TLWM: The Hate Experience

\XLVIII/ Start Panicking

     What the hell was that?? The only logical reason Prince's mother hit Letty with a Minnie winter breeze was that Prince didn't say who was coming. Ace asked for his Stepmommy but Prince told his mother he would send an assistant. Or maybe someone else relayed the wrong message to Mattie. Mm-mm. Letty stood there for a moment, contemplating on ringing the bell for a second round.

     "Stepmommy?"

     Letty looked down at the little red-nosed kid latched onto her. Her face softened, looking down at him in adoration. Awww. I wonder how many talks it took for Prince to program him to replace Ms. Wizzo with Stepmommy. 

     "Can we go now?"

     "Of course, sorry. Let's get you home."

     Prince's house on Galpin was still intact so Letty brought herself and Ace there so he could be in the comfort of his own room. In and out of rubber gloves and sprays of Lysol, she cared for Ace and helped get him through his sniffles. He wasn't nearly in bad shape like his father, but she knew how scary being sick in any form was for kids.

      Once the sun was down and Ace was asleep, Prince finally called. Sitting on the couch, Letty muted the TV and scooched to the edge. "Hey..."

     "What are you doing? Where's Bam?"

     "He's good. He's asleep. So, when you talked to your mom, who did you say was coming to get him?"

     "Letty," Prince answered, in a way that said she should've already known that.

     "And she knows who Letty is?"

     "Yeah, she's very aware that we're getting married. You know she has the invite. Why?"

     Gazing across the room, Letty shook her head.

     "Why?" Prince repeated a little louder. "She act like she ain't know you?"

     Letty didn't want to start anything because Prince's tone was rough...and it wasn't the bronchitis. But Prince was her best friend and she couldn't hold it in. Forecast said there was a 30% chance he'd take this lightly as long as she showed no hurt feelings. "Technically speaking, baby, she doesn't know me and I thought that's why she hasn't RSVP'd yet but..."

     "I asked her today why she never responded to the wedding invite and she said she wanted to talk to me about it first, which we agreed to do when I get back. But she knows who you are. She knows your uncle—or somebody on that side of the tree. What did she say to you?"

     "Well." Letty smacked her lips and crossed her legs. "Not a word."

     "What?" Oh God. That spicy what meant he wasn't going to take this lightly. "What happened?"

     "Nothing?"

     "She said nothing to you?"

     "She brought Ace to the front door, said bye to him and that was it. She didn't even look at me before she shut the door on us." Letty's feelings were hurt, but that hurt was reserved for only her. "You are definitely that woman's child."

     "What you mean by that?"

     "Ya'll mean."

     "You know you look mean yourself, right? Always got that attitude funking up your face."

     "I didn't have any attitude on my face, sir. I smiled and said hello to her and she failed to acknowledge my presence."

     "Oh hell no."