I lay awake a long time, listening to him breathe, grateful for every single one.
day five, june 28th
Carter: Damn nigga what she say about the ring?
Me: Tonight.
It had to be tonight. Our time together had been special, the most relaxed I had felt in years, but it was ending. Eventually, we’d have to get real and figure out what came next. Life was always snatching us from the clouds, but I wasn’t going for it this time.
I shrugged because the only thing I could do was move forward and make my intentions clear.
I showered, got dressed, and checked the ring twice before I put it in my pocket. Then I checked it again because I was that nigga apparently.
My phone rang on the counter. I looked at the screen and picked up.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Cane, you’ve been MIA.”
“I told you I’d be on vacation.”
“How is she, son?”
“She?” I asked because, as far as anyone knew, I was here alone.
“Ducane.” She said my name the way that meant stop playing with me. “I know you better than you think. And surely you know I know Skye is back in your life.”
“And how do you know that, Ma?”
“Well, first, you haven’t taken a vacation since Skye. And it’s in the blogs.” A small laugh, warm and real. “Son, you must be enjoying yourself if you don’t know the streets are talking about the beautiful flight attendant occupying your time at Infinity Island.”
I shrugged, not giving a damn, as if she could see me.
“Good,” she said, reading it anyway. “You shouldn’t care. But you should be careful. Bianca is about to receive a cease and desist. I’ve had enough of her making you out to be a heartless fuck boy. When you’ve been nothing but generous by giving her ass some time.”
“I don’t care about Bianca. Let her talk. I’m cool with being the fuck boy in her story so long as I’m not that in Skye’s. Fuck Bianca.”
She was quiet for a second. I could hear her settling into whatever she actually called to say.
“Bring her to see me when you’re back and settled. I’m back in Coupeville for a little while.” She had been sitting on this fora long time, and I could hear it. “I owe Skye an apology, and I’ve owed it for a long time.”
“Ma.”
“I mean it, Duke. I should have done more. Said more. I knew what your father was up to. I told myself staying neutral was keeping the peace and he had a way of convincing me that he knew best There was no reasoning with him.” A breath. “It wasn’t keeping anything. It was cowardice.”
I leaned against the dresser and looked at the floor.
“I hear you,” I said.
“But?”
“But not yet. I failed to protect her back then, so I’m not about to put her in a position before she’s ready. When the time is right, I’ll make it happen. But that’s on her timeline, not anybody else’s.”
I was a grown man and didn’t need apologies. The damage was done. I was standing on my ten toes to clean it up. I didn’t need any help. I had given them seven years of what they wanted. It was time for everyone to fall back or get laid out about Skye.
“If Skye ain’t fucking with it, neither am I.”
Silence. Then she made a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle.