Kennedy held up much better than many expected. She didn’t cry much. She had the comfort of knowing that Big Ma was no longer suffering. Having Chaz by her side helped too.

After the burial, Kennedy’s massive family gathered at Big Ma’s house. Kennedy hung around briefly, but she wasn’t in the mood for a huge crowd. She had her own small separate repast at the home that she and Chaz still owned in Charlotte. Yatta, Strick, Kisa, Sincere, Butta, and Arnessa, and all of their kids were the only guests. They had a great time well into the night.

Kisa and Sincere were the first to leave. They wanted privacy, so they checked into the Ritz Carlton in downtown Charlotte because they had allowed several family members who were in town for the funeral to stay at their home. They also had a 7:00 AM flight back to New York for Shawn’s funeral Mass the next day.

“I’m starving,” Kisa said, entering the hotel suite. “We were talking so much I barely ate my food.”

“I’m still hungry too,” Sincere replied. “Do you wanna order some room service?”

“Yeah,” Kisa told him as she slipped out of her black suit.

Looking over the menu, Sincere said, “I’m getting the stuffed chicken.”

“Do they have salmon?” Kisa asked.

“Um, yeah.”

“I want salmon and a salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.”

While placing the order, Sincere watched his wife as she moved around the room in a sexy black slip. She’s crazy if she think I’m ever letting her go. He smiled to himself. Once done ordering the food, Sincere walked up behind Kisa. She was bent over her duffel bag getting her toiletries out for the shower. Sincere wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing his body firmly against hers, he said, “Tell me you love me.”

“You know I love you.”

“I’m not sure, since you haven’t told me once since we made up.” He spun her around so she faced him.

“You know how I am once my guard goes up. I mean, I wanna hug on you, kiss you, and tell you how happy I am that you’re home. My heart says to do all that, but my brain says to be cautious, because I can’t allow you to keep hurting me over and over.”

“I thought we were through this already.”

“We came to an agreement to stay together, but it’s going to take a lot of work.”

“I love you, Kisa. You and the kids are the only things that matter. I’m willing to work hard to keep our family together.”