I turned back to Kia. “I kind of see love like. . .a flower.”
“Oh this is good.” Kia scribbled that down on her page. “Could you say more?”
“When you see the person, it’s like putting the seed into the ground.” I mimicked doing the action with my hands. “It’s up to both people to decide if they want to water the seed each day, if they want to make sure the soil is topnotch—fertilizer and all that. They have to make sure no creatures come in to eat at the roots, stems, or petals—caterpillars, other bugs, even rodents.”
“This is so good. I didn’t think boys thought like this.”
“Well, I am a man.” I shrugged. “That’s the difference. A boy is not going to see love as a flower just yet. He sees it more like. . .” I tried to find the words.
Kevin jumped in. “Boys see love like fruit. Like an apple. Just pluck it off the tree, eat it, throw it on the ground, when he’s done.”
I winked at Kevin. “There we go.”
Kia wrote all of it down, even drawing an apple. “I’m never going to date boys then.”
“I second that,” Ebony said from the kitchen. “No dating until your eighteen. Get your education. Find out who you want to be. Figure out your own passions.”
“Eighteen?” Kia shook her head. “We’ll talk more about this later, Mommy.”
Ebony snorted.
“Anyway.” Kia went back to me. “So, love is a flower.”
“Yes. It’s up to the two people involved to make sure it blossoms.”
Kia looked up at me. “But. . .”
I quirked my brows. “What?”
“All men don’t think this way.” Sadness fell over her face.
I knew she must’ve been thinking of her father. “No. Not every man thinks this way. Not the right man. We’re all different. That’s why. . .when you eventually begin to date—”
“At eighteen,” Ebony added.
“Mommy,” Kia whined. “I’m getting inspiration for my poem.”
I grinned. “When you start dating. . .at eighteen. . .you must always understand that any man who decides to hurt your heart is completely and utterly replaceable.”
Kia assessed me, as if typing the words into her head.
“Any man who cheats or ends up being disrespectful, is not worthy to stand next to you. And. . .” I raised my finger. “Any man that abuses you, call me.”
Kevin laughed from the living room.
Jalen added, “You can call me too because I’ll have tons of guns.”
“Oh my god.” Kia rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Yoshiro. I think I have enough.”
I gave her a thumbs up. “This is going to be an awesome poem.”
She scribbled in her notebook some more. “It’s already really long. The woman is on a cliff about to jump into the ocean and drown herself over this guy that she really loved, but he cheated on her.”
“Oh.”
“And so this other guy is walking by and he sees her on the edge. He comes over and begins talking to her about how she shouldn’t jump because life is important. And she argues that there’s no reason to live or love again. So he gives her his view of life and love.”
“I’m impressed.”
“His advice is going to be yours.” She beamed. “With some of my own additions.”
“Will she jump off the cliff in the end?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“I can’t wait to read it.”
“I going to finish it soon.” Kia rose from the table and headed upstairs. “Thanks, Yoshiro.”
I watched her walk away and imagined the woman on the cliff. Her hands must’ve spread out, ready to welcome her death. Wind probably whipped through her hair and twirled her dress around her legs. And the ocean must’ve rumbled below her, crashing against rocks and threatening to swallow her up.
For the rest of the day, I couldn’t get the man and woman on the cliff out of my head. Kevin and Jalen got rowdy, playing the stupid game. Poppy read a few of her books to Salt and Pepa. At this point, they were the most spoiled dogs in Washington.
Ebony finished cooking hours later to everyone’s excitement. Surely, the house had been filled with amazing smells all day.
The kids made the table.
Kevin rushed to sit down and leaned my way. “I can’t believe you’ve been keeping this a secret from me.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You never said Ebony Day and her kids were living with you.”
“Everything happened fast.”
Kevin watched them set the plates on the table and whispered, “This is good for you.”
“I had no idea you were so worried.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t helicopter. . .those items your way.” He winked as Ebony sat across from us. “It might’ve messed up everything.”
I ignored him and studied the table. Ebony had outdone herself. She’d made a massive pot roast. Savory steam rose from the juicy meat. Macaroni and cheese sat in a large tray next to mixed vegetables covered in herbs. Rolls were on the other side, lathered in butter and flecks of garlic.