Searching for Anika

Chapter 6

THREE MONTHS LATER...

I never thought going on tour would go by so fast. They say when you're having fun, time goes by. Don't get me wrong... I loved being able to go on tour and see the world and all that it has to offer. But nothing beats finally making it back home to the A. I missed Atlanta so much and I missed my baby, Xola, even more. Xola always met me at the gate, wherever I entered through the airport and this time was no different. Soon as she saw me she ran straight towards me, not even caring about accidentally bumping into people or nothing. All I could do was laugh because she acted like I had been gone for some years or something. When she ran into me, she hugged me so tight and I could smell the baby oil that she had probably rubbed her body down with before she came to the airport.

I pulled back from the hug and tried to give Xola a cute little kiss on the lips. But she missed me so much, she wasn't going for that. This girl grabbed me by my face and tongued me down in the middle of the airport. You know, I'm all for the PDA but, it's always some elderly people and kids in the airport. Like, she definitely could've waited until we got in the car or something. But that's my baby, though, so I couldn't trip. I missed her like crazy, too.

"I missed you so much, baby.", said Xola, after she pulled back from the kiss and ran her fingers through my braids.

"I missed you, too, girl.", I said, with a smile. Xola returned the smile back but it was extremely flirtatious. Then, she bent down to grab one of my suitcases and said, "Let's go home."

After I got settled in at the crib, I realized that there was one thing that had been on my mind since I left for tour. I had to reach out to Marco, Sheena and Juno and try to schedule a trip to go back out to L.A., to give my mama a proper burial. I got out the shower and rubbed my body down with some lotion. Then, I took my phone off the charger, unlocked it and scrolled through my contacts for Marco's number. Marco picked up after the second ring.

"Elani!", he exclaimed and before I could respond back, he had switched the call from voice to FaceTime. Marco waved at me through the phone and I realized he and Sheena were in the kitchen together.

"Sheena, baby. Look who's on the phone." said Marco, as he turned the phone so, Sheena could see me. Wow, Sheena dyed her hair red and it looked amazing on her. She was also in the middle of putting some chicken wings in a pot of oil and her hands were covered in flour and seasoning. Sheena smiled and shouted out, "Hey Elani! How are you? How was the tour? Are you back home in Atlanta?"

"Dang baby! One question at a time!", chuckled Marco, as he turned the phone back to himself. All I could do was laugh, but I responded back.

"Hey Sheena! I'm good and yeah, I'm back home in Atlanta. I touched down around 1 something, I think. Tour was amazing! I had so much fun but, of course, I missed Xola and you guys, too." Then, before I knew it, Marco had gone to Juno's room and knocked on the door to tell him I was on the phone. I could hear Juno opening his bedroom door and Marco switched the camera around so, I could see him.

"What's up, little bro?"

Juno smiled back, while throwing up the peace sign and replied back, 'What's up, sis?"

After catching up with everybody, Marco walked to his office and pulled the door up behind him. I could see him sitting down at his desk and propping his phone up by maybe his desk lamp or something. "So, Elani, got any plans for the Christmas holidays?"

"Actually, yeah. Xola and I wanted to come out to L.A. and spend some time with you all. Her mom had already planned a family trip to go to the Bahamas with her twin sisters and her new boyfriend. So, we were thinking we could either stay here in Atlanta and probably celebrate the holiday together but, I thought about you guys and wanted to see if that would be okay...?" I let the "okay" trail off just to see what Marco's response would be.