Page 79 of The Phyre that Burns
“Yeah, and when we see each other, few words are exchanged, if any.”
We headed in the direction my mother pointed, in search of the gift table. On the way, we ran into Lennon and his mistress, Calinda.
“Wassup, bruh? How you doing, Ginae? This is my lady, Calinda,” Lennon greeted.
“I’m doing okay. It’s nice to meet you, Calinda.”
“You too. I love your dress. Who’s the designer?”
“Thank you. Umm, I honestly have no idea. I’m not into designers and brands, but I got it from a boutique downtown.”
“Oh, okay. Well, it’s still cute. Baby, let’s go find our table.”
“I’ll catch up with you on Monday,” Lennon said as Calinda dragged him away.
“I like Sybil much better. Calinda seems like a bougie bitch,” Ginae said.
I chuckled. “She’s a handful, that’s for sure. Nothing like Sybil.”
We found the gift table and placed our gift bag with the others. While on the hunt for table one, I saw Kevin carrying two drinks and assumed we were going to the same place, so we followed him. When we arrived, Phoenix was talking to our father, probably about work, based on how animated she was.
My father spotted us first, and I could see his body tense as he avoided making eye contact with me. I was used to us ignoring each other because it had been that way for so long. Phoenix stood when she saw us, and I couldn’t get over how big her stomach had gotten. I’d seen her regularly during her pregnancy because I was her doctor, but I still couldn’t get over the fact that my baby sister was carrying a child.
“Hey, Phy. Hey, Ginae,” Phoenix greeted.
“Hey, Phoenix. You look gorgeous,” Gina complimented as they embraced.
“Thank you, and so do you.”
“I just saw you last week, and it looks like your stomach has doubled in size.”
“You play all day. Aren’t you an obstetrician? You should know very well how this works,” she teased.
“I do, but not with my little sister. Wassup, Kevin?”
“Not too much. Hoping tonight goes better than the last time we were together.”
“As long as you know who isn’t at this table, we should be good,” Ginae said. “How are you, by the way?”
“Couldn’t be better,” he responded.
Now that the pleasantries were done, it became a bit awkward. Ginae squeezed my arm, and when I looked at her, she nodded toward my father. I hesitated briefly before speaking.
“Wassup, Pops. It’s been a minute.”
“It has. Who’s your friend?”
“This is my future wife, Ginae. Baby, this is my father, Bradley Jordan.”
Ginae smiled and offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Jordan.”
His looked her over, and I swore, if he didn’t greet her properly, therapy would be very interesting this week.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” he finally responded, shaking her hand. “Dinner will be served soon. Have a seat.”
To say I was shocked was an understatement. Ginae took the seat next to Phoenix, and they immediately struck up a conversation, speaking too low for me to catch what was being said. I remained standing, as did Kevin, and my father joined us.
“How’s work?” my father asked.
