“She left. Bring your books and I’ll help you while I cook. Please tell me you like chicken wings.”
“Flats?” She lifted a brow at me.
“Of course. I’m not a barbarian.”
“Then yes, I love chicken wings.”
“A girl after my own heart.” We slapped hands and made our way downstairs. While I finished dinner and helped Frankie with her homework, I played Brandy’s Never Say Never CD.
When The Boy Is Mine came on, the strings at the beginning grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I kept repeating the sequence in my mind over and over while I mashed sweet potatoes and chopped veggies for the salad.
“Xari, hello…” Frankie waved her hand in front of my face a few times until I snapped back to reality.
“Oh, shit. Sorry, Frank. How much homework did I miss?”
“Just one question. Where were you? You looked like you were somewhere else completely.”
“I was,” I rubbed my forehead and watched the notes pile up on the staff in my mind. “I have a song stuck in my head and now I have to play it on the harp or I won’t be able to sleep.”
“Are you obsessed with the harp or music in general?”
“Both,” I laughed. “Music is home for me. But being able to create pure music from thin air is something that will always take my breath away.” My fingers ached to strum Sunshine’s strings.
Soon…
“I want to love something like that.” Stardust sparkled in her eyes and wonder coated her words.
“You’ll find something that makes you passionate, Frank. When you do, you’ll know immediately because you’ll start the slow descent into madness.”
“Madness?” She furled her groomed brows together and waited for me to elaborate.
“You didn’t think passion was sweet and easy, did you?” I cackled at the thought.
“Well, yeah. It’s a passion. It’s something you love to do all the time. Like you with the harp or Daddy with writing.”
“Is that his passion?” I quizzed, my ears burning and my mind happy to have any morsel of information about Evander.
“Definitely. If he doesn’t get time to write he gets evil.”
“That right there should let you know finding your passion isn’t as romantic as it seems. It’s like being married. Your passion will bring out the worst in you but it’ll also bring out the best.” I tried not to scare her too much but finding and unleashing your passion was no joke. I didn’t want her to be surprised when she found something that consumed her whole and spat out the bones.
I helped her with one last question on her homework then I finished dinner.
“The food is done and you’re finished with your homework. Wanna go to my house and look through the rest of my clothes?” I untied the apron and hung it up on a hook near the pantry.
“Is that even a question?” She smiled at me then started putting her papers and binder away. While she packed up, I cleaned up the kitchen a little. The smell of tart lemon with savory pepper and garlic was enough to make my stomach growl.
Normally, I would have grabbed me a small plate to go because I didn’t play about my food but I wanted to eat with Evander and Frankie. Something about their father-daughter banter and the way he lit up when he talked about her was adorable. I could stare at their interaction for hours.
“Before we go, let’s send your dad a selfie so he knows you’re safe.” I pulled Frankie close to me and we put our heads together after we stepped outside into the golden setting sun. It was perfect lighting to hit my best angle.
Head tilted slightly, chin tucked, eyes narrowed just a bit, and a small smile to top it off. Tyra Banks would be proud of that fucking smize.
“Okay, and send,” I said tapping Evander’s name on the screen.
“Why is my dad saved under DD in your phone?” Frankie asked, getting in the passenger side. I swallowed my laughter at the nickname Darling Dick and shrugged my shoulders.
“No reason. You pick the song, Frank.” Yesterday I let her sync her phone to my car stereo. She had decent music taste but nothing would pull me out of my 90’s time warp. I’d live in that era forever if I could.
Frankie was more of a HER and Ari Lennox girl and that was fine. I didn’t mind jamming to Ari while we blew down streets. The music thumping through the speakers filled the comfortable silence between us perfectly.
When we pulled into my complex, I saw Navy’s car pull into a visitor space. I said, “Oh, look. We have company.”
“I like your sister. She’s so nice,” Frankie said getting out of the car.
“She’s alright,” I laughed. “Hey, sissy. What’s up?”
“Oh, hi, Frankie. Hey, Xari. I wanted to stop by to see how you were making out with the move.” She got out of the car and hugged me.
“We were just coming to grab the last of my clothes. Sunshine is getting moved tomorrow so yeah, I’ll be a nervous wreck.”
“Sunshine?” Frankie laughed. “You really call your harp by name? I thought you were playing yesterday.”
“Oh, no. Xari never plays about Sunshine. It’s her kid.” Navy tossed an arm around Frankie and they shared a laugh.
“Sunshine is my kid. I’m not denying that. Come on, you can help me with my clothes,” I told Navy.
“I came to check on you, Xari. Not help you pack the rest of your things.”
“Well, now you can do double duty.”
While we walked inside the building, Frankie craned her neck, looking around the lobby. “I can’t believe you’re leaving this place to stay with me and Dad.”
“I kinda fucked up my finances by being oblivious so it’s not a choice. Besides, if I stayed here, I would have never got to meet you and that’s unacceptable, Frank.” She smiled and drew her shoulders in a little.
“Wow, you seriously packed that thing up,” Navy walked around the huge box Sunshine was in then stopped to look at me. “Are you going to need Xanax or anything to get through movers touching your harp? I remember when you had it moved from Mom and Dad’s house to this apartment and I swore you were going to pass out.”
“Was it that bad?” Frankie asked, making her way to my bedroom. The only thing left in there was my bed and half a closet full of clothes. Those were luxury pieces that I wanted to personally carry to Evander’s house.
“It was horrible. I can’t breathe until my baby is on solid ground and in her permanent place. I rested my hand on the box that held Sunshine and tried to still my racing heart.
What if they dropped her? What if they were too rough and a string popped? What if they banged her on a corner and created a huge split?
I shut my eyes and breathed through the incessant worries bouncing around in my head. I’d get to unpack and play her tomorrow night. All would be well. I had to stop focusing on what could go wrong.
“Stop worrying, Xari. Sunshine will be fine.” Navy smiled a little and rubbed my shoulder.
“What if she’s not though?” I asked, worry creeping back into my mind like slippery black oil.
“She will be. The good thing about it is that Senator Freeman only lives fifteen minutes away. How’s everything going with him? You’re not driving him crazy, are you?”