sierra and rayana enter their grandparents home, empty handed and hungry. it's been awhile since their entire family has been together, rayanas kids included, and their mother and grandparents insisted that a family dinner was way overdue.
their grandparents greet them in the foyer, a huge smile on their grandmothers face. "hey, granny," they say i'm unison, stepping out of their shoes. their grandmother bounds over to them in an apron with a spoon in her hand.
"oh, look at you two! sierra, have you been eating?" she asks, pulling her in for a hug and holding sierras head to her chest. sierra only chuckles and nods her head, hugging on tight to her grandmother.
they pull apart and sierra walks deeper into the house to greet her grandpa. he puts his glasses on as he approaches. "sierra?"
"hi, papa," she says, opening her arms for a hug but he doesn't get up from his spot, just looks at her like he can't tell who she is.
"you need to eat more. you look thin," he states, finally getting up to engulf sierra in a bone crushing hug. he's a thin man, though he's strong and loves hard. "but how's work? you doing well in school?" he holds her at her upper back and peers down at her through beady, wrinkled eyes.
"everything's good, grandad," she says. he kisses her on the forehead before releasing her. they both sit down at the table, and sierra looks around for her mother.
"in the back," her grandfather says, taking his glasses off and picking up the newspaper. sierra only nods and watches him while he reads. he's getting old, and every time sierra thinks about it, her eyes start to get misty. out of both of her grandparents, she is closest with her grandpa. he played the father and grandfather role for her growing up, since their father wasn't around—he left before sierra got the chance to really understand that she had a father. rayana at least knew him for 5 years.
her grandpa looks up at her, feeling her stare. he looks up at her underneath his eyebrows, in that old man way, his face twisted up. "what you looking at, little girl?"
"you, papa," sierra says. he shakes his head at her and goes back to reading the paper, a small smile on his face.
"you bothering granddaddy?" rayana asks, walking around the table and slinging an arm around him. he pats her hand and puts the paper down.
"when are the kids coming?" he asks, looking up at rayana.
"rakim said he'll be here soon," rayana says. their grandfather makes a disapproving noise at the mention of rayanas kids' father, but doesn't say anything else. "be nice to him when he gets here too, grandad."
"this is my house, i aint got to be nice to nobody," he says, going back to reading. rayana rolls her eyes and parts from him, taking a seat next to sierra and tapping on her phone. their grandfather doesn't approve of any men they bring around, and never will. most of the time, the sisters doing bring their men around their grandpa because of the way that he is, but in rayanas case that is almost inevitable.
minutes later, their mother comes into the kitchen and hugs them both, squeezing onto sierra a bit longer than she does rayana. sierra is around less than rayana because of her work and school schedule. though she calls her mom a lot, it isn't the same as seeing each other—especially when they only live twenty minutes from each other. "this is a cute dress," her mother, london, compliments. it's a simple black wrap dress that hugs her body nicely. "and i like this color on you. gon' 'head then, girl!" she says, referring to her hair.
"thanks, mama," sierra kisses her mother on the cheek and retakes her seat and looks around her grandparents kitchen. it's barely changed since she was little, minus the paint job it gets every couple of years, along with new counters every five. she missed being here almost everyday, and every time she's here as a grown woman, she realizes how old she really is and it brings tears to her eyes.
