Brenda takes another sip of her beer before she even open her mouth. “You want me to go get my belt?”

I don’t know which one she talking to, and I don’t thank she do either, but all three of ’em shake they head no.

“Get up off that floor, Hakeem. You know Quantiana sit in the same chair every day, so why you have to aggravate her like this?”

He is not crying like I thought he was. He was just making a lot of noise. Being dramatic, as Viola would say.

But he already in the other chair, slurping up that corn. Miss Q rolls her eyes at him, like she done won another round, and the baby is sucking on a hot link. Brenda should know that that girl too little to be eating this kind of spicy food, but she don’t seem to be having no problems.

“Y’all gon’ be okay, then?” she asks them.

They all nod yes. “Then me and Cecil gon’ go on and sit in the living room, ’cause we got some important thangs to talk about. Don’t come in there till I tell you it’s all right, understand?”

Miss Q and Hakeem nod yes, and then the baby imitates them. Me and Brenda walk in the living room and sit down on the couch. It’s a sad couch. I couldn’t tell you what color it is. These kids destroy everything. All I know is there’s a dip in the middle cushion, so, to keep from sliding into each other, we have to sit at opposite ends. I gave her five hundred dollars last week and I thought she said she was gon’ buy one since they was having a big inventory sale at Levitz. But I don’t see no new couch.

Brenda got her beer in her hand, which, after she take a long squig, she set on the cocktail table. It’s sticky from something. I don’t even wanna know what. And the rug under it is tore in one place, so, to keep it together, I lift the leg of the table and push this end of the rug against the other. You can’t hardly tell it’s split, but I know it.

Brenda picks up the remote control and press it until she get BET. It’s some music videos on. She lean back on the couch and her bra strap done fell down on her left shoulder, but I don’t thank she realize it, ’cause she don’t do nothin’ about it. I thank Brenda got a buzz going. She cocks her head to one side and look at me and smile. I smile back. If she could just stay in that pose, she could almost pass for pretty right now. But of course she move back to her position and then look down at the floor.

“You like me, don’t you, Cecil?”

That is a dumb question to ask a man who living with you, who give you all his money, and is helping to take care of somebody else’s kids, but I just say, “Of course I do.”