Me and Reggie stood side by side with balloons and a needle in our hands. My palms were sweaty and I felt like my face was about to fall off from how hard I was smiling. All the games have been played and we were getting to the fun part, knowing if I'm going to have a prince or princess.
"Man Ari stop playing and make the announcement!" Reggie said, tipsy at this point making us laugh. "Okay! Okay! Don't rush me!" She said laughing. "Now on the count of 3, y'all can pop the balloons." She said making me look over at Reggie smiling still. "I love you." He whispered kissing my cheek.
"One!...." They yelled. "Two!...." "Three!!.." They cheered making us pop the balloons. Pink confetti flew everywhere making me jump up and scream right along with everybody else. "Let's goooo!" Reggie screamed jumping up and down hugging me making me laugh.
"Yes girl! You're carrying my niece!" Ari shouted over the microphone making me fan the tears away that threatened to fall. "Congratulations sis." Lijah said hugging my neck making me hug him back. "Congratulations baby, I am so happy for you. She's going to be beautiful just like her mother." My mom said with a warm smile hugging me and just like the flood gates opened, I began to sob.
"You can't mess up your makeup girl, pull it in." She said making me laugh and take a deep breath. I grabbed the napkin patting the tears that fell away. "So you gone tell us who she is yet?" Lijah leaned in asking making me want to smack him across the neck but I just gave him a side eye instead. "What?!" He asked shrugging his shoulders. "Aye I'm happy my niecey Pooh gone be here in a couple of months and best believe we celebrating everything but I think we got the right to know." He said making me sit quietly, he did have a point.
Reggie slowly walked up pulling me into his arms. "You don't need to say anything Marlicia." My mom said pulling the girl up into her embrace patting her shoulder. "What's going on girl?" Ari whispered standing on the side of me. "I don't know." I said back feeling confused. I looked at the woman noticing all the tattoos and piercings up close. "I-I really don't know how to say this so I'm going to just say it. This is Tyler, your older sister." She said on the verge of breaking down. "What?" I said walking up to her making Reggie gently pull me back. "Man she just said this girl our big sister!" Lijah said smacking his lips mugging our mom up and down. I didn't know who was more annoying right now, him or her.
"What you mean big sister? This gotta be some joke right? This can't be real!" I said turning around trying to bite my tongue. "I had Tyler when I was fifteen, I was a child myself and made some mistakes. My mother made me give her up for adoption, three years later I met your father.."She said making me look at Tyler. "Why you never told us about this!? And why choose this day out of all days to announce this!?" I asked. "Because I knew it was now or never Marlicia! Truth is, I suffer from kidney failure and I'm on dialysis. When you on that shit you know it don't last long, I'm lucky to be here for three years. I gotta make right with my children, all of them!" She said frustrated wiping her tears away.
"W-wait, kidney failure?" I asked making sure I heard her right feeling a knot form in my throat. "Two years ago, is when they told me." She said carelessly. "You just full of surprises man." Lijah said shaking his head trying to hold back his tears. "We needed a mom who was healthy and you bring this chick and this broke ass nigga-." He said looking Charles up and down making Charles stand tall with his chest out like he was ready. "Up into my sister party to rain on her parade?!" Lijah asked frustrated ready to get off. "Baby-." Ari said softly grabbing his arm.
"Your mother says she's dying and you're still sitting here looking to be coddled. You kids is soft as baby shit." Charles said in his deep raspy voice taking the carton of Newport's from his pants and the lighter.
"Nigga what the fuck you say?!" Lijah asked pushing him back making the cigarette fall from his lips. "Watch out." Reggie said gently pushing me aside with Ari as he ran up to Lijah.
YOU ARE READING
Brown Sugar
ChickLitMarlicia; stage name Brown Sugar has a lot on her plate. With stripping, college, social life, and home you could image she doesn't have time for any men. Any man that isn't Reggie anyway.
