I was back in Brooklyn for Christmas, and not a minute too soon. Three straight months in Panama hadn’t done much for my mental state, even though on surface level my time there had been successful. My legitimate wins were significant and the shadow industry work with Hopeton was flourishing. But there was something about Panama City that irked my soul.
I flew in on the Twenty-second and was tempted to book myself into a hotel for my five-day visit, but my mother would’ve been so mad at me, so I cribbed up in Bed Stuy. I came bearing gifts of coffee and cigars, seco con nance and a jar of pickled green papaya slices that Gianina brought back from el campo.
The second I entered the house, my mom fussed over me so hard I finally had to tell her, respectfully, to knock it off.
“Manman, I’m a thirty-five-year-old man,” I reminded her, “and I’ve only been gone for three months. Please chill out.”
My mom raised both hands in mock surrender. Then let me know she’d invited Hopeton over for dinner on Christmas Eve, using the excuse that she was afraid he’d spend the holiday alone. But I knew the real reason was because she thought she’d have a better chance of figuring out how I was really doing in Panama if she had the two of us together in one room, with a full table of holiday food on offer and the liquor flowing. I wanted to ask her how she got Hopeton’s number but put that question to the side.
I kissed my mom on the cheek and told her I was going to head up to my bedroom and unpack.
“Dakò, chéri. And Papa will be home around seven. He has the rest of the year off.”
“Good to know,” I replied. “That means he’ll have plenty of time for me to beat him in chess.”
As soon as I got upstairs, I hit the PanStar group chat and asked Hopeton and Biz if we could meet up there at six pm the next evening.
Hopeton: Wi. Na wè w demen.
Biz: [thumbs up emoji]
After that, I texted Mistou.
Bswa, beautiful. Back in BK.
Awww, in your childhood bedroom. Glad to be back?
Yeah, but excited to be with you soon.
I was going to head to Miami to spend New Year’s with Mistou, then fly back to Panama after the weekend.
I told her I’d hit her up later, then opened my suitcase and started unpacking.
