He tossed his chin and the four of us were moving. Somee at my side, Makari at his. I couldn’t even lie, everything the funeral home prepared for today was nice. The flowers, the casket, the picture they had of Felicia in a gold frame on a stand. That was all my mother’s doing because I hadn’t provided them with a damn thing. She and my father were already waiting. When we made it to the area where everything was set up, I hugged my mother, kissed her cheek, and told her thank you.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m good, Ma. Your baby got me together.” I smirked after referencing my mother mentioning that Somee was her baby to me a while back. My eyes drifted to my left where Somee was standing and my mother’s smile damn near spilled off the side of her face because it was so damn wide. I was no longer relevant at that point. She left me quick as hell and was all over Somee with a new motivation.
Grandchildren…
After my pops finished speaking to Omiri and Makari, he had me in a hug that reminded me of how this man loved me more than my own blood.
“I’m proud of you for this, Land.”
“Thanks, Pop.”
Everyone moved to their spaces and we got started. Dexter made sure a pastor was there to proceed over the service even though I had declined. All he did was say a quick prayer and bless Felicia’s life here on earth and her existence after death. He prayed that she now had peace and that those who loved her would find it in their hearts to forgive the mistakes she made and wrongs she wasn’t able to make right.
I didn’t know if I could ever get to a space of forgiveness but knew I wasn’t carrying the weight of the past anymore. Things were quick, which I was grateful for. My parents checked on me one last time, and after I assured them I was good, they left. We walked back toward our cars and while Makari was doing the most, showing Somee everything she‘d learned since the last time we saw her, I kicked it with Omiri.
“When did you fly in?”
“This morning?”
“Sov hit you up?”
“Yeah but she thought I knew, so don’t give her shit. When she let it slip, I asked for details, booked a flight, and told Kari we had to be here.”
I nodded. “I’m cool on Sov telling you what I was into. I wasn’t keeping it from you. Shit just happened so fast.”
“Muthafucker, you know how to use a phone. How many times you been there for me when I was dealing with my own demons?”
“Enough.”
“Aight then, you should have hit my line.” Omiri’s expression was tight but only because he was truly my brother and cared.
“You’re right. When y’all heading out?”
“In the morning. Figured we’d kick it with y’all in the Chi for a night.”
“We can do that…”
He tossed his chin then motioned behind me. “That’s some of your people?”
I turned to see a man heading our way. He had a phone in hand which he kept dropping his eyes to before he looked at us.
“Nah, I don’t know who the fuck that is.”
“He keeps looking at you and he’s coming this way.”
Des and Rich noticed too because they were both out of the SUV by the time he reached the back. A smile spread across ol’ boy’s face right before he spoke.
“Ryland?”
I grilled the hell out of him because I had no clue who he was or why he knew my name. “Who’s asking?”
“Me, Gavin, your father.”
Every muscle in my body locked tightly at the way he spoke so proudly, like he had just said something profound.
“What the fuck you doing here?”