Jay

"Correy, man, I know you hungry but can you chill out? We almost there." I watched him from rearview mirror. He was back there throwing a fit, crying and everything. It only took us about 5 hours, but he started mean mugging after the first one.

"No! I'm getting out!" He started trying to open the door. "Jokes on you nigga I put them child locks on. Now sit still before I get your aunties to whoop you." I focused back on the road and started bobbing and weaving through other cars. Not gonna lie, I was ready to get out too.

"Mommy says they not my aunties." That was much like Sierra, to tell him who his family was and who his family wasn't. She was starting to be too controlling, and I thought back to our conversation last night.

I had no problem moving out to New Orleans to be with her while she was pregnant. I was there when she gave birth, holding her hand and everything. She was my girl back then and I made sure she was straight even after we ended things. So why all of a sudden was she trying to say that I never cared about her or Correy? I can't tell if someone is in her ear or she just flat out crazy.

"Well, they are. Not everything Mommy says is true."

I haven't really told my son about me or my family because I thought there wasn't much to say. He didn't have any grandparents, cousins, uncles. It was just Wrenden and Flora, but I was okay with that. Of course, he had Domonique too, but she wasn't exactly here.

We passed the "Welcome to Monroe" sign and he pressed his face to the window. I decided to drive us around my old house. "We making a stop."

"No, I'm hungry! That's not fair," he whined. "I gotchu', man. After this, we'll go eat."

"Pinky promise?" I stretched my arm back there and looped his pinky with mine. He smiled and stopped doing the most while I turned down the familiar streets. "Where are we going?"

"I'm tryna show you my old house." Within a few minutes, we were rolling up to 1349 Crestwood Rd. I sold it to a small family five years ago, but now it looked like there were some new tenants. I parked across the street and got him out so he could get a closer look.

"You use to live in a blue house?"

I scoffed, "Hell nah. It wasn't this color when I lived here with your great auntie."

"What was she like?"

"You don't wanna know lil bro." I laughed. Seems like she died a whole lifetime ago.

As we got closer to the house I saw two people sitting in rocking chairs and recognized them as the children of the new owners. In just a couple of years they had changed so much. I waved at them and so did Correy. We stood there, looking at the house and me answering a million questions from him.

He pointed to a spot near the door. "What's that?"

I followed his finger and saw what he was looking at. There was a patch of darkened wood that didn't match the color of the rest of the deck. I couldn't forget whose blood that was. I ain't even notice it until he said something, but the memories rushed back. How I let her get stabbed twice when I was supposed to be the one protecting her?

"A story for another day," I turned us around and we started heading back to my Tahoe.

"No, tell me!"

"Ain't you say you was hungry?" And he shut right up.

I pulled Correy out of the backseat and started grabbing our bags. He ran up to the door and started clicking the doorbell over and over and over. I just sighed and decided to let whoever answered the door handle him.

"Who the fuck- aye, don't be ringing that bell like that unless you God himself! Whoever it is you better start asking for forgiveness now cause I'm not in the mood," I could hear Wren from behind the door. Correy ass must have not been listening because he kept going. She yanked the door open and almost took his head off with a broom handle.

"Daddy she trying to kill me!" He yelled and tried to run back to me. Wrenden laughed as soon as she realized who it was. But it was too late, he was already scared and tryna hide behind my legs. "Uh uh, go on over there."

We both walked inside. I instantly smelled whatever was on the stove, and my stomach grumbled. I put our stuff down and gave her a huge hug. She didn't have to reach too far up because she was tall herself. It had been a year and she hadn't changed that much. She was still Wren, only this time with box braids.

"I missed you," she bent down to Correy, "And don't be coming to people house and doing that. You hear me?"

He nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now come here," she scooped him up and started throwing him in the air. I let them giggle and play and went into the kitchen.

Flora was wiping her hands down, letting me know that she had just finished cooking. Every meal she made slapped, so I was ready for this one. "You guys made it! Harley, come say hi," she called. I gave her a hug and started lifting the lids to the pots. She smacked my hands away and shooed me out the kitchen.

"She getting on my nerves with that shit. All I was trying to do was taste it," Wren mugged.

"Hey, Uncle Jay!" Harley squealed, coming out of her room. I gave her some dap and she sat with me on the couch.

I thought back to when Wrenden and Flora first wanted to try for kids. Neither of them wanted to have a baby though. Flora didn't want to mess up her body and Wren, well Wren just wasn't that person. They turned to foster parenting and then they got Harley when she was 5. It's been two years since then and they're working on adopting her. The court better not turn them down either. Gay or not, they good parents.

"What's happenin' witchu, Lee? Your mamas giving you hell?"

"Yes, omg the sexual tension is high," she replied. I cut my eyes at her. "The hell you know about sexual tension?! You like seven years old man!" She shrugged me off, acting grown. I just shook my head.

"Uncle, you said you were going to bring your son this time."

"I did." I started scanning the room for Correy. "Where's he at? I want to meet him."

I was looking for his little ass when Harley made up her mind that he wasn't real. "Why would I make that up?"

She shrugged again. "I don't know. Mommy says you're crazy."

"Which one? Cause I'll whoop both they asses."

Wrenden came from the backyard with Correy. "Don't be cursing around her," she smacked my head. I rubbed it a little and then pointed at him. "See. I told you he was here." Harley grabbed his wrist and led him down to her room, I guess to play. Wren was going to call them back but I stopped her.

"She lonely. Let her play with her cousin."

She took a seat next to me and we caught up until Flora finally called everyone down to eat. The kids ate in the living room and we had the table to ourselves, to talk.

"You have to stop only coming by once a year. It's honestly sad," Flora commented. "I know. I miss you guys," was all I said. But there was definitely more on my mind.

The only thing this city did was remind me of how much I lost. That everything can be taken away from you in a moment's notice. And that growing up was some hard shit. I know I should take more time off for them, but work is the only thing that keeps me going. If my mind is busy, I ain't got time to think about everything I'm feeling.

"So how long you two staying?"

"We'll leave on Sunday. Though I was tryna stay into the week, I needa get back and handle shit with Si," I groaned. I was pissed at her but I didn't want her to think I kidnapped Correy and call the police. Cause that's exactly what she would do.

"What is that trick up to now?" Wren asked. She ain't never liked Sierra, even though they had never really gotten to know each other. Wren just kept saying she could sense her vibe was off. Ladies and that vibe shit.

I explained to them how she was moving different, and her whole thing with moving to New York and taking Correy with her. Both of them said they'd whoop her ass if she tried to leave with him. The way they talked about tag-teaming, I believed it. Sierra better watch her shit because Wren does have them brass knuckles.

"I'm sure it won't get to that. Try and settle it without having to go to court," Flora commented. Hopefully, she was right. Though things were well at Bizzy, wasn't nobody trying to spend a check in court. Plus, I ain't wanna drag Correy through that.

I needed to get my mind off that. "Why does Harley say that y'all have sexual tension?"

Flora almost spit her water out and Wren started laughing. "She a whole mess," Wren said in between laughs.

"Did she really say that? Harley! Ven aqui. Bring my chancla!" Flora shouted. "Nah don't be mad cause she read us like that. My baby smart, she know wassup."

"She said that because Flora being stingy, got me begging for spare coochie." Wrenden started acting like she was a homeless man begging for money on the street. Flo's face turned red and that shit made me cackle. By the looks of it, Wren still wasn't gonna be getting any.

I was already in the car by the time everybody started getting dressed. I picked out the flowers I wanted her to have earlier this morning: red carnations. It was like I was ready to go talk to her and give her a little lace-up on everything that's gone down in the past year. I should have known that a house full of women was going to take hours to get ready, even though we were just going to visit a grave.

Everyone buckled up and I made the drive to the cemetery where Domonique was buried. Nothing played on the radio, and we all just listened to Correy and Harley's baby talk.

As I parked, I felt more and more anxious. As if by the time I would get there, Domo wouldn't want to see me anymore. Well, she ain't have no choice in the matter anyway.

Nearing her tombstone, I could already see that someone was there. I thought that was weird because she didn't have no one else that would want to come see her. Yes, a whole bunch of folks showed up at the funeral. But none of them loved her like we did, like I did.

"Hey," I called out to the person. They had a hoodie tight over their head and stood at probably a few inches shorter than me. When they heard my voice, they started to leave the site. The way they walked was exactly the same as Domonique used to. "Nique?" I asked. They didn't pause but kept walking.

I couldn't be too sure. I wanted to see who it was so I sped up to catch up to them. Part of me wanted to believe that she didn't leave me five years ago. "Wait, Domonique!" I was about to jog over to them when I felt a hand tug me back.

"Jaylen," Wrenden touched my shoulder. "It's not her."

"But I saw her. That could have, that could have been her. Who else would show up at her grave, today, of all the damn days?" I breathed hard. If I ran I could catch up to whoever it was. Maybe it was Domonique, and I was missing the chance to see her again.

I looked behind Wren to Flora and the kids. Harley bent down to Correy and said, "See. My mommy did say your daddy was crazy." I guess she thought she was whispering, but I heard her loud and clear. Flora gave her the eye, the look that moms give right before you finna get your ass whooped, and she apologized immediately.

If it was D, she was gone. No one else was in the cemetery. That little hope I had was gone. Back to the reality of things: she wasn't coming back. "Maybe they were visiting someone else. It's alright, I miss her too." She was talking to me like I was wounded. I hated how much pity was in her voice.

I continued the walk to her plot by myself. I guess Wren knew I needed to just talk to her on my lonely, and she hung back with the rest of them.

I placed the bouquet of flowers next to her name.

In Loving Memory of A Dear Sister, Daughter, and Friend.
Domonique Corré Williams

I traced over her name with my fingers. "I told you Correy was coming with me. He don't even know I named him after you."

I took a seat in the grass and crossed my legs. I was ready to spill everything to the only one who ever listened.