Page 20 of Best In Class
“Dom, you’re older, you have to be the bigger person,” Mama orders.
“He’s only older by like a year,” Luna grumbles.
I break a piece of cornbread, dip it into the okra gumbo, and savor the flavors of home—it’s the food, it’s Mama, and it’s Luna. If Lev were here, the family would be complete.
“A year older is a year older. You should show your elders some respect.” This banter is deliciously familiar, comforting.
Luna narrows her eyes, but again, there is a softness to it, to her. We’re both role-playing, Luna and Dom, the teenagers who fought as hard as they loved.
“See, Miss Abigail,” she accuses. “He’s like this at work, too.”
“Mama, she’s being?—"
Mama arches an eyebrow at me. “Still talking too much and not listening enough. Be quiet!”
I grin. “Yes, Mama.”
“So, how does he behave, Luna?” Mama wants to know.
Luna doesn’t disappoint. She embellishes and teases, and puts a spell on me as I sit there, in awe, absolutely in love.
After dinner, Luna helps Mama clear the dishes even though she doesn’t have to.
I watch them move around the kitchen like a well-choreographed dance—no tension, no resistance, just love in every small motion.
Mama and Luna laugh about something.
The sound is warm and full.
My chest tightens.
Mama leaves us with a slice of pecan pie each and a cup of coffee, her quiet way of blessing the evening before she heads to her cottage. “You two enjoy,” she says, patting my shoulder. “Let me get on now.”
I offer to walk her, but she waves me off with a soft smile. It’s only a few steps, and through the wide-open windows of the kitchen, I can see her the whole way.
Luna watches her go, then tucks a stray curl behind her ear and turns to me. The glow from Mama’s porch lights flickers on, and she turns to me.
“She won’t let me spoil her,” she says softly. “But I make sure she has help, a lot of it. We have a housekeeper now. At least Miss Abigail has given up the cleaning. Thank God. But insists that shemustcook for me. It’s just me…so….”
Her tone isn’t boastful, it’s matter-of-fact, like this is the bare minimum for someone who deserves the world.
I swallow hard, my voice low. “You take good care of her.”
Luna meets my gaze. “She’s family, Dom.”
And me? Am I family too, Luna?
There’s a beat of silence. It stretches between us, taut and electric.
“You’re our family, too,” I whisper. “My family.”
She blinks and then smiles—it’s a warm smile, one she saves for when she’s not being the badass who can win the world, this one is for me, for us.
I want to kiss her. I want to hold her. I want to….
The music changes to the crackling guitar intro ofLet’s Stay Togetherby Al Green.
It’s like the universe is telling us something because this isour song.
