Pieces of Me by Pua Ramona (small books to read txt) 📕

by now to not listen to her, but she swore she was dying from starvation so we stopped at Jack’s for burgers, fries, and a chocolate shake. Yeah, so what? I didn’t have time to eat breakfast so I grabbed a snack as well.

“Remind me to never listen to you ever again.”

She chuckles, “Pshh! Please, ask me if I give a shit that we’re late? Nope. Not this girl. Auntie Lupe is always bitching about something. If it’s not us, then it’ll be someone else. I mean, that evil lady forgets that we’re fucking adults with our own kids. So she can have a can of shut the hell up” she says a little irritated. I shake my head and laugh along with her because it’s the truth. “Did you know that she’s the one who told the whole church why you left, and that you were pregnant?” she asks.

I roll my eyes and say, “Yeah, I found out about it when June Bug called me and it pissed me off that he was apologizing for his mom’s bullshit.” I feel my chest getting tight and my breathing starts to get all crazy

“Relax Sis. Don’t let her get to you like that. I know it’s easier said than done, but she’s always been like that. Remember when she tried shaming mom about how she’s full Samoan, but doesn’t speak the language? Then thought she was hot shit when she told dad that he should’ve married a woman who knew the Fa’asamoa way? Yeah. I can’t stand her, but she’s still Daddy’s sister,” she says.

I shake my head. “Right! Why do you think I always left the house when she would come over to see daddy? She used to sit by Daddy and ask him about the house, and Grandpa’s land back home in the islands. I would get so angry because she made it seem like Daddy owed her something, when she’s the one that’s been taking from him.” I feel myself getting angry all over again. “Then when Daddy passed away she had the nerve to tell Mom that she’ll speak for the family. Ugh, I can’t stand her Megan, I really fucking can’t.”

I feel my sister pat my leg, “I know Sis. Which is why we’re going to give her a hard time when we get there,” she says.

“What if Uncle Niko’s there, then what?” I snort at her.

“Then we wait for Uncle to act busy with the other uncles and we bug the shit out of her'' she says laughing. “Do you think the twins are going to be there?”

“I don’t know, last time I heard from June-Bug he said that they were” I say. We are probably fifteen minutes away from the park and I’m dreading it already.

“Are you going to be okay when you see Eli?” Megan asks.

I take a breath and say, “Yeah. I’ll be okay. I can’t make it awkward, especially if he’s going to be a dad.” I hear my sister take a deep breath and calm herself.

“Truth? I honestly thought you guys were going to be a couple after that night. I mean, I was so sure of it, the way he was looking at you and then how both of you were just being lovey dovey. I can’t believe how off I was.”

I thought the same thing, but sometimes we feel so much with our hearts that we believe that it’ll happen then it doesn’t. I turn into the parking lot and sigh, before we get out I stop my sister and say, “I’m okay Megan, I promise. So, please don’t feel like you have to save me if things get too weird or intense with whoever. Okay?”

She huffs and puffs then looks at me and says, “I promise. But if Auntie Lupe tries to fa’ama you in front of everyone I’m going to say something.”

I shake my head and say, “Fine.”

She gets out of the car and parrots at me, “Fine” slamming the door like the brat that she is. But, she’s my brat and I love her.

“Damn, it took you guys that long to get here from the house, huh”, Luka says.

Megan and I both roll our eyes and I say, “The schedule specifically said nine a.m. Island time” I look down at my watch and say, “And now it's ten a.m. Everyone knows Island time means be here an hour later, so excuse your face time police.”

Megan starts laughing hard and says “Ahh!! Good one, Sis.”

Of course to irritate our brother some more I look at Luka, smile, and say, “We stopped at Jack’s to eat then we came here.”

He gives us this ‘and you didn’t bring any’ look and says, “I hope you shit yourselves, you stingy asses.” Megan and I look at each other and laugh hard. I’m not sure how long we laugh for, but we stop as we hear a ‘nail across the board / screeching cat sound’.

“Amuia tamaiti palagi. A tuai mai, e leai se mea iai” Auntie Lupe says. Oh, she pretty much just called us white kids who show up late and it’s okay, because it’s nothing.

Ugh, I just want to poke her eyes out, “Hi Auntie Lupe.”

She looks at me as if my breathing is bothering her and continues to say, “Sina, you got fat. Goodness, kau ku’u lou ai. Va’ai ua e lapo’a lava. You’ll never find a husband looking like that.” She starts laughing like she just told the funniest freaking joke ever instead of telling me I needed to stop eating. “Oh and here put this ie lavalva on ‘cause your butt is too big. Show some respect” she says smugly.

I’m ready to punch her ass out, but I hear Uncle Niko cut her off “Lupe, lava. Ua uma ga ou fai aku e ku’u keige ua makukua.” Uncle Niko comes to the rescue, telling her to leave us alone and that we are grown women now. I will never understand why he