In the meantime, I think it’s time I face my own ghosts since Olivia is facing hers. After deciding not to approach her mom, I thought she’d be upset but she wasn’t. She was just resigned to the fact that she’d never have parents she could count on. She didn’t hide away her emotions; she leaned in to them. She’s been keeping up with her therapist who is encouraging her to let go of her parents completely because not having parents doesn’t mean she doesn’t have family. She’s been making time for Ciara, Nina, and Sasha and calling Angie and Justine more often to check in. She filled them in on what’s going on with her dad, and though they were upset that she hadn’t given them the full story before, they understood where she was coming from.

With Olivia spending the afternoon at Neon Nights with Nina, I decide to head to my condo. I let Lily know she can head out early, grateful that her report is that Po Po is having a good day, and then I head back to Po Po’s bedroom.

“Little Wolf, how are you?” she asks as she sits up.

“You don’t have to sit up on my behalf, Po Po.”

“Nonsense. I want to sit up while I talk to my grandson. Help me, will you?”

I help her sit up and then I sit beside her but keep a little distance between us. “What’s on your mind, Wolf?”

I scrub my hand down my face. There’s no easy way to have this conversation. I just have to rip the Band-Aid off. I tell her all the things I overheard and her face pales.

“Little Wolf,” she says as she puts her hand on top of mine, but I move it, ignoring the hurt I see on her face. “I’m ashamed that you heard those things.”

“So, you said it then?”

“I was opposed to Lisa marrying Xavier, yes. But you misunderstood my reasoning, just as your dad did back then. I explained it to him and Patrice, but if I had known you knew I would’ve extended the same courtesy to you.”

So Auntie did know. I’m even more confused now. “Well, here’s your chance. How could you stand in my face all my life and claim to love me, love Kylie, while simultaneously hating half of what makes us…us?”

“I have never h-h-hated any part of you, Kai.” She shakes her head and takes a moment to clear her mind. “Please understand. When I said I didn’t want Lisa to marry Xavier, it had nothing to do with him being Black and everything to do with him being American.”

That sets me back. “What?”