Hakeem
"Why the hell do you have to be so nasty? This your son damn graduation and you making a big deal about taking picture!"
This is the exact shit that I warned my mama about when she came up here to see me graduate. Her and my stepmother Moriah do not get along. I'm sure it hurts her to see the love of her life with another woman. The details of their divorce is very hush hush. My pops never explained to me what happened and she for damn sure wasn't trying to mention how she fumbled a good man.
"Bitch, I don't want you in my pictures. Back the hell up and hold the camera." She shouted.
"Ladies," my dad chimed in. "We not doing that here, don't call my wife out her name again Janice. First and last warning."
"Go to hell Gerald, she trying to squeeze in the camera to make herself known. It's not that damn serious."
"Stop!" I shouted. "Y'all arguing about a damn picture in front of all these people. Y'all trippin' right now, let's take these pictures so we can go."
"I'm sorry son, you right." Moriah said.
Moriah was still trying to be petty. When my mama heard her say son, it started another frenzy between all of them. Nastasia saw this clown shit going on from a distance and came to offer some relief from this embarrassing moment. With that eye catching smile, she changed my entire mood. Her perfume had caught me causing me to feel warm inside, it annoyed me today was the last day that I would smell her sweet scent.
"There are you go, I been looking for you." She embraced me for a moment.
"Never been hard to find, you look good by the way."
"Thank you," she smiled as she spun around once in her heels to show off her outfit. "I want to get a picture together, can't let this special day go by without a flick. That way when you in the mood to reminisce, you can look back on what you almost had."
I chuckled, "you got jokes. Take the damn picture."
Nastasia crammed close to me, we were cheek to cheek as she took a couple pictures of us. In the last picture I was bold enough to kiss her. Since I was being quick about it, I only caught a corner of her mouth.
She giggled when we pulled apart. "I knew you would do that shit."
"I'm so damn sick of you, that's why neither of you will be able to taint my son mind anymore after today." Ma said behind us.
"Everything okay?" Nastasia asked.
"Divorced parents, I told you they would cut up out here. Forget about that, am I going to be able to see you tonight? I leave tomorrow for North Carolina, I cancelled all my plans tonight to see you one last time. I want to continue where we left off... conversation wise, not the other thing. Unless you down for that, it's fine by me."
Nastasia rolled her eyes with a smile, "you expect me to believe that."
"I told you before I was serious. My pops finished the basement downstairs in our house, I'll pick you up. We can make a night of it. The moment you tell me that you want to leave I'll take you home."
"I'll see what I can do. My dad is about to take me out to eat to celebrate. I'll talk to you later."
"I'm going to call you, answer the damn phone."
Nastasia looked back at me with a smile as she made her way back over to her father. When I turned back around, my parents were still going at it. It's been like this since this morning when my mama flew in to New Jersey. All they do is bicker and I can't stand that shit. This one arguing over being the better parent, that one arguing over being a telephone parent only. I know it's rare when I have to deal with this, but that doesn't excuse how they acting right now.
