All That Matters

06 | Wildest Safari

Sweet Tea was a soul food-styled diner that Mila frequented. They sat in a booth by the window, the outdoor neon red lights shining in and waning across her and Dylan's faces.

"Can I have more syrup, Mom?" With a mouthful of deliciously classic red beans and rice, Mila hummed her response while reaching for the maple syrup dispenser. She drizzled it over Dylan's waffles as she ate one of her chicken tenders.

"Thank you." She said before unexpectedly dipping her strip into the sweet stickiness.

"You're welcome, mama."

"She's so grown up. This is crazy." Wes smiled as he used a fork to stab around his Caesar salad. It was going on seven o'clock that night and the bustle of the diner epitomized it. A range of guests, from police officers to families like them, all enjoying the aesthetic and ambiance with R&B music softly playing as background noise.

Wes' ordering of a salad after a main course of steak and roasted potatoes reminded Mila of nothing but their mother. She tried to ignore it but it was hard to forget the warped logic of a salad being disguised as a dessert for them when they were children.

"Are waffles your favorite?" He asked Dylan who shyly nodded her head while leaning onto Mila's arm. Wes pouted, a little sad that she'd forgotten him. When she was smaller, he'd claimed Dylan as his little best friend and now hoped that they could rebuild their relationship.

"This girl likes anything that's sweet." Mila chuckled as she sipped the diner's signature drink. "She's got a sweet tooth out of this world. If I let her have her way, she'd look like Danica when we were little with a mouth full of silvers."

"The streets are saying that she has a few of them at her big age." Wes snickered as they referred to their aunt's daughter who had a soul as nasty as her mouth.

Seeing her phone awaken itself, she saw that she had a new text from a unknown number that she assumed to be Damon.

Damon: Did you and your daughter make it home alright?

Her lips curled into an subconscious smile as she picked up her phone and twirled her thumbs around each other as she thought of a response. A simple yes wasn't going to suffice.

Mila: I never said that I was going home. I had a dinner date.

She put her phone back on the dark wood table before it lit up again, so quickly and unexpectedly.

Damon: He must be boring if you're texting me right now. Need me to come and save you?

Mila: My brother is not the most romantic date by any means, but I'm having a good time, so no lol.

"Do you ever feel lonely out here all by yourself? Our family's so big and the city's so small, I'm hoping I don't get too homesick despite everything." Wes' tone settled with seriousness as he asked. "I already miss Ty, Senia, Bria, and everybody else."

"Yasmine is my family too, so I've never felt lonely because I'm not alone. I do miss spending time with the family members who aren't," Mila paused trying to find another, more polite way to say it before coming up empty-handed. "Horrible people, but at the end of the day, I have to put my mental health first."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Wes..." His question made Mila sigh heavily.

"No, no, seriously. Like, I know that it was really bad back home for you but I don't know how far things went."

Mila's big eyes slimmed in an affront way, "Why do the specifics matter though, Wes? You don't believe me?"

He gently shook his head, "No, it's not that sister, I promise. I'm just asking to better understand you and the situation. Remember, I was only fifteen at the time, and Mama hid everything from me."