Baton Rouge.

Fire!

Watching TV, Jionni sat to the side as Djuan sold two small bags of cocaine and marijuana. Jionni's odd demeanor sparked concern in his younger cousin.

"Ji, you ain't sold a cookie bag in damn near 2 weeks." Djuan laughed, sparking a blunt. "You good?"

"Nah. I stopped doin' that shit." Jionni said, flipping channels.

"Why?"

"I'm tryna get into this new job. Lissa puttin' me on."

Djuan paused, cracking a small smile.

"Melissa. She changin' you already..."

"She ain't changin' shit. I chose to do dis'." Jionni snapped.

"Ayo, she can talk you out of sellin', but is she gone pay any bills?" Djuan scoffed. "Ion' know how much that other job is but this was always good money for you. Listen to her ass if you want to."

Jionni thought about his comment, shifting his eyes away from him.

Back at home, Melissa spent time with Rosa after having breakfast with Louis and her parents. The two drank wine, watched TV, and did their nails.

"You are NOT the father!" Maury announced.

"Not even a shocker. The child is white, she's Mexican and that man was black." Maria shrugged, painting her fingernails as she watched the crowd reaction.

"So what are we doing after this, grandma?" Melissa smiled, leaning against her knee after finishing her toe-nails. "I think we should go to that steakhouse."

"Not doing anything with your boyfriend?" Rosa teased.

Annoyed, Melissa grew frustrated with everyone bringing up Jionni.

"I.....broke up with him two days ago." Melissa sighed, twiddling with her fingernails. "Again."

"Melissa." Rosa sighed. "Why do you continue to keep stringin' that boy along?"

"I never said that we can't hang out but a relationship for such a short period is pointless."

"Who said that it has to be short?"

"What am I supposed to do? Date him for another two months? Get married in for two months? Move in for two months? It makes no sense!" Melissa expressed. "I love the Philippines. I wish he could just move there..."

"Boy. Melissa, if you weren't my grandbaby and I didn't know how good your heart was, I would ask why that boy is wasting so much of his time on you."

Taken back by her comment, Melissa gave Rosa a sharp look.

"Well, THAT was harsh..." Melissa groaned.

"Do you love that boy or not? Because you sure don't act like it."

"Why would you even say something like that? Of course."

"Because based off of what I see, Jionni's holding up his end on the appreciation scale." Rosa shrugged. "You seem to love to see that boy grovel for you."

"That's not true. I'm just not trying to cry for the next month after leaving him again." Melissa said. "We date for the summer and then what? Have children over facetime?"

Rosa poured herself a glass of wine, using her walker to go back to the table.

"This generation isn't willing to sacrifice. That's why none of you's relationships ever work." Rosa sighed, sitting back down. "When I was 15, I met your grandfather. I knew that I loved him just two-months in. Now i'm not gonna say that you have to rush that far, but your great-grandparents didn't like him because he wasn't the same race as us. She told me, "It's either us or that boy."