“I’m gettin’ better,” she said, holding back a proud grin after scoring her first five.
“You still trash,” Myesa talked shit, sliding another tile across the table. “But you cute trash, that counts for somethin’.”
“You talk like Malik,” Aku said, shaking her head.
“Baby, he talk like me,” Myesa corrected, then turned to Anthony. “She talkin’ ‘bout Malik like he ain’t come from my womb.”
Anthony smiled, chewing on a toothpick. “She actin’ like she don’t wanna like my boy.”
Aku raised a brow. “Who said I liked him?”
They all hollered.
“Oh, baby,” Myesa said, wiping tears from her eyes. “You in trouble.”
“Deep,” Gran Betty chimed in. “But it’s a good kind. Just don’t come in here playin’ with his heart.”
“I’m not,” Aku promised, voice soft.
Gran Betty tilted her head. “You lookin’ for love?”
Aku paused, eyes on the table. “Not right now,” she answered honestly. “Well, I was but it didn’t work out so now I’m just livin’.”
They nodded. They understood. This wasn’t a group that would ever tell a girl to shrink herself for a man. But they also weren’t blind to the way a good one could shift your whole world.
“That’s fair,” Anthony said, his tone serious now. “But just know…good men? They rare. Especially ones that’ll fight for themselves and the woman beside them.”
Aku sat back in her chair, letting that sink in. The way they spoke about Malik made her see him in a different light. Not just as a hood boy with a flag and smooth moves, but as a son, a grandson, a man carved by all this love.
She liked it here.
Even if Malik wasn’t talking to her right now…even if she wasn’t sure what came next.
The music in the background shifted again, to oldies this time…something Gran Betty knew every word to.
Aku leaned her chin into her palm, smirking at Gran Betty across the table. “Alright…I got a question.”
Gran Betty raised a brow. “You tryna ask how to beat me without lookin’ like a rookie again?”
“No,” Aku laughed. “I already know I’m gettin’ cooked next round. But…what’s up with Malik andThe Wizard of Oz?”
Gran Betty snorted into her cup. “Oooh, girl, you done poked the bear now.” Her eyes shifted to her daughter and son-in-law.
Aku looked between Anthony and Myesa, who suddenly shared this look. It wasn’t just a glance—it was a soft stare, like a memory had crawled up between them.
Anthony rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled low. “Damn. He still on that, huh?”
“Still?” Aku echoed, confused.
Myesa rolled her eyes lovingly. “Here we go…”
Anthony shifted in his chair, suddenly a little more thoughtful. “It started back when we was young. I used to callherDorothy.”
Aku turned to Myesa, surprised. “You?”
“Yep,” Anthony said. “First time I saw her, she had on these red heels—knockoff ones, lil rhinestones glued on like they was diamonds. She walked into the gym like she ain’t have a care in the world, like she’d just landed in a place full of bullshit but still knew she belonged.”
Myesa shook her head, smiling, swooning while listening to her man talk. Their lives weren’t perfect but she knew her home had love in it.
