A Mother's Bond

30

Jay  July 31, 2016
I opened my eyes slowly, already dreading the day ahead of me. I'd spent most of the night watching Bey sleep, worrying about losing her. I felt so guilty I almost reached over and woke her up, desperate to get the weight off my chest. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. They say the truth shall set you free. But the only freedom I saw in my future was freedom from my marriage, and I couldn't have that. So, I just rolled over, hoping to find peace through sleep. It didn't work though. I still felt just as shitty as I did before.

I lay in bed for another 10 minutes before I finally gathered the strength to face the day. I stepped out into the hall and saw Julez on his way to the kitchen.

“Hey man,” I called out, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to face me, a nervous smile plastered on his face.

“Oh, hey Uncle Jay.” He fidgeted with his fingers.

“Listen, I just wanted to make sure we’re still cool.” I said, peering into his eyes, trying to uncover any hints of deception.

He nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t told anyone.”

I nodded slowly. “And you’re not going to, right? You get along with Sarayah. I know you want to keep her around.”

He swallowed. “Yeah, I don’t want her to go.”

“We’re good then. I just wanted to make sure we’re still on the same page.” I patted him on the back. "Let's go eat."

“I’m gonna eat later. Not hungry anymore.” He mumbled, going back to his room.

I watched him, guiltily. I shook it off, taking a few steadying breaths before heading downstairs. I walked into the kitchen to see Beyoncé and Sarayah talking at the table. By the looks of it, they were enjoying each other’s company. I blinked, shocked. I rubbed my eyes a few times, unsure if I was actually awake. After watching them for a few minutes, I slowly approached them.

“Do my eyes deceive me or are Beyoncé and Sarayah talking to each other?” I asked, only half joking.

“I couldn’t believe it either.” I glanced over my shoulder to see Solange sitting on one of the kitchen barstools.

“I’ve been watching them for 20 minutes, and they haven’t yelled once. Sarayah hasn’t dramatically stormed off. She hasn’t insulted Bey. She hasn’t so much as looked at her sideways. I don’t what’s going on, but I don’t want to jinx it by asking.”

Sarayah folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, so I’m the one who’s causing all the problems, right? Beyoncé’s completely innocent?”

“I wasn’t gon say nothing, but…” Beyoncé trailed off, sipping her lemonade.

Sarayah tipped Beyoncé’s cup as she drank, making it spill all over her shirt. She sat in shock, staring at Sarayah. The kitchen went silent.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted,” Solange murmured.

I frowned. "Shit, I barely even got to see it."

Sarayah shrugged, a smug smile on her face. Bey smirked then poured the rest of the cup’s contents into Sarayah’s lap. Sarayah jumped up while Beyoncé giggled. I prepared to grab Sarayah, but she just stuck her tongue out at Bey.

“Just wait 'til Grandma gets back.” She threatened playfully.

I widened my eyes at Solange who shrugged, smiling. Kelly strolled in, heading straight for the fridge. She saw Bey and Sarayah joking around and did a triple take.

“What’s going on here?” She asked, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

“Aunty Kellz, Beyoncé poured lemonade all over me. Beat her up for me, Ali.” She whined.

Bey gasped. “Wow, the truce is over, just like that?”

Sarayah shrugged. “That’s how it be sometimes.”

Beyoncé jumped up, put Sarayah in a headlock and started giving her a nuggie. Blue rushed over to me and started yanking on my pants.

“They’re fighting, Daddy! You have to stop them.”

I picked her up. “Nah, they’re alright. They’re playing. Look, Sarayah’s laughing. They’re alright. They’re finally alright.”

Sarayah called mercy, and they separated, laughing. They sat back down, and Solange took a seat at the table. I soon followed her, still feeling like I was in a daze. After a few seconds, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know.

“So, what’s with the sudden change in attitude? I mean, I am completely supportive of it, but I’m confused. I feel like I just stepped into another dimension or something.”

Sarayah looked at Bey. “We just came to an understanding. We’re gonna stop punishing each other for the people we’re not and start appreciating each other for the people we are.”

Solange grinned and pulled Sarayah into a hug. “Aww, I’m so proud of you, Sarayah, and I sincerely mean that. I know letting that anger go couldn’t have been easy for you.”

Sarayah’s eyes watered, but she smiled. “It needed to happen.”

Kelly walked over holding a plate of bacon and sat next to me. “Well, all I can say is it’s about damn time.”

“I know you not swearing in my house on a Sunday morning Kelendria Trene Rowland.”

Kelly cringed. “My whole government name?”

Mama T and Michelle appeared in the kitchen dressed in their church clothes. Mama walked up to Kelly and popped her in the head.

Kelly pouted. “Hey, I had a good reason.”

Mama T put her hands on her hips. “And what reason was that?”

Solange stood up with a flourish. “Peace among the Knowles women.”

“Knowles-Carter,” I amended.

“Knowles women,” she repeated, making me roll my eyes.

Mama T looked between Sarayah and Bey. “Oh, thank the Lord. It’s a miracle. Michelle and I were just praying for that in Church.”

Sarayah held up a finger. “Well, actually, this happened yester–”

Bey shook her head, pinching Sarayah’s lips together before she could say anything else. “Don’t. Just don’t. Let her have this.”

Mama T pulled them both into a hug. Solange watched for a few seconds, grinning, before jumping in.
I watched them, smiling slightly. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Our bubble of happiness was so fragile. The slightest change could burst it, and I was sitting on a bomb. I swallowed hard. I wondered how long I would get to enjoy this. I had to get them out of Houston.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lol. On a scale from 1 to 10, how annoyed are you that Jay is getting away with this 🤣

Btw this is probably gonna be his last POV because I just don't care anymore 🤷🏽‍♀️ but he will still be in the story

Random but relatively important note. There's a 99% chance I'm gonna delete this story after I finish it. Not right away. I'll give it a week or two so you guys can finish it. But, I had a bit of a scare with someone ripping off my story and it made me hesitant to leave it up. Don't hate me. Ok byeee ✌🏽