Page 82 of Truce Of The Matter

Me: Yes. Where are you?

Daija: Bout to come back.

Daija’s appearances here are few and very far between. She’s always tried to avoid being here. So hearing that she’s at the restaurant causes me to beam.

“Daija’s here,” I say and Taj’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Really? Okay. Things are still good with y’all?” she asks.

“Yeah and I think it’s just going to get better since I have her here for the summer. She’s meeting Rex and Aryel this Friday.”

“Aww. I’m so happy for you. Really happy. This is all you ever wanted.”

“It definitely is,” I agree, utterly and completely.This is truly a dream come true.

The door opens and Daija walks in with a to-go box and a cup of lemonade. Taj smiles then starts to pack up her lunch.

“Hey. Am I interrupting?” Daija asks.

After standing, Taj says, “Oh no. I’m done. You can sit here.” She grabs her box and Stanley then stands. Daija walks over tothe desk, places her food on it, then side hugs Taj. “That better be our to-go box,” Taj says with suspicious eyes.

“It is. Oxtails and rice. I smelled them as soon as I came in and had to get some. But I see I really need to come here more. The girl up front tried to charge me.”

“That’s Lovely. She’s new. You didn’t pay though, right?” I ask because we eat free, not all Redmonds though.

There’s too many of us to be giving all family members free food. We would never make a damn profit. The free meals only apply to the owners: me, my dad, and Daija, and Taj. My managers get a free meal a day, on or off the clock, and all employees get fifty-percent off all meals.

“No, the other girl told her who I am. It was cool.”

“Good.”

“Alright. Let me get back to it,” Taj says before departing.

Before sitting, Daija steps behind the desk and hugs me. I’m sure I embrace her for too long, trying to get as much of her as I can. Although I’ve always had her in my life, it’s different now. She truly knows who I am to her and I feel like we are starting over again, in our true roles.

“Did you come to work too?” I ask when she sits.

With raised eyebrows and a smirk on her pretty face, she quickly says, “Um, no. There is nothing poly sci for me to do here. I came to talk to you and grab some lemonade. These oxtails are an added bonus.”

Talk to me? “You okay?” I ask.

“I’m good.” She opens her food box and her lips drop. “Ugh. I forgot hot sauce,” she says, frown deepening.

“I got you.” I keep condiments in here because the managers often eat on the go in here and forget the condiments. “Right behind you in that top drawer,” I direct her.

She turns, reaches back for the drawer, and grabs the Louisiana Hot Sauce. “Perfect,” she sighs. After getting her foodhow she prefers, she takes a bite and her smile springs back. “I swear I can’t find oxtails like this in the A.”

“Or nowhere else. But what do we need to talk about?”

“Friday dinner and Daddy and before you stress, it’s nothing bad,” she says and I relax. At the mention of dinner and my dad, I immediately tensed. I didn’t think she noticed but she did. “Porsh is going to be the chef Friday. Her boss told her today that she’s preparing a dinner for four at the home of Rex Goode. She called me immediately.”

“So she knows about me and Rex?” I ask with a smirk.

“You know I tell her everything.” Her everything is full of so much innuendo and inflection.

Porsh has become privy to our family secret.

“She knows and she even knows who he is. He’s cute.” She nods with a smile.

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