There it was—the setup for the question that always unsettled me.

“How do you feel about your brother not being here to celebrate with you?”

His lips seemed to move in slow motion, and a familiar dark shadow fell over me as the memories flooded back. I didn’t know how to answer that. I felt miserable that my brother wasn’t here, and I couldn’t say what I wanted. Too much grief, and I would look pathetic and ungrateful.

“I… it’s… I miss my brother every day,” I managed to say, feeling the familiar weight of sadness settle into my chest.

At that moment, I scanned the crowd as usual for Mom. She needed to see how pissed I was in real time. She was supposed to make sure this didn’t happen. Oddly, I couldn’t find her in the sea of people. Searching for something familiar, my eyes fell on Phileigh, and our eyes locked. Suddenly, the harsh clicks of cameras and infamous questions faded away. There was only her and I. Everything felt more manageable as I focused on her beautiful face. Phileigh had a peaceful aura oozing off her, which seemed to be what I needed.

“I miss my brother every day… at every accomplishment,” I repeated.

“Well, we know he’s somewhere proud of you.” Karla smiled. Her words stuck with me.

“I hope so.” I sighed as the producers counted us down to the end.

“Well, congratulations once again on the win. We can’t wait to see what’s next for you and your team. Enjoy the celebration.” Ben ended the session.

“Thank you! Appreciate it.”

The segment ended, and I quickly removed my mic and returned to Phileigh without another word. I needed to be in her space.

“Hey. Guess the clock didn’t strike midnight,” I said softly. The noise from the crowd faded into the background when she smiled.

“I guess not,” she replied with a smile breaking across her face. “Ready to eat?”

“Kellon, we need to get you on the float!” my mama shouted, interrupting us.

Shit, I had forgotten about the parade.

“I forgot I gotta do this parade first,” I said. “Eat after?”

I reached out my hand to help her up.

“Okay,” she replied, taking my hand.

Her softness had my fucking heart jumping. I never wanted her to lose that softness. We walked through the crowd to where the brightly colored float was waiting.

“Watch your step, beautiful,” I told her as I helped her aboard the float.

“Thank you. I’ve never been on a float or a part of a parade before.” Her mouth was open as she took in the scenery.

“I’m glad I could be your first.”