“Ronald.” He offered his hand.
“Stone.” I shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
He gestured for me to head toward the front door. Kiano’s mom hugged Selle then Kiano and smiled at me.
“I’m Mika.” She closed the space between us and I froze when she hugged me.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Stone.”
“Is that your actual name?” she asked.
“Yeah. It is.”
“It’s unique. May I ask what made your parents name you that?”
“Well, my mom was a crackhead, so…” I shrugged.
She nodded once. “Well, it’s a good strong name regardless.” She hit me lightly on the shoulder. “Come on.” She gestured for us to head inside.
Kiano fell back and nudged me with his elbow.
“You good?”
“Yeah.”
“My mom asks shit without thinking sometimes. It’s not on purpose.”
“It’s cool.” I gave him a small smile. “I’m not offended, I promise. Dinner is gon’ be cool.”
“Yeah. It will.” He reached over and linked his fingers in mine while we trailed his parents who had Selle wedged between the two of them.
Mika and Ronald walked us around, showing us where the bathroom was. They talked to us about Kiano’s childhood a little bit then led us outside to the picnic table beneath an awning in their backyard.
“What can I get you two to drink?” Mika asked.
“Well, damn.” Kiano chuckled.
“You’re not a guest, baby. You can get your own drink.” She waved him off.
Ronald snickered. “Well, I’m going to have a glass of scotch. One of you has to drink with me.”
“I’ll have a beer,” I offered.
“So you’ll have scotch?” Ronald asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, man. That’s what I said.”
He grinned. “Perfect. You want to walk with me to my office to get it?”
“Sure.”
“Dad—”
“Ay,” I cut Kiano off. “I’m a grown ass man, Kiano. I can talk to your pops on my own, I promise.” I hit him on the back.
He exhaled. “Yeah.” He looked from me to his dad. “Alright.”