“Umm hmm. You hear me, but you ain’t listening. I ain’t no damn bed and breakfast either. You need to take us out this morning. Let me grab my shoes.” She disappeared into the back. My mom could cook her ass off and didn’t have a problem doing it. That let me know she was a bit more concerned about me than she led on. She wanted more time to get into my head.
She’d call my ass out. I would spend a few minutes here, but after dropping Junior off, I would get back to my business. It was always something to do. Perhaps going out to breakfast and telling her about the new venture would help calm her down.
We ended up at Bob Evans. I wasn’t much of a breakfast eater, but Junior tore up his pancakes while my mom and I talked.
“I’m going into business with Chubby,” I announced.
“Really. What are y’all doing?” She perked up.
“A new restaurant in the area. You know Chubby has been cooking like crazy since we were teens. We're throwing some money together, and we should be opening in the next few weeks.”
“That’s so good to hear. You have always been great at numbers, so I am sure y’all would match. You tell Chubby to— Oh my God!”
“What?” I sat up quickly.
“Dyami! Dyami! Sweetheart!” My mother said her name, and I felt as if a cool bucket of water had washed over me. That name. That girl.
My mother was out of her seat first, and I was damn near almost scared to follow or turn. When I got up, my feet locked in place. My mom hugged her so tightly I couldn’t see her face. They rocked back and forth momentarily. That was proof of the relationship they built. Once I became aware of Dyami’s situation growing up, my mother was aware of it a few weeks later. Dyami would’ve been at my house every damn day if I had it my way.
“Marcos? Marcos, is that you?” I heard a voice call me from over to my right. I tensed up immediately hearing my government name. I laid my eyes on her. It had been years, but I could spot her anywhere. Dyami Taylor. She still looked the same with brown skin, 5’5, those sexy pouty lips, and black hair. Those pretty ass brown eyes shot a dagger through my heart. But that body, it wasn’t anything immature about it. She had filled the fuck out and was thick as hell. I felt all the memories flooding back to my mind. One in particular stuck out, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
I used to follow this damn girl around like a puppy. I liked her so much. I could call it my first crush. Crush felt immature for what my feelings were for her at the time. Damn, it had been a long time since I had seen her, but she put a smile on my face so damn big I thought my face would crack.
“What don’t you remember me?” she sassed with an eyeroll. She was wearing a short black dress and black heels that brought her right up to my chin. My possessiveness of her kicked in like it had been back in the day. I pulled her into me and looked down at her, inhaling her sweet scent.
“What up, Dyami?” She smelled good as fuck. There was an awkward silence as we looked at each other and my mom.
“Well, I’ll let you two catch up.” My mother slinked away and headed back to the table with a Kool-Aid grin. I wasn’t going to hear the end of this.
“Damn, Marcos, you got tall as hell,” Dyami said through a smile.
“And you still fine as fuck,” I never hid the fact that I was attracted to her, even when I was a young dude. She would blow me off, but that never stopped a nigga from trying or making sure no one else did
“You are crazy as hell still,” she laughed at me. “When did you get back in town?”
“Shit, not too long ago.” I wiped my hand over my hair.
“And damn, you couldn’t say anything? You must have forgotten all about your back in the day bestie, huh?” she teased.
“Hell naw, shit just been crazy.”
“Ooh, and you still make that face when you lie.” She pushed me softly on the arm before continuing. “You know I’m just teasing, but it was good seeing you,” she said, flashing a smile, trying to walk away, but I kept a grip on her.
“You know yo’ ass ain’t getting away from me that easy. I ain’t seen you in years.”
“We are in the middle of the restaurant, Marcos. You gotta move,” she said, lifting up on her toes to whisper in my ear.
“Let’s step out here for a second,” I said, pulling her to the foyer. We got a bit of distance away so I could hear her without all the chatter of the restaurant. She was bringing a nigga back to my teenage years when nothing else mattered but trying to get close to her. I remember being devastated when my mom told me we were leaving here for good. Dyami and I at that time had been friends for a minute, but she always brushed me off. I was the flyest nigga around even then, but she wasn’t sweating that shit at all. We did build a tight ass bond. Something I unknowingly had been trying to replicate since.
“What are you doing up here so early?”
“It was a company breakfast thing. Only a few people showed up, and I was thinking about leaving anyway. Ms. Lyn saved me. It is so good to see her!”
“Yeah, Ma, cool. When you get back in town.”
“A couple of years ago. I graduated from WMU, and now I am working at Hurley Hospital in the HR department.” She beamed, and I stepped back to absorb her. I couldn’t believe I was talking to her.
“You always were smart.”
