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Yaya instantly perked up at his offer, and all I could do was shake my head. My family was dysfunctional, but they were mine.

“Actually, yes. She’s running a special on bundles and wigs. You can get four virgin Indian bundles and the Burmese curly hair too. Plus, my birthday is coming up, and I need new outfits for our trip. I want that Chanel bag and those Prada bathing suits.”

“It’s your world, baby. Let me call you back, though. I’ve got some business to handle. I love y’all. Make sure you have the p-u-s-s-y ready for me when you get home. The kids are spending the night at Peace’s house, so we have some alone time.”

“Okay, I love you, daddy. I’ll see you soon.”

As soon as they hung up the phone, I gave her a look.

“You had all that smoke when you got on the phone, and all bro had to do was call you pretty and offer to buy you some hair. Damn sis, I didn’t realize you were so easy.” I chuckled.

“Aye, what can I say? I’m a weak bitch when it comes to my man. As soon as his fine ass appeared on the screen, I wanted to jump on him through the phone.” Yaya shrugged with no shame.

“Yeah, well, it sounds like you’ve done enough of that. Congratulations on baby number three. I thought you said you were done.” I teased her because she swore she was done after Cherish.

“I probably should have used my butt more, but oh well. My man is wealthy, and I don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll give him as many babies as he wants.”

“Oh, yeah, he must have put some voodoo on your ass because you swore you were done.”

“Yeah, I know. I say a lot of things, but when my legs are on his shoulders, I get to promising him everything, including the kitchen sink.” She snickered as I shook my head.

“Yeah, you could have kept that to yourself. I don’t want to hear about you and my bro-in-law getting down. My niece and nephew are enough evidence of that.”

“You asked.”

We kept walking through the festival, people-watching and enjoying the scene. Deuce got tired of walking, so I picked him up and placed him on my neck. We stopped and got some fresh lemonade from our favorite lemonade stand and then went to a new spot that had brisket sandwiches, candied bacon, and mac and cheese bites. I was a little skeptical at first, but the food turned out better than I expected.

Yaya and I spent most of the time catching up, reminiscing about our past and cracking jokes. I loved our brother-and-sister time together. The older I became, the more I appreciated the relationship we shared and how far we had come.

“Now, she knows she’s dead wrong for having her ass out in front of all of these children. This is a family event. I didn’t ask for a side of ass with my rib dinner.” Yaya pointed out as we walked to the next food truck.

One thing I loved to do whenever we went out was people-watch. It always amazed me how people decided to come out in public.

“Damn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone wear an actual yellow wig. Lil’ mama look like ol’ girl from the Proud Family.” I pointed over to a heavy-set woman with daisy dukes on and a bright yellow wig on her head.”

“Aye, don’t play with my girl, Dijonay. She was that girl on the show.” Yaya snickered.

“There go the gross sisters right there.”

I cackled up when I followed Yaya’s finger and saw a group of studs standing together. They were known for robbing niggas, so I knew not to mess with them.

“Hey, is that Lea?” I asked Yaya when I saw a young woman sitting alone eating a funnel cake. She had on a pair of sunglasses, but I still recognized her frame.

“Yeah, it looks like her.”

We walked over to where she was sitting, and she raised her head.

“H-hey,” Malea said nervously.

“How’ve you been?” I inquired, while examining her. She was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt when it was eighty-two degrees out.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

Her tone was dry, but there was something else there I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“Cut the shit, Malea. When are you gonna come home? This is ridiculous. I understand you want to be grown and do your own thing, but cutting off your family is crazy. What did we do that was so bad that you don’t want to be a part of our lives anymore?” Yaya pressed her.

Malea kept her eyes trained on the ground and bounced her leg nervously. The girl in front of me wasn’t the same girl I grew up with, and it worried me more than I cared to admit.