Page 84 of Defending the Post
I stood and slapped hands with my brother.
“Malcolm, you have to respect his position when it comes to Toni. Marquise, you need to talk to Niecy. She is operating in the dark and it’s not okay,” Pops said.
We piled into the house to find Erin and Jhae sitting on the couch. I hated to see how Jhae became a shell of herself when she was around Mom. She would have roamed through the house or laughing with Mom, now she’s walking on eggshells.
Malcolm and I sat next to Ivey’s date, glaring down at his ass while Pops sat across the room.
“She is ready,” Mom said, and Ivey emerged in a form-fitting black dress with a sweetheart neckline and diamond earrings.
Herman smiled as he stood from his seat. “Ivey, you are beautiful,” he said, holding a corsage made with a white rose.
“Change!” the men said in unison.
“Mom, you can’t let Ivey wear this. It’s too tight,” I said.
“I’m going to the prom,” Malcolm followed.
“This is not what we agreed to, Niecy,” Pops said as he focused on my mother.
Mom rolled her eyes, waving him away with her hand. The room remained quiet, and I could sense a gender divide. The women nodded their heads in approval while we were outraged.
“Malcolm, thank you for buying my dress. The money from the bet was plenty. I told you Marquise was going to crash out and fold first,” Ivey said, and Erin gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth.
“Shit,” Malcolm said and Jhae tapped his arm with narrowed eyes.
“Backfired, huh,” Ivey announced before she slapped hands with Mom.
I don’t know where the time went with Ivey. We transitioned from headlocks to following her to the prom last year, graduation, and now she’s turning into a young woman. Herman hurried to put the white rose corsage on Ivey’s wrist as we stood from our seats.
“Baby sis, make this your last prom. You are in college. Mom needs to have a conversation with you and Erin,” I said.
Every woman in the room shifted their head in my direction.
“Why do I need to talk to her?” Erin asked after tapping my arm.
I studied her crinkled nose and the dip in the middle of her forehead. “Baby, you gon get a yeast infection. I keep telling y’all about these tight clothes. Mom can educate you about women’s health,” I said.
“Marquise!” Mom and Jhae yelled.
Erin hit me twice with mom’s brown throw pillow as I shielded my face with my hand. The room broke out into giggles at her actions. Ivey twirled in her dress once more and gave me a mocking smile. The men in the room stood with scowls.
“Aww...Mom, don’t they remind you of a rap trio,” Ivey said. Jhae and Erin chuckled.
Mom ushered Ivey to the door and snapped pictures as if this was her first prom. Last year, she had a photographer and full production with balloons and an event planner. She forced Pops to smile as he scoffed at her suggested poses. Herman’s smile lightened after he saw the scowl on our faces. We piled behind them as we walked down the driveway. Mom continued to take more pictures as if this was a runway show.
“Curfew is nine, Ivey,” Malcolm announced, and Ivey’s brows bunched as she side-eyed him.
“Malcolm, I’m an adult now, a whole college student,” she said in a mocking tone, and he jerked his head backward.
“Chill out, you are barely eighteen. Taking collegeclassesdon’t mean you’re grown,” Malcolm said as Ivey hugged his waist.
“One is a reasonable time. We trust you, Ivey,” Mom said as she glared at Pops.
The sight of Mr. Jefferies’ hiked nostrils was a clear sign he was forced to accept the curfew.
“That’s not gonna work. Ten is the latest,” I said what Pops couldn’t say.
Mom turned to me and sucked her teeth. “You didn’t come home on your prom night with a two-a.m. curfew,” she said.
