“Hello.”

  “Where you at?” Chanel asked excitedly, thinking that Sheba should be close to Atlanta by then.

  “I’m at the Hampton Inn in Columbia, South Carolina.”

  “Really, Sheba?”

  “Really. I’m tired of driving, so I’m gonna get something to eat, get some sleep, and leave in the morning.” She paused. “If that’s all right with you, of course.”

  “It’s fine, and please forgive me for being excited about seeing my bestie cousin for the first time in five years.”

  “It wouldn’t have been five years if you had told James no and met me in Abu Dhabi.”

  “True. But the point is still the same. I miss you, and I’m excited to see you and so is everybody else, especially Grandma.”

  “See, Chanel, it’s when you say stuff like that that makes me think you’re planning some big welcome home party.”

  “And I say again, what did you tell me? You said you don’t want no damn welcome home party.”

  “I’m serious, Chanel.”

  There was silence on the line. “Let me stop lying. Look, Sheba, it’s like this. You’re having a welcome home party whether you like it or not because it’s Grandma’s house, and she wants to have a party for you. So seriously, Sheba, you tell me, what was I gonna say? ‘No, Grandma, you know Sheba, and she said she don’t want no damn party’?”

  “And then you should have ducked before she threw something at you for cussin’ in her house.”

  “Right. Then she would have told me that I sounded like a fool and to do what she said to do.”

  “You’re right. That’s exactly what she’d say.”

  “So face it, you’re having a party when you get here.” Chanel laughed. “It actually started last night.”

  “Last night?”

  “Yes, Sheba, you were supposed to get here last night. I was supposed to pick you up from the bus and take you to your party. And you know this bunch. Just because you weren’t coming . . .”

  “Wasn’t no reason to cancel the party.”

  “It’s still going on right now, and since you ain’t coming until tomorrow, I imagine that it will still be going on when you get here.”

  “Y’all have fun.” Sheba laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Once she ended the call with Chanel, Sheba freshened up and then went to eat at a nearby restaurant called Private Property, where she enjoyed the blackened redfish, before returning to her room. Sheba got a good night’s sleep, was on the road a little after noon, and was turning down her grandmother’s street just before four that afternoon.

  Chapter 4

  As Sheba drove down the street she grew up on, a rush of happy memories washed over her as she passed the house looking for a place to park and not finding one. There were cars in the driveway and on the grass in front of the house, so she kept driving. She found a spot to park on the next block and walked back. As she got closer, she could smell the meat burning on the grill. That meant her uncle Willie was back there. So instead of going in the front door, as she was expected to do, Sheba opened the gate and walked around to the back.

  She could hear the sound of children playing in the backyard before she saw Chanel’s children, the nieces, Jelena, Erica, Sandra, and her nephew Nelson, whom she hadn’t seen in so long that she barely recognized them. Sheba walked up behind her uncle.

  “You saving one of those bones for me?”

  “Sheba,” he said, smiling brightly without looking in her direction. “I got these bad boys right here slow grilling on the outside just for you.”

  “You know I like them just a little burnt on the outside and juicy on the inside.”

  Uncle Willie turned toward Sheba with his arms out. “Come here, girl,” he said and hugged her. “Damn, it’s good to see you.” He broke their embrace. “You look good,” he said and hugged her again.

  “How are you doing?”

  “Oh, my back’s trying to act up more than usual these days, but other than that, I’m doing fine for an old man.”

  “You ain’t old, Uncle Willie—”

  “If you say that I’m seasoned or vintage, you can forget about them bones.”

  “I wasn’t going to say either one of those. I was going to say you’re not old, you’re my favorite uncle,” Sheba said and hugged him. “How’s Aunt Ella?”

  “She’s fine, inside with everybody else.” He paused. “You haven’t been inside?”

  “Not yet. I smelled the meat cooking, and I came to say hello to you.”

  He laughed. “Chanel said you didn’t want no party, but you should know that your grandmother was going to insist. Her baby is home.”

  “Home for good.”

  “And Miss Pearl is so glad you are. I’m just surprised you got out, that’s all.”

  “Without actually saying it, Chanel made it seem like I needed to do more than just come home for a couple of weeks to see Grandma. So how is she?”

  “Hear her tell it, she’s fine. But I’ve been hanging around here the last couple of days, watching her.” He shook his head. “Your grandmother is slowing down.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know how she is, all over the house, into everything and everybody.”

  “And?”

  “She’ll be that way for a while, but . . .”

  “But what?”

  “Like last night, one minute she was there in the kitchen, and the next she was gone. Chanel went to check on her, and she was in the bed.”

  “What time was this?”

  “Whatever time you called and told Chanel you weren’t coming, it was a little while after that.”

  “That is early for her, and with company in the house.”

  “See what I’m saying? Chanel’s doing the best she can, but them four kids running her ragged. And that sorry-ass James ain’t no help.”

  “You never did like him.”

  “And he gives me new reasons every day not to like him. That is one sorry-ass man,” Uncle Willie said and looked at his grandchildren. “Jelena, Erica! Y’all come here,” he said, and all four children came to see what their grandfather wanted. “I want you all to meet your aunt Sheba,” he said, and Nelson ran quickly to the house and burst inside.

  “Aunt Sheba is here!” he exclaimed and ran back outside.

  All the people who were in the house bounced to their feet and rushed outside to greet the returning veteran. There were hugs and kisses and tears of happiness as aunts, uncles, cousins, other family, and old friends welcomed Sheba home. But there was one person in particular she didn’t see.

  “Where’s Grandma?” Sheba asked.

  “She was going upstairs to get changed last time I saw her,” Chanel advised her.

  Sheba headed for the stairs to her grandmother’s room and tapped gently on the door. “Grandma,” she said, pushing the door gently and walking in.

  “There’s my baby,” Miss Pearl said and hugged her first-born granddaughter. “How are you, Ashebe?” her grandmother asked, calling her by her real name.

  Her full name was Ashebe Loretta Styles. However, the name was too many syllables for the toddler, so she began referring to herself as Sheba.

  “I’m fine, Grandma.”

  “I was just on my way down to see you.”

  “Well, I came to see you first. How are you, Grandma?”

  “Doing fine, child. I am just so glad to see you home and home for good this time.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I am here to stay.”

  “You thought any about what you’re gonna do now that you ain’t a slave to Uncle Sam?” Miss Pearl asked and coughed lightly.

  “Hadn’t even thought about it. Just glad to be here with you. But are you all right? Uncle Willie said that you seemed a little tired.”

  “Willie needs to mind his business and worry about that young girl he thinks his wife don’t know about.”

  Sheba laughed as they left the room on the way downstairs. “He did say his back was bothering him,” she said, and they went to join the family and the welcome home celebration.

  As the afternoon wore on and turned into night, Sheba found that it went exactly the way Uncle Willie said it would. At first, Miss Pearl was her usual self, all over the house, into everything, and talking and laughing with everybody, but eventually she slowed down and retreated into her kitchen sanctuary. Sheba was about to go in and check on her when the room erupted.

  “Jody!” half of the room shouted enthusiastically when her cousin arrived at the house. He was kind of the family rock star, but that wasn’t the reason for their reaction. He and his brother Floyd had been banned from the house, so everybody was surprised to see him there.

  “What’s up, what’s up? Where she at?” he said, high-fiv-ing, fist-bumping, and exchanging hugs with family as he moved through the room. “Where is the guest of honor? There she is!” he shouted when he saw her. “Sheba the queen!”

  “How you been doing, Jody?” Sheba asked, walking toward him with her arms out.

  Jody picked her up and spun her around. “Doing great. Glad my cousin is home,” he said and put her down.

  “Glad to be home. Look at you.” She felt his muscular arm. “All jacked and shit.”

  “Not a little boy anymore, Sheba.”

  She laughed. “You were skinny, but you were never a little boy.”

  “True, true. Where’s Grandma?”

  “In the kitchen.”

  “I’ma get with you in a minute. I need to say hello,” he said, hugged her, and walked away toward the kitchen.

  As the party continued, everybody was having a good time, laughing, drinking, and telling old stories and new lies. There was plenty to eat, and the music was good. The later it got, Sheba noticed that there were a couple of other people she hadn’t seen.

  “Where’s Floyd?” she asked Jody.

  “He said he might stop by, but if not, he’ll get with you tomorrow.”

  “What’s up with the whole banned from the house thing?”

  “One Sunday after dinner, Grandma said that we couldn’t come in the house no more.” Jody shrugged his shoulders. “She still calls and checks on us like she always did, and if she doesn’t hear from us, she’ll call and fuss, and if she needs somebody, she don’t mind calling and telling us what to do. We just can’t come in the house.”

  “I’ll ask her about it.”

  “Please do. Maybe then we’ll understand it,” Jody said and laughed.

  “Where’s Demi?” Sheba asked of their cousin.

  Jody frowned. “Ain’t no telling where that girl is.”

  “Why you say it like that?”

  “Chanel ain’t tell you? Demi is out of control. That’s another reason I’m glad you’re home. Maybe you can talk some sense into her. I tried talking to her, but you know how she is. Demi will sit there with that smile on her face, agreeing with everything you say, and she’ll promise that she is done with all that and she gonna do better, and then she goes out and does exactly the opposite. I’m done with her, Sheba. All I can do now is to be there for her when she calls.”

  “I guess she’s still doing her thing?”

  “Deep into it.” He shook and dropped his head. “Like I said, all I can do is be there for her.”

  “What?”

  “What?”

  “Tell me.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “Why the look?”

  Jody paused. “Like I said, Demi is out of control.” He took Sheba by the hand, and they went outside on the back porch. He got both of them a beer from the cooler, and they sat down. “One night, a friend of mine calls me and says that Demi was there and I needed to come get her. So me and Floyd roll over there. When we get there, one nigga lets us in, but there’s two or three other niggas in the apartment. My boy is guarding the bedroom door, not letting anybody in. I go in and there’s Demi, laying half-naked on the bed, passed out.”

  “What you mean, half-naked?”

  “I mean, her skirt was jacked up around her waist, she wasn’t wearing panties, and her titties were hanging out. Half-naked.”

  Sheba shook her head over what her cousin was doing. “What did you do?”

  “What else could I do? I straightened up her clothes, picked her up, and carried her out of there. But no, we didn’t confront them niggas about it if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “That was what I was asking.” She would have expected him to do or at least say something to defend Demi’s honor, but she understood why he didn’t. “That’s fucked up.”

  “We took her to my apartment, and I had a PA friend of mine look at her.”

  “Did Demi say what happened to her?”

  “She said she didn’t remember what happened, but it was pretty obvious to me. To my PA friend too. So like I said, I’m done trying to talk to her. I just come rescue her when she calls.”

  “What about Floyd?”

  “Floyd don’t fuck with her at all.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ll let him tell you that,” Jody said, and they went back inside.

  However, when Sheba got back into the house, she noticed that her grandmother was nowhere to be found. When she went upstairs to look for her, her grandmother said that she was tired and was going to relax for a while before bed. Sheba went straight back downstairs and got everybody’s attention.

  “I want to thank everybody for coming, but it’s late and it’s time to go—”

  “Aww!” the guests said collectively.

  “Grandma’s said she’s tired and wants to rest, and I’m tired from the drive, so it’s time for y’all to go home.”

  It took a good forty-five minutes after that, but once the house was clear, Sheba looked at the mess in the living room and in the kitchen, decided that she would get on that in the morning, and went up to her old room to sleep.

  Chapter 5

  It was almost ten by the time Sheba got up and got out of bed. She’d woken up earlier that morning before the sun came up, but with no reason to get up other than getting started on cleaning up the house, Sheba went back to sleep. Once she had showered and dressed, she went downstairs to find that her grandmother had already cleaned the living room and was just about finished in the kitchen. Not only that, but she had also cooked Sheba her favorite childhood breakfast: blueberry waffles and bacon.

  “Good morning, Grandma.”

  “Morning, Sheba,” Miss Pearl said as she washed a dish and put it in the dishwasher.

  “You didn’t have to clean up, Grandma. I was gonna call Chanel, and we would’ve jumped on it this morning.”

  “Chanel got enough to do running after them bad kids,” she said without looking away from her task. “Besides, I can’t stand to walk around in a dirty house, much less cook in a nasty kitchen.”

  Sheba began clearing the kitchen table and putting items in the trash. “Your kitchen is never nasty, Grandma.”

  Miss Pearl stopped doing dishes and looked at her granddaughter. “The way you and Chanel left my kitchen last night was nasty.”

  “That’s because we were gonna jump on it this morning.”

  “Really? And where is Chanel?”

  “I—”

  “She’s at home running after them bad kids,” she said before Sheba could answer and went back to doing the dishes. “I needed to get started so I could cook you breakfast.”

  “Are her kids really bad, Grandma?”

  “Not really. Just active, noisy, and mischievous.” Miss Pearl stopped. “I guess I’m getting old, because I ain’t for all that running around, whooping, and hollering in my house.”

  “You mean like we used to do?”

  “Yes, and I wasn’t for it then. I’m glad you grew up and got some sense. Come on and sit down. I made you breakfast.”

  Miss Pearl went to the refrigerator, got the food, and put it in the microwave before sitting down with Sheba. It was then that she noticed that Miss Pearl was wheezing.

  “You all right, Grandma?”

  “Just a little tired is all.” She coughed.

  “And how long have you had that cough?” Sheba asked and got no answer. “When was the last time you checked your blood pressure?”

  “It’s been a few days.”

  “And?” Sheba asked as she ate.

  “It was a little high.”

  “What’s a little high?” Sheba asked and again got no answer. She started to get up. “I’m gonna check your blood pressure.”

  “No,” Miss Pearl said quickly. “You finish eating, and I’ll go get the cuff,” she said and got up to get it.

  She purposely took her time coming back with it so Sheba could finish eating. Since she hadn’t been taking her medication, she had a pretty good idea of what was gonna happen next.

  “One ninety-five over one thirty-eight is way too high.” Sheba went to the cabinet where her grandmother kept her medication. “The pill box is empty.”

  “I haven’t had time to show Chanel how to set them up.”

  “Grandma?” Sheba frowned, and Miss Pearl shrugged her shoulders. “I remember how to set them up. Where’s your medication list?”

  “On the cabinet door.”

  Sheba looked at the list and matched up the bottles. “You’re out of a few medications,” she said, picking up her phone to call the pharmacy to get them refilled. “The recording says that you’re out of refills and they’ll call your doctor for authorization, but we need to get your pressure down.” Sheba paused to think. “Come on, get ready. I’m taking you to urgent care.”

  “I don’t think we need to do all that. I just need to rest.” Miss Pearl coughed.

  “No.” Sheba shook her head. “You are going to urgent care. Where are your insurance cards?”

  “In the desk drawer in the living room,” she said and got up from the table.

  Sheba went into the living room and looked through the papers that were on the desk. Not seeing the cards, she began checking the drawers. She did find the insurance cards in the center drawer. What she also found were several past-due notices, including a final notice from the mortgage company. Feeling that the important thing right then was seeing about her grandmother’s health, Sheba decided not to mention the bills.