14

Janet

Kyrin pulled into my driveway and smiled once she noticed me standing there with my hands behind my back.

As she got out the car and walked over to me, I pulled the flowers from behind my back. "I got you some flowers."

"Aw. Thanks. You didn't have to." I watched as she counted the burgundy roses and looked up at me. "12 burgundy roses. Why burgundy?"

"You should really focus on the number of roses, but we will discuss it later. Come on. Joeys waiting for us." I motioned towards the truck, where Joey leaned against it looking annoyed.

Kyrin laughed and asked him. "Boy, what is your problem?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Nothing." He rolled his eyes as he opened the back door for Kyrin and I. We both got in and Joey walked around, getting in the drivers seat. "Ya know..."

I sighed as I mumbled. "Here we go."

Joey continued. "I just find it funny how, we got this long ass drive and people wanna take their sweet precious time getting here."

Kyrin made a face. "Oh please, I don't even know where we're going so you can save the long drive speech. Plus, I'm not running on anybody's time except my own. Thanks though."

He pointed the finger at her. "I'm done speaking with both of you all at the moment."

Before I could say anything, the partition was lifted and my mouth dropped agape. Kyrin began laughing as she shook her head. "He's so damn sensitive."

"Tell me about it." I replied chuckling.

She laid her head in my lap as she looked up at me. "Tell me what the number of roses symbolize. I'm all ears."

"I'll tell you what the color means first."

Kyrin's eyes narrowed a bit before nodding. "Okay, I'll take what I can get. Tell me what burgundy symbolizes."

"Burgundy roses have a very specific connotation of unconscious beauty. In the Victorian era, deeper rose colors signified deeper passion. Per this schema, burgundy roses signify a very deep passion, even beyond red roses."

She smiled at me. "Aw, that's deep and beautiful. You're into flowers?"

I nodded. "Yeah, well more like the deeper meanings into the flowers. Everything symbolizes something."

"Never thought about it that way. How long of a drive is it to wherever we are going?"

"A drive."

Kyrin smacked her lips. "Fine. Be like that, but do we have a lot time?"

Looking out the window, I realized we had a 20 minute ride left. "It depends. What are we doing?"

She sat up and straddled my lap as she licked my earlobe and whispered. "Each other."

Shivers rushed down my spine as our lips met. My hands gripped and massaged her ass as our tongues fought for dominance.

I won and for a while all you heard were our lips smacking against each other's softly.

A phone ringing caused Kyrin to jump off of me and hit the ground. I covered my mouth to stop from laughing but that didn't stop her from pointing me the finger.

She grabbed her phone, and looked at the caller ID before squinting in confusion. Throwing me the signal to give her a second, she answered the phone. "Hey."

I watched as her facial expression worsened. "Daddy, my flight takes off in two days, I'm not rescheduling."

Flight? She never told me about a flight.

"No. Ok? It's not like me coming sooner is gonna save the old hag if she's already dying!" Kyrin rolled her eyes at whatever her father said next before mumbling. "Yes sir. No sir.... alright dad, I hear you. I'll be there."

The line clicked and I asked. "Everything alright?"

She crawled back on the seat, and shook her head. "My old bat of a mother is on a 48 hour notice. Now I have to go to Texas a little earlier than expected." 

"I'm sorry to hear that." I told her as I studied her demeanor finding her looking firm and tense.

Her eyebrows furrowed together as she looked at me. "Please don't give me empathy, Jan. That lady could have croaked today and I would still be sitting like this. Lord knows I barely wanted to go back to Texas as it is."

"It's your mother though."

"Joanna was barely a damn mother." Kyrin shot out bitterly as her jaw clenched and her gaze focused on the objects we were passing. "She didn't do shit for me, now I have to move my schedule around to fit a almost dead woman? Tuh, not like she ever attended anything I was in, but I have to attend her last days? Bullshit."

I knew that Kyrin was referring to the interview with the board that I had set up. It was scheduled for tomorrow, but it didn't sound like she would make it.

"I'll just tell them to reschedule it, baby." I placed my hand on her shoulder and she looked at me again. "It's alright, just calm down."

She softened when I touched her and I watched as she sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. Joanna is just a tense ass topic for me. Just the thought of her ruins my damn day."

"How about we don't think about your mother right now? Let's focus on the date, because I planed something that I know you'll love."

"Really? What is it?"

"Now if I told you, what's the fun?"

Kyrin rolled her eye playfully as she pointed something out. "Look the suns setting babe. It's beautiful."

I nodded as I agreed. "It is."

The sky was mixing and mashing colors together due to the sky. White and pink were seen as the yellow of the sun faded slowly.

Noticing we were close, I turned and grabbed a blindfold from my purse. "I have to blindfold you."

She looked at me weirdly. "I know I handcuffed you during our rounds of sex last night, but I definitely love seeing where I'm going."

Pouting, I spoke. "Please baby? It's a surprise. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Finally giving in, she nodded. "Ok, fine. I trust you. So go ahead."

Smiling to myself, I placed the black blindfold around her head as we rode the remainder of the way.

Every 3 or 4 minutes, Kyrin would ask. "Are we close?"

And I'd simple say, "Almost."

Finally, the truck came to a stop and Joey came around and opened our door. I helped Kyrin out of the truck and she heard the birds flying above us. "Uh uh, am I in the woods?"

Chuckling, I shook my head as I pulled her over to where I wanted her. "No baby. You aren't. I wouldn't take you to the woods knowing you don't like them."

"I just had to make sure." She muttered lightly causing me to look over at Joey who was trying not to laugh as he carried the basket.

I stopped her and stood behind her as I snaked my arms around her waist. Mumbling, I told her, "Alright babygirl, take the blindfold off."

She undid the back of the blindfold and when it came off, her eyes widened as she looked back at me. "You didn't."

"Oh, I did."

"Aw baby, this is so cute." Turning in my arms, our lips met before she pulled back. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, that's what I'm here for. Come on, we have a picnic date to attend to." Joey handed me my basket as Kyrin took of her shoes.

I did the same, and she led me over to the tent practically leaping. We sat down in silence for a moment, both appreciating the surroundings we were in. The setting was amazing, even better than I had planned it to be.

Breaking the silence, I looked over at her. "What's something you don't like doing? Like it's your pet peeve..."

"That's a out of nowhere question, but I don't like being in small spaces sometimes. You?"

"It's kind of weird but I don't like watching myself."

Kyrin studied me. "How come? You mean like performances?"

"Performances. Acting. Speaking. All of it. I just don't like watching myself. I critique too hard and then I stress. It's a long process of destruction."

"So you don't like watching movies like Poetic Justice? Or the Nutty Professor?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Wow, that's crazy. I would have never guessed that."

Changing subject, I brought up earlier. "How'd the IHOP date go?"

"It went." She replied dryly.

"What happened and don't say nothing, because that would be a lie by the way you just went dry on me."

Kyrin laid her head on my shoulder. "Same thing my daddy said. I have to go see Joanna. I just don't know if I can look at that woman, baby. I don't think I can. She never cared about P and I, but now she's sick and the world is supposed to stop for her? It's not fair."

"Now, as a Christian, I'd think you know that the right thing to do is see your mother. I know you're holding a sense of resentment for one reason or another, but she still birthed you. I kind of felt the same way towards Joe, but he was still my father."

I felt her nod against me. "That's true."

"When's your flight leaving?"

"I don't know. I haven't called Phoebe to reschedule. I really don't want to go Jan. I don't wanna see that woman alone."

"How long do you have to stay?"

"Hopefully she'll die when I get there and do us all a favor, so not long." I popped her thigh and she pouted. "Ouch... I'm just saying J."

Looking down on her, I scolded. "That's mean. Spend sometime with the woman. People on their deathbeds say some hell of a things. You'd be shocked."

"Yeah. Not with my mother."

"Here." I changed topics as I opened the picnic basket and began pulling them out. "I got us some things. Grapes. Apples. Strawberries."

Sending Kyrin a sly look, she missed it not knowing exactly why I had brought these strawberries.

Chuckling to myself darkly, I continued. "I brought wine, chips and—."

"White people finger sandwiches!" She squealed as she threw her arms around me. "You remembered?"

"Of course I did. It was a recent conversation." Kyrin shot me a look and I clarified. "But if it wasn't, I would have still remembered. I'm sure of it."

"Mhm." She picked up a sandwich and smiled at me. "It's exactly how the white people make it."

Rolling my eyes at her comment, I spoke. "My mother loved making those for us ya know?"

"Y'all had a white upbringing as well though. Who doesn't know what Spongebob is?"

I shot her a look before speaking. "See, you didn't even have to bring that up."

Folding my arms across my chest, I feened as if I was hurt. Kyrin giggled. "I'm sorry baby, here eat a finger sandwich. Open."

Following her request, I allowed her to feed me the sandwich before she took a bite of it herself.

"The finger sandwiches. These aren't yours." Kyrin eyed me suspiciously as she chewed slower.

"Tiff made them."

"If Tiffany can't fix sandwiches, then that mean her ass can't cook." Shaking her head, she continued. "That's a damn shame."

My eyes widened as I laughed. "Nothing is wrong with these sandwiches."

"Phoebe and I made better tasting sandwiches when we were 10. What's this sauce on it?"

"A Thousand Island."

Kyrin shook her head as she put the sandwich down. "Hell no, she putting salad dressings on sandwiches? Ranch? Maybe. Not no damn Thousand Island."

"Alright since you're complaining, next time you make them."

She stuck her tongue out at me before laying her head on my shoulder again. "Maybe I will." Silence rushed its way between us, and she asked softly. "Hey?"

"Hm?"

"You never told me what the number of roses represented."

"Well, 10 roses stand for you are perfect." I informed her lightly.

She nodded softly. "And what does 12 mean? You gave me 12 roses."

Smiling from her curiosity, I let out her answer. "It means... Be mines."

Kyrin lifted her head slowly as she looked my way with a smile gracing her face as well. "Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"

I nodded as we stared into each other's eyes. "I am. How would you like to be my girlfriend Ms.Broussard?"

"I would love to Ms. Jackson." She bit her lip slightly as our lips met.