Page 95 of Search My Soul
“When? I don’t remember seeing any missed calls from you. Did I miss something?” Darion retrieved his phone to verify the call. Once he checked his notifications, his face softened.
“Dang, Mama. My bad. My phone was on DND, and I must have missed it.”
“It’s okay, baby. All I wanted to do was make sure you were going to be here. I wanted to get some pictures of you and all of your cousins together.” She beamed with pride as she looked at him. I used to envy the love between the two of them. It was clear his parents loved him unconditionally. Something I knew nothing about.
“I had to make sure because you went straight to her. How are you doing, Ma? You’ve got it smelling good in here.” Darion rubbed his hands together, and he wasn’t exaggerating. The aromas coming from the front door had me salivating the moment we stepped inside. I haven’t been a part of a family function of my own, so I loved accompanying my friends whenever they had got together with their families.
“Well come on and get you a plate. You know your uncle Matt is already on his second plate of the day. I already know his greedy behind is gonna tiptoe out of here with at least two plates when it’s time for everyone to go home.” She rolled her eyes, but it was obvious she enjoyed feeding her family.
“I’m with Unc on this one. I need at least two plates before I go home. You know I’ve been on a strict diet since the season started, so I’m overdue for some Southern cooking.”
“Oh, trust me, I know. I sent you out there with a little meat on your bones and now you’re over here looking like a young crackhead. I’m so glad you’re closer to home so I can fatten you up,” she teased.
“I’m not that bad, but I definitely could use a few extra pounds.” The two of them talked as she pulled the foil back from each pan and told us what it was. I did a little happy dance once I saw the cornbread dressing and candied yams. I could cook, but Mrs. Jordan was known for her food back in the day. I used to eat at her house all of the time and she always made sure to give me extra portions because she was aware of how strict my mother was about my weight.
“Tell me what you want,” Darion demanded, holding a paper plate in front of me.
“You don’t have to fix my plate for me. I’m pregnant, not handicap.”
“I ain’t ask you all of that. I’m gonna fix your plate so tell me what you want, or I’ll just give you a little of everything.”
“When did you become so bossy?” I asked with my lips poked out.
“Since I realized who I was dealing with. Most women would jump at the chance to have a man do things for them, but I practically have to beg you to let me do anything.”
I clutched my invisible pearls as he called me out. “Whoa, I don’t like this. I can’t help that I’m hyper-independent. Don’t judge me.”
“No judgment, but I hope to break you out of that shit. It’s okay to allow people to help you with things.” His words caused me to think about Soul because he used to get on me about the same thing. I would always try to handle things on my own, so I didn’t feel like a burden to anyone. It was a hard habit to break and now I wished I wouldn’t have allowed myself to become so dependent on him because it was even harder to transition back.
Rather than argue, I gave him the rundown of all the food I wanted. Since he was fixing the plates, I walked over to the cooler to grab us both a drink. I’ve been drinking water like it was about to run out of stock lately.
I was thirsty all the time since being pregnant. I made sure to always keep a water bottle by my bed.
Once our plates were made, I headed to the backyard. Darion mentioned he purchased his parents a home, but this was more than a house. I’ve seen some large houses, but this place was huge. The backyard was packed with people as well as a couple of bouncy houses for the kids to play on. There were tables on the right and all types of games and things on the left side. I noticed the cornhole set up and knew I was going to play after I ate.
“Have a seat, big mama.” I rolled my eyes because he and my girls had been calling me that nickname for the last month. When we sat at the table, Darion grabbed my hand for us before he started praying. My heart melted because he did this everytime we sat down to eat. I loved that he wasn’t ashamed to pray around me even if it was over something as simple as food.
“Mmm, this food is so good,” I moaned, scooping another helping of baked beans into my mouth. They were perfectly seasoned and had ground turkey in them. I don’t know why, but I preferred my beans with meat in them.
“Hell yeah. My momma knows she throw down in the kitchen. I might have to add an extra hour in the gym tomorrow, but this shit is worth it.” Darion and I ate while making small talk. It amazed me how comfortable I was around him. When we fell out in high school, I swore I would never speak to him again, but I was happy to have been wrong. He made me feel so comfortable, and we could sit and talk to each other for hours without missing a beat.
“What up, cuzzo?” A handsome dark-skinned man greeted Darion as he took a seat at the table. He was a muscular giant with long locs down his shoulders. His arms were littered with tattoos, and I found myself staring longer than I should have.
“How are you doing, pretty lady? I’m Wale.” He held his hand out for me to shake.
“I’m Neeya. It’s nice to meet you.”
“All right, cuzzo. Don’t get your ass beat being too friendly,” Darion warned. I snickered at his jealousy. This was the first time I had ever seen him react this way.
“Oh, my bad, cuz. I didn’t realize she was yours.”
“She isn’t mine, but she damn sure ain’t yours.” The two of them exchanged a look, and Wale raised his hands in mock surrender.
“How long have you been here? When I called a while ago, Auntie said you hadn’t made it here yet,” Wale asked. I tried not to listen to their conversation, but it was kind of hard not to.
“She had me running errands for her early this morning, then I had some business I needed to take care of. What’s beenup with you? I called you a few weeks ago and you didn’t answer. Don’t tell me you’re screening my calls or something.”
“Never that. I’ve been in the studio almost every day for the last month. We’re trying to finish up this album because we’re going back on tour. The only reason I’m in town is because my momma is having surgery in a few days, and I wanted to be here for it.” My ears perked because I knew he seemed familiar. Puma loved his music and introduced me to his music a couple of years ago. She showed me a picture of him, but I hadn’t put two and two together until now.
