A Family Reunion

by Jackson, Brenda

  A flurry of excitement immediately lit his daughter’s eyes. “Oh, there’s Victoria, Lauren, Monica, Sebrina, and Cody and all my other cousins. We’re having so much fun together. It’s been off the chain.”

  Michael chuckled. “That good, huh?”

  “Even better. Victoria, Sebrina, and I will be attending the same school next year. Isn’t that cool?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” While in his teens he had attended the same school as Victor Junior, but he hadn’t found anything cool about that experience.

  Kennedy stretched out beside him on the bed. He braced himself. This was her let me butter Dad up to get what I want approach.

  “Daddy?”

  “Yes, Kennedy?”

  “You know about our trip to Disney World next month?”

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “It’s going to be just me and you, right?”

  “That’s right. Why?”

  “Well, I was thinking.”

  That could be dangerous, Michael thought as he waited for what he knew was coming. His daughter was about to try to weasel something out of him. Before Lynda had died they had gone away every year for a family vacation. He had continued that trend after her death. Because he was a pilot, he would occasionally rent a Cessna and he and Kennedy would fly to a number of places within the boundaries of the United States. It had proven to be a great experience for Kennedy as well as a relaxing time for him.

  When Kennedy hesitated in getting whatever she wanted to say off her chest, he prompted her on. “What were you thinking about, Kennedy?”

  She looked at him and smiled brightly. It was a smile that reminded him so much of Lynda it suddenly made his heart ache. The older Kennedy got the more she resembled her mother. There was no doubt in his mind that his daughter would continue to blossom into a beauty, which was another thing that was beginning to worry him. How was he going to deal with her interest in boys when it became a major issue? The thought of some father’s son checking out his daughter didn’t sit too well with him.

  “I was thinking how nice it would be if Sebrina and Victoria were to come with us. Monica won’t be able to come. She’s going to Texas to spend the rest of the summer with Lauren and her parents. Just think of all the fun me, Sebrina, and Victoria will have.”

  “Yeah, at the expense of me going bonkers. Kennedy, you by yourself are a handful. I don’t relish the idea of being responsible for two others like you. We’re talking about a full week vacation, sweetheart, not a couple of days.” He could just see it now with him trying to keep up with three energetic thirteen-year-olds, all females. Michael tried returning his attention back to the news, but his daughter was determined not to let him.

  She rolled over on the bed and got on her knees before him, claiming his full attention. “What if we got you some help?”

  Michael lifted a brow at her. She was tenacity at its best. “I doubt there’s another human being a glutton for such punishment, Kennedy.”

  “Sebrina said her mother would do it. In fact, she said her mother needs to do it. According to Sebrina, Aunt Taye doesn’t have a life.”

  Michael smiled at how easily Kennedy had adopted Taye, Rae’jean, and Alexia as honorary aunts, although in truth they were distant cousins. “Why does Sebrina think her mother doesn’t have a life?” He hated admitting it, but curiosity had gotten the best of him.

  “Because she doesn’t have a boyfriend and has never had a boyfriend since Monica was born, which really doesn’t make sense since Aunt Taye is so pretty and all. Sebrina thinks that since her mother doesn’t have a boyfriend she doesn’t have any fun. Going to Disney World would be fun. Everyone has fun at Disney World.”

  Michael shook his head. There was fun and then there was fun. He doubted the kid type fun would really interest Taye. Like him, she was probably into the grown-up stuff. But he was even more interested in Sebrina’s claim that her mother didn’t have a boyfriend. He agreed with Kennedy. Taye was too pretty not to have one.

  “Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand Sebrina, Kennedy? Could she have said that her mother didn’t have a current boyfriend?”

  “No, I heard her right, Daddy, because when she said it, it suddenly occurred to me that you don’t have a girlfriend, either. You’ve been by yourself since Momma left, but you seem to be doing OK.”

  A part of Michael regretted that Kennedy had not known about Stephanie. “How will taking Taye to Disney World get her a boyfriend?” he asked.

  “Maybe she’ll meet someone there. Even if she doesn’t, at least she’ll have fun for a change. Sebrina says all her mother does is work, go to school, and take care of her and Monica. She thinks a week of fun will do her good. So can they come with us, Daddy? Please?”

  He gazed thoughtfully at his daughter. No longer on her knees, she was now sitting in the middle of the bed, Indian-style, looking at him with such beseeching eyes. “Has anyone talked to Taye about this?” he asked, trying to ignore that look.

  “No, we thought you could do that.”

  Michael couldn’t help but smile. Oh, he just bet they did. He could recognize a well-thought-out manipulative plan when he heard one. No doubt the three girls had the week in Orlando pretty much planned already. “What if Taye doesn’t want to go?”

  “Oh, Daddy, she’ll go if you invite her and then talk her into it. You can do it. I know you can. Don’t you want her to finally have some fun in her life? Aunt Alexia said you used to look out for her, Aunt Taye, and Aunt Rae’jean while they were growing up. We think Aunt Taye still needs someone to look out for her.”

  “We? Who are we?”

  Kennedy smiled brightly. “Me, Sebrina, and Victoria, of course.”

  “Yes, of course.” At that moment it suddenly occurred to Michael that this was the happiest he had seen his daughter in months. Maybe even in a couple of years. She was reacting positively to being around the cousins she had met. Maybe that was what his daughter needed, cousins she could consider friends who were good kids and not like those incorrigible twins, Grace and Faith.

  “Please, Daddy, will you talk to Aunt Taye about it? Please?”

  Michael released a deep sigh. His daughter had him wrapped around her finger and had him wrapped tight. Besides, he was concerned with the information she had given him about Taye. She was either too busy to get involved with anyone or, like him, had managed to keep the involvement well hidden from her daughter. “All right, Kennedy, I’ll talk to Taye, and if she agrees, the girls can come with us.”

  “Cool!” Kennedy exclaimed like she knew it was a done deal and that she and her cousins were already Orlando-bound. And then she did something that she had not done in a very long time. She reached out and hugged him and said, “Thanks, Dad, and I love you.”

  Michael was able to talk to Taye later that night after dinner. A group of them had gathered in Alexia’s suite to play a game of How to Become a Black Millionaire. The questions asked were those pertaining to black history. Unfortunately, with the amount of wrong answers most of them were giving, it was apparent they didn’t know a lot about their history. No one had made it to millionaire status yet.

  While everyone took a break from playing to catch their breath, revamp their muddled minds, and take a sip of wine, Michael got Taye off to the side. “Kennedy and I are going to spend a week in Orlando next month. I’ve rented this huge condo and wondered if you and Sebrina would like to come with us. I’m also extending the invitation to include Victoria. I understand Monica will be in Texas with Darryl and his family during that time.”

  Taye shook her head, smiling. “So those little brats have been busy plotting, have they?”

  Michael returned her smile. Evidently Taye knew where the idea had originated. As he studied her, he couldn’t help but again notice how pretty she’d gotten over the years. There was no way she wasn’t involved with anyone. “Seriously, I don’t mind. It’s a huge place, and I want Kennedy to continue to develop the relationships she’s form
ed with the girls. She resented having to leave Minnesota, and I think the more time she spends with her cousins the quicker she’ll get over it.”

  Taye nodded. She knew it was probably crazy, but the thought of spending a week with Michael made her feel giddy. For heaven sakes! The man was her cousin! A nagging voice in the back of her mind insisted she not go and that the only reason she felt an attraction to him was because she’d been without a man for too long. But deep down Taye knew that was not the case. There had always been something about Michael that had pulled her to him even when they’d been kids growing up.

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?” she asked him. “With me going that would make three additional females invading your space. How much rest do you think you’ll be able to get?”

  “As much as I would have gotten, anyway. Kennedy is a handful. At least this way we can rotate the parenting duties that week.”

  “Exactly what week is it?”

  “The first week in August. I think it would be a good trip for them before school starts. I can rent a van and drive us all down.”

  “I’ll split the cost of everything.”

  “No, Taye, it will be my treat. Besides, I want to spend some time with you and the girls.” What he’d just told her was true. They had discovered from earlier conversations that he and Taye didn’t live too far from each other. At one time while growing up they had been tight. As tight as two cousins could be. They used to spend a lot of time together and used to talk about everything. For some reason he wanted to recapture that closeness.

  Taye knew not to make a big deal out of Michael wanting to spend time with her and the girls. After all, they were family. “We’d like to spend time with you and Kennedy as well, Michael. You were gone from the family a long time.”

  “Hey, you two!” Alexia called out. “The game is starting up again.”

  “We’ll be right there!” Michael called back. He looked down at Taye. “So what about it? Do you think you’ll go? Kennedy is going to bug the hell out of me until I have your answer.”

  Taye looked at him and smiled. It was hard to think straight when he was looking at her with those same dark, dreamy eyes that used to make her heart go pitter-pat when she was a fifteen-year-old. “I’d love to go. However, I think you and I will have to work out a plan so the girls won’t think they’re so smart that they can pull us into another one of their schemes.”

  Michael laughed. “OK, that’s a bet. We’ll come up with something.”

  Chapter 15

  With the bellman’s assistance in carrying their packages from the car, Alexia, Fayrene, Taye, and Rae’jean returned to the hotel from a Saturday morning of shopping. As they stepped onto the elevator, Rae’jean glanced down at her watch. It was almost three o’clock, and she couldn’t help wondering if Grady had arrived, and said as much to the other three women.

  Alexia, who was standing in front, closest to the elevator door, glanced back over her shoulder and said, grinning, “And if he has arrived does that mean we won’t be seeing your face again until the banquet starts at seven tonight? I can just imagine all the things the two of you will want to catch up on.”

  An answering smile touched Rae’jean’s lips. “Maybe.” She had no intention of telling her cousins that she had made Grady promise to hold off from making love with her again until their wedding night. They didn’t need to know that although Grady had a connecting room, the two of them would not be sharing a bed. There were some things a sistah kept to herself and didn’t share with her kinfolks, no matter how close they were, especially if they would think she had a few screws loose if she told them.

  “I’m going to my room to rest my poor aching feet,” Taye said when the elevator came to a stop on her floor. Stepping out, she called over her shoulder, “See you guys later!”

  “I think Taye has the right idea,” Fayrene said, smiling, once the elevator closed again. “I’m going to my room and chill, since Aunt Otha Mae took the girls to a movie.”

  Alexia giggled. “I bet it was a Disney movie.”

  Fayrene couldn’t help but chuckle herself. “Probably, but I told the girls to roll with the flow and not sweat the small stuff. I’ll make up for it when we get back to Atlanta. They really wanted to see that new movie that just came out with Morris Chestnut.”

  “They got the hots for Morris, uhh?” Rae’jean asked, smiling.

  “Probably no more than you had the hots for Prince when you were their age,” Alexia reminded her.

  Rae’jean’s smile widened as she remembered those days. She’d bought every record Prince made, seen Purple Rain more times than she could count, and had pictures of him plastered on every wall in her bedroom. “Yeah, I did have a thing for Prince, didn’t I?”

  “Big-time,” Alexia said, raising her eyes to the ceiling. “Your thing for Prince was just as big as Taye’s thing for Michael back then.”

  Alexia shook her head, grinning. “I’d almost forgotten about Taye’s crush on Michael. Boy, was it intense, and Michael never knew it, did he?”

  Rae’jean smiled. “I doubt he noticed it.”

  The elevator door opened and Alexia got out after telling Rae’jean and Fayrene that she had planned to spend the rest of her afternoon in her hotel room reading, relaxing, and napping.

  “You OK, Rae’jean? I heard about your conversation with Victor Junior yesterday,” Fayrene said when they were alone in the elevator.

  “Yeah, I’m OK. It’s just that Victor Junior can aggravate the hell out of me at times. Nothing has changed there.”

  “I know. He can aggravate the hell out of me at times, too,” Fayrene said, smiling. “Can you believe he’s called me a couple of times wanting us to get back together?”

  Pausing for a moment, Rae’jean considered Fayrene’s words. “I hope you’re not carrying a torch for Victor Junior. You know as well as I do that he’s not worth it. Although it’s what she rightly deserves, I hear Evelyn’s catching all kind of hell being married to him.”

  “No, I’m not carrying a torch for Victor Junior,” Fayrene said automatically. “He’s permanently destroyed whatever love I had for him. Our only connection is Victoria.” A smile touched the ends of Fayrene’s lips. “I haven’t said anything to anyone, but I started seeing someone a few months ago. He’s someone I met through a friend. He’s nice and I really like him. Victoria likes him, too.”

  “Oh, Fayrene, that’s wonderful! I’m glad you’re finally getting on with your life. You have too much to offer a man. You’re a good person who deserves a good man.”

  Rae’jean was still thinking about how happy she was for Fayrene when she entered her hotel room carrying her packages. She smiled when she noticed the connecting room door was open, which meant Grady had arrived. Dropping the bags she was carrying on the bed, she slipped out of her shoes and walked to the connecting door and stood in the opening. Grady was lying across the bed, facedown and shirtless. By his even breathing Rae’jean could tell he was asleep. Deciding that he needed his rest, she pulled the door closed and went back to her room and began quietly sorting through the packages she had purchased.

  “Why didn’t you wake me when you got back?”

  Rae’jean glanced over her shoulder. Grady stood in the open doorway between her room and his. He was still shirtless, and with the sunlight coming through the window blinds, the ray of light somehow made his brown hair appear lighter in coloring. She couldn’t help but return his smile. That was something that had always been automatic between them. His smile always made her smile.

  For a moment his smile took her back to that afternoon, almost a year ago, and the first time they had made love. They had gone to Texas for a medical convention, and like this time, they’d had connecting rooms, with the intent of using separate beds. Things didn’t quite work out that way when she’d finished unpacking and looked up to see him standing in the doorway that separated the two rooms. He’d been staring at her with a kind of smile on his features tha
t clearly said he wanted her. He had been the first man to catch her interest since college and the preceding years of medical school. She had been too busy studying to become involved in an in-depth relationship with anyone.

  When she and Grady had made love there hadn’t been an earth-shattering explosion or anything that had rocked her world. But she had preferred it that way. He had made love to her with such tenderness and such loving compassion it had brought tears to her eyes. She’d become enraptured in his special form of lovemaking, and he had fulfilled her every sexual desire. She hadn’t wanted or needed anything wild and intense, and somehow Grady had known that. He had been so attuned to her mild and moderate sexual appetite. Her hectic lifestyle was filled with too much intensity as it was. She didn’t want or need the same thing in the bedroom. Earth-shattering passion was something she could do without. He had made love to her the same way he did everything else, meticulously, flawlessly, and completely. At that time and every time since then, he had given her the kind of lovemaking she wanted and the type she needed. And she had found herself caring more and more for him each time.

  Then why don’t you love him to distraction like you’re supposed to? her mind screamed at her. Why do you often have images of that other guy and why are you craving such intense emotions now? Why every time you see that guy does your sexual hunger immediately go from mild and moderate to turbulent and extreme? Rae’jean forced those thoughts away from her mind, knowing she had no answers to those questions.

  “Aren’t you glad to see me, Rae’jean?” Grady asked, resting his body against the door frame.

  “Of course I am.”

  He quirked an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Then why are you over there and I’m over here?”

  “Which is something that can easily be corrected, Mr. Fitzgerald,” Rae’jean said, walking across the room to him. She placed a steadying hand on his bare chest when she reached him. “Is this better?”