Page 24 of A Boy is a Gun: Part I
“Well, you look much better now.” He rubs a thumb over the back of my palm.
“Yeah, it was a busy day.” That was half the story. The other half – learning about Jamie and meeting privately with Ethan –did me in.
“I was hoping we could eat outside under the gazebo if you like?” He asks. “Get you some fresh air and rest. I’m sure you’re too tired to go out for dinner.”
“You’re right.” I yawn again. “I didn’t think I was that tired, but I guess I was.”
“It was your first day back, so you have to get used to everything, but we’ll manage.” Cameron smiles at me. “How much time do I need to give you to get ready?”
“About thirty. And then I’ll be ready.” I hoped to bring up going into business with Jamie under more favorable circumstances, but I don’t think that’s going to happen with everything now. The sooner I tell Cameron, the better. I hope he won’t betooangry with me. “I need to talk to you.”
“Yeah, same,” Cameron replies with a somber tone. “I’ll see you in a few.”
~~~~~~
We walk out to the gazebo, which is located in a little nook in the vast front yard. Two security guards are behind us, with two already stationed at the pavilion. Once we’re seated, our dinner is presented to us like we’re at a Michelin restaurant.
Tonight’s dinner is Kobe beef cheeseburgers with sweet potato fries and strawberry lemonade. Cameron’s chef, Ayesha, knows how to throw down in the kitchen. According to Tesh, she also knows how to throw a knife, so I must stay on her good side.
After our little conversation about our days and Cameron’s business trip, we get down to the nitty-gritty of it. I’m trying not to be nervous like a mega pastor in an IRS audit, but I can’t help it. Will Cameron tell me not to do business with Jamie? Will Cameron officially putmeon his shit list?
Find out on yetanotherepisode ofFMLstarring Taylor Gray.
“Angel…” Cameron circles his wine glass. “…what’s going on? Your energy has been off all night. I know it’s not just Mia.”
I wish Mia were the only stressor I had. I can’t believe I envy single mothers right now. I swallow my pride and hope Cameron doesn’t decide to empty a clip in me. “I’m doing business with your sister. She’s the silent partner in the hip-hop ghost kitchen Hayley and I are doing.”
Cameron slowly nods and circles his glass. “She’s a great cook.”
“She is,” I’m trying to read Cameron, and I don’t know if he’s in shock or doesn’t care. “And she’s helped me with a lot of brilliant ideas. Like the Notorious B.L.T. Eggs over Eazy-E for breakfast. Wu-Tang Clams in C.R.E.A.M. sauce. Lil’ Wayngz, in 500 degrees hot sauce. Kodak Blackened Salmon. Tina Snow crab boil. Too Short ribs. L.L. Kool-Aid with Ice Cubes. For dessert, we’re going to offer Chris Brownies.” I feel like I’m talking a mile a minute, and Cam is just looking at me like I’m an idiot, and honestly, I can’t blame him.
My mouth is cottony, and it just feels like the more I keep talking, the stupider I look. “I mean, she has a lot of great ideas, and Hayley and I have been working on the menu with her. But I didn’t know….” I take another deep breath and blow it out. “…I didn’t know she was opps.”
Cameron is silent for a long while before he says anything. He’s so quiet, and I’m unsure if he noticed a word I said. My stomach is twisted in all sorts of knots, and I feel like the food I just ate is about to return.
Just when I was about to repeat myself, he finally spoke. “I don’t know what Jamie is.” His voice is quiet and thoughtful.
Cameron’s demeanor isn’t angry. It’s sad. He truly feels betrayed by his sister. “But you knew she and Ethan were dating?”
“I knew something, but I needed confirmation. I talked to Dad about it, and he said Jamie didn’t want him to say anything until she had a chance to tell me herself.” He shrugged. “So, there’s that.”
Cameron was loud and clear if I needed reassurance on the family dynamic. He was in charge of the family on paper and authority. “I guess I don’t need to ask you how it went?”
“It went as about well as you expect,” Cameron alluded. “I would be lying if I said it was a happy conversation.”
“Wow. Okay.” I don’t know what to say if I can say anything.
“I don’t want you to worry about what’s happening with Jamie and me. You two are about to go into business together, and I think you should. Trademark everything so she can’t stake any claim to anything, regardless if what she came up with. You can’t trademark ideas.”
It’s a piece of advice I didn’t think about, and I’m grateful. “Will do.”
“Good.” Our dessert comes, and it looks heavenly. There are many different pastries on a tray, and Ayesha explains each one – Jamaica rum cake with Chantilly cream, a shortbread tart with cream and fresh fruit, crunchy cannoli with ricotta, and cream puffs with choices of chocolate, hazelnut, or vanilla cream. She leaves a short time later, and I watch her walk away.
Ayesha is a light-skinned older Black woman who always wears pearls, no matter the occasion. She reminds me a lot of my Granny, except Ayesha would always carry a Glock with her no matter the occasion.
Ayesha and Tesh have a certain – how can I say it? –je ne sais quoiabout them. They’re both Southern Black women with an air of grace and sass, yet they’re fiercely protective of Cameron. They’re very similar to Heather but also strikingly opposite to her.
Cameron pulls his chair over to me and has me sit on his lap, facing him as he feeds me. I feel every inch of him pressing against me, but he’s not aroused yet. We’re so intimate, and shame on me for wearing yoga pants instead of a skirt.
