Page 33 of Standing In The Sun
“You ain’t steal because you wild, you did it ‘cause you ain’t have a choice.”
“Still landed me here,” she muttered, blinking fast.
“This shit temporary.”
She looked up at him, eyes sharp. “You got a thing for saying stuff like you know how my life gon’ turn out.”
He cracked a small smile. “Maybe, but I’m usually right.”
That pulled a reluctant smirk out of her as Kamari bounced on her thighs.
“How’s the phone?” she asked suddenly.
He blinked. “How you get the phone, anyway?”
Ahvi looked around the room, taking in how eyes seemed to focus on Lunar. They probably recognized him as Nar. “Found it in my daddy’s old stuff. I told you that.”
“Yea, but that don’t explain to me how he got it. He know Big Lunar or something?” Lunar leaned in, his eyes turned into slits. He needed to know the facts about the phone because it was a strange transaction.
She huffed, her chest rising and falling quickly. “Look, I can’t really say for sure but here’s my theory. Ish, my daddy did construction. If he found something he deemed as interesting or valuable, he brought it home. I believe while he did the beautification of The Jig in Sapphire City, he stumbled across the phone. Does that sound like it makes sense to you?”
Scratching the back of his head, he thought over what she said. Tiny had done her research on Ahvi’s whole family and they found out that her father was one of the construction workers for the project. When Javen went to the pros, they renovated their old neighborhood in Big Lunar’s honor. Ish was hired with the construction crew to renovate some of the homes. So, Ahvi’s theory made sense to him.
“I guess it makes sense…still feels surreal though.” He stared at the wall. “I watch the videos every day...”
Ahvi licked her dry lips. “I watched a few videos too. You look just like him.”
“I know.” Lunar smiled. “It’s the only thing I have of him. Kamari gets wrapped up in his voice too.”
Ahvi nodded, looking down at Kamari. “It’s like you have your own personal line to the afterlife.” She thought about her own father and how much she missed him.
Lunar laughed. His joy felt contagious because she snickered a little too. “I really appreciate you but as soon as I get in touch with Kamari’s daddy I’ll send him to get him… I don’t want you to have to rearrange your life for us.”
“Okay,” was all he could say because saying he wanted to keep her son sounded weird and they were already in a weird enough space.
Ahvi’s eyes roamed down to Kamari again. He was starting to stir, mouth making those tiny baby sounds that came before the whining. She shifted him knowing he didn’t have much longer before he turned the visitation room upside down.
“You good with him,” she said quietly, thinking about how effortlessly Lunar carried Kamari into the room.
“Thanks,” Lunar replied. “I got him. You know until, his dad comes to get him.” His brows dipped like saying it caused him pain.
The words made her chest ache. Not because she didn’t believe him—but because she did. “You don’t have to keep doing this,” she said after a long pause. “You gave me ten grand for that phone. That should’ve been the end of it.”
“Maybe for you,” he said. “But I’m not wired like that.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“Not yet,” he said, “but I will.”
Her breath caught.
And there it was again - that shift - the kind that didn’t scream but lingered. A low burn under the surface.
“You ever been with a woman who came with a baby?” she asked, just to see if he flinched.
He didn’t. “Nah.”
“Then you might want to rethink all this.”
