Page 55 of This Could Be Us
“Okay, I’ll do it,” I concede, and roll my eyes when they squeak in unison.
“I gotta give it to you, Sol,” Hendrix says. “Youstayhustling. These baskets today are just the latest example. Keep putting the work in, honey. It’ll pay off. We’re proud of you.”
“You guys.” I push out my bottom lip and fake-fan my eyes. “Don’t make me emotional. I’ve already almost cried once today.”
“Good cry?” Yasmen asks, pressing a spoon to her bottom lip.
I lean to the side and peer into the kitchen, making sure none ofthe kids are still in there eating. I’m pretty sure Lottie and Inez went upstairs.
“Lupe and Deja are gone. They went to see their friend Lindee,” Yasmen says. “Her mom’s cancer came back.”
“Jesus.” I close my eyes for a second. “You think you got it bad, and that gives you perspective fast. Do we know if anyone’s organized a meal train for them?”
“I’m not sure,” Yasmen says, a little dip between her brows. “We should.”
“I’ll check tomorrow and see what we can do.” I pull out my phone and make a note to remind myself.
“So about this cry you had,” Hendrix presses. “What was that all about?”
“I didn’t cry,” I correct. “Just almost. Inez was pressing my buttons. The usual teenage stuff. She hurt me, but it’s not important. I’m good. The really disturbing part was that she told me she wants to see Edward.”
“Oh, shit.” Hendrix pours another glass of wine. “Why?”
“Heisher father, Hen,” Yasmen says. “Are you gonna take her, Sol?”
“At some point, if Edward will see her, yeah. Of course, but he doesn’t want the girls coming there. I don’t either, but I think she has a lot of questions that maybe only Edward can answer.”
“Keeping her from doing it will only make her want it more,” Yasmen points out.
“God, how y’all do it, I don’t know.” Hendrix shakes her head.
“Do what?” I ask.
“Be moms,” Hendrix laughs. “That shit is not for me.”
“You really don’t want kids ever?” Yasmen asks.
“I would have kids, if my love language was drudgery,” Hendrix drawls. “They be doing too little and needing too much. I got clients. I don’t need kids too. Everyone’s not made like that, and there’s a lot of folks walking around here who should never have tried being parents. I’m not gonna be one of them.”
“There are plenty of times I’ve asked myself if I was cut out for it,” Ilaugh. “This afternoon, for example, the clash with Inez had me questioning. And then we had a close call with Judah Cross. If Inez knew it was him, it would only have made things worse.”
As soon as I say his name, I fix my eyes on my bowl of chili, feeling the weight of both their stares.
“Don’t even act like you can just leave it there,” Hendrix says. “You invoked the name of that fine-ass accountant. Tell it.”
I can’t stop the smile from spilling onto my face. “He was my last delivery.”
“Wait.” Yasmen sits up straighter. “He bought a basket?”
“He did.” I nod, biting my bottom lip. “He said he didn’t expect me to deliver it personally. We were both kind of shocked. I haven’t seen him since everything went down.”
“Why was it a close call?” Yasmen asks with a small frown.
“Because Inez was headed back from her last delivery and saw me on Judah’s porch with him. She blames him for Edward’s situation, which is ridiculous, but Edward always talked so badly about Judah in front of the kids. He was the one who discovered the theft, but Edward did it.”
“And you didn’t want her to see you making heart eyes at him?” Hendrix teases.
“I was not making heart eyes,” I say, feeling my cheeks heat.