Chapter Nine
Dallas “Bleu” Alexander
Three months later.
I was preparing for the grand opening of my new dojo in Potomac Falls in a few weeks, which gave me the perfect reason to push Imani out of my mind. If she didn’t want me, I would respect it and fall back until she gave me a reason to do otherwise. I still checked in on Mrs. L from time to time, out of respect for Izzy, but I never spoke about Isa’s wedding day again. I knew I wasn’t the only one who wished that day was nothing but a bad dream. No sooner than I set out to put the Lavender family in the back of my mind, I caught a glimpse of Isa walking to her parked car on the other side of the street across from my dojo.
“Yo, Isa?” I hollered, standing in my doorframe.
“Bleu? Hey!” she exclaimed with a smile and a wave.
The minute I stepped outside; I could smell the moisture in the air. There was a storm brewing in the distance. I glanced up, feeling the heavy air weighing down my shoulders. It instantly put an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I charged across the street to make my way over to her before the sky cracked open. One look at her, and my eyes fell to the baby bump protruding over her skinny jeans. I hadn’t seen her in months, but it was clear that she was pregnant. “Wow! Look at you!”
Her eyes followed mine down to her stomach, placing her hand over it. “Yup. Look at me!”
“You look good, though. You feelin’ aight?”
“Yeah. I feel pretty good. The second trimester is way better than the first for many reasons.”
The awkward silence fell between us sooner than I anticipated. My eyes oscillated around us, taking in the sky's heavy gray clouds. The trees began whipping back and forth in the wind.
“You, uh, you know what you havin’ yet?” I asked.
“It’s a boy.”
I smiled. “That’s dope. You gon’ have a little Izzy on your hands.”
My mention of her brother made her laugh, which made me laugh. “Man don’t say that. You and I both know Izzy was a terror growing up!”
“Hell yeah, you're right about that,” I agreed.
“Izzy would kill me if he were here. Look at me. My life blew up that day, but at the same time, it was like coming up for air after being held underwater for so long. I got the clarity I needed, whether I liked it or not. I think we all did.”
“You know it’s not in my nature to judge. All I care about is if you’re doin’ okay.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
I bobbed my head. “Okay then. I know this shit ain’t none of my business, but have you at least told lil’ man’s father? Y’know, so you don’t have to do this shit alone?”
Her eyes fell to the black low-top Chucks on her feet. “Yeah, he knows. We decided it was best to give him some space, and I just keep him updated on all my appointments and everything. He agreed to be there for the birth, and then soon after, we’ll work out a visitation schedule. But as far as a relationship, that’s not in the cards for us.”
“Don’t seem like there’s one in there for me either.” I shrugged before shifting my weight from one leg to the other.
She shrugged. “I’m sorry about Imani. I love my sister, but yeah.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I said while shaking my head. “I put it all out there, and she made her decision. She’s a grown-ass woman. I can’t fault her just because she didn’t make the decision I wanted her to.”
“I guess you’re right about that.”
Thunder began to boom in the distance, vibrating the asphalt beneath us. Soon, the wind started to pick up, whipping her curls across her face.
“Damn. That sky looks like it’s about to crack open any minute now.”
“Yeah. I should go.”
“You take care, aight?”
She smiled just before the sky gave way to billions of weighted raindrops. “Yeah, you too!” She waved before getting in her car.