“Hey, y’all,” she greeted, sitting her purse on the counter.
Douglas’ eyes lit when she approached him. Pulling him in for a hug, she held the position for a moment before she let go.
“It’s good seeing you, baby girl. How are you?”
“Well, the guy you hooked me up with is taking me through it. Besides that, life is great.”
Douglas adjusted his body toward her. “Is he hurting you?”
“No, not physically.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
Right away, Bria shook her head. She refused to set her dad up to go after her husband. She was too old for that.
“No, I’ll figure it out.” She chuckled, taking a seat next to him. “I came by because I wanted to see you guys and tell you about my performance.”
“You mean the one where you didn’t want us to come?” Cecilia sassed, pouring hot grits in a bowl.
Playfully, Bria rolled her eyes. “Mama, you’ve been to many of my performances. There was no need to come to this one. I didn’t do anything special.”
“Are you kidding me? Every time you touch the stage you do something special. I don't like missing any of your acts.”
“Me either,” Douglas chimed in, “but I respected your wishes and stayed behind.”
Bria had been dancing for so long that her performances weren’t really that special to her anymore. She still loved the art of ballet but having her family present for every performance wasn’t necessary.
Douglas leaned closer to Bria. “I’ve been trying to get your mama to walk around naked since you're finally out of the house.”
Bria immediately scowled, prompting Douglas to laugh.
“You really should grow up,” Cecilia fussed at him.
“What? I wanna see what you workin’ with.” He rose from his seat.
Bria gagged. “I don't want to envision Mama being naked.”
Cecilia raised her brow. “Oh, girl please. Don't act like I don't eat. Ain't that what the kids say nowadays?”
Bria snorted. “Mama, please.”
“Listen, I have some meetings to get to.” He kissed Bria’s forehead. “It was nice seeing you. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, Dad.”
He rounded the island to give her mother a kiss before walking out the kitchen.
“What’s on your mind?” Cecilia asked. “Is Lo stressing you out that bad?”
Angling her head, Bria replied, “Isn’t it obvious?”
Nodding, she told her, “You don’t look happy. What’s going on?”
“Mama,” she stressed. “Lo is wearing me out.”
“In what way?”
“He’s so mean and guarded. We don't do anything together. I try to talk to him, and he don't give me much. We don't go anywhere. He comes and goes like a single man, and I’m tired of not connecting with my husband.”
