The Compromise

3.

That night had Toni pissed off for about one or two days, but she quickly got over it with the help of her friends and family.

Or so she thought.

How did she manage to see the three people she despised the most within the same week she moved back home? It amazed her how Trinity wasn't at some HBCU with Hayden running behind her.

If seeing those two didn't boil her blood enough, Nicolas most definitely set the top off– some class reunion that was.

"I just hope I never see them again," she said to Siara on the ride back home.

"Well, you might not," Siara spoke, steering a wheel with both hands. "I think Trinity and Hayden were off-campus for the weekend– but you might run into Nick a couple of times."

Toni took a deep breath, "Out of all the niggas in ATL– your boyfriend had to choose him the be his roommate."

Siara shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, I mean, we didn't know. You never even told me his name. Taj probably would have bypassed him."

"No, that would've been unnecessary. It's fine," Toni promised. "I'm just tripping."

Little Kamiyah stood before the mounted seventy-five-inch television. She bent her knees and bounced up and down vigorously, trying to dance to the kid-friendly music. Toni's figure sprawled across the couch behind her; she laid down on her stomach, hitting a couple of keys on her laptop, unintentionally humming along to the Cocomelon song.

She sighed, eventually shutting the laptop and placing it on the accent table. She also removed her cat eyeglasses from her face and set them on her device.

Toni switched onto her back, letting out a frustrated groan. Her niece stopped dancing and looked back, blinking at Toni a few times with her big round eyes.

Mariah came down the stairs with her phone in her hand. Toni could tell her sister was visibly upset by the frown across her face and the indent that formed between her brows. "Hey..." she greeted groggily. "You okay?"

Mariah sighed as her hand dropped to her side, getting straight to the point. "Kalvin called."

That got Toni's full attention. She sat up so fast that her wig almost came off. "What... what did he want?" She queried hesitantly.

"He's mad at me for taking the kids out of New York­­– mind you, I told him we were preparing to leave months ago," she grumbled. "Everything I tell him just goes into one ear and instantly out of the other."

Toni let out a scoff. "Well, he can't do anything about it. You have full custody of them; his ass can buy a plane ticket if he wants to visit," she waved off before standing up and placing her hands on Mariah's shoulders. "It's going to be fine. I promise you that."

The older woman cocked an eyebrow at the taller girl. "Are you sure? What about you? You've been applying for that job for about five days," she gestured over at the laptop.

Toni released her hands from Mariah's shoulders. She glanced over at her PC and pouted.

"You can work, Toni. I'll be good. I'll have mom watch over the kids, and I'll even hire someone to babysit them–"

"No, no, no, it's not that. It has nothing to do with that, Ri," Toni fretted; she didn't want her sister to think that was the case. "I'm just not sure If I want to resume the life I had here before I left. Plus, I enjoy being a stay-at-home auntie."

Mariah nodded, not understanding what she meant by that. When Toni came to New York, she barely talked about anyone or anything. It was all a mystery to Mariah, but Toni was always that way.