the people at the bagel shop knew us by name. “Didn’t you burn the scrambled eggs last time you—”
Mo caught me in a bear hug so that I couldn’t say anything else.
“See you tomorrow, Karter. Bring your appetite, hun.”
“I’ll be here,” he said. “Bye, Briseis.” He turned the truck around and took off.
Mo grinned as I wriggled free of her grasp and pushed up my glasses.
“Really?” I said. “Why are you acting like this? Are you okay? Do you need to lie down?” I put my hand on her forehead to see if she felt hot.
“Girl, stop,” she said, smiling. “I’m happy to see you getting out of the house and making friends.”
“Are you really gonna make waffles?” I asked Mo. “We just moved in. Mom’ll be pissed if you burn this place down.”
“It’ll be fine. Tell me more about Karter. You like him, huh?”
“He’s really nice,” I said, pausing to consider what she was hinting at. “I like him as a friend and honestly, that’s what I need right now.”
“That’s just as important as anything else,” said Mo.
I could always tell if I liked somebody straight out the gate. People didn’t really grow on me. I either liked them right away or not at all, and I liked Karter. But that meant at some point I’d have to decide how much to tell him or how much I had to hide, and I hated that part.
CHAPTER 12
I found Mom in the kitchen, scrubbing the open shelves like her life depended on it. Her eyes were rimmed with red like she’d been crying.
She caught the concern on my face. “It’s my allergies. This place is so dusty. Where did you run off to?”
“I drove around with Karter for a while.”
“See anything interesting?” she asked.
“Sort of. We drove past this place called Samuel’s Sweet Shop. Looked cute. They serve coffee and stuff. Maybe we could go there another day.”
“Tomorrow?” Mom asked.
“No, Mo is making waffles tomorrow.”
“Wait. Who’s making waffles?” Mom asked.
“Karter is coming over for breakfast tomorrow, and I’m gonna make waffles,” said Mo as she walked into the kitchen, shooting me an overexaggerated scowl. “Look what I found earlier.” She went to the cabinet and took out what seemed like the first waffle iron ever made. She put it on the counter with a heavy thud. “It inspired me.”
Mom stared at Mo like she had two heads.
Mo crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m so mad that y’all think I can’t make waffles. It’s not rocket science.”
“I know,” Mom said. “But, babe, have you ever actually made waffles?”
I tried to stifle my laughter but couldn’t. Neither could Mom. Mo turned and walked out.
“I’m gonna prove y’all wrong in the morning,” she called over her shoulder. “And then you’re gonna want me to make you waffles all the time, and I’m gonna say no.”
Mom sighed and knelt down to clean the lower row of cabinets. “Make sure you have your camera ready when she starts cooking, but also be ready to call the fire department.”
“Oh, I’m on it,” I said. “I’m gonna start going through some of the stuff upstairs. I, um—I found something when I was out looking around.”
“Oh yeah?” Mom asked. “What is it?”
I wanted to tell her everything, but I stopped myself. I was still trying to figure out what Circe was trying to communicate through her letters and understand what my immunity had to do with the work she’d mentioned. “A garden,” I said. “It’s overgrown and mostly dead, but I think I can fix it.”
“If anyone can do it, you can.” She sat back, her legs folded under her. “Do you like it here, baby? I know it’s not Brooklyn. It’s different. But I gotta be honest, if we could get a handle on these random people showing up and this dust, it might grow on me. I heard birds chirping this morning, baby. Birds. And not stank-ass pigeons either.”
“Pigeons don’t even chirp,” I said.
“No, they’re too busy stealing people’s food and shitting on everything to chirp. But that’s what I’m sayin’. This place has actual birds, and even though this pollen is tryna murder me, it’s beautiful up here. I think I love it.”
Mom was a city chick to the bone, a New Yorker, the queen of minding her own business. She didn’t believe jaywalking was a real thing and I didn’t think she could live without her favorite Cuban sandwich from the bodega down the block. I never thought she could be happy anywhere