I spent Wednesday at Angel's store, Upscale Designs. I worked the cash register as it was a big sale day. Unlike other places having big Black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving, Angel was closed for business that day, giving herself and her employees time for family.

In fact, they surprised me and told me we were all going on a family vacation starting Friday morning. Flying out to Phoenix Arizona to have Thanksgiving there as well, with her parents who lived there. My aunt Shay and her husband and kids were coming as well.

I had never been out of Missouri, much less flown in a plane so I was excited. We were going to pick Symone up Friday morning and she was coming as well. I asked Symone to do my braids while we were there, she was a pro at that stuff.

Thanksgiving dinner was great, mostly prepared by my father, but Jared and his boyfriend came over with a few dishes as well It was just us, not a lot of family for dinner and I liked that just fine.

"Are you able to fly with that big belly?" I asked Angel when I helped her clean up after our meal.

"Big belly?" Angel looked down at herself. "This little thing?"

"You're bigger than you were with AJ. Maybe it's twins."

"Girl, shut it."

We laughed at that. When they told me Angel was pregnant with AJ, I was shocked. I did not know my father wanted more kids. I didn't think Angel liked kids. They weren't even married at the time, simply living together. Now I know better, you didn't have to be married to have kids together.

Look at my parents. Young and immature when they had me. My mother still hasn't grown up.

"Angel, did my father talk to you about...my mother?"

Angel quietly put things away before she said anything.

"Angel-"

"I don't like this at all, Rayvn. She's a grown woman with a child, that should be her responsibility. Jalon shouldn't have to suffer."

"I know. Maybe I can stop by before we leave and drop off some food."

"Oh, don't worry, your father sent Alonzo to go buy three hundred dollars worth of groceries for them, then said he would buy more the week after next."

"What?" I wondered how Angel felt with my father taking care of my mother and another child.

"Of course, you know she didn't care about the food, she wanted the money."

"I can give her some, I have plenty."

"I can't tell you what to do with your money, it is yours, however you want to use it. I just say...do it because you want to, not because you feel threatened to do so."

After we cleaned up, I texted my friends. They were so jealous of me flying away for a few days. Only three days and then I had to fly back, but it still was going to be great.

My first time on a plane and it was a blast. We flew first class and I was geeked out. Symone and I took pictures like we were superstars, posing and having a good time. I posted them on my Instagram account to break the norm of my mundane postings. Not that I had many friends that would care. Chantel and JuJu liked my pictures. King liked them as well. That made me smile.

Phoenix was a great looking city. Just like St. Louis, only hotter. My step-grandparent's home was nice with plenty of bedrooms. There was a huge bedroom setup up with two bunk beds. Symone and I would take one, and my cousins Dahlia, EJ, and Dominique were on the other. Even though they were a lot younger than me. I did not mind sharing and spending time with them.

Angel and my father had another room and AJ was going to sleep with them. My aunt Shay and her husband, Elmer were in another room.

"All my grandbabies in my house for the first time!" Grandmother Clarissa said, walking into the bedroom with us while we all sat on our respective beds, faces glued to our phones.

"Grammy!" only Dominque ran to her for a hug.

"I know she is not the only one that sees me."

I stopped scrolling through social media to greet my grandmother with a hug.

"Hey, grammy."

"Don't hey grammy me, I want to know all about how school is going. Tell me everything and don't leave anything out."

I left everything out. It was hard enough talking to my parents about school, I was not telling my grandmother everything. Needless to say, our stay was short. There was a lot of good food, catered in, we went out on Saturday to see holiday lights already set up, then went out to the mall to shop, then pretty cool sightseeing.

I stayed off social media as much as possible. I was with my family they should have all my attention. Pretty soon I was not thinking of that boy.

We flew back in early Sunday, and I still had to drive back to Columbia for school. I was tired.

"Let me drive you back," my father said.

"Why? I have my car Dad, and that wouldn't make sense."

"Doesn't have to make sense. I want to spend some time with my girl. I'll drive your car back with you, stay overnight and get a rental and come back tomorrow."

"You'd leave Angel and AJ all pregnant all alone?"

"I hardly need him babysitting me." Angel came over and kissed my cheek. "Go, let your father drive you. I miss you already but I know winter break is right around the corner."

Two hours with my father in the car with me. Great!

We didn't get far when my father started in on me. "So, tell me more about this boy that broke your heart."

"Dad!"

"What? I didn't get to meet him. Tell me something. I want to know what you like."

I groaned and slunk down a bit in my seat.

"Tall, good looking, bald, did he look like me?"

"Dad! That's gross! He doesn't look anything like you. He's hotter."

"Oh, well, I thought you were daddy's little girl?"

"I am but...Diallo was nothing like you. He was tall, but not tall like you. He has this curly afro going on, super sexy...I mean, super cute."

"Uh-huh."

"The prettiest brown eyes as well. And sweet...well, until he wasn't." I paused for a bit. "He thinks I was talking to another boy."

"Were you?"

"No! Not like that. I was talking to him but as a friend."

"Oh, I see."

"And Diallo thinks because King likes me...and I used to like him, that something was going on but it wasn't. I simply think of King as a friend and Diallo should know that."

"Guys are pretty insecure when they see the girl they care about with another guy. That's not your cross to bear though. If he didn't trust you, there's no relationship anyway."

Trust, I had not thought of it that way. Diallo was super hot on campus, and everyone knew him, and lots of girls talked to him but I never once thought he was cheating on me. I was jealous about it, but I trusted Diallo. Little naive of me.

"So tell me about this King guy?"

"King? What about him? He's a friend."

"So you're going to act like I didn't hear you say you liked him and he likes you. Rayvn, that takes it to another level than just friends."

"If you say so."

"Keep him in the friend zone then. Don't just jump to him because he's there. Give yourself time to heal from this breakup. Focus on your classes and getting those grades up."

My daddy would never let up about my grades, as if that was the only thing important in the world. He never went to college, he didn't understand how hard it was. The rest of the ride we talked about what kind of push gift he was going to buy for Angel. He wanted to top what he got her for AJ, a new Denali truck.

Angel pretty much had everything she ever needed or wanted. What could he get her? I said some diamonds, a woman could never get enough of that, though I didn't own any.

"Something more meaningful, thanking her for giving birth to two of your big-headed babies, Daddy," I said with a chuckle.

"Corny Rave, corny. And maybe she didn't push you out Rayvn, but you know Angel loves you like a mother."

I nodded my head, I already knew that. "But she's not, and I have one, and she has issues."

"Let me handle her, don't you worry about it."

"Dad, I wish you were Jalon's daddy. It would have been so much easier. "

"I know you do. Quite honestly, if it was not for that whole situation with your mother and Jalon, Angel probably wouldn't have had the idea of having my kids in her mind. I never pressured her to, I would have been happy with just you two. Angel wanted it so bad, and I love her so much."

"So any more after this. You make pretty babies, Daddy."

He laughed at her. "No, I'm done, done. So is Angel. You know she's old, right."

"I'm telling her you said that."

"Oh, she knows."

We finally made it to my dorm and my father dropped me off and would bring my car back in the morning before he left. As soon as I made it to my floor, I regretted ever coming back.

Twyla and Donnell were in the hallway in front of my suite, yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. Others were looking out of their rooms and no one tried to stop them.

"Get on with that bullshit you're saying. You're just mad what Chantel and I have is real and you were just the sneaky link."

"Oh, is that all it was? Coming over here every night."

"It wasn't like that. We kicked it a couple of times, we never dated."

"All it takes is one damn time." Twyla raised her shirt and showed her very round belly. "I'm pregnant and it's yours!"

Oh, bloody, hell!

A/N: What in the ....Twyla dropped the bomb!

But didn't Rayvn and her father have a nice conversation?