for when I felt things."
"So we use this secret to portray you as accurately as we can?" Kim asks for confirmation.
They nod. "It's why we didn't want Andra, Lynn, and Annie playing us. It would have felt too real to them. Sure, it would have let them live out the life they should have the first time, but it would have been like stabbing them in the heart because it's not real enough." Mom sighs.
"So we asked for them to be let out of the project and have you three put in. It'll be easier for you. Plus it's going to boost your acting careers." Auntie Jacque smiles.
We just nod as they hug us. "We love you. Never let this truth defect that. We love you more than anything in this world. You're apart of the reason we chose to stay."
My phone rings as we pull back. "It's Michael, huh?" JJ teases. "He still pinning for the love he can't have?"
"No," I look down confused as I pick up the iPhone. "It's actually Luke."
"Ooooohhh." JJ and Kim squeal with our mom and aunts.
"Girl, you better," Auntie Steph encourages her. I just let the phone ring until he hangs up on the other end. "What the hell?"
"He's seven years older— two more than Michael. And he only dates white girls. My skin yells black and beautiful. Not fair and light," I roll my eyes. The disgust builds as I talk. "And Jessie J said he used her to get more talk. He's a weird loner who isn't interested in black girls and uses people to get ahead."
"Oh so you like him then," Mom says and we all laugh. I glare at him. "If you won't listen to me or Jacque, listen to Steph. She spent months trying to deny that she liked Johnny."
"That's straight facts. I liked me some dark chocolate Johnny but I acted like I didn't. You won't like it if you push him away. It'll only make everything just explode to the surface." Auntie Steph advices. My phone lights up again, Luke's name crossing it in bold letters with the fleur de lis emoji next to it.
I grab the phone and walks toward the door. "Hello? What's up?" I give them a small smile as I leaves the room.
"Hey, Lucy. How's the talk going?" Luke greets.
"It's fine. What's up? Why'd you call?" I ask. I lean against the wall.
"Oh. Right. Um, I was wondering if we were, uh, you know...practicing at your place or mine? Yeah." He says, sounding unsure of his words.
I frown at the wall I'm staring at. "Your place, I guess, after we all eat dinner. The Littles can come too if it isn't too late," I pause. "Is that all you called to say? You could have texted me that."
"You're right. Sorry for interrupting you. See you in a few, Lucy." He says before hanging up.
What the fuck?
My face scrunches up. This is what I get for letting my mom and aunts gas me up. Luke doesn't even like me. He only likes white girls with status.
I stomp back into the room more upset than I was when I left. They watch me, waiting for my response. "Luke just wanted to ask about us practicing here or at his place." I sit down with what I know is the worst glare they've ever seen.
Mom just wraps her arm around me in comfort. "Go ahead, Jackson." She must have something to tell us.
"Well, first of all, yes I told Chance I'd marry him. Not just because I'm in love with him and he's in love with me, but also because, um," she stops talking and pulls out folded papers from her pocket. "Well, here."
Auntie Jacque takes the papers and reads over them. She looks up in shock. "You're pregnant?"
"Surprise," JJ pulls a chain identical to the one her mom has from under her shirt. A beautiful engagement ring and wedding band hang from it. "And we got married yesterday at the courthouse."
"Michael Lamont Bivins is going to kill you, him, and us for knowing before him," Auntie Steph whispers. "You have to tell him today."
"Can anyone be happy first?" JJ sighs. "It took a lot to say this."
Kim and I jump up to hug her. All three of us jump and scream together as if we were little girls. "We'll do a real wedding after the movie. We'll invite the cast and everyone so that we can be your maids of honor."
JJ smiles as we talk about her being married, a wedding, and our futures before getting ready to go to dinner with the Bigs and Littles.
"Hey best!" Woody smiles at me when Kim, JJ, and I sit down in the room they were able to get for all fourteen of us.
"Hey Woody." I laugh softly. He gets up to hug me and I let him. I don't normally like to be hugged by people I've just met (besides fans) but I feel like Woody and I have been friends for a long time. I feel that way about all of the guys and the Littles.
Except for Luke.
"Did y'all order yet?" Kim asks after sitting down with the menu in hand.
"Just drinks. We ordered a root beer for Lucy, a Sprint for Kim, and a Dr. Pepper for JJ." Luke says as he pulls out the chair in between him and Woody for me. I send him a suspicious glare as I sit down.
"You know us so well." Kim smiles with her face in the menu. She's going to order like three things just for dinner. Don't even ask about dessert.
"Did your moms chew you out for not having your music ready?" Jahi asks politely.
"No. It was a family thing." JJ shakes her head.
"Is everything okay?" Keith asks. He looks up from the menu. He may be new but he's already so interested in us that he's become a part of the family.
"Oh it's fine. Everything's good. Money's right, houses are straight, everyone's healthy. It was just a family matter that had to be shown to us in full light instead of being cast in the shadows as it used to be in." I wave their concerned faces off.
"So poetic, best." Woody says and I smile as I shake my head. I pick up my menu as everyone talks about the choices amongst other things.
We order our food when our drinks come. We spend two hours eating and talking with each other. We all swap more stories and experiences about our lives with each other. It's a little harder for the Littles to relate to Kim, JJ, and me but they still stay in the conversation. Tyler is a funny, loud ass kid while Myles is a little more quiet. Myles definitely fits the vibe of Uncle Ronnie.
By the time we all leave, we're even closer than we were this morning. I mean, I still can't stand Luke, but I love everyone else.
"Hey Lucy," Luke stops me from getting in my car with Kim, Bryshere, Woody, and JJ when we all walk out of the restaurant. "Can I talk to you?"
"What do you want?" I ask with a serious attitude.
"When I called you earlier...it wasn't just to know about a late night practice at my place. But I didn't know how to phrase what I wanted to say. I-I wanted to know how you would feel about—"
"Luke, get in the car, nigga!" Algee says from the Cadillac that belongs to Luke. Elijah, Keith, and Algee were waiting on Luke to drive to his place.
"Nevermind. See you at my place." Luke shakes his head. He walks over to his car and gets in.
I get in my car and wait for Caleb (the last Little) to get picked up by his dad before driving over to Luke's place. Bryshere and Woody ride with me. How all six of them got to the restaurant in the first place behooves me.
"Come on," Luke unlocks the door for us after we arrived at his place. "I keep a key hidden on the front porch if you ever need to get in and I'm not here. It changes everyday but it'll be there."
"What would we need to get in for?" JJ asks as we all throw our things onto the sofa in the living room. We quickly make ourselves comfortable as if this was a daily routine and not something we just started doing yesterday afternoon.
"You never know. We're all family now. You may need me or I may need you." Luke shrugs. In that moment, my internal dislike for him fades just a little bit.
"I'm always over here." Bryshere flops down on the sofa. He puts his feet up on the coffee table.
"He overextends his welcome everywhere he goes, with his hood rat ass." Kim knocks his feet off the coffee table as she sits down.
We all sit and talk to let our food digest before going over the choreography for different songs. We critique each other to make the performances better. After going over the choreography, we sit and talk about our other projects or anything that could happen after the movie.
"Lucy. Lucy." Someone shakes my shoulder lightly.
I open my eyes to see everyone sleeping, laid out in the living room. Everyone is in a comfortable position except for me who is sitting upright in a chair. "Ow." I rub my neck and look at Luke who shook my awake.
"I figured that would happen," he smiles softly. "I was going to offer you my bed and take the chair so you could be more comfortable."
"What? No. You go in your bed. I'll be fine in the chair," I wave him off and shift in the chair, trying to find a good spot. Impossible. He watches me with amusement in his eyes. "Fine. But if I'm taking your bed then at least lay on the floor. This chair isn't comfortable."
"Deal," He pulls me out of the chair and leads me to his bedroom. He pulls the covers and pillows down from the top of the bed. "This is where no magic happens."
"Good to know I won't be sleeping where you've fornicated with your endless records of one night stands." I say as I slide into the bed. My entire body relaxes. After not sleeping in a bed for two nights, this feels like heaven. The corner of his mouth lifts up slightly when I softly sing a part from one of his songs, I Want You.
"No. If I have fornicated with anyone, it wasn't in this bed. It was in their bed or a hotel room," Luke says. He pulls some pillows and two blankets from the bed to lay out on the floor. "Look at us, huh? Having a sleepover."
"Shut the hell up, Boyd." I hurl a throw pillow in his direction and I hear his soft chuckle in the dark. I roll over and am sleep within minutes.