Page 28 of Verse Two
“Ithink getting them will inspire me to bake something today,” my mother said with a grin.
I laughed loudly. “Momma, I think you can find inspiration from any of thefivesets of measuring cups you have at home.
My mother was an amazing cook, and she had an obsession with kitchen utensils. Her cabinets were already looking crowded, so the last thing she needed was more measuring spoons.
She rolled her eyes and held up what was definitely about to be her sixth set. “Yeah, but I don’t have gold ones,” she said before placing them in our shopping cart.
“Do your thing, Ma,” I said, shaking my head. I had really been enjoying my time with my mother. We had spent most of the day shopping, and retail therapy with Dana was always the best. This was supposed to be our last store before we headed home to cook dinner, but she couldn’t take two steps without putting something new in the cart.
When we were finally making our way to the checkout counter, I heard my name from a familiar voice that I wasn’t able to place. Once I turned toward it, I chuckled.
LaShontae.
I couldn’t say I wasexcitedto see her, but I wasn’t upset either. I hadn’t seen her in years, and the issues we had in middle school were just as childish as we were. Shedidapparently date my man after I moved away, but all that was ancient news. As long as she was respectful now, I had no problems with her.
“Hey,” I said and gave her a smile. She returned the gesture, but I didn’t miss how her eyes observed every inch of me as she sized me up. I couldn’t care less; I looked good, and I knew it.
“Hey. It’s been a while,” she replied.
“That it has.”
“How are you, Miss Dana? It’s good to see you, too.”
My mother smiled and said, “I’m good, shugga. It’s good to see you, too.”
LaShontae then turned toward me. “So, what have you been up to all these years?”
I gave the bullet points of my life but didn’t go into much detail. She showed genuine surprise when I told her who I worked for, but she said nothing else, so I spoke up.
“What about you?”
LaShontae bit her lip and glanced at the ground before meeting my eyes again. She was now beaming.
“Life for me is better than I could have ever imagined. I mean, my mom passed away a few years ago, and it was really hard, but I’m so blessed to have someone like Brixton to help me through it.”
Huh?
Her smirk was barely there, but I clocked it. I doubted that she knew anything about Brick and me reconnecting, but she clearly wanted me to know he was off-limits.
I’d be lying if I said her little admission didn’t piss me off, but because I had never been the type to let another woman see me fold, I schooled my face and maintained eye contact with her.
“I am so sorry to hear about your mother.”
“So am I, shugga. I had no idea,” my mom said.
She nodded. “Thanks. It’s pretty much just Brixton and me now. We moved here shortly after she died.”
The fuck?
It took real effort to keep my cool. Brick made his relationship with LaShontae seem like something that happened when we were in high school . . . when we were all still kids. If what homegirl said was true, they were locked in well past school days—locked in enough for him to move her out of the hood the second he made it. This was some bullshit.
As unbothered as I wanted to seem, I couldn’t even form words at that point. Luckily, my mom took over the conversation.
“Brixton from your guys’ middle school, right?”
Everything about LaShontae changed when she nodded. “Yes, ma’am. He’s been the best support system I could ask for,” LaShontae replied before turning to me.
“Well, I have to get going, but it was so good seeing you again. Enjoy the rest of your visit.” With that, she blew me a kiss and walked away, leaving me fuming in the middle of the store.
