tão teimoso!” She sucked her teeth and marched away into the kitchen.
She’d called him stubborn many times, so that didn’t faze him.
“Yeah, like my mother. Look in the mirror. We look just alike anyway,” He retorted. She returned with a dust cloth in her hand. “Why are you surprised about any of this? But I’m telling the truth. I don’t need you to help, Mãe, but thank you. I told you it’s fine.”
She shook her head. “King, you tell me you’re fine when you’re not. I can’t trust you. What about when—”
“Yeah, a lot of things have happened. Many times, I’ve hidden stuff from you, all right? Not because I wanted to, but because it would do nothin’ except cause you unnecessary stress. I handled my life, okay? I didn’t need you to do anything but love me. You did your job well.” She smiled sadly at him. “Besides, you’ve already got a kid that acts like you should give him all you’ve got.”
“King, you’re being judgmental and cruel.”
“Everyone should be judgmental. If we have no standards, then what in the hell do we have, Mãe?” He threw up his hands. “I judge myself just as harshly, so who cares? I tell you one thing, Lucas and I try to make life easier for you and Chris, not harder, and besides, you both raised me to be independent. As far as my money situation, don’t worry. When have I ever gone a long time without a job since I started working at the age of seventeen? Never. I’ve got this.”
“You’ve always been obstinate, King. You tried to come out sideways!” She chuckled, but her tone indicated anger. She tossed the dust cloth at him and he ducked. Picking it up from the floor, he placed it on the coffee table. “That’s called swag. I was born with it.”
She gave him a puzzled look, clearly clueless as to what he was talking about.
“Speaking of your father, King, how is he doing?”
“He’s good.” He shrugged. “I saw him last month, actually. Was in Queens to take care of something and I decided to call him and slide through. We had lunch. He’s still working at Best Buy. Same apartment, too. Grandma called while I was over there.” King adored his biological father’s mother, his Ma, so much. She was becoming a bit senile, but was always a ball of joy. “You should give Grandma a call, Mom. She said you will always be her daughter-in-law. She wants more than just annual Christmas cards from you.”
Mãe mustered a smile.
They went quiet for a bit. All he could hear was the traffic outside his parents’ home, muffled shouting, and the typical street noises he’d known his entire life. Soon, she joined him on the couch, handing him a glass of juice he hadn’t asked for, but appreciated all the same.
“Pineapple, orange, lemon. Made it myself. Good for your immune system, too.”
He smiled and tasted it. Delicious.
“This is good, Mom. Thanks.”
She got to her feet again and left the room.
Closing his eyes, he smelled the juice, inhaling the aroma, and thoughts of the flavor and feel of Suri’s pussy jumped at the forefront of his mind. It had reminded him of tangerines.
“You have an art show coming up?” his mother asked, stealing him from his thoughts. “I believe you mentioned that.” Her thick accent swathed the words.
“Yeah, in a few months.” He took another sip of the juice. “Are you coming?”
“Will there be another asshole on the wall?” He burst out laughing, almost spraying juice everywhere. She followed suit and shook her head. “You paint so beautifully, King. So talented. People know my son’s work! How could you do that?! I do not understand why you’d want to do a thing like that!” She waved her hands about.
“Mom, it was just an expression of the body. It wasn’t meant to be how you’re interpreting it.” He felt his face warming, and irrepressible mirth tugged at his gut.
“Oh, I interpreted it right. Christopher and I get dressed up. We go to 5th Avenue. Walk in, wine… fruit… cheese. So pretty. Lights. People taking photographs like you were a celebrity and my son standing in a red suit, arms exposed, tattoos everywhere… Like you’re a comic book.” He chuckled and shook his head. Mom was a bit old-fashioned at times. “Very important people there that night. You introduced me to some of your new art friends, your girlfriend, well, ex-girlfriend now. Everything was fine, and then, I