EARLY MORNING

Sam is lying on his back next to his mother in the hospital bed. Liliana's head is rested on Sam's arm, which is wrapped around her shoulders. She's asleep just like everyone else around the room.

Larry is sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed, holding his wife's hand that has a tube connected to it.

Nate and Stephen are slouched in chairs opposite from each other, and Delores has two chairs connected, with her upper body in one and her lower in the other.

Sam's eyes pop open, and he immediately looks down at his mother's face. He looks at the machine that she's hooked to, and sees she's still breathing. He tries to wake her.

"Ma?" He whispers to her.

She slightly moves her head with her eyes still closed.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."

A tear slowly creeps out from under her eye lid.

"Don't cry, Ma. Just wanted to tell you I love you." He kisses her forehead and wipes away her tear. He throws his head back on the bed, and sighs before closing his eyes.

___

ONE WEEK LATER

Yemi's arms are wrapped around one of Sam's while Sam, his grandma, and his siblings watch Liliana's casket being lowered into the ground. Extended family and friends are walking, sullenly, towards their parked cars. Larry is sitting under the funeral tent, disinclined to see his wife being buried, and Veronica is in the next chair, consoling him.

After a long moment, Sam looks down at Yemi. "Imma head out."

"To the repast?"

He shakes his head. "I'm going home."

"Home as in Cali? Like, right now?" She asks incredulously.

He nods. "You're coming? Or you're gonna stay here with V?"

"Umm..." She looks across the way at Veronica.

"It's fine if you want to."

"You don't want to stay a little longer with your family?"

"Nah." He gently pulls his arm out of Yemi's grasp. "I have to get my bag from the hotel. Call me when you decide what you wanna do."

"I'll go with you. Let me just say goodbye to Veronica first."

He nods and then walks away towards the asphalt pavement. Yemi watches him sympathetically before making her way to Veronica.

She approaches the tent and stops right next to Larry. "Hi, Mr. Carter."

He looks up at her, and gives her a tight lipped smile.

"Is there anything I can do for you, before I leave?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you. I'll see you at the house."

"Oh, umm. We're not going to be there. We're heading back to California."

Both Larry and Veronica furrow their eyebrows in shock.

"He's just ready to go home, that's all."

Veronica stands up and stands next to Yemi.

"I shouldn't even be surprised. He's been short with everyone since Lily... left," Larry tells them.

"He's just grieving Unc. He'll be alright," Veronica tells him.

Larry nods before looking towards his other sons. "Take care, Yemi. Thanks for being here for my son."

"No problem, Mr. Carter."

Veronica leads Yemi away towards Sam. "You mind waiting outside the car while I talk to him?"

"Not at all. I'm happy you're finally going to talk to him."

"Wish me luck."

They reach Sam's rental car, and Yemi stands to the side while Veronica opens the passenger door, slowly getting in.

"Long time, no see," she tells him, nervously, while closing the door.

He lifts his head up from the headrest, and gives her a blank stare. "What do you want?"

"I have to tell you something."

"I already know."

"Already know what?"

"What you have to tell me."

"No, you don't."

He shakes his head, slightly annoyed. "What is it, then?"

"I messed up, Sam. And I'm really sorry. I-"

He cuts her off. "Just make sure if my father gets sick, you don't keep that from me."

She gasps in complete shock. "How did you know? They snitched on me?"

"No. I figured it out. You not going out on New Year's Eve, and you suddenly wanting to move back home all makes sense, now."

"... Are you mad at me?"

He looks at her for a moment, contemplating his response. "They put you in a fucked up situation, and I apologize for them doing that to you. You tried to do the right thing towards the end. So for that, I'm not mad. I'm disappointed, though. That you didn't try to tell me sooner."

"I know, and you have every right to be. I was wrong. But please don't hold it against me."

"Never," he responds wholeheartedly. "I'm trying to get outta here though. So, you gotta get out of my car."

She curls her top lip in disapproval. "Ugh. So damn mean. But I'll take you being mean over not talking to me any day." She quickly hugs him and then opens her door.

"V..."

"Yes?"

"Thanks for looking out for me over the years."

"Awe, Sam..." She starts to blush. "Yemi has really brought out a softer side of you."

He sucks his teeth. "Yemi hasn't brought out shit."

She chuckles. "Imma tell her you said that."

"You better not."

She laughs even harder, "Uh-huh. That's what I thought."

"But for real. Thanks. If there's anything I can do to support you while you're out here, call me and I got you."

She grins, and then hugs him again. This time a little longer. "Thank you cousin. I love you so much. You have no idea how much those words mean to me."

"Oh, and the next time I'm out here, let me know if you want company when you go see your mom."

"I would love that. Thank you."

"Alright, let go of me, now."

She laughs before releasing her embrace. "Have a safe flight." She gets out of the car and then hugs Yemi.

"We're good," Veronica tells her. Yemi clasps her hands together under her chin and smiles. "I knew he wouldn't be mad at you. Y'all's bond is way too strong."

"Our bond? Shit, it's you and him for me." They both chuckle. "Bye Yemi, I'll see you next month."

"Okay." Yemi gets inside the car as Veronica walks back towards the tent. Yemi looks at Sam staring at her. "You okay?"

"I will be." He starts the car. "As long as I have you by my side."

She kisses him on the cheek and Sam drives off.

___

NEXT DAY

Sam wakes up to Yemi sitting up on the bed, talking on her cell phone. "Are you sure, Mr. Dunn?" She asks warily. "I'll call back next week, then." She ends the call, and stands up.

"He gave your job away?" Sam asks her, stopping her from walking away. She turns and looks down at him.

"Yeah. He said he really needed someone to do the job yesterday, so he had to."

"That's fucked up."

"He said to call next week in case something opens up. But I know how things are... once you lose your spot, it's gone forever."

"Can you find another company?"

"Maybe. I'm a woman, and I just got my license, so it's gonna be a little harder."

"I'm sorry, ma."

"For what?"

"For you losing your job because of me."

"Not because of you. I made the choice to stay out there. And I don't regret it."

He stares at her for a while, admiring everything about her. "So, I've been meaning to ask you. Are you planning on staying in construction?"

"Honestly, I don't know what I want to do. I just know I can't be a receptionist again. It's so boring."

"Alright, we'll let's figure out what you want to do, and then we'll focus on that."

She smiles, admiring how much he cares for her.

"Do you have enough to pay your rent, next month?"

She nods.

"And the month after that?"

She shakes her head. "And no, you're not going to pay it for me."

"So you're good with being homeless?"

"No, I'll probably have to break my lease."

"That's going to cost more. How about you sublease?"

She tilts her head, inquiringly. "Can you help me find someone?"

"I got you. Where are you gonna stay though?"

She takes a deep breath. "... I guess with you."

He nods, grinning hard like he's won the lottery. Yemi laughs.

"Don't get too happy. I'm staying in the guest room."

"Bullshit." He swiftly grabs her thigh and pulls her back into bed with him.

"Sammmm..." she whines, playfully.

He pins her down and starts kissing her. Just as Yemi starts to get into it, Sam's phone rings. He ignores it, but it won't stop ringing.

"Maybe it's an emergency," Yemi suggests while moaning softly.

"Fuck..." He reluctantly stops sucking on her neck, and then reaches for his phone on the nightstand. He furrows his eyebrows when he sees it's his gym calling. "Damn, the gym just opened and they already got some shit going on?" He shakes his head and then accepts the call.

"Yeah?" He listens to the other person on the line while Yemi sits up, listening to the call. "This damn girl. Tell her she's banned from there."

Yemi furrows her eyebrows.

"And if she does, then you should follow the appropriate protocol."

Yemi really looks concerned, now.

"Thanks." Sam ends the call, and then sighs aggressively.

"What happened, babe?"

"I need to see if those results are in. If it's not one thing it's another." He opens the browser in his phone and goes to the clinic's website.

"Wait, are you talking about Jasmine? She's at your job?"

"Yeah." He logs in and scrolls down until he sees the tab to find his results. He clicks it, and sees it's available. "Finally."

Yemi hops up and stands over him, anxiously.

Moments later, Sam looks up at her and smiles.

"You're not the father?"

"Nope."

Yemi takes a deep breath in relief.

"But she knows that, that's why she's popping up at my job. She's gonna try anything to get me back."

"After all these years, though? She's crazy."

"I might have to get a restraining order."

"Yes, you should. But not until you have a real conversation with her. It's time to end that damn chapter."

"I will." He takes a deep breath. "Today."

"Good."