was happy with that.
“How’s school?” he asked, giving me a big hug.
“Out for the summer.”
“I should have taken off for the summer,” he said. “I’m doing three online classes.”
“That’s a lot of work,” I said.
“Who you tellin’?” Jake asked. “I’m taking a calculus refresher for no credit because I have to take it in the fall and I suck at college-level math. It doesn’t have anything to do with my plan to be a beauty guru.”
“What’s that?” Mo asked.
“I don’t know, but I know they make money,” said Jake. “How hard can it be? Paint your face, eyebrows. Powder. Done.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than that—but hey, follow your dreams,” I said.
“See,” said Jake. “That’s why I come over here. Y’all don’t judge me.”
Mo’s phone rang in her pocket. When she answered, she had the same look of concern that Mom had.
“Briseis, can you come with me?” She turned to Jake. “Can you watch the shop for a few minutes?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said, looking back and forth between us. “Everything okay?”
Mo nodded, motioning for me to follow her upstairs. She took the steps two at a time.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I scrambled after her.
She continued up the stairs without answering me.
When we walked into the living room, my mom was sitting on the couch with her hands tented under her chin.
“What’s going on?” I asked, sitting down next to her. She took my hands in hers and squeezed them. Another wave of anxiety washed over me. “Mom, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong? Is it the rent? Do we have to move sooner?”
She shook her head.
“Did—did somebody die?”
“No, baby, it’s nothing like that.” She took a deep breath. “I got a call from an attorney who represents the estate of your birth mother’s sister.”
I heard what Mom said, but it didn’t make sense. My birth mother had passed away when I was little. I didn’t know she had a sister.
“I don’t understand.”
Mom gripped my hands tighter. “According to the attorney, she passed away, and she left you her estate.”
My mind went blank. “Her estate? What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure what’s involved,” said Mom. “The attorney got in touch with the adoption agency, who just passed the message to me. Your—your aunt didn’t want to disrupt things here for you, but it sounds like you’re her only living relative. She left you something sizable enough for an estate lawyer to be involved.”
Mo was quiet. I waited for her to speak because she always had good advice, but she only stood there with a worried look on her face.
“I don’t really know what to say,” I said. My adoption was open, but my birth mother never made contact. It wasn’t a huge deal. It was just the way things were—but now, someone related to her, to me, was leaving me an estate? I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
“That’s okay, baby,” said Mom. “I don’t know what to say either.”
Mo hung by the door, watching us, then looked down at her clasped hands.
“We don’t have to do anything,” Mom said quietly. “We don’t have to respond or we can—if you want. I don’t want to jump in front of you to make a decision.” Worry bloomed in her eyes and in the faint lines around her mouth.
“So someone who shares my DNA left me something in her will. Cool.” I glanced toward my room. The door was cracked and I could see the tangle of ivy slinking its way up my bedpost. “Let’s see what it is.”
My parents were the two people I loved most in the world, and it made me sad that they were stressed over this. Bringing up my birth family was always a little stressful for them, mostly because they loved me and didn’t want me to be upset. I was curious when I was younger, and they answered all my questions as best they could. As I got older, the topic came up less, but it was never off-limits.
“Maybe it’s a pile of money and y’all won’t have to moonlight as exotic dancers to pay the bills,” I said. “I wouldn’t judge you if you did but I know nine thirty is y’all’s bedtime.” Mom laughed, and I leaned in to put my face in her neck like I used to do when I was little, breathing her in, feeling calmed by the beat of her heart. “Let’s get all the facts and then go from there. No more stressing, okay?”
Mo sat down