Page 48 of All The Smoke
Normally I got mango because it smelled so good but after looking at the list, I settled on lavender. I needed something calming to release any pent-up stress I may have.
“Lavender please and can I do the hot stones and mud masque too?”
She winked. “I got you.”
“My mother too,” I whispered.
My mother was a true creature of habit. She got the same pedicure no matter where she went, the absolute basic one. She always said they didn’t have all the extras when she was younger and she didn’t need them then and she doesn’t now.
She gave me a slight nod before walking to the back, tapping the tech working on my mother on her way, having her follow her to the back. While I waited, I checked in with Solomon, letting him know I had eaten and was fine. He asked me a million times a day. It was cute yet overbearing.
When the girls resurfaced from the back with the towels, hot stones, and the contents for the mud masque, my mother’s eyes darted in my direction. I gave her a smile and wink before focusing on my own pedicure.
After we were done, we drove up to the mountains so I could go to The Deli. I had been craving their broccoli and cheddar soup badly. The bowls they sold in the store were cool, but I wanted it fresh and hot.
“Have you been enjoying your day of pampering, Mama?” I asked once we were settled at our table waiting for our food. They had a good strawberry lemonade, made in house, so I had two cups sitting in front of me, one with no ice.
“Very relaxing.” She smiled. “I needed today.”
“Well, I’m glad I contributed to that. You work too much, Mama. Especially since Daddy’s been gone.”
“I have to, apparently I’m going to a grandma soon.”
She’d completely caught me off guard with that. My intention was to tell her today since I was keeping the baby and clearly would need all of the support I could get. I didn’t think my granny would rat me out that quickly.
“Mama, I?—”
She cut me off. “It’s not Jamal’s, is it?”
“No.”
“Then I’m happy.” She smiled. “I mean I’m kind of young to be a grandma, but happy nonetheless.”
“You’re forty-five.” I chuckled.
“In my prime.”
“Girl.”
“You need to tell your father.”
“I know.” I sighed.
“When you visit him, Sunday, Kaori.”
“But…”
“Or I will,” she asserted. “I’ve been with your father for thirty years; I’ve never kept a secret from him. That’s not going to change today.”
“Okay,” I mumbled.
“And I want to meet the father.”
“Mama…”
“I’m going to give you a chance to introduce him to me, to us, the right way, but you only have a small window to make that happen.”
“Fine. Let me talk to him first then I’ll figure something out.”
