52 Chapter 52: Family Reunion

"I'd be happy to let you meet the rest of the family. They've been waiting on you."

"That sounds great Yoyo, how does this weekend sound?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll talk to Ricky and-"

"No need to speak with him. He said that he'd come too."

"Oh...are you sure he'd be comfortable with that?"

"Well yeah, why wouldn't he be?"

"Well because our family is black and i'm not sure how the old heads would react to you being married to a hispanic man."

"Can't you talk to them?"

"I can try but they're old school, they think that we should stay in our own race...kinda why i'm still single."

"That's ridiculous."

"I agree but as much as I try to convince them, they get even more set on the idea."

"I'm sure once they get to know him, they won't mind."

"I hope so baby sister."

"Before I let ya go, I have a question."

"Yeah what's up?"

"Do they know what you do?"

He sighs into the phone,

"They think that i'm ceo of some snobby company. It's partly true, my buddy and I own the place together..."

"It's a front for money laundering, right?"

"H-how'd you know?"

"I've killed several people who did the same."

"Right...well I should let you go."

"Ok, bye Yoyo."

"See ya this weekend sis."

I hang up and sit in one of the chairs. I cover my face in my hands.

'Oh my god, I don't know if i'm cut out for this life.'

I hear the door slide open and Ricky steps out,

"Kaz, you okay babe?"

Hearing him ask me that makes something inside me break. Hot tears spill over and my hands begin to quiver.

"Ah shit, c'mere love."

Ricky scoops me up into his arms. Being by his side has always makes me feel secure but something about all this is just...too much for me.

"You wanna talk about it mami?"

I sniffle,

"No. I just want..."

"I know what you need Kaz."

He gets his phone and calls someone,

"Yo, get snacks and find a good horror movie. We'll be down there in a few."

I look up at him,

"Movie night? With my husband and my brother?"

He nods,

"You're the fucking best Ricardo."

He wipes away a tear and gives me kiss. The taste of cigarettes still linger on his tongue.

"Likewise, now hurry up before he eats all the food."

[The next day]

'What do people wear when they meet their family for the first time ever?'

I look through my dressers and make my way into the walk in closet.

"Oh my god! The fuck am I supposed to wear?!"

I collapse on the floor,

"Maybe i'll just reschedule."

"No can do mami. We leave in ten."

I kick my legs up and put them under his shirt. His warm stomach feels nice against my cold feet,

"How about I pick out something for you?"

"Ok but nothing that makes me look like a slut."

He chuckles,

"Ok weirdo. Get up."

He helps me up and slowly snakes his arms around my waist. I can feel his warm breath on the back of my neck.

His voice is deep and calm,

"Solo respira mami, sé que te amarán."

(Just breathe mami, I know they will love you.)

"But what if they don't? What if they find out about me, about you?"

"Then that's their loss, but no what if's. I know they will."

He pecks my cheek,

"Whadda think about this?"

"Hm, you have pretty good taste Ricky."

"Thanks, but we've really gotta get going Kaz."

"Right. Lets do this."

***

"How you holding up kiddo?"

"I'm nervous."

I look in the overhead mirror and glance at Ricky. His face is stern and emotionless.

'I've really gotta make it up to him.'

"We're here."

Yoyo pulls up in front of a house that has several cars parked in its driveway and in the streets. We all step out of the car and walk up to the door. He goes to ring the bell but before he has the chance to, the door swings open and a young girl runs up to him.

"Uncle Yoyo! I missed you!"

He picks her up and kisses the top of her head,

"I missed you too, now where's your mommy?"

"Inside,"

She looks at me,

"Who's the pretty lady?"

He puts down the child and pushes me into the house. So many people who were once lively and buzzing all stop and stare at me.

"Now I know some of y'all may be a little shocked, but this is her. My beautiful sister, Kazmaria!"

"..."

I feel like the world has been frozen. No one says anything.

"H-hi?"

A short elderly woman shoves her way through the large crowd of people.

"You look just like yo daddy."

She reaches out and touches my hair,

"My baby has come home y'all! She's back!"

I embrace her and let myself melt into her arms. The house erupts into cheers and loud music starts to play. Yoyo introduces me to my new family.

"This is Riyah, she's your sister and the little girl you saw earlier is her daughter, Keke."

"Nice to meet you."

I hold out my hand.

"Girl put that away, we hug around here!"

She hugs me and looks me up and down,

"Damn girl, you are fine!"

I blush,

"Thank you."

"You see those men over there?"

Yoyo points to two men who look just like him but a few years younger.

"Those are your little bothers Malik and Markus. They're twins too."

They walk over and introduce themselves. They may look alike but they're completely different. Malik is obviously smart and Markus is the athletic one.

After meeting the family and finally feeling a little more comfortable, I notice that Ricky has been outside on the front porch the whole time.

"Hey, i'm gonna go get Ricky. Can you gather them all up so I can introduce them to him?"

"Go ahead."

I leave the backyard and look for Ricky. He's sitting on the edge of the porch smoking a cigarette.

"Hey,"

He turns around and puts out his cig,

"Why didn't you come in?"

"They're your family. Not mine."

"We're married Ricky, so they're yours too."

He clicks his tongue,

"No lo sé mami, esto no es realmente lo mío."

(I don't know mami, this is not really my thing.)

"Please Ricardo? For me?"

"Fine, let's get this over with."

I happily grab his hand and rush back inside where the whole family is waiting for us. They look at us and begin to murmur.

"I'm so happy that I got to meet all of you. Today will truly be one to remember."

I take a deep breath in and hold up my left hand, showing off the engagement ring.

"This is my fiancé, Ricardo. We're getting married next month and it would really mean the world to me if you all could be there."

"Oh lord, my baby sister's getting married y'all! Married!"

Once again they begin to hurrah and congratulate us, but one thing catches my attention. My mother, she shakes her head and leaves the room.

"Hey, stay here for a second and chit-chat. I'll be back in a sec."

"Wait Kaz don't leave!"

I follow after her,

"Excuse me?"

She spins around,

"Oh please, call me mama."

"R-right, mama."

She sits down on an old porch swing and pats the extra room next to her. I sit beside her and she holds my hand.

"You know yo daddy woulda loved to meet you baby."

"Really? Where is he?"

"Mhm, he passed a months after the twins were born."

"Oh..."

"You know Yosef spent his whole life looking for you baby."

"Yosef...is that Yoyo?"

She slowly nods her head,

"That boy was even more obsessed with finding you than your father. I didn't think he'd fall this far."

"What do you mean be 'fall this far'?"

"It's started when he was about 16. He never slept, never ate. He was never home anymore, always hanging around dem no good thugs. I knew what he was doing but I didn't care. All I wanted was to see my baby girl one more time..."

I smile,

"But I never would've expected you to be engaged to such a barbaric thing."

"Excuse me?"

"Now don't get me wrong, he's nice to look at but I don't approve."

"And why not?"

My tone dry,

"Yo daddy was shot and killed by his kind."

"His kind? Ricardo is the man that i'm spending the rest of my life with and if you don't-"

"He was shot. He was jumped by a gang of those heathens on his way home from work."

"Why assume that he was shot by a hispanic man? Were you there? Did you see it happen?"

'I'm pissed. This woman may be my birth mother but she's not what I was expecting.'

"I know because I know. They ain't no good."

"Ok well I think i'll be leaving now. You're still welcome to come to our wedding but you might wanna drop the attitude."

I get up and stomp back into the house,

"Ricardo, we're leaving."

He grabs his jacket and heads for the door,

"Esperaré afuera."

(I'll wait outside.)

"Ok."

He leaves and I grab the nearest glass and tap on it.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?"

The room settles down and all eyes are on me,

"It was lovely meeting all of you and my offer still stands. I'll hand over the wedding information to Yoyo. I promise that i'll try to catch up with all of my family, but personal problems have occurred and I have to leave."

They all crowd around me and give me one giant group hug. We all say our goodbyes and I eventually join Ricky outside.

"Well, was it everything you hoped?"

"I don't wanna talk about it, let's just go home."