It was around two o'clock in the morning when Adira came back in. After maybe the first three hours went by, I was getting worried. Somehow Di must've known because she shot me a text message saying she was ok and she would be back in a few hours.

I already had an idea of what she was up to. She was out trying to fix things with my sister Mai.

I had a feeling that was what she was up to after I made it inside with Julia and left her in the car. Then after she left, I checked my history on my phone and saw Mai's contact number, and I saw the text Adira sent to herself.

I slept in this morning and was awakened by little cries I heard downstairs. Adira and Julia were already up and at it.

I went ahead and showered then got myself ready for the day. Diri starts her residency tomorrow, so we have to get everything prepared and organized to her liking. It's time for me to be there for her and support her any way I can.

After putting on a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt, I made my way downstairs to love on my two girls.

I heard some laughter. By the time I got to the bottom step, I, for sure heard another voice in the house. My sister Mai.

They were in the kitchen preparing breakfast... together. Julia was in her swivel glider seated on the counter. She was kicking her little legs and making noises.

Adira was busy whisking up some pancake batter at the island. They didn't notice me standing in the entryway. My sister Mai stood in front of the stove with a pair of tongs in her hand and something sizzling in a pan. I was shocked. She's never cooked a day in her life. It's just not something she was ever interested in. I quickly took out my phone and snapped a picture.

I knocked on the wall making my existence known. Both of them stopped what they were doing and turned their attention my way.

"Morning." I glanced from Diri to Mai. Both of them smiled, although Mai's was a faint one. I made my way over to Di and planted a few kisses on her lips, but my attention was still on my sister. I noticed her smile grew. I then went over to my little happy baby girl kicking and punching the air. I planted small kisses on her tiny feet. Her noises grew. "Daddy's baby."

I turned around and leaned against the counter, bringing my attention back to my sister. She turned away only to take the bacon out of the pan and placed them on a paper towel.

"Hey, Mai." I watched her place the finally strip with the others.

She turned around and looked me in my eye.

We stared at each other until a tear fell from her eye. "Hey." She wiped at her eyes, then turned the stove off.

I walked over and stood in front of her. More tears fell from her eyes. I opened my arms out to her, "Come here."

The moment I pulled her into my arms, she released all the air she was holding in. "I'm so sorry."

Diri stood back, smiling at us. She picked up the bowl, "I'll handle breakfast, you two go." She shooed us out of the kitchen. I grabbed my sister's hand and made our way to the patio outback so we could be alone.

We made ourselves comfortable poolside in the reclined lounge chairs.

"This is my fist time seeing this place. It's so beautiful out here." She sat back taking in the greenery and view of the city. "This house sits so high up. You can see everything from here."

"I think that's what sold me. Plus the privacy." I followed suit, gazing out in the open scenery.

There was a peaceful calmness between us. I guess we were trying to figure out where to begin. I didn't want to damage the situation any further.

"I shouldn't have brought up Aunt Angie the way I did. I shouldn't have said what I said about Adira and her situation." She sighed, shaking her head in a frantic like way." She didn't know where to begin either.

I remained quiet so she could sort out what she wanted to say.

"After Aunt Angie passed you shutdown. We had to push you through it in order for you to keep going. I threw that in your face yesterday as if it wasn't my job to be there for you. As if you owed me something, and you don't. —You were grieving. I had no right to throw that in your face."

I remained quiet because she did, indeed hurt my feelings when she said that. She made it seem like I didn't appreciate her being there for me during that time.

"You were Aunt Angie's baby. She wasn't able to have kids, so mom shared us with her. Mom knew she needed it just as much as we needed that void filled. Mom knew she was never the nurturing type, and she knew Auntie Angie was because she helped raise her."

She wiped her eyes. "We knew you were going to need us to pull you through. You were at the highlight of your life. You were starting college, playing for one of the best NCAA teams. All eyes were on you. All that pressure, but none of mattered you just wanted Auntie back. You didn't even go to the burial site."

That part of my life, I tucked away. I didn't want my last memory of her to be a burial site. It was already hard enough. She was right. My life was still moving along, all while I felt my heart was completely broken.

"Mai, I felt alone. Even when all my family was around. And when I made it to the NBA, the first thing I thought would help was to have us all move together. So maybe I wouldn't feel so alone, but it didn't help. —That was the worst feeling ever, being around family and still feeling as if I was in it by myself. Auntie Angie understood me. I told her everything. She knew how much I wanted better for us. How much I wanted to create better opportunities for our family."

Mai smiles a little thinking back to our childhood memories. "I remember you were in elementary school, and you were worried about making it into the NBA. Other kids your age were playing and being rebellious. You were worried about generational wealth and multiple sources of income." We laughed, saying the last part together.

"Yep. That was me." I laughed a little more.

"You always felt the need to carry us. I resented you for that because we all wanted the same thing. It's just that this big huge opportunity came your way, so we all went full throttle to secure it." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm proud of my baby brother and I'm sorry. I projected my own insecurities on you. I have this battle with myself regarding my failures."

"Mai, you haven't failed. I'm proud of you too. You're our big sister." I sat up and grabbed her hand, squeezing it in mine. "You said something yesterday that was a little jab, but it was true. You said you keep this train going."

She did a little shallow laugh while shaking her head. "That was in the heat of the moment, blow for blow."

"No, it's true. You've played and still do play a major part in my life. I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for you. I'm grateful for all my family. We're not perfect, but I would never trade you." After saying that a new set of tears flowed from her eyes. I leaned in and pulled her in, wrapping my arms tight around her.

We pulled apart and I felt the need to laugh. I playfully shoved her. "My girl's not so bad after all, is she?"

"She's amazing." We both laughed. "She's also a tough one."

"Oh yeah." I blushed a little, thinking about her. Mai caught that which made us laugh again.

"I didn't know what to expect when she called me. She told me she was coming, and she was changing into her sweat pants and sneakers." She laughed. "I was like ok she's about to whoop my ass, and I deserve it."

We laughed. "I honestly didn't know what she had planned walking out the house dressed in all black. But I didn't get in her way."

"Then we got to some abandoned looking building, and I was like damn! This the end. She's not only going to whoop my ass but also bury my body where no one would be able to find me." She pretended to wipe sweat from her forehead. "Then she eased my mind and said we were playing basketball."

"You guys played basketball?" I leaned back, laughing louder. "Nah, I don't believe that."

"It's true, and all I could think about was that I had just gotten my nails done earlier. But I wasn't about to let that stop me. She made an effort to see me so I wanted to make the effort to try and beat her." She sat back. "But damn, I didn't know she was that good. I knew you guys said she played, but she didn't have to do me like that."

We laughed.

"I didn't make one shot. She didn't make it easy for me at all." She smiled reminiscing on the night.

"She's competitive like me. She does me the same way. Somehow all of our little games we play turn into practice and her drilling me." I shook my head, smiling.

"On my goodness, she did that to me too. She had me practicing dribbling and passing me the ball. She said I wasn't ready for shooting just yet." She laughed again.

"That's my baby." I shook my head proudly.

"I was trying to go back to my hotel last night, but she was like nope you're staying with us. She wanted to make sure we talked first thing." She smiled.

"Family is very important to her. I'm glad she did this." I nodded.

"I feel like I missed out on getting to know her first. Something I should've done, to begin with." She sighed. "For some weird reason, I always pictured you with the poster girl. Somebody that matches your status popularity-wise. Little did I know, Adira is so much better than my ideal woman for you."

"She's more than better. From the moment I laid eyes on her, she's made my existence more significant. She wanted to know the real me. The part I was afraid of revealing. —I knew the moment my family got to know her they would love her. The same with you." I thought back on all the times Adira saw passed the fame and fortune. She saw a lonely little boy still grieving. She invited me into her world with welcoming arms. I could still remember the taste of that crab in a bread bowl soup with the fancy name she made for me.

"With all she's been through, she keeps going. She's starting her residency tomorrow. A former nurse, now a doctor. Damn she's killing it. On top of that, she still makes time for your big head." She leaned in and playfully shoved me.

"The pool is right there. Your nails won't be the only thing messed up." I played like I was about to throw her in. She shielded herself, squealing. Our laughter grew louder. I couldn't help but enjoy this moment with her.

"Seriously, what's the new plan for you? What do you want to do? What's the next move for Mai?"

She gazed out into bright pale blue sky thinking. "Sooo, I was wondering if I could maybe have my job back?"

I chuckled. "After you quit? You want your job back?"

"I know, I know." She nodded playfully rolling her eyes. "It was all apart of my big exit."

We laughed again. I thought for sure I was going to have to look for someone else. Thankfully I don't have to.

"That job is always yours for as long as you want it. But I'll have to give you a new title. You're not just my assistant. You do so much more than that. You travel for me. You set my schedule. You deal with a lot of the leg work behind the scenes." I informed her, realizing I did take her for granted. My big sister is more than an assistant.

She smiled, then whispered. "I agree."

I chuckled. "Good, because it would've been hard to replace you. I don't trust many people to work that close with me and handle so much without me being there.

"I wouldn't want anyone else doing it either."

"Great, now let's go eat." I stood up and pulled her out of the chair. "I'm telling momma I caught you cooking."

"Please, I can do all things. My future husband will be begging for my skills."

I made snorting sounds. "Ha, that's funny."

"I can cook. There's a lot I've learned over the years." She followed behind me back inside.

"Ok, then dinners on you tonight."

She coughed all of a sudden. "You know what, I just got my job back, so I need to catch up on my duties. I've been out work for all of twelve hours. I'm so behind." She rushed in front of me then ran off to the kitchen. I knew damn well her ass couldn't cook.

"Whelp everything is done. I finished breakfast. I know you wanted to help but I knew your talk with Zo was more important. So you can teach me your secrets in the kitchen another day." Adira went on to say as we made our way in. She was setting the table.

I gave Mai a sneaky grin. I knew she only agreed to help with breakfast to impress Diri. The same with her agreeing to a game of basketball, knowing she doesn't play ball at all. It was all funny to me, her trying to overcompensate to get in Diri's good graces. She didn't know that she already was.

"Un hun, yeah sure. I would love to." Mai found her way over to pick up Julia. Diri and I shared a knowing insider laugh. I guess she thought this was all funny too.

We stood back admiring my sister snuggle Julia in her arms. I leaned in and connected my lips with my beautiful, amazing woman. "Thank you."

She pulled me closer and leaned the side of her face against mine. "That's what family do for family."

I slowly caressed her cheek with mine, then leaned down and planted soft kisses on her collar bone. She giggled, pushing me away from her. "Let's eat!"

Things were looking up. I couldn't be happier with the outcome. We spent the rest of the day together. Some of the family came over to hang out. From both sides. They were pleased to see that everything was all good.

As the night came about the quieter I noticed Adira became. She was clearly nervous about tomorrow. Her dad even went over a few things with her to ease her mind. She had her uniform pressed and everything she needed all ready to go.

This was also the start of Julia being out of her care on a normal basis. But she need to not worry because Julia and I have a whole day planned tomorrow. I scheduled an infant aerobics class in the morning after Di go in for work. We'll come back, have brunch and spend a little time at home for a nap. Then I planned for a follow-up interview midday with a major magazine company I landed the cover for. Mrs. Thompson, Adira's mom, said she would take Julia for a few hours to give me a break around dinner time. I planned to meet Di tomorrow night, depending on what time she gets off to pick her up.

"Will your dad be there tomorrow?" I came over and sat on the couch with her in between my legs seated on the floor. I pulled her ponytail holder loose and took out the clip-on extensions she still had attached.

She threw her head back while I massaged my fingers through her scalp. "You know he won't miss my first day for anything. Surprisingly enough I think he's more nervous than I am."

I watched her father hold Julia in his arms as he rocked in the chair across the room. "His daughter is pursuing her dream job. I'm sure he's nervous for you. But I know you're going to nail everything. You're already amazing. Plus, you know everyone there from your time being a nurse."

"That's true." She closed her eyes and enjoyed her massage. "I want everyone to know that I'm going in tomorrow as Adira Belle Thompson. Not Dr. Julian Thompson Sr.'s daughter and not Kenzo Lawrence Martin's girlfriend."

"That won't be hard. You shatter through . Look at how you handled things with my sister Mai. Once they get a whiff of you, they'll know who you are and what you can bring to the table." I pulled her head back and kissed her forehead. "You stand tall all on your own. That's why I love you, pretty lady."

"Mmm, I love you too." She said before drifting off into a deep slumber.

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