Chapter 4

"Is the temperature okay?" Sienna, one of the pedicurists, asked.

I put my feet into the basin filled with warm water.

"Yes, that"s perfect."

Sienna hit a button and turned on the bubbles, which immediately felt fantastic. I sat back and relaxed in the oversized massage chair.

I turned and looked at my mother, who was in the pedicure chair next to mine.

"So you"re not going to tell me why you"ve ghosted me for weeks?"

"You"re being dramatic. I returned your text messages," Mommy answered.

"From Italy, Mommy?"

"Yes, I just needed some time to decompress."

"And you just left. You didn"t say anything."

"It was a spur-of-the-moment decision," Mommy answered.

"Spur of the moment, huh? Yeah, okay. Let me do something like that. You"d have a grand mal fit!"

"I"m the mother. You"re the child. We are not the same."

"Respect goes both ways. I"m not a little girl. The common courtesy of informing me you would be out of the country would"ve been nice."

I knew my mother was okay because she did respond to my text messages, but she"d never done anything as drastic as leaving the country without a peep. I was concerned, and my feelings were hurt. I thought we had a better relationship than that.

"I agree. I could"ve handled it better. I think seeing Francis like that sorta messed with me more than I realized. She"s a terrible mother, but she"s the only one I have."

"So, you just ignored me? That"s insane. I mean literally insane."

"I told you I was sorry, Wilhelmina. I didn"t mean to block you out like that. It was all I could do to keep my sanity," Mommy explained.

"Yeah, okay."

I leaned back and closed my eyes.

"I hate when you do that. Don"t shut down on me. Let"s just have the conversation and get it all out so we can move forward," Mommy said.

Opening my eyes, I looked at her and said, "I"m done with it. You"re the mom. I"m the child. You can go off and do disrespectful, negligent shit, and I have to deal with it."

"Watch your words, Wilhelmina. I"m not your friend. I"m your mother."

"Exactly! I could almost excuse being curbed by my thirty-something-year-old friends. They don"t have a level of responsibility to me, but my mother?" I swallowed the emotions welling up. "You hurt my feelings."

"I"m sorry!" Mommy grabbed my hand and repeated, "I"m sorry. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. You"re right. I could"ve handled it better. I"m sorry I hurt your feelings. I couldn"t focus on anyone but myself. That doesn"t make me a bad mother. It makes me human."

I let my mother"s words settle in my mind. I didn"t realize how much her absence affected me until now. I really couldn"t imagine how she felt growing up with Grandma. I don"t think there was ever a time when their relationship wasn"t contentious.

Deciding to let her off the hook, I said, "Fine. I accept your lil" apology."

Mommy chuckled.

"But that"s it, right? There"s nothing more to the story?"

Mommy shrugged. "That"s it."

"Did you at least have a good time in Italy?"

"It was nice and relaxing. I"m happy to be back with you, though," Mommy said, still holding my hand.

"It"s nice to have you back."

"What did I miss while I was gone?" Mommy asked.

"Humph, let"s see. I have a boyfriend."

"A boyfriend? Since when?" Mommy replied. "Do I know him?"

"Yes, the world knows him. It"s Zechariah."

I"d never seen my mother smile so big. She touched her chest and said, "My Zechariah?"

"Aldaine, yes, and if he"s yours, then I guess we are sharing."

Mommy smiled. "Aww. Is he nice to you?"

"He"s kind, considerate, funny, attentive, and thoughtful. He"s nice to me, but he"s not a pushover."

"I can appreciate that. You definitely don"t need a man who can"t stand his ground."

"I don"t need that type of man at all," I agreed. "He loves his family and the community. He"s all about making changes and creating a legacy. With all of that on his calendar, he still calls, texts or sees me every day. He sends roses and cute little notes. I like him."

"I love that. Look at you smiling. How long has it been going on?" Mommy asked.

"A while. I didn"t want to say anything until I was sure I wasn"t part of a roster, but I"m positive I"m not. Or, if I am, his multi-tasking skills are top-notch!"

We both laughed.

"I want you to bring him over for dinner soon. I"ll let you know when," Mommy said.

"He"s out of town for a couple days, but I"ll let him know."

My phone vibrated. It was a text from Zechariah.

I smiled when I saw his name.

Zechariah:

I"m about to go into another meeting, but I just wanted you to know that I"m thinking about you.

Billye:

I was thinking about you, too. Actually, I was just telling my mother about my new boyfriend. She said she wants to meet you.

Zechariah:

I would love to meet your mother. I hope she likes me.

Billye:

I like you. That"s what matters.

Zechariah:

I"m diggin" you too, Wilhelmina.

Billye:

Go into that meeting and talk yo" shit! Let them know why you"re not the best choice-you"re the only choice.

Zechariah:

That"s the plan. I"ll let you know how it goes.

Billye:

I already know it"s going to be great.

Zechariah:

This is why you"re my girlfriend.

Billye:

Yeah, you"re lucky.

Zechariah:

I am. I"ll call you tonight.

Billye:

FaceTime me. ??

Zechariah:

I will. ??

I smiled at the red heart emoji and put my phone down.

"That was Zechariah. He"s in Atlanta. A company wanted to meet with him about producing a sports show with him and two other former players."

"Oh, that will be nice. He has the personality for it," Mommy said.

"He does. It feels like a no-brainer that they would sign him, but we will see."

"Have you met his family yet?" Mommy asked.

"I"d already met his cousin, Queenie and her husband. Remember they are working on The SpeakEasy?"

"Oh, the nice, handsome man."

"Yes, Kemuel Azar. His wife is the interior designer."

"Yes, I remember them."

"I like Queenie a lot. I"ve spoken to his sister, Leona, on the phone. She was extremely nice, too. I haven"t met anyone in person. He did invite me to his family"s church for the church"s anniversary service. After church, they"re having a family dinner. I guess I"ll meet everyone then."

"Do you need me to come with you just in case someone needs to be dealt with?" Mommy asked.

"No. I mean, you probably need some Jesus in your life so you can come, but I"ll be fine with Zechariah. I trust him."

"I"m just a phone call and bullet away," Mommy said.

We both laughed.

"Have you been by to see Francis?" Mommy asked.

"Yes, she"s back to being Francis. She"s fine. She doesn"t remember us at the hospital or anything."

"That"s interesting."

"Yeah, it is. So, I feel like since you"re apologizing and everything, you should take me to dinner."

"Where do you want to go, Wilhelmina?"

"I don"t know. Somewhere expensive," I answered.