Affinity

Chapter 23: The Little Things

            " You lucky, I was just about to call Rah. Hol up, were you just crying? Who did it! Was it him?!" Again with the fast-talking without allowing me to answer, Papa ran from behind the counter as he pointed a finger in Jaelyn's face.

" Ok, now ima patient man, but there's only gonna be so many times I allow you to come at me like that. Especially about MY sister." Jaelyn's eyes were dark and his body language was promising in the most sinister way, it was the first time I'd seen the side of him that likened him to Hakim, a scary sight at best.

" Woah, woah, woah. Calm down you two, I'm fine. Look Papa, sit down we gotta talk." I rushed in between the two before they did something stupid, while pointing Papa to a chair. If I didn't explain soon he was likely to try and fight Jaelyn on some dumb ass shit.

" Ion get this man yo, he always on the defense. Something there?" Jaelyn whispered the previous in my ear and I gave him the look that read fuuuuuuck no. I had never looked at Papa like that, how hard was it to explain that I had been stuck on Rah since day one?

" Never." Was the only response I gave as I left Jaelyn's side to go explain to Papa, and he was spewing shit before I even got behind the counter to walk to the back of the store.

" This fake ass brother of yours done hurt you, now ima have to hurt him, it's been quite the couple days surrounding ya ass." Papa was mumbling under his breath as he spoke more to himself than to me, finally peeking at me through thick lashes he acknowledged my presence as I cleared my throat theatrically.

" No, keep going." I folded my arms over my chest and peered down at him with amusement on my face, his antics were hilarious majority of the time.

" The fuck happened, wassup with the tears?"

" This happened." I handed him my phone which displayed the picture I'd taken of Jaelyn's birth certificate in which we shared a last name.

" This is..." he held the phone away from him and gave me a questioning look before I continued, " His birth certificate, one where he has my last name, now scroll over smart ass." The next picture that came into view was that of all of us as children, the proof that I'd shared a partial childhood with Jaelyn.

" Ard I know that's you and Jaz, but who the boys?"

" That behind me, is my brother Hakim. The one next to him is my brother too, he look familiar?" He looked at the picture hard, then looked around me to Jaelyn's pissed off frame as he stood next to the cooler of ice cream, peering inside like he wasn't eavesdropping on this whole conversation. Papa looked at the picture on my phone, to Jaelyn, and then back again with a strained look on his face.

" So......" He drew out the word as he scratched his head with his free hand.

" So he really is my brother smart ass. My parents adopted him when he was little, his mom got him back after a couple years, and Jaz and I were too young to remember him. I was crying because we just went and confronted my parents about it. So it's not a play title anymore, this shit is real deal. Now can you stop coming at him crazy?" I was exasperated and exhausted, the fuck did I have to do for everyone to stop asking so many damn questions.

He sat in contemplative silence for a minute as I breathed a sigh and went back over to Jaelyn. I turned back towards Papa once I reached Jaelyn's side, pinching the bridge of my nose before I spoke, " Can ya'll speak now? Everyone knows who everyone is, so can we cut the shit please and discuss whoever the fuck came here looking for my ass yesterday?"

" Cool with me." Jaelyn stepped in Papa's direction.

" Yeah ard, mybad bro I wouldn't have come at you like that if I had known." In my head I'm thinking that's no excuse Pap, but oh-fucking-kay, you got it I guess.

" So the dude came in big brody and all. Slim build but muscular, brown skinned with dreads. Came straight up to the counter and said he had something for me. So I'm already reaching for my strap cuz he came up here on some weird shit, I made no attempt to respond. He said, verbatim, " Tell Ab to come see us sometime." So I'm like who the fuck is us? Ima need a name to relay a message if I happen to know this Ab person. He said " Tell her to ask her ova brother, bro bro know who we are." I looked at Jaelyn for him to follow up and confirm whoever this mystery man was, this man was mute.

" Jay, that's your cue. Who the fuck are they?" Papa came from behind the counter and leaned in awaiting the answer as well.

" I got an idea, but I'm not a hunnid on it, so I'm not about to speak on it."

" Mmkay your saying anything right now when that's the whole point of us coming here, but I'm too hungry to argue with you right now. Pap can we have some breakfast sandwiches please."

" Pap!" I waved my hand in his face as he looked stuck in a daze, " Oh mybad, sure I got ya'll, the usual?"

" Yes, and Ricky if you put so much as a drop of ketchup on my shit we gon have an issue."

" Not my whole name damn, mean ass. Wasn't nobody gon put ketchup on ya shit to begin with."

" Yeah ard." I turned towards Jaelyn and deadpanned, " Go in the car, you got ya thinking face on, looking like you gotta take a shit and whatnot. I'll get the food and be out there in a min."

He nodded his head, and exited the store after giving Pap dap.

" So Ricky, wassup with the wassup, I see ketchup in ya hand dawg." I teased him as he started to prepare our sandwiches, I was trying to diffuse the situation and get back to the easy banter that bonded us as friends in the first place.

" Here you go using my name again, ima fuck ya shit up on purpose now." Yup, this was the normalcy I was craving. 

Short chapter, I know. 

Any thoughts........