punch.
“Well, I just wanted y’all to see a familiar face, and I willlet you get back to doing what you do. I’m going back inside the house,” Marlene explains.
Right then, with the music thumping and pulsating, I hear James Brown scream, “I don’t know karate, but I know ka-razy.”
“‘Yes, we do,’” Blinky sings along and starts busting a move, swaying his skinny hips and wailing his long arms. “‘Yeah, hey, woo.’” He looks and sounds like an old fool.
“Blinky really can get down, huh? He should audition for So You Think You Can Dance,” I say sarcastically. “Get it. You think you can dance?”
“I heard what you said. You so smart, you get up here and dance,” Blinky says, and playfully grabs my arm. “Do the Soulja Boy, c’mon.”
“Blinky, will you stop it? I don’t feel like dancing.”
“Daughter Number Two, you better stop pouting, forget about your ex, and dance like the boy doesn’t exist. Show this man you can have fun with or without him. That your life goes on.”
Alita looks at Blinky and openly frowns. She knows my daddy’s past with women, that he hasn’t always been on his best behavior and hasn’t always treated them with respect. Blinky should not even go there. He seems faker than a Chanel knock-off purse.
Blinky continues to reach out for me, grabbing my hands and trying to get me to bust a move.
“Life don’t depend on Jeff,” he chants.
“Blinky!” I scream and look around the backyard feeling embarrassed. “Don’t be saying stuff like that.”
“What? You think we don’t know what you’re thinking? You don’t have to tell us you feel bad. We can see how sad you are, Daughter Number Two.”
“Oh, God, I’m about to do something else. I can’t standlistening to this,” I groan. “Some people are missing a sensitivity chip.”
The James Brown song is on repeat. Same old words. Same old screaming.
Blinky continues popping his bony fingers and rocking his hips back and forth. All he needs is a wig, and I swear he’d bring the Godfather of Soul back from the grave.
“‘I’m mad. I want revenge. The big payback,’” Blinky keeps singing and dancing. Looking at him makes me even more upset. Even though it is his birthday I want him to act more sympathetic to me.
Just then some more of my kinfolks pour out from the house and spill to the backyard through the sliding glass door. A couple of great-aunts shuffle in holding thick white Bibles under their arms; they’ve come here straight from church. Some adult and teen cousins run outside making noise, followed by Blinky’s fine-ass cousin Uncle Scooter. Then Perry, my daddy’s only sister, walks into the backyard closely behind her two kids, Braylon and Kiki, who are seven and four, respectively.
“Hi, Auntie Perry.”
“How’s my favorite niece?” She grins and kisses me warmly on the cheek.
Loretta looks at Perry like she can’t believe she favors me over her precious Marlene.
“Hey, Alita,” Perry says, and looks her over. “I see you got some little bumps on your forehead. Are those sex bumps?” She laughs. “I hope you’re really putting it on your man.”
Alita just smiles and shakes her head.
“Okay, first things first,” says Aunt Perry. “Pour me a drink. I don’t care which one of ya’ll do it, just hook a sister up.”
“We’re not done yet,” Blinky says. “We got plenty of beer in the cooler.”
“Hook me up with some punch first. I don’t care that it’s not done,” she says, staring at me.
I immediately grab an eight-ounce Styrofoam cup from a stack that’s sitting on a nearby table.
“Girl, you must be buggin’. Get me a twenty-ounce cup or one of those oversized cups from out the house. I gots to get my drink on. My big bro is turning sixty so … Hey, ‘The Payback.’” Perry starts singing, popping her fingers and doing the bump with Blinky For her to be over forty you wouldn’t think she’d be this wild. But ever since she
“Well, I just wanted y’all to see a familiar face, and I willlet you get back to doing what you do. I’m going back inside the house,” Marlene explains.
Right then, with the music thumping and pulsating, I hear James Brown scream, “I don’t know karate, but I know ka-razy.”
“‘Yes, we do,’” Blinky sings along and starts busting a move, swaying his skinny hips and wailing his long arms. “‘Yeah, hey, woo.’” He looks and sounds like an old fool.
“Blinky really can get down, huh? He should audition for So You Think You Can Dance,” I say sarcastically. “Get it. You think you can dance?”
“I heard what you said. You so smart, you get up here and dance,” Blinky says, and playfully grabs my arm. “Do the Soulja Boy, c’mon.”
“Blinky, will you stop it? I don’t feel like dancing.”
“Daughter Number Two, you better stop pouting, forget about your ex, and dance like the boy doesn’t exist. Show this man you can have fun with or without him. That your life goes on.”
Alita looks at Blinky and openly frowns. She knows my daddy’s past with women, that he hasn’t always been on his best behavior and hasn’t always treated them with respect. Blinky should not even go there. He seems faker than a Chanel knock-off purse.
Blinky continues to reach out for me, grabbing my hands and trying to get me to bust a move.
“Life don’t depend on Jeff,” he chants.
“Blinky!” I scream and look around the backyard feeling embarrassed. “Don’t be saying stuff like that.”
“What? You think we don’t know what you’re thinking? You don’t have to tell us you feel bad. We can see how sad you are, Daughter Number Two.”
“Oh, God, I’m about to do something else. I can’t standlistening to this,” I groan. “Some people are missing a sensitivity chip.”
The James Brown song is on repeat. Same old words. Same old screaming.
Blinky continues popping his bony fingers and rocking his hips back and forth. All he needs is a wig, and I swear he’d bring the Godfather of Soul back from the grave.
“‘I’m mad. I want revenge. The big payback,’” Blinky keeps singing and dancing. Looking at him makes me even more upset. Even though it is his birthday I want him to act more sympathetic to me.
Just then some more of my kinfolks pour out from the house and spill to the backyard through the sliding glass door. A couple of great-aunts shuffle in holding thick white Bibles under their arms; they’ve come here straight from church. Some adult and teen cousins run outside making noise, followed by Blinky’s fine-ass cousin Uncle Scooter. Then Perry, my daddy’s only sister, walks into the backyard closely behind her two kids, Braylon and Kiki, who are seven and four, respectively.
“Hi, Auntie Perry.”
“How’s my favorite niece?” She grins and kisses me warmly on the cheek.
Loretta looks at Perry like she can’t believe she favors me over her precious Marlene.
“Hey, Alita,” Perry says, and looks her over. “I see you got some little bumps on your forehead. Are those sex bumps?” She laughs. “I hope you’re really putting it on your man.”
Alita just smiles and shakes her head.
“Okay, first things first,” says Aunt Perry. “Pour me a drink. I don’t care which one of ya’ll do it, just hook a sister up.”
“We’re not done yet,” Blinky says. “We got plenty of beer in the cooler.”
“Hook me up with some punch first. I don’t care that it’s not done,” she says, staring at me.
I immediately grab an eight-ounce Styrofoam cup from a stack that’s sitting on a nearby table.
“Girl, you must be buggin’. Get me a twenty-ounce cup or one of those oversized cups from out the house. I gots to get my drink on. My big bro is turning sixty so … Hey, ‘The Payback.’” Perry starts singing, popping her fingers and doing the bump with Blinky For her to be over forty you wouldn’t think she’d be this wild. But ever since she
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