“I’d save and come back.” I gulped. “But that’s just me.”
Uncle Corey nodded. His mouse moved and fingers flew across the keyboard for a few moments. The quiet of the house surrounded us as he turned around.
“Can you come down to the salon with me?”
Uncle Corey cocked his head to the side.
“Please.”
Uncle Corey stood with a sigh.
“Thank you.”
Moments later we were seated in the chairs positioned in front of the lights.
Uncle Corey gave me a smile.
“Wait, I forgot the little remote.” I stood and took a step toward Aunt Tanya’s desk.
He cleared his throat. “You need that for?”
“Recording the takeover this week. I need to ask you a few more questions.”
Uncle Corey rubbed his hands on the front of his pants. “I see. You don’t want to take notes?”
“You sound better explaining this than I will writing it down. I’ve tried.”
Uncle Corey’s shoulders sagged. “Alright.”
“Alright?” My face lit up.
Uncle Corey straightened his spine. He crossed one ankle over the top of the opposite knee. “Alright.”
“Thank you, Uncle Corey.” I gave his neck a quick squeeze before sitting down next to him. After checking my new hairstyle and lip gloss in the mirror across from the chairs, I pressed record. “Hi Curious Crew. Welcome back to Ask Tanya B. It’s JeShaun again. I want to introduce you to my Uncle Dad aka Uncle Corey.”
Uncle Corey gave a short, nervous wave to the camera.
“We’ve been talking about the importance of making decisions about my hair for me.” I took in a deep breath. “Each time I sat down to write out what he told me, I froze. Last week I wore my hair silkened down my back to school for the first time. Not gon lie. The attention, compliments, and looks from boys felt great. For a bit. Having my hair swell up and messing up at volleyball practice felt horrible.”
Uncle Corey turned in his chair. “What happened at practice?”
“So, I know wearing my hair silkened every day isn’t right for me. I’m an athlete.” I sighed. “No matter what the person I might like prefers, I have to do what works best for my life. For me.”
Uncle Corey turned back toward the camera.
“My Uncle Corey told me why. Now he’s gonna tell you.
Uncle Corey wiped the sweat from his hands. “That is nerve wrecking.”
“Tell me about it.” I put the remote back on Aunt Tanya’s desk. “I know you hate being on camera even more than I do. Thank you, Uncle Corey.”
Uncle Corey stood and gave me a squeeze. “You know I’m going to have to do like three of these with your Aunt. She’s been asking me to come on here for years.”
“I know.” I gave him a faint smile. “You did say it better than me.”
Uncle Corey cleared his throat. “So, Breyonna told you to talk to me?”
“Yep.”
Uncle Corey sniffed. “And you appreciate me more. Like a father?”
“Yep.”
Uncle Corey held his fist out. “I’m honored. Raising you girls with Aunt Tanya has been the highlight of my adult life.”
“Really?” I bumped my fist with his. “Even more important than your work? I mean, you help people get a second chance. Men name their sons after you.”
Uncle Corey chuckled. “Yes, my work is important. Helping people is important. You’re a person, JeShaun. Tanya is my most important person. You and Keylisa are only second to her. Nothing I do for any of those men matters if I don’t take care of home.”
“Oh,” I fought back the tears trying to fall from my eyes. “I… You… Thank you, Uncle Corey.”
Uncle Corey stood into a stretch. He gave me a quick peck on the forehead. “Thank you for making it a pleasure to do.”
I smiled to keep from crying.
“Now I’m going to finish my game. We good?”
I nodded. Words and tears were mingled together in my throat. My heart filled with gratitude and regret. Aunt Tanya sacrificed a lot to take care of me and my sister. Even when we didn’t get along. Even when I acted like a jerk. Next time I have a question about something important, I’m going to ask Uncle C.
I sighed as I plopped down into Brielle’s styling chair. The hum of the machines in the salon created a familiar comfort. All the years of after hours appointments left me spoiled. What do you do in a shop when there are other clients? I’m used to being the only person getting my hair done.
Brielle picked up a comb to take my cornrows down. “So, you have a better week?”
“Omigosh, YES! I gave the coach a scare. Her words,” I chuckled, “when my hair was down. Not because of how it looked, because of how I played. All week the team has been giving me compliments on my braided look. Never happens.”
Brielle’s hand paused. “Never?”
“Maybe once or twice. Nothing like almost half of the school telling me how beautiful I looked while my hair was hanging down my back.” I sighed. “Truth be told, I need to be free to run, jump, and sweat without giving a thought to my hair to excel in my athletics. My studies suffered because I kept replaying my bad practices in my mind.”
Brielle began taking the next braid down. “Good news is your grade didn’t suffer. You’re gonna love the next two weeks because we’re keeping it up in cornrows.”
“Really?” I paused. “Those other styles we talked about before we silkened it look better than cornrows to me. I can still perform in those. Nothing to shrink up.”
Brielle positioned my head to unravel the braids on the crown of my head. Her bracelets jangled in my ear. “True. But you weren’t oiling your hair each day before practice. Tanya gave you the steps and oil, but you forgot that part. Your hair dried out more than normal with wearing it down so we have to restore the moisture level for you. You’ve trained your hair to be a certain way. Changing and keeping it healthy
