Ayleks- or I mean, Jahsayla and I open the door to my mom and dad.

"Oh, Stokeley! What did you do to your face?" My mom says as she grabs me by the cheeks and examines my face. "Did you fall asleep at a party? What's 777"

"It better mean you're making money." My dad adds.

"Well a one star bar isn't how to do it." My mom mumbles to my dad as they laugh at the comment. I roll my eyes,

"Thanks." I groaned. My mom walks over to Jahsayla, my dad following, and looks at her.

"You must be the infamous Jahsayla." She says. "You look great, Stoke, she's way out of your league, how'd you do it?" My mom says looking at me.

"It's not HOW HE did it, its WHY SHE did it." My dad states.

Okay, why are they on my head so much.

Ayleks laughs, "Nice to meet you both..finally." She says giving me a pleading look.

It's gonna be a long ass visit. They said they're coming for dinner but uh..I can't cook. Which sucks because Jahseh knows and he's not here. He's at therapy.

"So Stokeley made up a girl named Jahsayla, your roommate Kim came out the closet, you went to the airport to pick up your friends and you met your ex and your boyfriends ex who are each other's ex, they're getting married married and invited all you guys despite your ex setting you up and Stokeley's ex cheating on him countless times and using him?"

"Don't forget the wedding is next fucking week." I added.

She adjusts her self and mouths, "whew chile". She takes a deep breath, "Okay. That's a lot since I saw you last. How does..all of that make you feel?"

I shrugged, "Numb. I don't know."

"Numb? What does that mean?"

"I don't know..."

She nods, and sighs, "Well.. on more happy topics, hows your relationship with Stokeley?"

"It's okay..I'm trying to force him to go to the wedding."

"You want to go?"

"Of course. I'm not going to let something before drive me from not being petty."

"Jah, being petty isn't the best way to deal with things."

"And who are you to tell me?" I said crossing my arms.

She gave me a blank look, "A therapist."

"Ugh, whatever. I just don't like that bitch Ca

"Jahseh, come on, you told me that you and Michael were okay. Why..don't you just go there to genuinely have fun of support Michael."

"Really, Solange, as a black woman, you're going to go to your current partners ex and your ex that are getting married with high hopes to actually have fun and not have any type of urge to be petty?"

She clears her throat and doesn't answer.

"That's what I thought." I said.

"My point is, Jahseh, if you don't want to go then don't go. But if you do. Try to contain any anger or pettiness you have.. please. For your sake and everyone else's."

I rolled my eyes.

She sighs, "How's the relationship Kim?"

"It's alright, but I barely see him because he's with his new boo."

"That's the psychic friend right?"

I nodded.

"I still don't believe he's psychic. Are those even real."

I shrugged, "Kim is a weird guy."

"I bet." She says, "But um..how's Miles?"

I chuckled, "I forgot he was even a person."

"Jahseh."

"What? I never see him around anymore. Stokeley says he sees him around a lot and they talk and he of course talks to everyone else but me. I was so used to seeing him now we don't see each other, it's like he's gone or something."

"Do you still have his number?"

"Yeah.. but I'm not gonna text him again."

"I not going to make you text him. At this point I don't know what to tell you. Just wait it out and let it come naturally."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then it doesn't, Jah, I don't know."

"You should know! You're the therapist."

"Why don't you try asking your psychic friend."

Oh right, my friend is a psychic. But no he's probably going to say dumb shit.

"I'll try asking I guess. If I see him tonight..I don't know if he's still home."

"Alright.." She says, "Have you spoken to.. your cousins at all? Cordae and Nick?"

"I haven't."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know, life is getting in the way. Every time I try to do something, there's another problem."

"Have you tried to find the source of the problems? Like why might be causing these problems?"

"No."

"Well..that's probably why you keep having problems, you need to find the source." She says. Like she always does before or session ends, she rips out a piece of paper and writes something down and hands it to me.

"Our time is up, my friend." She says.

I open the piece of paper,

You're not doing it right

"I'm not doing what right?" I said getting up and moving to the door.

"It." She says simply.

"Whats it?" I asked.

"The source is it."

"I'm completely confused on what I'm not doing right." I said.

"You'll figure it out, I promise. Just find the source." She says finally before I leave and she shuts the door.

The fucking source? Of my problems? Never heard of her.

Ayleks aka Jahsyala, and my mom made some food for us last minute. I didn't even know I had some of the things I did in my fridge, probably Jahseh adding stuff in there. Is it me or does all of Jahseh's friends know how to cook.

We all sat at the dining room table.

"You've got someone that can cook. Lucky." My dad says.

My mom rolls her eyes, "It's not like you're any better. Anyway, tell me, Jahsayla, where'd you guys meet?"

I look over at Ayleks, she hesitates.

"We uh.. it was at-"

"Oh you probably don't remember, it was a while ago, right. Tell me about yourself, Jahsayla."

"I um.. I was born in New York..I like the color red a lot." Ayleks says nervously.

"Sorry i'm just piling you with questions. I have some questions for you, my little stokey pokey." My mom teases.

Dear lord.

"Why didn't you bring her to us earlier? We were excited to hear that our all grown up child has found someone to extend the Goulbourne blood line." My mom explains dramatically.

"I..don't know."

"You should know! You're trying to hide something?" My dad adds.

Totally not...

About an hour or so passes with my mom asking more confidential questions, for some reason they want to roast me, embarrassing stories of when I was younger, asking Ayleks questions which she clearly didn't know the answer to and had to lie.

This is a disaster.

They're showing Ayleks baby pictures of me, all laughing and giggling at me in a diaper, when I'm finally ready for all this to be over. I told Jahseh this would all be over by now and he could be back any minute.

"Alright, mom and dad, it's time to go! Sayonara!" I said grabbing my mom and dads wrists bringing them up to the door.

"Hold on! I need to say goodbye to dear old Jahsayla here." My mom says. She gives Ayleks a hug and so does my dad.

"Alright! Goodbye-"

"I wanna see a kiss!" My mom says excitedly.

A huh?

"A kiss. Gotta practice for the wedding when it's at the chapel in front of hundred of people." My dad says.

I turn to look at Ayleks, she had a concerned look on her face.

"Go on, do it!" My dad rushed.

"Just get it over with." Ayleks says.

We leaned forward for the kiss but before our lips touched, I pulled back.

"Mom..Dad...I have..something to tell you." I said.