no idea how he even got in our school. His mama was fine, though. Remember her? Had a big ol’ ass. She used to flirt with me, too. I shoulda tried to be his stepfather, at least for one night. He woulda heard me up in there tearin’ that old ass pussy up!”
King had heard enough, though he was highly amused by his friend’s antics.
“Man, all right, you’re buggin’. I gotta get back to what I was doing. Thanks for the update on someone we don’t even think about and then talking about screwing his poor mother. You’re crazy, Shane.” King did his utmost to suppress laughter, but wasn’t successful. Shane was always cracking on someone. “Let me call you back. I’m with Suri at the—”
“Suri? The cute chick you met from the club, been spending all your time with, and dissin’ your boys ’cause you so far up her ass now? The same Suri that I had to text on your behalf to let her know her lover boy was a jailbird? That Suri?”
“Fuck you, Shane.” King chortled.
“Hey, I meant to ask you, does she have any sisters? Fine ass single friends, maybe?”
“No, well, yes. Long story about the sister, plenty of friends, but I would never set up anyone with you. I’m not trying to get dragged into the middle of some mess when it implodes.”
“Fuck you, then. Jafar lookin’ ass. Yo, it’s awfully quiet over there… Ohhh…” He laughed in a sneaky sort of way. “Y’all fuckin’ right now, aren’t you? That’s why you’re in such a hurry to get off the phone. Put the phone down and let me listen.”
King quickly ended the call.
“Hey, baby, you can hit the light.” He pointed at several switches on the wall. Suri flicked them all on. She ran her hand up and down her arms, over her sweater. “Are you cold?”
She shook her head.
“No, I’m okay.”
“That’s a lie. You just don’t want to admit you should’ve brought your coat like I told you.” He chuckled. “You just can’t say, ‘Hey, baby, you were right, and I was wrong.’ Go on. Try it out for size.”
The woman stuck her tongue out at him. He continued to move several canvases from between the protective metal barriers.
“I’m still narrowing down which ones are going to be in the show. It’s a hard choice.”
“I can help you if you want.”
“All right.”
Some of the artwork had white sheets covering them. He scooted a cart aside, unsnapped several pins that held the cloth over the frame, and let it fall away to the floor. When he went towards the corner of the warehouse to check his materials stock, he could hear her walking, her sneakers making a slight squeaky noise against the floor. Then, her steps stopped. He turned to find her standing before a large painting. He proceeded to open the doors of a small portable closet in the corner and check some of his older paints. Grabbing a few that were dried out and unable to be revived, he tossed them into a plastic garbage bag, which he set gently on the floor. Suri was still in the same place, her eyes fixed on the painting. He walked in her direction.
“This is amazing, King.” She was staring at the image of a hillside in Ireland, dotted with homes and a few people moving about. He’d painted it for his grandmother, but hadn’t given it to her yet. “It looks like I could take off my shoes and step right inside. Like I could be there, right with everyone else.” She reached to it, her fingers a mere whisper away, but she didn’t touch it. “How do you do this? I mean, I know you said it’s God given, but this isn’t something most people could do. I feel like I could step on that grass, feel that breeze. Your art is a beating heart. It’s alive.” She looked at him, her eyes full of wonder.
“You know, I’ve gotten much better over the years with landscape paintings. It took a lot of practice, age, and time.”
“Everything gets better the more you do it.” She tossed him a flirty wink, then wiggled her way between several hanging canvases.
“Hey, I want you to meet the rest of my friends, Suri. My mãe and my mamãe, too.”
“Does mãe mean mother in Portuguese?”
“It’s one way to say it. When I’m talking directly to her, I usually use mãe.”
“Mãe… mãe,” she repeated. “How many languages do you know?”
“English, Portuguese,