Uncle you told me to always accept yourself for who you are. Why did he change his nose and face? Why do you like him still?’ And I stand there in front of her with no response.” Pipe rinsed off the last couple of glasses and stuck them in the dishwasher.
Where the hell did he learn how to wash dishes? YouTube?
“And that is how I lost faith in a god,” Pipe concluded.
Cyn’s mom covered her face and giggled.
I shook my head.
“What?” Pipe lined the wall with half filled bottles of alcohol.
“Cyn’s Aunt didn’t ask you that. Their question was do you go to church,” I explained. “It had nothing to do with videos, Michael Jackson, or music gods.”
“Oh. Yikes.” He shrugged. “Yeah. I go to church every Sunday. Don’t we all? Sometimes I smell like a brewery and stink of … other things, but I make sure my behind is in church on every Sunday no matter where I am in the world. I have a blessed life. My other mom, Mrs. Elaine, said that if I don’t thank the lord every day, he’ll take it all away from me. I can’t let that happen.”
The front door opened. I knew because anytime I heard a sound close to anything being pushed open, I jumped up and rushed to the front to see if it was Evie and Cyn. They’d ignored all of our calls. Although the storm had come and left, stress kept my body jittery and alert. I knew the sound of the door opening, because I’d been rushing to the noise each time one of Cyn’s relatives came in.
The door slammed shut right as I marched down the lit hallway. Earlier, I’d changed the light bulbs so that Pipe could cease with freaking out about the darkness and whispering to me that he kept seeing glowing eyes in the shadows.
“There’s a lot of bad spirits in this house, Jay,” Pipe had said. “Over half of the people in the yard have dark auras.”
“Pipe, you can’t see auras.”
“Yes, I can. Your aura is telling me you’re upset and worried. This whole place is creeping me the hell out.” He hadn’t left my side until the liquor came out.
Whispering came from the living room. Once I entered, Cyn and Evie’s guilty faces greeted my eyes. They’d changed their clothes. Instead of the outfits from the plane, they both wore shirts that were inside out. Evie had on a jean skirt, Cyn some mismatched shorts. Both had their hair slicked back into pony tails.
“Where the hell have you two been?” I asked.
“We needed some space.” Evie untwisted her fingers from Cyn’s. I hadn’t even realized they’d been holding hands until that moment. It seemed odd.
What’s going on?
“Space for what?” I offered that to Cyn. If Evie figured I needed to know something, she would’ve already said it.
“Just space, Jay.” Cyn gave me a weird smile. “What did my mom say once I didn’t come back?”
“Nothing. She just kept looking for her water and then Pipe decided to play bartender.”
“Oh goodness.” She giggled. “Are they in the kitchen?”
“Yeah.” I watched her run off.
Evie stayed behind, got next to me, and dug her hands into her jean skirt’s pockets. “So Pipe has been entertaining the clan?”
“Yes.” Although I shouldn’t have tortured myself, I drank her sexy image in—the sensual outline of her neck, the two supple mounds of her breasts under the shirt, her sweet scent, and even the gentle sound of her breathing next to me. We stood next to each other, drinking our frames in and saying nothing more. When our eyes met, she got ready to walk away.
I seized her arm. “Can we talk?”
“About?”
What the hell did I want to say?
I rubbed my thumb against her silky skin. “We can talk about anything.”
“Are you hinting that you don’t want to go back to be around Cynthia’s family?”
“Maybe.”
“Okay.” She slyly got out of my grip, headed over to a red velvet couch, and sat down. “We’re only going to be here a few minutes more. Cynthia said she’ll go tell her mom that I’m sick and we’ll
Where the hell did he learn how to wash dishes? YouTube?
“And that is how I lost faith in a god,” Pipe concluded.
Cyn’s mom covered her face and giggled.
I shook my head.
“What?” Pipe lined the wall with half filled bottles of alcohol.
“Cyn’s Aunt didn’t ask you that. Their question was do you go to church,” I explained. “It had nothing to do with videos, Michael Jackson, or music gods.”
“Oh. Yikes.” He shrugged. “Yeah. I go to church every Sunday. Don’t we all? Sometimes I smell like a brewery and stink of … other things, but I make sure my behind is in church on every Sunday no matter where I am in the world. I have a blessed life. My other mom, Mrs. Elaine, said that if I don’t thank the lord every day, he’ll take it all away from me. I can’t let that happen.”
The front door opened. I knew because anytime I heard a sound close to anything being pushed open, I jumped up and rushed to the front to see if it was Evie and Cyn. They’d ignored all of our calls. Although the storm had come and left, stress kept my body jittery and alert. I knew the sound of the door opening, because I’d been rushing to the noise each time one of Cyn’s relatives came in.
The door slammed shut right as I marched down the lit hallway. Earlier, I’d changed the light bulbs so that Pipe could cease with freaking out about the darkness and whispering to me that he kept seeing glowing eyes in the shadows.
“There’s a lot of bad spirits in this house, Jay,” Pipe had said. “Over half of the people in the yard have dark auras.”
“Pipe, you can’t see auras.”
“Yes, I can. Your aura is telling me you’re upset and worried. This whole place is creeping me the hell out.” He hadn’t left my side until the liquor came out.
Whispering came from the living room. Once I entered, Cyn and Evie’s guilty faces greeted my eyes. They’d changed their clothes. Instead of the outfits from the plane, they both wore shirts that were inside out. Evie had on a jean skirt, Cyn some mismatched shorts. Both had their hair slicked back into pony tails.
“Where the hell have you two been?” I asked.
“We needed some space.” Evie untwisted her fingers from Cyn’s. I hadn’t even realized they’d been holding hands until that moment. It seemed odd.
What’s going on?
“Space for what?” I offered that to Cyn. If Evie figured I needed to know something, she would’ve already said it.
“Just space, Jay.” Cyn gave me a weird smile. “What did my mom say once I didn’t come back?”
“Nothing. She just kept looking for her water and then Pipe decided to play bartender.”
“Oh goodness.” She giggled. “Are they in the kitchen?”
“Yeah.” I watched her run off.
Evie stayed behind, got next to me, and dug her hands into her jean skirt’s pockets. “So Pipe has been entertaining the clan?”
“Yes.” Although I shouldn’t have tortured myself, I drank her sexy image in—the sensual outline of her neck, the two supple mounds of her breasts under the shirt, her sweet scent, and even the gentle sound of her breathing next to me. We stood next to each other, drinking our frames in and saying nothing more. When our eyes met, she got ready to walk away.
I seized her arm. “Can we talk?”
“About?”
What the hell did I want to say?
I rubbed my thumb against her silky skin. “We can talk about anything.”
“Are you hinting that you don’t want to go back to be around Cynthia’s family?”
“Maybe.”
“Okay.” She slyly got out of my grip, headed over to a red velvet couch, and sat down. “We’re only going to be here a few minutes more. Cynthia said she’ll go tell her mom that I’m sick and we’ll
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