Elijah

S o… we pulled a fast one on Winifred.

Roni, Kenni, and Jaeden had been conspiring on this birthday surprise pop up for a while and looped me into the plans once I’d been invited along for the trip. We began the day at a nice lil brunch spot, then headed on a tour of local wineries in the area. The ladies were ultra lit, enjoying themselves to the highest extent. I loved watching Winifred like this, her guard completely down as she tossed back samples of wine with her girls and future daughter-in-law and chatted about a sundry of subjects from the wine they were imbibing to the reality shows with which they were all obsessed.

While they were occupied, I fell into conversation with Jaeden. We’d started casually before he looked at me with a serious look and said, “What’s really going on with you and my mom?”

My brow furrowed and I asked for clarity.

“Look, she hasn’t dated a whole lot, or rather, she hasn’t brought any dudes around me like that. You being here, on today of all days, with our inner circle, means she cares about and trusts you a lot. And respectfully, I don’t know much about you beyond her telling me she’d started dating someone and things were going well. My mother is my world, the most important person to me since we are all we got. So I guess I’m asking you what your intentions are for lack of better phrasing.”

I almost busted out laughing at the serious look on his face but I knew better than to do that.

“Respectfully,” I started. “I think the only person who needs to be worried about my intentions is your mother, however I will tell you that you aren’t the only person that holds her in high esteem. I’ve worked hard to even get her to let me a fraction of the way in, so there’s no way in hell I’m doing anything to mess that up. I know she isn’t a person who lets people get close to her easily and I do not take the privilege lightly. If I have it my way, she’ll be in my life for a long time to come, so I hope that’s not something that bothers you.”

He quickly shook his head. “Not in the least, it actually relieves me. I haven’t really told her yet, but I don’t plan on coming home after graduation. I already have a job offer from a school here and I’m likely taking it as soon as possible. For my whole life, I’ve been my mother’s everything. The center of her universe that she sacrificed so much for in order to make sure I had the best. That’s a big part of why I flipped the script today. For so long she has poured all she has into ensuring this day is filled with everything that makes me happy, but I wanted to try to do my part and reciprocate some of that. Because I know it’s gonna be a hard pill to swallow, with me continuing to be so far away from her while living my own life. And I know she has her friends and all, but she deserves to have somebody in her world who makes her light up the way I’ve seen her in your presence in just the past couple of days. So I just want to make sure you on your shit. Since I won’t be nearby, I need somebody who can make sure that she’s alright at all times.”

I nodded, sipping from the glass of cognac I’d been enjoying.

“I’m picking up what you’re putting down and while I won’t be making any declarations about the future of my relationship with your mother to you before I’ve even talked to her about these things, just know, I’m in this for the long haul.”

Jaeden said nothing more, just nodded before gulping down the rest of his drink. “Aight let me hit the head before we head to our final winery,” Jaeden said and I gave him a nod in response. Winifred approached me as her son walked away.

“That looked intense,” she said with a lazy grin. “Was that the ‘you better do right by my mama’ speech? I knew yesterday went a little too smoothly.”

I pulled her into me, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek before I said, “Nah, we were just bonding since neither of us know nothing about the real housewives of wherever or whatever y’all were over there gossiping about.”

Winifred narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously. “I don’t believe you.”

“Are you enjoying your day, love?”

“See, now you tryna deflect,” she insisted.

“Baby, relax. I promise that whatever you think that conversation was isn’t close to what it actually was. Jae had some questions and I answered them honestly. No skin off my nose and we came to an understanding. It’s your birthday and we’re all here to celebrate you and Jae. Quit worrying.”

Jaeden returned and we headed to Sprinter to be driven to the third, and our last, winery of this private tour. By this time all of the ladies were definitely nearing their limits so Jaeden made the executive decision for us to forego that last winery, instead taking a little time to regather our bearings before we had dinner at his favorite restaurant this evening. Jaeden and Tazia dropped us, Roni, and Kenni at the hotel while they headed to their apartment. Our reservation was still a few hours off, so the plan was to just chill until then.

“We should go to the pool,” Winifred said suddenly, turning to her girls as we rode the elevator up.

“Girl, I ain’t going nowhere but my bed in our room,” Kenni groaned. “That wine and that sun did me in, baby.”

Roni nodded before chiming in, with her best Jamie Foxx impersonation, “I’ve had one too many drinks.”

Winifred rolled her eyes before teasing, “Lightweights.”

“We’ll be that,” Kenni said as the elevator stopped at their floor. “See you at six thirty, birthday girl.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Winifred replied with a fake pout before turning to me. “I guess you don’t wanna go to the pool either, huh?”

“Now who said that? Like I said before, it’s your world, birthday girl.”

That response earned me a cheesy grin then she sassed, “Okay see, I just might keep you around for a little bit longer.”

“You ain’t got much choice in that, love. I ain’t run off easily. You should know that by now.”

We got back to our room and Winifred headed directly to her suitcase, in search of her bathing suit. That search was quickly ended as she lay back onto the bed in a huff, letting out a loud groan. I made my way over to her, lying beside her on the bed before asking, “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I just remembered, this damn hotel doesn’t even have a pool,” she huffed and I laughed before I could stop myself, quickly stifling it once she looked over at me with a side eye.

“My bad, baby. Want me to fill the tub up for you and you can doggie paddle your way back and forth?”

That suggestion got exactly what I’d hoped it would from her, a loud guffaw before she turned her gaze on me directly. “If I said yes, you’d actually do that shit, huh?”

I gave her a resolute nod. “You know I’ll do whatever to keep that smile on your face.”

“I hope you know that goes both ways, Eli,” she said solemnly as she lifted and rolled over to straddle my waist. “I know I gave you a hard time in the beginning. Because, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t think your young ass was actually serious about trying to pursue more than getting in my panties. However, you’ve proven me wrong and I can unequivocally say that letting you make sure I got home safely from The Watering Hole was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while.” She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “I…” she started, then looked away, shaking her head before reconnecting our gazes. “I’m really glad you’re here with me. Your presence has made this day all the better.”

No further words between us were exchanged as I raised one hand to cuff the back of her head, bringing her mouth back down to mine and snaked the other down her back, cuffing her ass, pulling her closer to me. What I’d mean to be an innocent makeout session quickly turned torrid as she began grinding against my rising dick. Moments later, we were both as naked as the day we were born as she slid down onto my condom covered dick, moaning with pleasure after she was fully seated.

She rode me slowly, without a care in the world, as if we had all the time in the world to be here, together, just like this, uninterrupted, nothing else existing but us two in this moment. My hands charted a course from gripping her waist up her sides, to grasp both titties in my hands, as I used my thumbs to tease her nipples. I could feel her pussy quiver as I varied between flicking them and pinching them tightly, her soft exhalations of excitement turning into sensual murmurs as I lowered my head and took one distended bud into my mouth, sucking as much of her titty into my mouth as would fit while my other hand still teased its partner.

“Eli, please,” she moaned, her pace increasing as she rode me harder.

I met her downward movements with quick thrusts upward, sending my dick as far into her as it could reach from this position before flipping us over. She looked so fucking beautiful, face awash with the glow of ecstasy as I shifted her legs to rest in the crooks of my arms and drove into her with a singular purpose, making her cum all over my dick. The sounds of her increasing cries as I pounded into the silken wetness of her drenched pussy were music to my ears as I shifted her legs even higher, draping her ankles over my shoulders with her knees up around her ears. I pulled nearly all the way out then propelled myself forward at a maddeningly slow pace, drawing a sound that was half plaintive moan and half frustration.

“Eli, please,” she whined again.

The unspoken words after that please being “make me cum”. And I would in due time, but first I needed to drive her to the brink of insanity, giving her my dick in varying speeds and depths, switching it up every time I felt she was close, which eventually earned me the press of her fingernails deep into my back as she clawed at me, mouth agape in a keening cry. I lowered my head, capturing her mouth once again, our tongues dancing against one another in a way that seemed almost choreographed, akin to the thrust and parry of a fencing match. I felt my need to nut rapidly approaching so I quit my teasing, no longer prolonging her inevitable crash into euphoria as I slammed into her repeatedly. Reluctantly, I dragged my mouth from hers because I loved to hear her at the moment she went over the edge, the little moans and whimpers she let out always ratcheted up my release even more.

“You gon’ come for me, baby,” I murmured into her ear, my hips moving at breakneck speed as I whipped them into her.

“Mmmmmm,” was all she was able to let out as she panted, trying to maintain her breath.

“I can’t hear you, love. I said, are you going to come all over this dick for me like the good girl I know you are?”

A chorus of yes on repeat flowed from her lips as I felt the telltale quiver of her thighs that let me know she was about to completely let go. A fresh gush of wetness allowed me to go just a little bit deeper, making her cry out for me to never stop. I had no intention of letting up because this shit felt too good, too right, too perfect. Winifred came with a sharp arch of her back upward as her body convulsed into bliss. I wasn’t too far behind her, emptying my seed into the condom with a roar that I was certain the entirety of our floor heard. I collapsed onto her, tucking my face into her neck, nibbling and suckling the soft skin there as she still quaked and quivered beneath me.

It was a long moment before I finally pulled back, reluctantly sliding my dick out of her saturated warmth to go dispose of the condom and clean myself up. When I returned with a warm, soapy rag to wipe Winifred down, she lay with her legs still splayed, eyes closed with a broad grin on her face. I couldn’t even front like my chest didn’t puff out a little more knowing that I’d been the one who put that smile on her face. When she felt the brush of the towel between her legs, she lazily opened her eyes, pinning me with a gaze that shone with an emotion I was certain she wasn’t quite ready to verbally express, but I picked it up all the same because I knew the same one was beaming from my irises. I leaned forward and kissed her softly before tossing the towel onto the side table near the bed and climbing back into the bed with her.

We traded kisses lazily, hands roaming each other’s forms but not taking it any further than that. I let out a small chuckle as I thought about just how far she and I had come from her barely wanting to keep the lights on when we were intimate to her now readily revealing herself to my rapacious gaze. I could never get my fill of this woman, physically nor mentally. She did it for me in every way imaginable.

The time to get ready for dinner came upon us far more quickly than I would have liked, as I was content being laid up with my lady, enjoying the press of her soft, supple skin against mine. However, I also knew that was my selfishness talking. We got dressed and met her girls in the lobby as we waited for Jaeden and Tazia to arrive. The Sprinter pulled up not long after we’d all congregated in the lobby and we were whisked off to dinner at one of Jaeden’s favorite spots in the city. The vibes of the evening were immaculate as I found myself really observing the easy manner in which they all talked, laughed, and joked amongst each other. It was evident that not only did Winifred and Jaeden share a bond that was uniquely theirs, but that they’d built a community of people around them who understood and accepted said bond.

Even though I hadn’t grown up with my mother, OG had been to me and ShaSha what Winifred was for Jaeden, his biggest support system and staunchest ally, ready to ride or die. And seeing the relationship between Jaeden’s girlfriend and Winifred was equally beautiful. There were several moments throughout the night where the two of them were in private conversation, whispering conspiratorially and laughing together, the mutual respect clearly evident. Right after the server dropped the dessert menu at the table, Winifred raised her voice to get everyone’s attention.

“Alright, so, Jae, thank you so much for today, baby. Everything was perfect. I mighta did a lil something right raising you, huh?” she quipped, making everyone laugh. “However, you know your mama isn’t to be outdone, so…”

She reached into her bag, sliding an envelope toward Tazia who sat on her other side who passed it over to Jaeden. She and Tazia shared a secret grin as a clueless Jaeden opened the envelope.

“Oh shit,” Jaeden crowed. “No way!” he damn near yelled before dashing the envelope’s contents to the table and hopping up to rush his mother.

“Well shit, is somebody gonna let the rest of us in on the secret?” Roni wisecracked.

“Mama B booked me and Jae a post-graduation trip to Japan,” Tazia said with a broad grin.

“Not just me, you chipped in some too, Tay,” Winifred said when Jaeden finally pulled back from their embrace. “That gift is from the both of us, baby boy. I know this was something that you and I had always planned, but something tells me you’ll enjoy it a little bit more with Tay by your side.”

“I mean…” Jaeden trailed off with a raise of his brows as he went back to sit down.

“Don’t get fresh, lil boy,” Winifred chastised, laughing.

“Damn, let me call my mama and tell her she ain’t shit,” Kenni chimed in. “A trip to Japan! Whew. Must be nice.”

We all laughed at her silliness, only sobering as our server and another came toward the table both carrying plates of dessert for the birthday celebrants. This place was upscale so they didn’t do the public spectacle of a group singalong, but that didn’t stop our little group from breaking into our own quiet rendition, serenading Winifred and Jaeden before both closed their eyes and blew out their respective candles. When she sat back, I leaned into Winifred, whispering in her ear, “You know whatever you wished for, I’mma make come true, right?”

That garnered me a grin before she turned and softly pressed her lips against mine.

“Don’t get fresh, Ma,” Jaeden called out, mimicking her admonishment from earlier.

“Mind your business, son,” Winifred replied teasingly.

With everyone full and satiated, we settled the bill, then piled back onto the Sprinter to head back to the hotel. Jaeden and Tazia were actually heading out of town for the weekend with some friends to celebrate his birthday more, so our goodbyes with them as they dropped us off were extended before we parted ways. Roni and Kenni had only flown in for the actual birthday festivities, so Winifred and I would be on our own for the next day and a half, exploring the DC area, checking out monuments and museums on some touristy shit since this was my first time here. We had no concrete plans, basically playing it by ear and moving whichever way the wind blew us.

The next morning I was awakened by my phone vibrating insistently on the nightstand on my side of the bed. I threw my hand out to grasp it, not even bothering to look to see who was calling as I pressed the green button to connect.

“Hello?” I mumbled, barely awake.

“Peanut…”

My OG’s trembling voice coming through the line put me on high alert and I sat up immediately, wide awake now.

“What’s wrong, OG?”

“I didn’t want to call and ruin your trip…”

“What’s wrong?” I repeated, voice raising enough to rouse Winifred from her slumber as she sat up and placed a hand to my shoulder.

“It’s Pumpkin. She’s stable now, but… last night she was rushed to the hospital.”

“What the fuck?” I bellowed, jumping up now. “What happened OG?”

She let out a deep, shuddering breath.

“She overdosed yesterday.”

“Yesterday,” I bellowed. “Why the hell are you just calling me now, OG?”

“Peanut, please calm down. There was too much going on and I called you as soon as everything calmed down. Jeffrey was the one who called the ambulance for her. They’d been on the porch talking when he noticed something was off with her. Thankfully he had the presence of mind to call 911 immediately and they were able to administer whatever they needed to get her back stable, but she’s still in the hospital. And…” OG let out a deep sigh. “Anaya was outside with them when it happened. She’s, rightfully, still a little shaken up. So between her and your grandfather, I’ve had my hands full. I asked Jeffrey not to call you because I knew it was Winifred’s birthday and I…”

“Nah, damn all that, OG. I don’t care what is going on. Y’all should have called me right away.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” she replied pitifully, which immediately made me soften my tone.

“Nah, that’s on me, OG. I shouldn’t have come at you like that. But I’m coming home immediately. We need to figure out how to get this rehab shit to stick with Sha this time.”

“Calm down, Peanut. Please. I need you to make it back here safely, alright?”

I took a deep breath, nodding as if she could see me.

“Where’s Naya?”

“Jeffrey has her while I came back home this morning to check in with your grandfather. She was insistent on not leaving until she saw her mommy was okay.”

I sighed again, unable to imagine just what emotions my Lady Bug must be cycling through. I really hoped this shit would be a wakeup call for Elisha. Especially considering the shit we’d been through with our own mother. I wiped my hand down my face before speaking again.

“I’m about to try and find the first flight out, OG. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Okay, baby. We’ll see you then.”

I hung up and tossed the phone to the nightstand, immediately standing and pacing back and forth. Winifred hopped out of bed soon after, grasping my hands with hers, bringing my attention in her direction.

“What’s going on, babe?”

“It’s my sister. She ODed last night.”

“Oh my god,” Winifred gasped. “Is she…”

“She’s stable, for now. OG held off on calling because she didn’t want to impede on my trip but…I gotta get back home. I can’t… I can’t just not be there.”

“Oh absolutely. I know Ron and Ken are on a flight back home at around eleven outta DCA. Let’s figure out if we can return the rental there and change our flights so you can get back to your family.”

I contacted the private owner we’d rented from to explain the situation and make sure he was okay with us leaving the car at Reagan instead of Dulles where we’d landed while Winifred set about getting our flights changed. Thankfully both processes were able to be handled without incident and a little over an hour later we headed to the airport so we could get back home. We ran into her girls at the gate who both met us with quizzical stares, but Winifred quickly shook her head to deter them from asking questions. I was anxious as we waited to board, something Winifred clued into easily, grasping my hand between hers and squeezing it tightly as we sat in silence, my mind running a million miles a minute as I worried about my twin’s mental and physical state.

Yesterday had been amazing and I was kind of thrown that I hadn’t felt that anything was off. I usually had this sixth sense when things with Elisha were heading in the wrong direction, but I hadn’t felt a solitary pang of anything yesterday. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the thoughts that this was somehow my fault, that I’d let my sister down by not being there for her in a vulnerable moment. I was quiet the entire time, something I could tell made Winifred a bit uneasy, but I had no words, too stuck in my own head, spiraling.

Logically I knew that even if I was at home, there was nothing I could have done to prevent yesterday’s events. However, guilt superseded logic, settling onto my shoulders with a heavy weight that was nearly too much to bear. I held up, maintained a sense of strength until we finally landed back in the city and settled into my car. It was then that I broke down, head against my steering wheel as my shoulders wracked with sobs. Winifred rubbed my back soothingly, offering words of encouragement for me to let it all out before she got out of the car, rounding it to pull my door open and pull me into a full embrace. I had no idea how long we stood there in the parking garage, embracing against the side of my car before she nudged me over to the passenger side, imploring me to take a seat there while she drove us to the hospital.

I’d called OG as soon as we landed, getting an update and the pertinent information for what hospital they were at and what room Sha was in. When we arrived and parked, I immediately reached for the door handle, but a hand to my arm from Winifred stopped me, pulling my attention in her direction.

“Take a minute to get yourself together, babe,” she said softly, handing me a few Kleenex. I wiped my face, then pulled down the visor to see my bloodshot gaze and knew she was right. I didn’t need to walk in and let OG or Anaya see me like this. I had no idea where she’d gotten them from, but Winifred passed me some eye drops to clear my shit up then we headed into the hospital together, hand in hand, quietly ascending up to the fourth floor where my sister’s room was located.

When we stepped off the elevator, the first familiar face we saw was Jeff who looked even worse for the wear than I did—shoulders slumped, clothes wrinkled like he’d slept in this waiting room. He sat there with Anaya, who was distracted by something on her tablet. As if he felt my gaze on him, his eyes rose before he stood and immediately walked over, pulling me into a tight hug.

“She’s alright, bro,” he said immediately as he clasped me unyieldingly. “She’s alright.”

His movement drew Anaya’s attention from her tablet and she looked up to see me, immediately scrambling from her seat.

“Uncle Lij!”

I pulled back from Jeff, scooping her up into my arms as she buried her face in my neck.

“Hey, Lady Bug.”

“I missed you, Uncle Lij. You’ve been gone for two whole days .”

I chuckled at her dramatics. Two days for Anaya might as well have been an eternity.

“I missed you too, Lady Bug. So much.”

Winifred’s soft hand at the small of my back before I heard her voice greeting Anaya broke me out of my trance as I looped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her in closer.

“Jeff, this is my lady, Winifred. Winifred, Jeff.”

“Please call me Freddie,” she responded, extending a hand toward Jeff who shook his head, pulling her in for a brief hug.

“We family around here, baby girl. We don’t stand on formalities.”

“Where’s OG?” I asked.

Jeff nudged his head in the direction of Sha’s room. “She’s back there with Sha. Last I checked Sha was sleeping, but…” Jeff trailed.

“Yeah, I’m already knowing.” I put Anaya down and she scampered back to her abandoned device as I turned to Winifred. “I’ma head back to see Sha. If you want, you can just take my car home and I’ll have somebody drop me to scoop it later.”

She frowned at me, shaking her head resolutely.

“Go see your sister, baby. I’ll be right here with Jeff and Baby Girl until you come back.”

“You sure? It’s already been a long morning.”

“Like I said, I’ll be right here with Jeff and Baby Girl until you come back. Go see about your sister.”

I leaned down, placing a quick kiss to her forehead before doing what she’d urged. When I walked into my sister’s room, I spotted my grandmother at her bedside immediately, her hand clasping Elisha’s as if she was keeping her chained to this mortal coil. Both were sleeping, OG’s neck cocked in a position that I knew couldn’t be comfortable by any means. I approached her first, laying a soft hand on her shoulders to gently wake her. She startled immediately, eyes popping open as she settled them on my face, giving me a weary smile.

“Peanut,” she said as she slowly stood, settling into my ready embrace, instantly breaking down. I gripped her tightly, trying to absorb her pain via osmosis if I could because I knew how heavily this weighed on her, seeing the same scenario she couldn’t save her own child from playing out with her grandchild. I murmured soft words of comfort, letting her know she could let everything she had been carrying out. I was strong enough to bear the brunt of it for the both of us. Eventually we settled on the small couch in Sha’s room and I took a good long look at my OG. She seemed more frail than usual, her countenance marred with grief.

After I’d been sitting there for a while, Elisha finally opened her eyes. They welled with tears when she glanced in me and OG’s direction. I stood, heading to my sister’s bed side, pulling her into an embrace as best as I could before pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

“You can’t keep doing this, Sha,” I whispered.

I knew that her battle with addiction wasn’t one to be taken lightly or one for which I should levy judgment. Since we’d been through this, with her going to rehab a couple times, I had been determined to learn more about the proverbial monkey on her back. It was only through counseling specifically geared toward the loved ones of those who battled addiction that I was able to see her struggles as more than a simple choice, but a chronic disease wrought of altered brain chemistry.

“I know, Lij. I know,” she said before completely breaking down into sobs. When her crying tapered off, she pulled back, looking me directly in the eyes with a determination I’d never seen in her gaze before as she said, “I need to get better for my baby. I can’t do to her what Mommy did to us. I… Do you know what she said to me? After I was awake and they let her come back here to see me? She said that I scared her when I wouldn’t respond to anyone calling my name before the ambulance drove me away. Lij, I can’t believe I let my baby witness that shit. I thought I had it under control, I thought I was keeping her away from the bad shit, but that day, I just…” Her voice trailed off as she shook her head. “I gotta get better for my baby, Lij,” she repeated.

“Whatever you need us to do, you know we got you, ShaSha. Have you spoken to a doctor about treatment options yet?”

She shook her head. “Someone is supposed to come in today.”

“You have to want this shit for yourself, Sha, not just Lady Bug.”

“I know, I… I just gotta be here to see my baby grow up, Lij. I can’t leave her like Mommy left us,” she whispered before breaking down again.

I didn’t say anything else, just let her get her tears out until she was spent. Eventually we did speak with her doctor who laid out some treatment options for Elisha, heavily recommending an inpatient rehab facility. This time, instead of us being the ones who pushed her toward it, Elisha made the decision on her own to enter into a ninety day program. She would remain in the hospital while the details of her transition to the residential program were settled. After we got all of that squared away, Elisha was insistent that both me and OG go home and get some rest. She wasn’t trying to hear either of our protests, just demanded we bring her baby to her so she could tell her that she’d be away for a while, then we all were to go home and not return until the next day. Knowing how stubborn she could be, because I was the same way, I let her have that, going out to grab Lady Bug from the lobby. After Elisha had her talk with Anaya, we all headed out. Well, just me, Winifred, OG, and Anaya. Jeff refused to be moved and Elisha didn’t put up as much of a fight to make him leave as she’d done with us.

I’d figure out the why of that later, but for now, I headed out with two of the most important women and the utmost important little girl in my life, making our way to the three-flat me and OG called home. When we pulled up in front of the building, I turned to Winifred.

“Let me get them settled in, then I’ll take you home.”

She turned her nose up at me, which caused me to raise a brow in question.

“Do you not want me in your space?” she asked.

“Do you want to be in my space?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“What I want doesn’t matter as much as what I know you need right now and that is support. We’re already at your spot, my house isn’t going anywhere. Plus, technically, we weren’t due to be back until tomorrow evening, so I don’t have any pressing issues that require me to be home. Let’s get your gran and baby girl settled and then you and I can have a conversation about everything,” she said with finality.

There was nothing further for me to say, so I just cut the car off and we trailed OG and Anaya into the building.

“Uncle Lij, can I come up to your house?” Anaya asked and I replied with a quick nod.

“Winifred,” my OG called out, shocking both her and me. “Can I speak with you for a moment, privately?”

“OG, c’mon now…”

“Eli, it’s fine. Take baby girl up to your spot and I’ll be there in a minute.”

“You sure?”

“Boy ain’t nobody finna do nothing to the girl. I just wanna talk to her,” OG grumbled.

“I’ll be fine, baby,” Winifred insisted. “Go.”

Reluctantly, I let Anaya drag me up the two flights to my place, all the while wondering what the hell this conversation between those two would entail.