Malia&Khari II

Twenty Five.

New Orleans, Louisiana
The next night...

The smell of garlic, and herb roasted Cornish hen filled the air along with Mac & Cheese and Latte Glazed Mocha-Almond Cinnamon Rolls. Malia lost herself in the kitchen as Beyoncè's Lemonade softly played in the background. She maneuvered around in the spacious kitchen, sampling and adding more seasoning to her meal. Moving towards the oven, she opened it to check on the cinnamon rolls, and decided to let them stay in a little while longer.

So what are you gonna say at my funeral, now that you've killed me? Here lies the body of the love of my life, whose heart I broke without a gun to my head. Here lies the mother of my children, both living and dead. Rest in peace, my true love, who I took for granted.

Malia looked at the phone as Beyoncè recited the lines, and lifted both brows simultaneously. Her feet moved across the dark hardwood floors and into the living room where she found her two minions playing. She still hadn't talked to Kamari about his actions yesterday and planned to do it over dinner. "Go wash your hands, dinner is ready. Help your brother." She said to Kamari.

He nodded, standing up and grabbing Iman's hand then leading him to the bathroom. Malia's eyes followed the family portrait just above the fireplace, and bit her bottom lip. The happiness on their faces seemed like it had all been a lie. The house didn't even feel like a home anymore. Shaking her head, she walked back into the kitchen to take out the cinnamon rolls and then fixed their plates. She heard Iman's little feet then felt him tap her thigh. She looked down meeting his smiling face. "Hey my baby hungry huh?" She cooed, picking him up with her plate and Kamari's in hand.

She sat him in his high chair beside her, and she sat down in hers. She said a quick prayer because Iman was hitting the chair with his hands signaling that he was ready to eat. She chuckled lowly, scooping some Mac and cheese onto her fork. She placed the fork to his mouth and he ate it. He kicked his legs and smiled again making Malia smile in the process. "Good?"

"Good!" He copied.

Kamari walked in, drying off his hands with a paper towel. Seeing his plate on the table, he immediately sat down and dug in. He was so into his food that he didn't notice his mother glaring at him. Finally looking up, he looked at her with a mouth full of chicken and macaroni. "Huh?" He asked.

"Skipping prayers now?" She cut up the chicken into pieces, and fed it to Iman.

"No ma'am." He mumbled, and said a quick prayer over his food before continuing to eat. The table was quiet except for the forks hitting the plates. As Kamari chewed, he looked over at his mom. "I'm sorry."

Malia wiped Iman's mouth before letting him sip some cranberry juice. She looked over at Kamari then fed herself. "For what exactly?"

"For how I acted."

"Mm." Malia hummed. "Tell me how you acted." She bit into her chicken, and chewed quietly. She knew how Kamari acted, but she wanted him to identify what exactly he had done wrong. She also want him to express his feelings so having him feel comfortable to talk was her goal. He could talk to her about anything, and she wasn't sure if he had knew that. She just didn't want the cycle of the men in her life holding things in to continue. She honestly didn't want him to be like Khari in that regard. Look where it had him, now.

Kamari put his hands between his legs, and kicked his feet under the table. He watched as she begin to feed Iman again and shrugged. "I acted bad. I disrespected you."