The Realest Ever - By Keith Thomas Walker Page 0,26

I didn’t like her.”

“Whatever. I know you didn’t like her,” Donovan insisted. “You didn’t have to tell me.”

Kyra wondered where he got that bit of insight from. But Donovan was dead-on, as usual. The strange thing was Kyra never had a good reason to not like Regina when they were in high school. It might have been because Regina revealed her fondness for Donovan one day when Kyra was a freshman. Kyra hadn’t expressed any attraction to Donovan at that point, and she convinced herself that she was just being protective of her big brother.

“I didn’t think she was good enough for you,” Kyra admitted.

“You were probably right,” Donovan said. “I only went to the prom with her because she asked me. And don’t worry, we didn’t do anything afterwards.”

Kyra was happy to hear that, but she said, “I wasn’t worried. That’s your business.”

“You don’t care?” Donovan asked. He looked skeptical.

“Uh-uhn,” Kyra said, shaking her head. “Why would I?”

“I dunno,” Donovan said. “I just thought since you didn’t like her, it might have upset you if you thought we had sex or something.”

“You mean like jealousy?”

Donovan shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“We’re just friends,” Kyra said. “Friends don’t get jealous. Right?”

Donovan nodded. “You’re right.”

“But it is good to know that I don’t have to find Regina and punch her in the mouth for something she did so long ago,” Kyra said.

Donovan cut his eyes and grinned.

“I’m kidding,” Kyra said. “You know I’m just kidding.”

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Donovan took her to Red Lobster, and they dined on lobster tails and so many crab legs Kyra thought she should send an apology letter to PETA. While they dined, they talked more about what Kyra missed out on during Donovan’s junior and senior years at Finley High. And then he wanted to know what happened to Kyra when she moved to Arkansas. Kyra was eager to talk, but she didn’t want to dampen the mood with her war stories.

“Why do you want to hear about that?” she asked. “Didn’t nothing good happen in Little Rock.”

“Because it’s a part of your history,” Donovan said. “I know it wasn’t bad 24-7. Even the slaves had some happy times.”

Kyra laughed at his analogy. “You know what, that’s a good way to describe it. Everybody in the hood knows they’re in the hood. They know they’re poor, and the neighborhood stinks, and you can get killed for cashing your paycheck at the corner store. But at the same time, we always found time to party. A lot of people live every day like it’s their last, because it might just be.”

“I don’t want to know about everybody,” Donovan said. “I wanna know about you.”

Kyra’s smile slipped for the first time since they arrived at the restaurant. “I don’t really wanna talk about it,” she said. But just as quickly she offered him a brief recap: “When I left your mama’s house, I was hurting. I didn’t want to live in Little Rock. But I had to accept that’s where I was gonna be, and I might as well get used to it. It was hard. It got real bad sometimes. I used to wish you were there. I wished you were with me.”

“I’m sorry my mama kicked you out,” Donovan said. He never realized how big an impact that decision had on Kyra’s life.

“Please,” she said. “That wasn’t your fault.”

“I feel like it was,” Donovan said. “I never forgave myself.”

“Stop, please,” Kyra said. She shook her head and then batted her eyes. But the tears pooled and fell anyway. She quickly reached to wipe them away with her napkin. “I don’t wanna cry,” she said. “I’m having fun. Please. I don’t wanna talk about that.”

“Okay,” Donovan said. His heart was suddenly sick and heavy. He never wanted to see Kyra cry. Ever since he was a child, he would do anything to make her happy. “Hey, do you remember the time we beat up Jimmy and his sister?” He offered a hesitant smile.

Kyra’s eyes lit up, and she smiled, too. “Big-lip Jimmy and that stanky Rochelle!” She laughed loudly. “We tag-teamed the hell out of them!”

It was good to see her laugh again. Donovan leaned forward with his elbows on the table while Kyra retold the harrowing tale.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Twenty minutes later, Kyra was reluctant to leave the restaurant. She hadn’t eaten that well in a long time. But returning to the comfy confines of Donovan’s truck was nice, too. Kyra hoped she’d meet a handsome man in Overbrook Meadows who had a