Page 6 of Scribbled Excellence

When he waved her off, I laughed. “You’re a lot, but she’s right. Your man whore bestie got married, and now you’re on your whore branch alone.”

It had been a few years since Rashad’s best friend Declan married his wife. Now they had a son, so his lifestyle was different. There was no more partying all night and being with unnecessary bullshit. At times, my cousin loved the unnecessary bullshit.

“Well, shit! Come out on the branch with me. You don’t have shit going on,” he offered.

I chuckled. “Nah, I’m good on that. I do what I do, but these hos too much now.”

Kara excused herself from our conversation since she had no input on our whorish ways. It was fucked up that she thought I had whorish ways because I stayed to myself. Yeah, I had a few females I fucked with here and there, but that was far from being a whore. The women knew what it was.

Rashad stuck around while I cleaned my private room and until my next client arrived. We talked about a little bit of everything under the tat lamp before he left. Any time with my cousin was a good time regardless of what the activity was.

Some Days Later

Painted Walls . . .

The day was finally here, and the art community and my family were out to celebrate Danielle’s new mural unveiling. My auntie was my art bestie. We bonded on our love for sketching. She was the first person that I tatted, and Rashad was the second. That was before I had my license.

“Why they dress like that?” my grandmother, Mi-Kyung, asked with her nose turned up. “They dress like there a pool here. There no pool.”

All I could do was laugh. Anytime that my grandparents came out of their house or businesses, there was a guarantee for laughs. They had been in the country since the seventies, but that didn’t mean shit when it came to their judgment of others. I always laughed when I heard Asian comedians talk about how judgmental their parents or grandparents were. It was absolutely true.

“Halmeoni, jebal pandanhaji maseyo. ulineun daniel-eul wihae yeogi wass-eoyo (Grandmother, please stop judging. We are here for Danielle),” I softly scolded her. I spoke in her native language since we were surrounded by people who had already glared at her loud ass.

Her head snapped in my direction. She didn’t respond, but she did roll her eyes. She knew I was right. I wrapped my arm around her neck, then kissed her temple. I snickered at her huffs under her breath.

“Why you look like that, Mi-Kyung?”Lord! Here comes Loraine.

I loved how close both sides of my family were. From what I was told, when my parents first started dating after they met at an art exhibit, my grandparents were cordial and respectful with each other. It wasn’t until my two grandmothers realized they had something in common. They both worked with their hands in different ways.

My grandmother, Mi-Kyung, created beautiful garments with her needles and sewing machine, while my grandmother, Loraine, created the beauty of family through her passion as a teacher, community leader, and church choir director. She was a person who never met a stranger. From the connection between my grandmothers came the deeper connection betweenmy grandfathers, Elijah, or Eli, and Hyun-Woo. When those four got together, it was always a time.

“Your grandson think I should say nothing about the naked women here. Someone forgot to tell them it’s not a pool party,” Mi-Kyung said with no real emotion. Outside of her family and passion, it was believable that she had no emotions.

Grandma Loraine chuckled as she looked around at the women. I wouldn’t say that lies were told about how they looked. Yeah, ass cheeks and titties were out, but I was used to it.

“Mi-Kyung, you know these hooker hos don’t care. They wear that so their coochie juices can be airborne easier.” She spoke like the same hooker hos that she spoke about weren’t right next to us.

I side-eyed Rashad, who stood on the other side of me. When we locked eyes, I spoke with mine. “Nigga, help me!”

Rashad snickered. “Y’all tripping. These sanctified women look lovely.”

This fool!The way Grandma Loraine’s and Mi-Kyung’s heads snapped in his direction. I wanted to make a bet on which one would cuss his ass out this time. They generally took turns.

“Rashad, go over there. Maybe the whores of Sodom and Gamora will follow you.” Grandma Mi-Kyung waved him off.

My eyes bulged because that sounded more like something that Grandma Loraine would say. She knew that herself. When she started to laugh, all we could do was shake our heads. “That was a good one.”

Like God wanted to give me a break, the program started. People spoke about my auntie, as well as another muralist that would have their mural unveiled today. The host asked my aunt to give the inspiration behind her mural before they unveiled it.

My auntie was such a beautiful woman. Her brown skin glowed in the sun, and her smile brightened up an already bright day. “Thank you all for coming out today to see the new muralsthat will beautify this street. I see my family out there.” She brought her hands together to create a heart shape.

“Family is very important, and I have been blessed to have the most amazing immediate and extended family. It was family that inspired my mural. More specifically, my nephew Kyro Min-Jae Goings.” Her eyes connected to mine.

Rashad’s arm wrapped around my neck while the rest of my family looked toward me. We were all here. From the way they all looked at me, they knew about this. My attention went back to the stage.

“He is the bridge in my family between our family’s African American culture and his mother’s Korean culture. I watched him grow and find his place between two worlds and make his own. He embodies both cultures proudly, and for that, I am so proud. His tattoo shopBridged Heartwas the baby of his love for both cultures. This mural is a representation of my love for him and all that he has done unknowingly to build this loving bridge between our families. The name of this mural isKyro’s Bridge.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

Grandma Mi-Kyung grabbed my hand and squeezed it. There was so much love in her eyes. When her hand covered her chest and gasps were heard in the crowd, I looked in the direction of the uncovered mural. It was my turn to gasp. It was breathtaking.