Not once did she listen to what I said. Not about liking volleyball more than basketball. Not about not knowing where I’d go to school because I wanted to get as far away from Macon as possible. Nothing I ever said made sense until Uncle Corey wrapped his logic and baritone voice around my feelings.
Stupid hair photoshoots like I’m still the same age as Keylisa. I wasn’t that young when we moved in after Mom died. She’d never force me to do something I didn’t want to do.
Buzzz. Buzzz. Buzzz.
I saw my Aunt’s face flash across the front of my phone. A small icon showed several text messages were waiting for me to read. I placed my phone back in my pocket.
Buzz. Buzzz. Buzzz.
I pulled my phone back out of my pocket. Uncle Corey’s face stared up at me. Great. She’d called in reinforcements. “Hey, Uncle Corey.”
“You both are making it very hard for me to help rehabilitate our youth with all of this back and forth.”
I stopped walking and took a breath. “We? Your wife is the one trying to control me. Your wife makes me do something she wants me to do without talking to me. I said I’d wait until we talked. You told her, because I know y’all talk about everything. Instead of her keeping her word to wait, she tries to force me to do it by getting her Ask Tanya B minions to pressure me into giving in without hearing anything I have to say. All I did was respond. She put my business out in the world.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right, JeShaun. Your post comment has gone viral and people are still talking about it and giving their two-cents which can have a negative impact on the business.” Uncle Corey said.
Regret danced around the bottom of my stomach. Negative impact on the business? Like lose money because of something posted on social media? “So I’m supposed to be more mature than a grown woman who was too impatient to wait until we were altogether to talk about something that should not even be up for discussion? That doesn’t make any sense, Uncle Corey. Your wife is wrong for trying to make me do something because she can’t tell the difference between what most teenagers want and who I am.”
“You’re right, JeShaun. You’re also wrong for posting that response to the situation. Why didn’t you call me? Your normal response when your Aunt does something like this. I could have had her archive the post. Change the caption. Anything to keep this from going viral. A random regular post does not get coverage. This has been picked up on Twitter. They’re coming from there to comment.” Uncle Corey sighed.
Felt like a boulder settled in the pit of my stomach. “No one ever comments on those posts except for her people. How am I supposed to know this would go viral? She’s the adult. I’m getting in trouble for her trying to manipulate me. How is that okay?”
“You’re not the first person I called.” Uncle Corey paused. “Don’t go to Breyonna’s house. I’m wrapping up. We’ll all finish this discussion when I get home.”
Cherry blossoms hung down from the trees as I made my way back to the house. The scent of the fresh bread from the bakery floated by on the breeze as I took my time walking up the sidewalk. No one knew how I hated the fuzzy white looking stuff that grew on the trees. Looked like something from a sci-fi movie ready to come to life.
My stomach rumbled as I walked up the stairs. Uncle Corey’s spinach and mushroom omelet from the morning sat in the dish on the top of the stove. He made sure to make dishes with no meat to make sure I had one cooked meal a day. Aunt Tanya refused to accept my choice to be vegetarian. Three years later she still called me not eating meat or animal products a phase.
I climbed the steps to the third floor and slipped into my room undetected. Keylisa’s favorite computer game sounds crept into the silence as I flopped down onto my bed. Every teenage girl didn’t want to grow up on Instagram. I preferred volleyball to social media fame.
My eyes dropped as I lay on the bed listening to my little sister giggle and chat while playing games online with her friends. I’d pose for a thousand photos if I were the only one taking care of Keylisa. She has more say so over her wardrobe and hair at eight than I do about to graduate from high school. Unreal.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I sprang up on the bed. When did I fall asleep? Ugh. My stomach growled as I remembered why I’d come home instead of making my way to Breyonna’s house for taco night.
Tap. Tap. Tap. “Jeje, open the door.”
“It’s open.”
Uncle Corey, Keylisa, and Aunt Tanya entered the room.
Keylisa plopped down on the pillows. Aunt Tanya leaned against the wall next to the door. Uncle Corey gestured toward the chair in front of my computer desk. Aunt Tanya shook her head.
Uncle Corey shrugged as he sat down. “I can’t believe I had to come home early because my wife posted something inappropriate on Instagram.”
“Excuse me.” Aunt Tanya clutched imaginary pears around her neck. “I’m a grown woman.”
Uncle Corey rested his ankle across the opposite knee. “Who posted a passive aggressive baited social media request to try to do something you’d kill anyone else for trying to do. Get one of your nieces to do something they’d expressed no desire to do.”
“No--” Aunt Tanya dropped her hand from her neck and sighed. “I hate when you’re like this, Corey.”
Keylisa and I exchanged a glance before returning our eyes
