Page 55 of Awakening
JJ was already laughing, puffing on a mild cigar; he was a cigar lover, so a spot like Noire was right up his alley. Caleb was behind the bar making drinks as he chopped it up with Knox, and Ahmir sat beside me on the leather couch, legs stretched out, relaxed as we talked about medical shit, mainly what it would take to go from nurse to doctor.
“So let me get this straight,” JJ said, looking between me, Caleb, Ahmir, and Knox, “Y’all out here living in this poly dreamland with Dr. Thick and fine as fuck, a fine ass wine lady, a goddess of a woman who looks like she was carved from honey and thunder who can fly planes and beat a nigga up, and I’m still single?”
Knox snorted, “Sounds like jealousy.”
JJ pouted dramatically like a toddler. “Man, I been trying to find the woman of my dreams for years, you finally decide to swim in some pussy and you get blessed with the life I always dreamed of? You selfish,” he fussed, causing us all to crack up, Caleb almost spilling his drink laughing.
Right on cue, Dana appeared, jeans hugging her hips, skin glowing, a clipboard in one hand.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, smiling, “Just restocking the wine cellar.”
JJ looked up and blinked like he’d just seen a vision. “Hold up, hold up, hold up. Another fine Black woman? Where is this damn farm y’all keep harvesting from?”
Dana laughed, one hand on her hip, “You must be James Jr.”
“I must be blessed,” he replied, grinning.
Before she could respond, Knox stood and pulled her into his arms. He whispered something I couldn’t hear, but I saw the way her body leaned into him, the way his lips found the side of her neck. The chemistry between them was electric, made with old tension and uncharted desire that hadn’t gone anywhere.
“Dana,” I said, clearing my throat, “This is my little brother. JJ, meet the wine lady, Dana.”
“Pleasure is mine,” she said with a wink.
“Please be mine,” he muttered jokingly.
Dana chuckled, hugging everyone goodbye, even JJ, “I have to run, meeting Ajaih and Yanna for dinner with your mom at the hospital; she requested girl time.”
I nodded, a smile warming my face, “Thanks for going.”
“Of course. We love her already.”
She blew us a kiss and left, and James Jr. stared at the door for a long second.
“Bruh,” he whispered, “Y’all really livin’ different.”
I leaned back, exhaling a long breath. “It’s been a hell of a week. But today, I feel relieved. Real relief.”
Caleb sat down across from us, cigar between his fingers. “You needed that. Your dad’s gonna be okay.”
Nodding, “Yeah. But it’s still complicated as hell. We weren’t close. He wasn’t exactly kind. And my mom, shejust stood by.”
Caleb looked at me, eyes steady. “I know the feeling. My father was cruel, while my mom stayed quiet. For years, I couldn’t talk to either of them. Honestly, I never planned to again.”
“What changed?” I asked.
“She did,” he said simply.
“My mom did the work. Apologized, showed up, and proved she was different. And over time, I let her in again.”
I let that settle.
Caleb took a sip of his drink. “Redemption’s not in words, Mav. It’s in presence, in action. If you feel your mom and dad are trying? Really trying? You might wanna let them, and not for them, for you. Allow yourself to have a level of peace you’ve never known because you’ve carried the weight of the pain they caused you for so many years.”
I didn’t answer right away, but I knew he was right. Grace wasn’t forgetting; it was choosing to believe people could be better and letting them show you. Maybe it was time to see what my parents were willing to show me now.
After the scare we’d had with Maverick’s dad, it had totally slipped my mind that I would be receiving the results of the test to see if I was a bone marrow match for my baby sister. I was pacing the living room as I listened to the doctor on the other end of the line. My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
“Ms. Jeffries?”
