Page 80 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming
She sips her peach soju. “I’ve always been interested in the human brain and what makes us behave and react to certain stimuli. That, and my Uncle Tariq is a psychologist, too. I alwaysadmired my family, but astrophysics, philosophy, and chemical engineering was never of any interest to me.”
“That’s what the rest of your family does?” Kofi asks, his eyes wide in surprise.
Damn, this woman just keeps getting more and more impressive.
“Yep, my father, Percival, is a chemical engineer who works for Taylor Made Hair Care, so if you need any hair products, let me know. I get them for free.”
“Nice. I need some more conditioner,” Kofi jokes.
“Which kind?”
“The kind with jojoba oil,” he answers.
“Okay.” Suchi takes out her phone and sends a text. She looks back up at him and says, “I’ll have a couple of bottles in a few days. You can pick them up whenever.”
“Damn, really?”
“Sure.” She shows him the text.
Suchi
Hi dad, could I please have some bottles of the jojoba oil conditioner?
Daddy P
Sure, baby. I’ll send you a couple of bottles in the morning.
Kofi smiles, “I love that you call your dad Daddy P.”
“He’s Daddy P, my Auntie Shereeta—the astrophysicist—is Auntie Ree Ree, Uncle Tariq is Uncle Riq and my grandmother was Big Momma.”
Kofi grins broadly. “I love it. So basically, you’re a family of geniuses.”
Suchi laughs. “That’s the name of our documentary.”
“Documentary?”
“Yes, we were the subject of a documentary called,A Family of Geniuses. It aired on one of those streaming services no one has heard of. Almost no one has seen it.”
Kofi asks her, “You didn’t mention your mother. Where is she?”
Suchi gets quiet.
“My mother Camielle is a genius, too. That’s how my parents met. They went to the same school for gifted young people and were two of only a handful of Black kids.”
Kofi sips his beer and leans in, listening.
“Camielle came from a family where she was put under immense pressure to succeed, unlike my dad, who was taught that his intelligence was a gift, not a burden. He was encouraged to use it in ways that helped others but also made him happy. Camielle was told to use her gifts to benefit her family. She got pregnant when she and my dad were nineteen and in college. His family offered to raise the baby so Camielle could finish her studies. Between postpartum depression and all the pressure from her parents, she had a mental break.” Suchi pushes her food around her plate.
Kofi reaches out and touches her hand. “Where is she now?”
“She currently lives in Reseda and teaches advanced calculus at a junior college. I have a good relationship with her, but we’re more like friends than mother and daughter.”
“Well, it’s good that you have a relationship with her.”
“That’s true. It’s been a point of contention in a lot of the men I dated.”
“How so?”
