Page 11 of The Prodigy

Later for that.

“Yo, E, watch her for me. Make sure she don’t leave out this door,” I told my brother.

I could have sworn I heard Malika suck her teeth. I turned to look over my shoulder, just to make sure, but she was back to staring at the floor again.

I must have imagined it.

It took me a good five minutes to reach the kitchen, because I had to walk through the living room first. That meant speaking to family, some of which I hadn’t seen since I left Midling.

There was Virgil, my cousin on my mama’s side; Melvin, my daddy’s brother, but we called him Prez; Randall and Ced, my cousins and Prez’s sons; and last but definitely not least, my older brother, Naymar.

It was cool to see everybody, but with each hug or dap I gave, there was the deflating understanding of the fact that I was responsible for all these motherfuckers now.

My daddy had left big shoes to fill.

Finally, I found myself in the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, Jaz, my Grandma Noni, and my mama were cooking. Actually, Jaz wasn’t cooking. She didn’t know how, so she was probably in there nibbling and getting on everybody’s nerves.

Noni saw me first, and when she did, she burst into quiet tears. It had been almost four years since she’d seen me in person. I’ll admit, I got a little emotional myself. She looked, smelled, and felt the same as she had years ago. The only difference was her energy. Her son was dead, and she was grieving.

My mother was next. She stood stoic at the sink, her back to me. She was crying, and I knew she wouldn’t turn around until she was done. Gabrielle Windermere hated to show weakness. She hated being soft with anybody but my daddy. And now, he was gone, and I knew that at some point, maybe soon, the woman was gonna turn to stone.

I walked up on her and wrapped my arms around her, nestling my chin in the crook of her neck. “I’m sorry, Mama,” I whispered, and I felt her relax. Just a little.

She patted my hand once, Gab-speak for, “Enough of that bullshit.” So I made my retreat and walked over to Jaz to bop her on the back of the head. That was our love language.

“Jaz, lemme holler at you real quick.”

“Wait,” Noni said. “Let me make you a plate.”

“I can’t right now, Noni. But if you don’t mind, can you make two and cover em up?”

“Two?” Mama’s eyebrows went up.

“Yeah. Long story.” I nudged Jaz with my elbow. “Let’s go.”

Together, we walked into the empty dining room. Various tasty-looking foods covered the table. I guess the word was out and folks had already started dropping shit off. I sat in front of a pound cake and cut a small piece.

Jaz sat next to me. “The prodigy son is back. Big whoop.”

“Prodigy son? The fuck is th—oh. You meanprodigal.”

She shrugged.

I swear, Jaz never seemed to feel any type of way about being the kind of person people joked were dropped on their heads as babies. She moved through life like a cartoon character, saying dumb shit,doingdumb shit, and we were her captive audience, tuning in to see what shenanigans she would get up to this week. Her happiness in life was inexplicable given what she was working with, intelligence-wise, and she seemed oblivious to everything around her.

I couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. Cuz one thing about my sister—she ain’t never been stressed out.

I swallowed a bite of pound cake. “Alright, I need you to listen to what I’m about to tell you,” I warned.

“But—”

“Jaz. Listen. Don’t say shit. Justlisten.”

She pressed her lips together.

“I need you to do something for me.”

After our talk, I led Jaz into the family room. Malika was in the exact same spot I left her in, with Eris watching her close.

“Alright, Malika, this my sister, Jaz. Jaz, that’s Malika.”

I passed my Noni’s plate to Malika. “That’s for if you get hungry. Jaz is gonna take you to get your bag and some clothes, then you’re coming back here.”

I guess she was feeling a little braver in a house full of other people, because she finally spoke up.

“What’s going on? What’s the plan? Please, just tell me. I’m gonna have a panic attack.”

“Calm down,” I snapped. “I’m not gonna hurt you. The plan is some bullshit, but it’s the best option this point.” I pulled out my keys and turned toward the front door. “Tomorrow, as soon as the courthouse opens up, me and you are getting married.”

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