Page 42 of Rounds
“You make me sick, nigga. I hate your dog, nigga.”
Chanté Moore wrote the words perfectly to that damn song. Whenever I saw him, that shit was on repeat in my head. To my surprise he kept walking. Glover smirked at me as my lips parted. “I guess he took that threat seriously,” I said to Glover.
“As he should, because that shit was a promise. I will fuck him up, career be damned, when it comes to you.”
“I wouldn’t allow that. Practicing medicine and taking care of people are both your passions, not to mention the two people in this world you love.”
“You think you know me.”
I giggled as he put his arm around me. We walked to the register and paid for the wine, then made our way to his SUV. I knew Jaunté was a punk ass nigga. He gave me a tough time but didn’t have shit to say to Glover.Bitch ass.He made my ass itch. However, I had to be grateful for even his fuck ups. Had he not messed up, I wouldn’t have given Glover the time of day, missing out on the man God intended for me to be with.
Once we were inside and heading to my mom’s house, I retreated to my thoughts. Glover slid his hand over to mine and gave it a slight squeeze. “Everything will be fine, baby. If it doesn’t go well, Dad will be looking forward to cheering you up afterward.”
I gave him a slight smile. He was right. It would be fine. I was getting myself all worked up over nothing. Within fifteen minutes, we were pulling into my mom’s driveway, I took a deep breath, and said, “You’re right, baby. Everything will be fine.”
He smiled at me and got out to help me out. When he opened the door and I slid out, I kissed his lips. I swore, I couldn’t leave the vehicle without kissing him. We were attached at the hip it seemed. We had to touch each other in some way whenever we were together. It was rare I even showered alone these days. We were both extremely clingy, and I knew that was because wewere still so new. Once the newness wore off a bit, that would probably change.
When I mentioned that to Glover, he’d said,“And why would we let the newness and excitement wear off?”
I giggled at his statement, because right after, he tickled me to death, then brought me back from the dead with some tender loving. I couldn’t get over how perfect we were for each other. My co-workers were in shock whenever they saw us together. Still . . . No one said a word to us about our relationship. Everyone minded the business that paid them. Tremeka was geeked that we were in love already. She was still the only person I talked my personal business to. I was grateful that she was loyal to me as a friend.
When I rang the doorbell, I was expecting my mama to answer the door. When she didn’t and I saw my sister instead, my mouth fell open. “LeeLee!” I yelled.
She smiled so big, and we hugged tightly. It had been at least four years since I’d seen her. “Hey, Laney! How are you?”
“I’m good. Wow! What a surprise. How are you?” I asked as she stepped aside to let us walk inside.
“I’m good. I’m thinking about moving back. I find as I get older, the more I hate being alone.”
“I get it totally. This is my boyfriend, Glover Israel. Glover, this is my sister, LeAndria.”
They shook hands and greeted one another, then we headed to the front room to find my parents. When they saw us round the corner, they stood and greeted Glover and me. Right after, we headed to the dining room. I was so damn nervous now, even more than before. I didn’t know how I would bring this up.
“Mama, what’s on the menu?” I asked, breaking the silence like last time.
“I only did spaghetti and meatballs this time. I didn’t realize how tired I was. My week was busy.”
I nodded as she smiled. Dad extended his hand to her and LeAndria, so we all joined hands. He blessed the food, then he and Mom went to the kitchen to get the dishes. LeAndria turned to me. “How long have y’all been together? You’re glowing, girl!”
I giggled. “We’ve only been a couple for like a month, but things moved extremely fast. It was like we were made for each other.”
“That’s beautiful, sis.”
“Thank you,” I said as Glover grabbed my hand and kissed it.
My parents came back with the food and set it in the middle of the table. She’d taken the leaves out to make the table shorter. There were two extensions that she could put in it that made room for four more people, which was why there was room for their significant others and Charleigh and her boyfriend with a chair to spare.
We began loading our plates with spaghetti, cornbread, and salad. Once we were done and had begun eating, my mama said, “So, Charleigh came clean after y’all left.”
My eyebrows lifted as my sister frowned in confusion.
“Yeah, that was after your mom came in here and told her that if she was lying, she was going to stomp a hole in her ass.” My dad chuckled, then continued. “Your happiness means everything to us. That woman was trying to fuck with y’all because ofherunhappiness. Denver was pissed. He’s been trying to come over just to apologize to the two of you.”
My eyebrows were still lifted. I couldn’t believe my mama was about to fuck somebody up on my account. “Wow. Umm . . . I guess this is the perfect segway for what I wanted to talk to y’all about.”
I glanced at Glover, and he grabbed my hand, supporting me through this moment. “I was pissed at that woman for trying to make Glover sound like a womanizer. Thank you for standing up for me. That was only part of the reason we left. I becameoverwhelmed emotionally. Truth is, I’m not used to receiving that type of care from the two of you. Affection was practically non-existent in our household. We were groomed to fight for what we wanted and not let our emotions lead the way. I took those lessons over the top.”
I rubbed Glover’s hand as I struggled to continue. I could feel the lump in my throat. As I was about to say more, my mom said, “I know, baby. I’m so sorry for how I raised y’all. I’m trying to be better, and it took you by surprise. I get it. I missed out on so much by being emotionally unavailable to both of you. Now that the two of you are grown women, I feel like we should be besties. We can’t be that if I continue this emotionless business relationship we have. I say business, because that’s what it feels like.”
