Page 167 of New Growth
Rio cut him off with a smile. “I’m Rio. I’m sure you heard about me.”
El exhaled in defeat beside me, clearly accepting that Rio was taking over the introductions.
“That’s Genesis, and we call him Gen. That little stick figure is his son Bernard, but we call him Bones. Next to him, on that damn phone I’m about to throw in the creek, is our youngest, Keemy. And at the end, there is Bourbon.”
I glanced around the table as they all gave me friendly, amused smiles.
“You can just call me Ellie, or E, so it doesn’t get confusing.” I smiled back.
Rio beamed. “Well, Ellie, I’m glad you came. I’m tired of being the only woman around here.”
“I told you, let me give you a daughter.” Bourbon smirked.
Keemy gagged. “Ew.”
“Exactly. You’re about to be sixty-five. Please be serious.” Gen scoffed.
Bourbon took a sip of his beer, unfazed. “I still have all the necessary parts.”
Then he winked at Rio.
Keemy groaned. “Yuck.”
Genesis shook his head and covered Bones’ ears like this was a regular occurrence.
I glanced at El to see if he was hearing this, but his eyes were closed, his face completely at rest—like this kind of conversation wasn’t even worth reacting to. I, on the other hand, was still processing.
Rio sighed dramatically. “Well, I’m fifty-one, and I don’t, so all I got is y’all and pretty little Ellie.”
She smiled at me, revealing a gold-capped tooth.
The woman was gorgeous. She didn’t look fifty at all. It seemed to be a pattern in El’s family—aging just didn’t hit them the same.But… fifty-one and sixty-five?Their age gap was bigger than mine and El’s.
She reached out and gently smoothed down a few of my flyaways, a simple, almost maternal gesture. It was more nurturing than anything my mother had ever done.
Genesis suddenly narrowed his eyes. “Yeah…littlefor sure. How old are you, anyway?”
El stiffened beside me, one eye opening slightly. “Why does that matter?”
Genesis grinned like he already knew. “She young, ain’t she?”
I shifted in my seat, unsure if I should answer. I glanced at El, but his focus stayed locked on his brother.
Finally, he spoke. “She’s twenty-seven.”
Bourbon let out a chuckle and took another sip of his beer while Genesis just shook his head, smiling. “You two are so much alike.”
El said nothing, just leaned back into his chair and closed his eye again.
Genesis wasn’t done, though. “How’d you two meet, anyway?”
I glanced back at El, waiting to see if he’d answer. Nothing. So, I went with our usual story.
“We met at a coffee shop. They mixed up our orders.”
El let out a soft scoff beside me, amused that I was still sticking to this twisted little narrative.
Rio grinned. “I bet that happens a lot.”
