Page 64 of Devanté
“Janet, mind your business. Okay? I said what I said.” Mom aimed a finger at Janet then crossed her legs. “You know Yelinda’s birthday is coming up? It’s her fiftieth so she’s going to be extra about it.”
“She’s always extra, Ma,” I said, stretching my legs in front of me.
“True. Hopefully Blake is at the party. It’ll be so nice to see her again. It’ll be nice to see you two hanging out again too.” My mother’s voice nudged me repeatedly and the look she tossed my way wasn’t much better.
“Oh, I’m sure they’ll do a lot more than hang out,” Janet announced.
“Shut up, Jay. Damn.”
“I’m just saying. Tell the whole story!”
“There’s nothing to tell. Especially not to Mom and Dad.” I glared at her from across the living room.
“There’s plenty to tell, you just don’t want to say it.” In no time, Janet and I were shouting back and forth like we used to do when we were little. Dad whistled through his two fingers, slicing through our bickering. We buttoned our lips and sat like statues.
“Stop acting like children.” His piercing eyes slid from me to Janet. “Now, whatever is going on between Blake and Devanté is their business. If he wants to put it out there then he will.”
“Well, do you want to put it out there, Devanté?” Mom asked with hope threading through her words.
“Okay, alright,” I pressed my palms together and stood to my feet. “We connected as more than friends but we’re still the same Blake and Devanté.” I looked at my mother and said, “I’ll ask her about Mrs. Yelinda’s party when I talk to her later.”
The living room fell silent but everyone’s smiles were loud as hell. It was a quiet but collectivefinallyfrom my family. After a few wordless moments ticked by, I tossed my hands in the air and sighed. “What? Let it out. I know y’all have something smart to say.”
“Something smart?” Dad shrugged his shoulders. “I think we’re all wondering what took so long.”
“And will there be grandbabies? Because lord knows, I’ve always thought Blake was the prettiest little chocolate girl and so smart.” Mom beamed.
“Blake is gorgeous. I’m surprised she wanted your ugly behind.” Janet looked me up and down and rolled her eyes. I flipped her off and ignored the disproving grimace from Mom.
“Nah, you know Devanté has always been pretty. That’s the only way he got through school and graduated with a degree in financial economics. He requested all female teachers.” Dad looked at me with a straight face for a minute before a grin spread from ear to ear. Everyone broke into warm, rich laughter that made me feel so much better.
I was a little nervous about telling them my plans to move and about reconnecting with Blake but once I saw how happy they were, I felt at ease. Once Dad started cracking jokes about how pretty I was, I felt at home. My family supported me no matter what moves I made.
Our happiness carried over to our conversations. We joked around and shared frozen margaritas while we talked about why Mom and Dad were expert Spades players but me and Janet never were taught how to play. Our parents told us we were supposed to learn in college and I shook my damn head.
“It’s a rite of passage, Dad. You were supposed to sit down with Mom and show us how to play so we won’t get laughed out of the room when people start picking partners,” I said, tossing my hand up.
“No. When you’re playing Spades, there is no time to teach. Either you can help me play or you can sit the hell down.” My father and mother shared a laugh of understanding. The doorbell rang in the middle of the heated discussion and I excused myself to answer it.
I started to close it when I saw Renee’s face on the other side holding her child. Begrudgingly, I opened the door and looked at her with an expression made of stone. “Devanté, we need to talk,” she said, shifting the sleeping baby from one shoulder to the other. I looked at his small body and felt bad for whoever his real father was. Not because he had Renee as his child’s mother but because he was missing out on a cute little boy.
“I’m busy with my family right now. The only thing we need to talk about is when you’re taking the DNA test I requested.”
She smacked her full lips together and rolled her eyes. “You’re still on that? DJ is yours. You know it. Why else would I give him your name?”
“Because you’re fucking crazy?” I rubbed my forehead and she muttered something I couldn’t hear against the baby’s blanket. “Can you leave? I don’t have anything to say to you. We don’t have anything to discuss.”
“I need a favor, Devanté.” Her eyes were round and full of want. I just didn’t know what she wanted from me.
“Who’s at the door? They’re holding up an important family discussion on Spades.” Janet rounded the corner, making her way to the foyer. When she saw Renee, she stopped in her tracks, ready with a glare that only my big sister could give. “Oh. You,” Janet scoffed.
“Yeah. Me. The mother of your nephew,” Renee snapped back, adjusting the sleeping baby.
“Oh god, here we go…” Janet rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall. “My parents are here. You mind taking your Maury Show life and leaving?”
“I need to talk to your brother but as usual, he’s acting like he doesn’t know me.”
“Okay, what? What is it that you want to talk to me about, Renee? You can talk right here in front of my sister.”
