Page 28 of I Need It

Business seemed kind of slow, but I knew that probably wouldn’t be the case in another hour. As soon as I walked in, a lady approached the counter and said, “Hello! Welcome to Jen and Chrissy’s Diner! I’m Chrissy. How can I help you?”

“Hello! Do you have a menu I can look at?”

“Absolutely. Check under Wednesday,” she said as she handed me a pamphlet. “Ring the bell when you’re ready.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She was extremely nice. Christian looked just like her, so I knew she had to be his mother. As I looked at the menu, the door opened, and some people came in. I moved over to the side, and when I did, I realized it was Christian’s uncles, the extremely tall one and Mister Jasper. They seemed to be arguing but in a playful way. The tall one was frowning, and when he saw me watching them, his frown only deepened. He was intimidating as hell.

I looked away, going back to the menu in my hand. “Mya?”

I looked up again to see Mister Jasper staring at me. “Yes, sir.”

“Damn, girl. You clean up good. I barely recognized you.”

“That’s her from the hospital?” the tall one asked him.

“Yeah. The same one that was here almost a couple of weeks ago. Christian was towing her car.”

“Damn. She look like a different person.”

They were talking about me like I wasn’t standing right here. The tall one looked back at me, and a smirk formed on his lips. I supposed that was better than the frown he adorned a few seconds ago. “What’s up? I’m Mayor Storm Henderson. You can call me Mister Mayor.”

Mr. Jasper rolled his eyes as I extended my hand. This nigga was with all the shits. I could see it now. “Nice to meet you, Mister Mayor.”

He smiled and nodded. I wanted to chuckle, but I knew I had better hold that shit in. I was on their turf. “Nice to officially meet you too, Mya.”

I smiled big. “And she has dimples. Christian did good,” Jasper said.

My smile faded somewhat. This was what I was afraid of. I should have known better coming here. This was what Christian was proposing the day we met, and I had turned him down. As if noticing my demeanor had shifted, Mister Mayor said, “Don’t worry. We know you ain’t his… yet.”

I frowned slightly as they laughed. Mister Jasper slid his arm around me and said, “Let me tell you something about the Henderson men, baby girl. If we want you, that’s it. You can try to fight the shit if you want to. We know how to treat women, and we do it well. That shit trickled down to my nephews. We ain’t perfect, but shit, we damn close. You better hop on this wave of love and devotion.”

My eyebrows lifted as they laughed again. I hadn’t even decided what I wanted to order from watching them clown around. Mrs. Chrissy came to the front and rolled her eyes. “Why are y’all asses here so early?”

“Hello to you too, Chrissy. We’ll have the Wednesday usual.”

She slowly shook her head as they kissed her on the cheek one after the other. She looked over at me and said, “I’m sorry, baby. Have you decided what you wanted to order?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll take the stuffed chicken, rice dressing, green beans, and yams.”

It was stuffed with mac and cheese today, and I was ready for that shit. It was so good last time. As I made my way to a vacant table, more people entered. They had to be family as well because they were extremely loud. When they noticed me, they quieted down some until the mayor said, “She here for Christian. Y’all ain’t gotta act like y’all have sense.”

My eyebrows lifted slightly as one of the women approached me. “Hi. I’m Christian’s cousin Nesha. That’s Jessica, with her loud ass, and that’s his brother, Jakari.”

I nodded politely. “I’m Mya.”

“Nice to meet you.”

She walked away as Mrs. Chrissy approached. “I’m sorry, baby. I forgot to ask if you were dining in and your name.”

Seeing how uncomfortable I was, I said, “No, ma’am. I need to get back. I just wanted to leave something for Christian. My name is Mya.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Okay. Umm… I’ll get it from you once I’m done with your order.”

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

When she walked away, I pulled the envelope from my purse. I wanted to see him, but all these people were somewhat overwhelming. The fact that they knew all the business only made me more uncomfortable. When I said my name, I knew his mama knew exactly who I was as well. I could feel my face heating up. Standing from my seat, I made my way to the counter. I was sure it wouldn’t take her long to fix my order.

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