Page 43 of Loving a Libra
“It smells great in here. Please tell me you made enough to share,” I pleaded.
“I always make too much. Tonight I made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cornbread.”
“You got my stomach growling now. Where’s Mr. Vince?”
“He should be pulling up shortly. Y’all come on in the living room while we wait for him.”
We followed Mama Kia to the living room. She sat in the sofa chair while Tariq and I sat on the couch.
“So, how are things going?”
“I’m all moved into the house and will start work at a different hospital next week. Maurice still has no idea where I am.”
“Really? How’d you pull that off?”
“I moved out while he and Tariq were in D.C.”
“And you changed jobs, so he has no idea where to find you. Excuse my French, but that’s some slick shit right there.”
“I thought so too. I’m a Libra, and I might give you a lot of chances, but when I’m done, I’m done. My karma will be felt for years to come.”
“I know that’s right,” Mama Kia said, clapping her hands.
“Why are you parked in the driveway?” Mr. Vince said before he entered the living room.
“My bad, Pops. I thought you were home. Give me your keys. I’ll go move both cars,” Tariq offered.
Mr. Vince and Tariq exchanged a hug before he gave Tariq his keys, and he disappeared around the corner. I stood to greet him as he approached me.
“I wasn’t expecting company, but this is a nice surprise,” he said as we embraced.
“We were in the neighborhood.”
I repeated the same lie Tariq had told but couldn’t wait until we told them the real reason for our visit.
“Devyn was just sharing how she ended things with Maurice. Tell him, girl.”
I shared the same thing with Mr. Vince as I had with his wife. He had to sit in his recliner to steady himself from laughing.
“I sure hope Tariq stays on your good side. That’s cold-blooded. You must be a Libra,” he surmised.
“I sure am. How’d you guess?”
“Because in my experience, Libra women are some calculated people when you do them wrong.”
“And what experience is that?” Mama Kia questioned.
“Uh-oh! You got me in trouble. What’s for dinner?”
He stood and fast-walked to the kitchen with his wife behind him, just as Tariq reentered.
“What’s up with those two?”
“I think your dad may have dated a Libra or two back in the day. He mentioned how calculated we were, and your mother wants to find out how he knows.”
“Oh. She’s always pretending to be mad at him about something. Let’s go eat so we can tell them the news.”
We headed to the kitchen and washed our hands at the sink. Mama Kia and Mr. Vince had already made up, and she was fixing his plate. As I was about to do the same for Tariq, he told me to sit down.
