Page 10 of Can I?

“The last time I came here, she only did mac and cheese and said she was about to start experimenting with greens. Nigga, this is red beans and rice. What the fuck?”

I quickly took another bite as Asad laughed and shook his head. “She’s been stuffing that chicken with all kinds of stuff, bro. One time, they said there was sweet potato and cabbage in that shit. I don’t know how Missus Jen does it, but she’s an OG with that! The way my indigestion set up, though, I can’t always stomach the fried foods. These beef tips are pushing it.”

I chuckled. “Yo’ ass getting old as hell. That’s why.”

Before he could respond, another lady walked in, holding a saddle in her hands. “Look at this shit!” she said loudly.

Everyone was staring at her as she cried. Jen and Chrissy went to her as she dropped the saddle to an empty table. “She fucking bought me a ten-thousand-dollar saddle!”

They hugged her and allowed her to sob in their embrace. I noticed they were both shedding tears as well. Several other people had left their seats and went to her. I didn’t know saddles could cost so much.I wish I would pay ten grand for a damn saddle.

“Please tell me you gon’ call her, Tiff,” a lady said.

My eyebrows shot up.Shit!She was Tiffany Henderson, Milana’s mama. That was probably a gift to get her attention. Apparently, the call she placed last night after the rodeo went unanswered. I took another bite of my chicken as I watched them. I was trying to be discreet, but Asad’s ass had turned all the way around to look.

“That’s a badass saddle. I bet that’s sterling silver on it for it to cost that much. That’s top of the line,” Mrs. Chrissy said.

“I sent her a text for her to meet me here,” Mrs. Tiffany said.

Asad looked back at me when she said it. “Is she talking about Milana?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“Yeah. I overheard her talking to her cousins about a break in their communication. I’m thinking it was definitely Milana’s fault for her to be dropping bands like that on a saddle. She must do really well at the rodeos.”

“Yeah, but look who her family is. I’m pretty sure they had a pretty penny saved up for her. That’s how the rich pass down wealth, through the generations. They keep working and set up shit for their kids.”

I nodded in agreement. He was right about that. They didn’t engage in frivolous spending, especially while they were still building wealth. It was niggas like me who suddenly came into a lot of money that burned the shit up. After finishing off my food, I wiped my mouth and went to refill my tea. As I was doing so, I saw Milana walk inside. She looked nervous, and I guess so if she’d done something wrong and hadn’t spoken to her mother in weeks.

When Mrs. Tiffany turned around and saw her standing there with her head down, she practically ran to her and hugged her tightly. Milana broke down crying. Her audible cries had touched even my heart. I couldn’t imagine not talking to my mama for weeks. That woman had a whole attitude if I missed a day, let alone weeks.

When I rejoined Asad, I could see that their tearful reunion had touched others as well. Most of the women in here were crying. I continued watching them, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation, but I couldn’t hear a thing. As I finished off the rest of my food, they broke their embrace, and I heard Milana say, “Can we talk privately, Mama?”

Mrs. Tiffany placed her hand on her cheek, and Milana flinched slightly. Tiffany lowered her hand and squatted with her hands covering her face. Mrs. Jen and Mrs. Chrissy helped her from the floor, and she immediately pulled Milana in her arms again. Whatever had happened had to be pretty bad, and my nosy ass wanted to know.

When they separated, somehow, Milana’s eyes met mine. She blushed slightly then gave me a one-sided smile. She already had high, defined cheek bones. So that small smile nearly made her eye close. I smiled back. Maybe this was what was holding her back. She may have felt she had way too much drama going on to focus on getting to know someone. Being that the drama was with her mother, clearly a mother she loved tremendously and probably looked up to, I could imagine the toll the separation was taking on her.

Mrs. Tiffany grabbed her hand and stared at her lovingly then released her to grab her saddle. Once they left, Asad said, “Well, that looked promising.”

“Yeah. It seems they are going to be able to work things out.”

“I’m not talking about her relationship with her mama. I’m talking about that slight smile she gave you. I didn’t miss that.”

I nodded, but I didn’t respond verbally. As long as I was single, she had time to contact me. However, a nigga surely wasn’t going to wait for her. I was searching for my one. If I found someone I vibed with, then she would have just missed her opportunity to vibe with a nigga that would change her lifeforever. My pops taught me how to treat women, especially a beautiful black one that I was trying to establish something with.

I knew she was young and probably had some growing up to do, but I didn’t mind being the fertilizer for that process. There was only one way to find all this shit out though. She would have to call. I only shot once.

CHAPTER FIVE

MILANA

“Do you like it?” I asked my mama.

“I love it.” She lowered her head for a moment as we sat in the family room at her house. “I planned to reach out to you before this. This beautiful ass saddle didn’t weigh in on my decision. I’m sorry for being so harsh. My emotions were everywhere . . . still are.”

“You don’t owe me an apology, Mama. I fucked up, . . . bad.”

“We never talked about how this even happened. I can’t believe you would plan to do something like that. What caused it?”

“I felt like Julius was up to no good. That was why y’all never met him. I just couldn’t prove it. I liked him a lot and didn’t want to let go without proof. Well, his mother called and told me he was up to no good. I went to her house and caught him in the act, fucking someone else. I was so angry. Two things ran through my mind. One was to go to my truck and get my gun and blow his brains out. The other was getting revenge.”

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