Page 2 of Bern and Isley
We giggled at Ms. Cynt’s shade. Snow and I made our way to the table with the food. There was a variety of foods to choose from. I decided on grilled chicken wings, pasta salad, and mixed fruit. Snow and I found two empty chairs to sit and enjoy our food. Although the sun was beginning to set, it was still pretty hot and humid. But thankfully Ms. Cynthia had several large, industrial-sized fans blowing. They helped keep everyone from overheating.
A deep voice came from behind me. “Hey, stranger.”
A huge smile spread across my face as I stood to face my best friend. He drew me into a great bear hug. I buried my face into his chest as I choked back a sob. “I missed you so much, Bernie.”
“I missed you more, Icey.”
I relished in the strength of his embrace. It brought me a sense of peace and comfort I’d lacked over the last five years. One thousand eight hundred and twenty-six days. It felt like a lifetime.
“Well, hello, Mr. Claybern Jones,” Snow interrupted.
Bern and I laughed as we broke our hold. “What’s up, Snow?” He reached out and gave her a side hug as I took a step back. I wiped my misty eyes as I stared at my friend. He was really free.
“Welcome home,” Snow smiled.
“Thank you, thank you. I’m damn sure glad to be home.”
“And we’re happy to have you out,” I added.
I gazed at him. For the most part, he still looked the same. Tall, dark, and handsome. Bern was six foot two with medium brown skin. I noticed he’d gained several pounds of muscle. His pecs seem extra defined under the white tank that he had on. And those biceps were also very pronounced. My boy clearly didn’t skip gym days.
“You growing your hair out?” I asked, admiring his jet-black curly hair that had grown into a mini afro.
He picked at his curls. “Yeah, I wanted to try something different… thinking about locs.”
I nodded as I imagined him as a dread head. As handsome as he was, he could rock anything. Well, anything but a mohawk. I hated those with a passion.
“I was hoping you could hook me up.” He grinned, displaying his perfect smile.
I put my finger to my lip as if I had to think about it. “I guess I can fit you in.”
I had recently started braiding hair in the last couple years after being laid off from my management position at a call center. I also offered loc installations and retwists.
“Don’t piss me off.” He chuckled, placed his arm around my shoulder, and squeezed me close to him, making his head touch mine. “You want me to look presentable for my job interview, don’t you?”
“You have an interview already? That’s what’s up!”
“Yep. My boy Theo is a manager at a food distribution center across town. He put in a word for your boy.”
“That’s good, Bernie.” I patted his chest with the back of my hand.
“I can’t believe after twenty years you still call me that stupid name,” he fussed.
I shot him a side eye. “And who gon’ check me?”
“Alright, don’t get fucked up,” he warned. His eyes bored into me. I suddenly felt shy under his gaze.
Bern joined me and Snow at the table. We enjoyed the food and conversed about a variety of things. He told us about the people he’d met on the inside and assured us he didn’t want to go back. I had full confidence that he was ready to make a positive change. Ms. Cynthia had warned him about getting involved with dealing drugs. But he was hard headed. He wanted quick money and that shit caught up with him. Thankfully for him, the day he got pulled over he didn’t have enough drugs on him to get serious time. But the five years he had to serve were long enough. But I didn’t judge him for any of it. I knew his heart. He was one of the kindest people I’d ever known. He just made a bad decision.
“There you go, babe. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
I exhaled slowly and forced a smile when Unique walked over and sat on Bern’s lap. She all but ignored me and Snow’s presence. It was no surprise. She and I only played nice for thesake of Bern. At barely five feet tall, Unique was very petite and slim. If someone didn’t know her personally, they would probably mistake her for a teenager. And it didn’t help that she acted like one. Very childish.
He sat back in his chair then folded his arms across his chest with his gaze still focused on me. “I’m just out here catching up with Icey.”
“Oh, hey Isley.” She turned her attention toward me, swinging her blonde, waist length braids. “Is your man here?”
“Nah, he wasn’t able to make it,” I answered. I didn’t bother mentioning the fact that he’d been texting me nonstop about the most random shit since I made it to Bern’s mom house. I didn’t bother replying. I didn’t come to the party to sit on my phone the whole time. If Marshall wanted to talk, he should’ve brought his ass with me.
