Keisha stepped off the bus just as the sky turned lavender. The air smelled like warm pavement and gardenia - her mother's favorite flower. She tucked her phone into her pocket, adjusted her bag, and walked the familiar path home, the kind of walk that didn't need thinking. Her bracelet had gone quiet now, sulking maybe, but she could still feel him there. Watching. Waiting.
The front door opened before she even reached it.
"Baby!" her mom Flora called, arms already outstretched. "You're home early!"
Keisha laughed as she was pulled into a hug that smelled like coconut oil and cinnamon. "I missed you too, Ma."
Her dad peeked around the corner from the kitchen, apron on, spatula in hand. "Jewel you hungry? I made that thing you like."
"You always make that thing I like," she teased, kicking off her shoes. "But yes. Starving. Did Mr Rogers get a day off.. He's the family chef "
"yupp one of his daughters is getting married.. So I'm the chef this weekend".
" that's nice.. Well don't burn the house up.." Keisha said heading upstairs to her room.
...
The house was warm, humming with soft jazz and the scent of garlic and butter. The lights were low, cozy.The dog, Miso, came barreling down the hallway, tail wagging like a metronome on caffeine.
" well your father got a dog. Guess the quiet house is something he did not like"
"he replaced me with a dog. Wow" she said laughing. Keisha dropped to her knees and let him tackle her.
"Okay, okay, you're so cute," she giggled, scratching behind his ears.
.....
Dinner was a spread: creamy mashed potatoes, grilled chicken with lemon and thyme, roasted carrots glazed in honey. Her mom poured her a glass of sparkling apple juice in the fancy flute glasses they only used on holidays.
"To our girl," her dad said, raising his glass. "For surviving another week of... whatever it is you're doing these days."
Keisha clinked her glass to theirs. "To not talking about it."
They laughed.
After dinner, she curled up on the couch in her favorite hoodie while her mom braided her hair, fingers gentle and rhythmic.
"You've been glowing lately," her mom said softly. "Not just your skin. You."
Keisha smiled, eyes half-closed. "Maybe I'm just happy."
"Or maybe you're in love," her mom teased.
Keisha snorted. "Please. I don't have time for that."
But her bracelet pulsed - a single, sharp flicker. She bit her lip to hide the grin.
"hey behave" she said inwardly
"ain't you glowing because of me" Illario asked sarcastically
"oh please.. I rather die"
Keisha.. Keisha"!!
"yes.. You were saying"
"you really zone out.. I'm heading to bed now.. You should do the same too. Tomorrow we going to see your grandparents"
"urgh a day of talking about poultry.."
"jewel be nice.. Your dad wont like that.." her mom reprimanded holding in her laughter.. Im sure she did not like her old in laws too. All they ever talk about is plants and poultry.
...
Later, she padded into her room, lights low, the air cool and still. Her sheets had been changed - soft cotton, lavender-scented. A tray of sliced mango and dark chocolate waited on her desk, courtesy of the housekeepers... Cherly and Maddie, who always say , "A girl needs sweetness before sleep."
Keisha sat on her bed, legs crossed, and finally let herself breathe.
"You were jealous," she whispered to the bracelet.
It pulsed once. Then again. Then buzzed in a pattern - short, long, short - like Morse code.
She laughed. "You're ridiculous."
The bracelet warmed.
"you should sleep already before we start fighting" Illario answered his voice filling up the room.
"whatever"
She leaned back against her pillows, mango in one hand, the other resting on the silver band at her wrist.
"Don't worry," she murmured. "They're my girls. But you're... something else."
The bracelet pulsed again - this time slow, steady, content.
And for the first time in days, Keisha fell asleep smiling.