Page 111 of Crash: Love in Scrubs
He came around and kissed me on the cheek before sitting down at the counter.
“Mhhm, y’all better not be talking or doing anything nasty.”
“Ma, I’m straight. Come on.”
“I know that and that’s what I meant.” I shook my head at him.
“Alright,” Malik said, putting Samaj in a headlock. “You good kid? Car riding good?”
“It’s perfect, I’m getting all the eyes. It’s a chick magnet.”
I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat.
“We’ll talk later. Me and you moms gotta holla at you about a few things.”
“Like that ring on her finger?” I covered my mouth, and that made it worse. “Damn, you put a mortgage on ma’s finger.”
“Watch your mouth,” I warned. “But yes, we got engaged last night, and we need to transition here to live. I know this is a lot all at once…”
“Ma, it’s fine, I already know which two rooms I want.”
“My man,” Malik said, “But there’s something else.”
He looked at me and allowed him to continue. “Remember we talked about your pops…”
“Ashe,” he corrected.
“Ashe,” Malik said tossing his hands up. “Ashe was attacked again, and this time he didn’t make it.”
I expected him to show some level of emotion, but he sat back in the chair and looked between us before shrugging.
“We live to die, right?” Samaj said with a shrug that broke my heart a little. Not because he didn’t care, but because I could see him trying to process everything at once.
The silence stretched between us for a moment. I wanted to say something, anything, to fill the space, but Malik squeezed my hand, reminding me to let Samaj work through his feelings.
“You okay?” I finally asked, studying my son’s face for any sign of what he was really thinking.
“Honestly? Yeah, I am.” He picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. “I know that probably sounds messed up, but after everything we found out about him...I kinda already mourned whatever relationship we might’ve had.”
Malik nodded. “That’s normal, son. You don’t have to feel guilty about not being torn up over someone who was never really in your life.”
“Exactly. And Ma, you don’t gotta worry about me being all emotional about it either. That man made his choices.” Samaj looked between us. “Y’all are my family. This…” he gestured around the kitchen, “…this is what matters.”
I felt tears prick my eyes. “You sure you’re okay with all of this? The engagement, moving in here, everything changing so fast?”
“Ma, are you kidding me? I been waiting for y’all to get married since Alabama. And this house is way better than ours, no offense. Plus, I get my own bathroom.” He grinned. “And I’m gonna be a big brother. That’s pretty cool.”
“Summer or Blaze,” Malik said with a smile.
“Ooh, I like those names. Very unique.” Samaj reached for more eggs. “When’s the wedding? Because I need time to get my suit game together and maybe a date. The car got the girlies going wild, son.”
I laughed, the tension finally leaving my shoulders. “We haven’t even talked about that yet.”
“Well, whatever you decide, I’m happy for y’all. Really.” He looked directly at Malik. “Thank you for taking care of my mom. And for taking care of me too, even when you ain’t have to.”
“You family, Maj. That’s what family does. I’ve been calling you my son from day one. And we finna turn it up on ‘em. I’m at all the games, school functions, and more.”
“Preciate that. Ma, I gotta tell you something too.”
