CHAPTER 17
Saturday morning settled over the house like a quiet promise. For once, everything felt… still.
Lupita had taken Jordan to the gym, which still surprised me. Kora was upstairs, lost in what she proudly called her "beauty sleep."
I joined Indira and Marissa in the kitchen. The air smelled like fried onions and something warm baking in the oven. It felt… normal. Almost too normal for women like us.
We laughed over nothing, the kind of laughter that comes easy when you're trying not to think too much.
Then Indira spoke.
"I didn't like how things ended with your sister."
Just like that—the air shifted.
She chopped spring onions with calm precision, not even looking at me as she added,
"She's your only blood relative, Brandi. She went too far, yes… but you should've been the bigger person."
I kept washing the potatoes, scrubbing harder than necessary.
Silence stretched.
Marissa stepped in, her voice softer but just as firm.
"She called you all night. You didn't pick up."
I said nothing.
"Brandi," she said gently, turning me around, "I'm talking to you."
That's when it hit.
The tears came quietly—no drama, no warning. Just… there. Filling my eyes, spilling before I could stop them.
She pulled me into a hug.
"Uh uh," Indira cut in immediately, pointing the knife at me like a warning. "She is not crying her way out of this."
I let out a weak, broken laugh.
"You need to fix this," she continued. "Go talk to your sister."
Before I could even respond, Marissa grabbed my phone and dialed.
She handed it to me.
It rang once. Twice.
Then—
"Hello?"
Her voice.
Violet Knowles.
Silence swallowed us both.
"Hey…" I finally said.
"Hi."
Another pause. Thick. Awkward.
"I'm sorry," I blurted. "About yesterday. I shouldn't have reacted like that. It wasn't your fault."
A breath on the other end.
"It's okay," she replied. "I'm not innocent either. I could've said things better… I guess I wanted a reaction, and I got one."
I let out a small laugh.
Of course she did.
"So… lunch?" I asked. "My son wants to meet you."
"Two hours," she said. "I'll be there."
Click.
I lowered the phone slowly.
"Now was that so hard?" Indira said, folding her arms with satisfaction.
Honestly?
No. It wasn't.
Pride is a stupid thing.
By the time we finished breakfast, the front door swung open and Lupita walked in with Jordan trailing behind her, sweaty and glowing like he'd just conquered the world.
"When did you start enjoying the gym?" I asked, raising a brow.
He ignored me, grabbed a muffin, and took a huge bite.
"Uh uh," Marissa said immediately, backing away. "Don't come near me. You stink."
That was all the invitation he needed.
He lunged at her.
She screamed and ran, laughter echoing through the house as he chased her around like a man possessed.
Eventually, he gave up and disappeared upstairs to shower.
A few minutes later, Kora walked in, stretching like she hadn't slept in days. She dropped into a chair, completely unaware of the storm about to hit her.
Jordan came back down, hair still damp.
Then suddenly—
"Don't move!" he shouted.
His voice froze all of us.
Kora stiffened instantly. "What?"
"There's a spider on your gown."
Her eyes widened.
"A big one."
She stood up slowly.
"Jordan…" I warned.
"A giant, hairy tarantula."
That was it.
She LOST it.
Jumping. Screaming. Swatting at herself like her life depended on it.
We all rushed toward her—
Until I saw it.
Jordan.
Standing there.
Smiling.
Calm. Evil. Proud.
"Jordan," I said sharply.
The others caught on, and laughter exploded through the room.
Except Kora.
She sat down, breathing hard, then raised her middle finger at him.
Jordan gasped dramatically and stuck out his tongue.
Honestly… if I didn't know better, I'd swear they were blood siblings.
We finally sat down to eat.
Peace lasted all of five minutes.
"Mom," Jordan said suddenly, like he'd just remembered something important, "do you know Kora's boyfriend?"
The table went silent.
Slowly… all eyes turned to Kora.
Mine widened. Lupita nearly choked.
So it was true.
"No, we don't," Marissa said smoothly. "Tell us about him."
Jordan straightened like he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life.
"He went to the meeting with her. They look good together. Even though he's bald."
Kora froze.
"And the way she was looking at him…" he added with a grin.
Indira leaned in. "How was she looking at him?"
Jordan sighed dreamily.
"The way I want my girlfriend to look at me."
I choked on my juice.
"Girlfriend?" Lupita jumped in immediately. "You have a girlfriend?"
"Not yet," he said, completely serious. "But soon."
"What's her name?" I asked.
He smiled, mysterious.
"You'll meet her."
Kora squinted at him. "Aren't you too young for all that?"
Jordan didn't even hesitate.
"I'm twelve years, seven months, and eighteen days old," he said confidently. "That's more than enough time to understand love."
Silence.
Then—
laughter.
Our kind of chaos.
Warm. Loud. Alive.
I leaned back in my chair, watching them, and for a moment… just a moment… everything felt right.
So I decided to stir things up.
"Kora's beautiful, Jordan," I said casually. "You should wish for a woman like her."
Kora instantly ran her fingers through her hair, already feeling herself.
But Jordan—
Jordan humbled her.
"I wouldn't marry Kora even if I was old enough."
Silence.
"Why?" we all asked at once.
He shrugged like it was obvious.
"She has stretch marks… and she's too beautiful for my liking. I'm probably too handsome for her anyway. Considering her current boyfriend, it's safe to say she has bad taste."
Dead silence.
I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh.
Stretch marks?
That was brutal.
I slowly turned to look at Kora, waiting for an explosion.
Nothing.
Just…stillness.
The kind that made it even worse.
The laughter was fighting to come out of all of us, sitting right on the edge.
But Jordan wasn't done.
"She's not really my type," he continued, completely unbothered. "I want a woman with green eyes—like a storm with grey in them…like Mom."
My breath hitched slightly.
He didn't even look at me. He just kept going.
"Smart like Marissa, kind and a good cook like Aunt Indira… strong like Lupita. She should wear glasses like Marissa—but look like Lupita, with Kora's aura."
He nodded, satisfied.
"Now that's the kind of girl I'd marry."
For a second…
No one spoke.
Then—
"Wow," Lupita muttered.
"Smart boy," Indira added.
I sat there quietly.
He noticed things.
Things I didn't even realize he saw.
My eyes…
I'd always wondered where they came from. Both my parents had brown eyes, but mine—mine were different. And somehow, my son noticed that.
That alone stayed with me.
We eventually cleared the table, laughter still lingering in the air. Plates clattered, water ran, normal life resumed.
I took the fish out of the freezer to thaw, then went to take a shower.
When I came back—
I stopped.
All my things were neatly packed.
Folded. Organized.
Placed on the bed.
And sitting right beside them—
Jordan.
"Mom," he said casually, not even looking up, "you'll have to move back to your room now. I need space."
I raised a brow.
"Space?"
He nodded, still going through my things like he owned them.
I didn't argue.
He was growing.
Slowly stepping into himself.
And whether I liked it or not…this was part of it.
"Alright," I said simply.
He helped me carry my things to my room.
He had already cleaned it.
Properly.
That hit me more than anything else.
I stood there for a moment, just looking at him.
At the boy he was becoming.
And silently, I prayed—
That the world wouldn't get to him before I could protect him from it.
"That woman from yesterday…" I said, breaking the quiet. "Violet…she's coming over today."
He nodded.
"Good," he said. "Then I'll finally be introduced to her properly."
Something about the way he said that…
Made me pause.
Because knowing Jordan—
"Properly" meant something.
And I wasn't sure if I was ready for whatever that was.