Negotiating for Love

by Sharon C. Cooper

  Seconds later when they approached the back door, it swung open, barely missing Martina. Two men walked out, one Paul recognized.

  “Hey, what’s up, MJ?” said the man who Paul didn’t recognize. His wide-eyed surprise quickly turned to amusement when a mischievous grinned spread across his face. Maybe Martina had reason to be nervous about bringing a man to Sunday brunch. If she gave her family as much grief as she gave him sometimes, they probably couldn’t wait to needle her.

  “Hey,” Martina said, her voice shaking with a twinge of nervousness. Paul fought back the laugh that threatened to erupt.

  Since it didn’t seem like she was going to do introductions, he introduced himself.

  “Hey fellas, I’m Paul Kendricks.”

  “What’s up, man? I’m Luke.”

  “I’m Zack.”

  They all shook hands.

  “I thought I recognized you, Senator Kendricks,” Zack said. “Glad you could join us.”

  “It’s my pleasure. And congrats on your retirement, Zack. You had an impressive football career with Cincinnati,” Paul said.

  “Thanks.”

  Zack, Jada’s husband, was one of the best running backs in NFL’s history and had retired a few months earlier. Now Zack stayed close to the game as a guest commentator for ESPN.

  “Sooo,” Luke started, “what’s going on he—”

  “And on that note, move it so we can get by.” Martina elbowed her way pass the guys causing them to erupt in laughter.

  “Oh, so it’s like that?” Luke cracked. To Paul, he said, “We’ll catch you later and give you the scoop on her.”

  Paul laughed. “I look forward to it.”

  “Don’t encourage them, Paul,” Martina grumbled and guided him into the house. They stood at the edge of a long hallway, and one couldn’t miss the excited voices coming from every direction. Martina stiffened next to him, her nervousness returning despite the first introductions going well.

  He placed his arm around her shoulders. “You okay?”

  “No, but let’s get this over with,” she mumbled. He chuckled and followed her farther into the house. Luckily he wasn’t easily offended. Her attitude would have sent another man fleeing out the door, but Paul wasn’t bothered by her behavior. Being in politics had prepared him for anything, even Martina and her family.

  As they made their way through the home, Martina introduced him to family members they bumped into along the way. They didn’t stop moving until they stood in the doorway that led to the kitchen. He assumed, the women busy working, chatting, and laughing were the cousins she often mentioned.

  At first, no one noticed them until Peyton glanced up. All heads turned in their direction. Silence settled over the room and all activity stopped.

  For a moment, he thought he would have to introduce himself, but then Martina spoke.

  “Well don’t just stand there, say something,” she said to the group before turning to him. “Just in case you haven’t figured it out, the chatterboxes in here who have suddenly gone mute, are my cousins. And the cute short lady with the warm smile is my gramma, Katherine Jenkins.”

  Her grandmother stepped forward. “Well, you must be the Senator. Welcome to our home.” Instead of accepting his hand in a handshake, she opened her arms to him.

  Paul liked her immediately. Her warm hug was solid … and real. Something he hadn’t received from his mother … ever.

  “Well, Senator, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Katherine said when she stepped back.

  Paul’s brows rose as he glanced at Martina, her gaze everywhere but on him.

  He returned his attention to her grandmother. “Please call me, Paul, and hopefully, what you’ve heard wasn’t all bad.”

  She laughed and squeezed his arm. “Not all bad. Make yourself comfortable. We’ll have the food ready shortly.”

  With that, she walked out of the kitchen, leaving him with Martina and her cousins, who merely stared, mouths hanging open.

  “Come on, I’ll show you where the guys are,” Martina said, trying to push him out of the kitchen.

  “Not so fast!” A voice came from behind them. “Don’t even think about taking that man out of here before we officially meet him.”

  Paul turned to find the shortest of the four women standing with her hands on her hips. Not a hair was out of place. Her makeup looked professionally done, and the bling she wore in her ears and around her neck definitely screamed fashionista.

  “You must be Jada,” he extended his hand.

  She beamed and shook his hand. “You’ve heard of me? See me before you leave today and I’ll make sure I tell you the truth about me because I’m sure whatever she’s told you,” she nodded toward Martina, “was an exaggeration.”

  “And I don’t even want to know what she told you about me. I’m CJ. Nice to finally meet you, Senator.” She shook his hand and turned to Peyton. “And I think you know my sister.”

  “Yes. Good seeing you again, Peyton.” He turned to the last person who approached. “That means you must be Toni.”

  “That would be me, Senator.”

  “Please call me Paul.”

  “What? Your name is Paul, not Satan’s Spa—”

  “I see we’re right on time to save you,” came a deep voice from the doorway. “Craig Logan. Nice to meet you, Paul.”

  “Same to you.” Paul remembered that Craig was Toni’s husband.

  “I’m sure my wife wasn’t about to say what I think she was about to say before Craig stopped her.” Zack wrapped his arm around Jada’s shoulder and placed a kiss against her temple. “Were you?”

  “Of course not, baby,” she said sweetly and then winked at Paul.

  Paul couldn’t help but laugh.

  So these are the Jenkins girls. They were even livelier than he imagined.

  “Come on, man. Let’s get you out of here before they start asking you a million questions,” Craig said to him after placing a quick kiss on his wife’s lips.

  “Yeah, it could get ugly,” Zack added as they escorted him out of the kitchen, taking him to meet the “cool” cousins according to him.

  Paul looked forward to meeting other family members. He had a feeling the afternoon was going to be both informative and entertaining.

  He grabbed hold of Martina and pulled her close, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you a little later.”

  *

  Martina groaned as her cousins talked and teased nonstop. She knew it was going to be bad, but they were taking teasing to a completely new level. Surely she wasn’t this bad when they brought their significant others around.

  Significant other.

  Is that what Paul was to her now? If so, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Yes, he was the sweetest man she’d ever met and yes he held a special spot in her heart. But….

  “MJ and Paul sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Toni sang.

  Bringing him to the brunch was a mistake. A big mistake.

  “First comes love, then comes marriage,” Christina added.

  “Then comes baby in a ba—”

  “Finish that sentence and I will cut you!” Martina threatened Jada with the butter knife in her hand.

  “Ahh, payback is a bitch isn’t it?” Jada teased.

  “Watch your mouth young lady,” their grandmother said when she strolled into the kitchen, tightening the belt of her apron. “And Martina, what did I tell you about threatening your cousins with knives?”

  Everyone laughed except Martina. “They started it,” she mumbled and continued spreading butter on the tops of the dinner rolls. She never thought that her teasing over the years would all come back to haunt her.

  This is going to be a long day.

  *

  Two weeks later, Martina drove through Indian Hill, heading back to her grandparents’ home for Sunday brunch. She had missed the week before and hadn’t attended since the Sunday she brought Paul to meet the family. Introductions had gone well, and th
e family had treated him as if they had known him for years.

  Martina pulled into her grandparents’ driveway, found a parking space, and shut off the engine. Instead of heading into the house, she sat staring straight ahead. Anxiousness that built inside of her over the last few days regarding Paul, took up residence in her body. Romantic relationships weren’t her thing.

  “What am I going to do?” she murmured, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. She was crazy about Paul but had been avoiding him for the last two weeks, fearing things between them were developing too fast. It helped that he spent some of that time out of town, but he was back and blowing up her cell phone. Surprisingly he hadn’t shown up at her house yet.

  Martina startled at the knock on her truck window.

  “Why are you sitting out here in the cold?” Peyton asked when Martina climbed out of her truck.

  “Thinking.”

  Peyton shook her head. “I get nervous when you start thinking,” she cracked.

  Martina smiled for the first time that day. “Whatever.” She bumped Peyton with her shoulder. “Considering how busy things have been at work, you should be glad you have me there to help you think.”

  Peyton groaned. “Let’s not talk work today. Tomorrow will be here soon enough, and we’ll have to put our heads together and decide how we want to handle the St. Claire job.”

  Martina quivered. She wasn’t looking forward to that job. It wouldn’t be so bad if the owner of the company weren’t such a knucklehead.

  “You’re right, let’s not talk work. I have enough on my mind.”

  “Would your heavy thinking have anything to do with the handsome Senator?”

  “Yes.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Nope,” Martina said.

  Peyton slowed her steps and stole a glance at Martina. After a short hesitation, she said, “All righty then.”

  Martina opened the back door to the house glad Peyton didn’t push for more information. Martina really had nothing to complain about as it related to Paul. He was a kind, giving, and loving man. She was the one with the issues and had no clue on how to get over them.

  Hours later, after everyone had eaten and most of the family had left, Martina helped with the kitchen clean up. She couldn’t wait to go home and the family was probably ready for her to leave. Martina had been snapping at everyone about every little thing from the moment she walked through the back door. And reason being – Paul. At some point, maybe she would have to talk to Peyton. She needed talk to someone about how to handle her feelings for Paul.

  “Hey, what time are you leaving?” Carolyn, Martina’s mother, asked when she strolled into the kitchen and set two empty bowls on the counter near the sink. “I want to know if you can give me a ride home.”

  Martina placed the bowls into the soapy dishwater. She and her mother had done a good job of staying clear of each other all afternoon. Martina had hoped she would be able to get out of there before her mother cornered her. Granted that wasn’t the best attitude to have about her mother. But the last thing Martina needed was to spend a forty-five-minute drive with the two of them arguing.

  They’d had a huge argument earlier regarding the other Sunday Paul attended the brunch. Martina didn’t like the way her mother tried sharing stories about Martina’s youth like Carolyn had been around during that time. Raised by her grandparents, for the most part, if anyone was going to share stories about Martina, it should be them. Not Carolyn.

  “Where’s your car?” Martina continued washing dishes. “I heard you got a new one.”

  Her mother’s frustrated sigh filled the suddenly quiet kitchen. Martina didn’t have to look back to know that everyone had probably stopped what they were doing to listen in.

  “Daniel has it. He needed to take off early and I wasn’t ready to leave. Can you give me a ride or not? I’m sick of going through this every time I ask anything of you. I’m your mother. You shouldn’t have a problem dropping me off at home. I live less than a mile from you.”

  Martina remained silent. The thought of being stuck in a car with Carolyn for any amount of time didn’t appeal to her.

  “Besides,” her mother continued, “you can pick up your drill while you’re there. Daniel finished putting together the book shelf.”

  Martina thought about the drill that she had reluctantly loaned them the weekend before. Everyone knew how protective she was of her tools, and the only reason she had given in was because Carolyn had asked in front of Martina’s grandmother.

  “You and Daniel need a better system to deal with your transportation issues.”

  “Would it kill you to be a little nicer to Daniel?” her mother asked. “What the heck is your problem? Actually, I should be asking, what’s your problem today, Martina? You have given me and Daniel the evil eye from the moment we arrived. He’s a wonderful man. You would know that if you took the time to get to know him.”

  “She’s right, MJ. Daniel is a nice guy.” Christina moved closer to Carolyn and looped her arm around her shoulders. “Auntie, you did a stupendous job picking this one. He’s caliente!” She shook out her hand as if being burned.

  Martina rolled her eyes.

  “Oh and it hasn’t gone unnoticed,” Christina continued, “his proclivity to take care of you is endearing, catering to your every need. You might have found a real vanquisher this time.”

  “Oh give me a break,” Martina murmured, watching as her mother laughed and joked with Christina. How could they make light of the fact that her mother changed men every other month?

  “How do you expect me to act?” Martina dried her hands and moved closer. “He’s the third guy you have brought around us in the last six months. When are you going to grow up and figure out how to hold onto one man, at least for more than a few months? And you wonder why I don’t want to be anything like you.”

  Hurt radiated in her mother’s eyes and for a minute, Martina didn’t think she would respond, but then she said, “For the record, I’ve been with Daniel for eight months. So get your facts straight!”

  Carolyn hurried out of the room, but not before Martina saw her swipe angrily at her eyes. Normally a few words wouldn’t affect her mother and Martina had to admit that she was a little surprised that they had this time. Had Caroline and Daniel really been dating eight months? Martina thought back, trying to recall the last time her mother was with someone else, but couldn’t remember.

  She turned to go back to the sink but stopped when she looked up to find her grandmother’s gaze on her.

  “What?”

  “I don’t care what your mother does or how you disapprove of her lifestyle. You are not to disrespect her like that ever again. Do I make myself clear?” The no-nonsense tone and the fiery warning in her grandmother’s eyes let Martina know she was serious, and the wrong answer might get her a smack across the mouth.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Katherine Jenkins turned away and went back to spooning up the leftover collard greens, mumbling something Martina couldn’t hear.

  “So how does it taste?” Jada whispered close to Martina’s ear but loud enough for everyone to probably hear.

  “How’s what taste?”

  “That foot in your mouth.”

  Toni snickered, Christina’s mouth twitched as if trying to hold in a laugh, but it was Peyton’s disapproving frown that got Martina’s attention.

  Maybe she had gone too far this time.

  “I need you girls to finish cleaning up in here before you leave,” their grandmother finally spoke again. “And Martina I want you upstairs. Now,” she added when Martina stood rooted in place staring at her.

  “Gram, you do realize I don’t live here anymore, right?” When Martina was young, being sent to her room was a norm. “You turned my room into a sewing room.”

  “You know what, Martina? I have had just about enough of your smart mouth today. Get upstairs, now!”

  A short while later, Martin
a paced the length of her grandparent’s den, that was connected to their bedroom. She stopped in front of the wall that housed photos of the family and zoomed in on one. The picture with her mother and her grandfather held her attention. At the time the photo was taken, Carolyn had been Martina’s age, and the resemblance between mother and daughter was startling.

  It’s okay to look like her. I just don’t want to be like her.

  Martina glanced at the small clock on the table next to the loveseat, realizing she’d been waiting ten minutes. Hopefully, one of the guest would detain her grandmother, sparing Martina a tongue lashing.

  Martina dropped into the chair closest to the window and stared out. Maybe she had been too hard on her mother over the last few years. But knowing she had been conceived because of an affair her mother had with a married man, disgusted Martina. The woman’s so-called relationships since then hadn’t been much better. As far as Martina knew, her mother hadn’t hooked up with any more married men, but most of the men she dated were still losers. Except for maybe this latest boyfriend.

  Martina glanced up when her grandmother strolled in, closing the door behind her. She tried not to groan at that stoic expression her grandmother rarely wore, but it was hard.

  Might as well get this over with.

  “I’m sorry, Gram, but you know how it is between her and me. She drives me nuts with her nonchalant, lackadaisical attitude. And if that’s not bad enough, she’s been married twice, each time ending up with a broken heart. Who wants to be a witness to that crap all the time?”

  “Watch your mouth! I don’t care how much you dislike your mother’s choices. You still have to show her respect. For years, I have heard you go on and on about not wanting to be like her, but I don’t think you realize just how much like Carolyn you are.”

  Martina shot out of her seat. “I am nothing like her! I’m not the one who keeps moving in with and falling in love with every man I meet. I’m not the one who keeps starting things and never finishing anything. And most importantly, I’m not the one who goes around sleeping with married men and having a child out of wedlock!”