Page 27 of Heart of a Savage
“Don’t be. I just wanted him to myself for a while.” She smiled at me as I shook my head. “Can I get a smile, a congratulations… something?”
“Congratulations, Paige. I’m happy for you.”
“Bitch, no you ain’t.”
We both laughed.
“No, for real, P. I am happy for you. You deserve happiness and to have your own family. There is nothing I wouldn’t want more for you. I need to meet this nigga, though.”
“You will. He heads back to S.C. tonight, so I invited him to the Mother’s Day brunch to meet you and Mama ’Brina.”
“Wait. How does that work? Is he moving back here once y’all are married?”
Ignoring my question, she said, “Come on. We gotta get to this brunch. We’ll talk more later.” She stood and headed out of my shed.
I shook my head and stood, too, heading out behind her. I had to shake myself from this funk I was in, or it wouldn’t be good for anyone around me today.
We pulled up to my mother’s home thirty minutes later. The banner, the flowers, the balloons, and the balloon arch were over-the-top, but I expected nothing less from Sabrina Logan.
A few cars lined the curb, indicating she had invited some guests. I mentally prepared myself to deal with the extra personalities because I wanted and needed my mother happy today. We got out and grabbed her gifts from the back seat, then made our way through the gates to the backyard. There were tables set with floral centerpieces, nameplates, and fine China. There was a chef on the grill and a DJ playing her favorite Sade song, “Sweetest Taboo.”
Looking around, I noticed my Aunt Eva, my cousin Lena, my mom’s best friend, Shantè, and her two daughters, Olivia andRaquel. A few of my mother’s old colleagues from the hospital were also in attendance with their daughters.
“My babies are finally here,” my mom said, coming from around the table. She looked radiant in her floral sundress, with her hair pulled away from her face. My mom was a baddie indeed. I had no clue why my father would want to give her up.
“Hey, Mama ’Brina. Happy Mother’s Day,” Paige said, handing her a gift and hugging her.
“Aww, thank you, my precious baby.”
“Happy Mother’s Day, beautiful.” I kissed her cheek and handed over the bag and flowers in my hand.
“Thank you, my sweet angel.” She kissed my cheek.
“Sweet? Angel? Mama ’Brina, I hate to break it to you, but ain’t nothing sweet or angelic about this child,” Paige countered while laughing.
“Well, she’s sweet to me.”
“Let her know, Mommy.”
“Come on, we were just about to start the games,” she stated while nodding toward the tables that were filling up with guests.
“Games?” I asked.
“Yes. You thought we were just going to sit here and look at each other all day?”
“I mean... yeah,” I replied, making Paige snicker.
Moms laughed and shook her head, motioning for us to follow her. Paige and I went around the tables to greet everyone. I kissed my Aunt Eva on the cheek and hugged Lena before taking a seat next to my mother.
After about twenty minutes, I started to loosen up and enjoy myself. I didn’t want to bring my sour mood to my mother on a special day like this, so I sucked it up and played the games she had planned.
While we finished playing “How Well Do You Know Your Mother,” my mom paused, eyes going to the entrance of the gate.
“Who is that?” she asked over the microphone.
Our eyes went to the gate, seeing a tall, sexy, chocolate-ass nigga standing there with flowers and bags in his hand.
Paige stood with a smile. “That’s my date. Excuse me.”
