Answering the phone, I held onto my breath, when I heard an older woman’s voice come through. “So, you’re the guy responsible for her bad attitude.”
A nervous laugh erupted from me. I had never dated anyone long enough to give them the idea that I would want to speak to anyone important to them.
Besides her.
“I’m so glad you called me back…” The Clave mask slipped back into place, polishing all my stained edges in the hopes of impressing her.
“Didn’t give me much of a choice, since you’ve been calling me every day. Is there something I can help you with?” Her voice showed her age, but her mouth was a family heirloom passed down to Justice.
“I love Justice very much. I wanted to express this to you and prove that I deserve her hand in marriage.”
Laughter poured in from the other end of the phone. “You don’t take no for an answer, do you? If she wanted to marry you, I don’t think she would have evacuated LA like a natural disaster was headed her way.”
“Respectfully, no. I don’t lose gracefully.”
“Go on. I’m gonna need to hear you express those feelings,” she said, but not with an iron fist. Her voice sounded tired and worried for Justice.
“Okay… I’m not a great person, but I’m a better person because of her. I want to be good enough to deserve her.”
“Oh, honey, she wasn’t always a good person either and don’t you let her forget it. Wicked girls like her can’t forget to be humble…”