“Absolutely,” he looked over at her. “They’re all dying to meet you.”
Her stomach flip flopped. An idea began to form in her head. “Since your mom won’t be able to go out to dinner, were we gonna have meals brought in? Or do you guys have a housekeeper who’s making meals?”
“I hadn’t thought about it yet. We didn’t grow up with a housekeeper. My mom would say we’re her family, and it’s our dirt, so we should be the ones to clean it,” he chuckled. “She did all of the cooking, too. They bring in cleaners and caterers when my dad has to have a dinner party for work related stuff, but right now I’m assuming one of us will cook something up, unless Cammy is cooking too. Cammy’s the nurse,” he said as an afterthought. “I never thought to ask when I last talked to them.”
“If they haven’t already planned something, do you think they’d mind if I cooked?” She was biting her lip.
“Baby, you’re a guest. No one would expect you to cook.”
“Look, if we need someone to cook, I cook, and you know I don’t see it as a chore. It would make me feel really good to know that I could give back in some way. As a thank you. Let me do this, okay? I mean only if they’re alright with it, obviously.”
He reached his hand over to grab hers. “Are you sure?”
“Without a doubt. If your mom doesn’t mind me in her kitchen, that is.”
“Well it’s not like she’s getting much use in it anyway given that she can’t be up and around much. And trust me, once she tastes your food she might just fire Cammy and hire you. They won’t want to let you go, which I’m not going to allow, I might add.”
“I don’t know. You did say she was a pip. She might be able to finagle it.”
“I’ll arm wrestle her for you.”
“You’d arm wrestle your mom?” she laughed.
“Of course! Just because she’s had surgery doesn’t mean anything. Besides, she’s got tough skin. She’s a middle school teacher, after all. Those kids are lunatics.”
“Says the teacher of high schoolers,” she chuckled.
“Yeah, they’re bad enough. But middle schoolers are like a whole other animal,” he shuddered.
Ayanna squeezed his hand and leaned her head back onto the car seat. They were only an hour away so she took a deep breath and tried to tap down the nerves promising to take over.
No turning back now. Time to just enjoy the rest of the ride.
……
At 1:30pm, they pulled up to his parents’ home on Beacon Street.
All Ayanna could think was Wow. The whole area sported row houses, brownstones, and historical and architectural character in every corner. She imagined there had to be some kind of commission to approve changes or construction given the history of the area. Each structure seemed more beautiful than the next nestled into tree-lined streets highlighted by gorgeous views of the Charles River.
He opened the passenger side door for her to get out of his Jaguar then reached into the back seat to get their bags. Their form of transportation definitely fit into the expensive nature of the neighborhood. Although the majority of Ayanna’s first 18 years were spent in the middle-upper class New Jersey suburb of Montclair, it didn’t even compare to this. She was no stranger to money given her parents’ occupations and where she grew up, but anyone could tell this was where the other half lived. Or rather the other ‘one percent’, she chuckled to herself.
Standing on the street outside of his childhood home began to calm her, especially knowing that just as money wasn’t the first thing she had wanted in life, money wasn’t the first thing he wanted either. That thought comforted her. She took a deep breath and looked at him.
“You ready?” he asked.
She nodded, took hold of his offered hand, and walked up the stairs with him to the entrance.
He took out his key and unlocked the door.
“Hello!” he yelled out.
“Jon?!” a woman yelled back.
“Hey, Ma!” Jon looked at Ayanna with a smile. She could already tell they had a great relationship.
A pleasantly plump 40 something year old woman bustled into the foyer dressed in a variation of hospital scrubs.
“Jon, it’s so good to see you again,” the woman said, then turned to Ayanna. “You must be Ayanna,” the woman grinned. “I’m Cammy. April is looking forward to meeting you.”
“Hi.” Ayanna put out her hand and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same here.”
“How are you? Is she driving you up the wall yet?” Jonathan asked.
“No more than usual,” she quipped. “She’s anxious to see you both. Why don’t you leave your bags and head on back.”
“Thanks.” Jon took Ayanna’s hand and led her down the hall to the back. The house was homey and comfortable, the floor plan long from front to back, but very open and large. They passed a couple of rooms off the hallway on their right until they reached the rear of the home.
The large kitchen and family room decorated in golds and burgundies had a leather sofa and chairs in the seating area with huge multicolored rugs scattered around. Funky original artwork hung all over the walls and Ayanna immediately felt the embrace of warmth. The space projected a love of family and whimsy, and if the room was indicative of the pretty woman standing before them, Ayanna knew she had nothing to worry about it.
“Ma, you’re standing!” Jon was obviously surprised.
“Well, that’s what the good Lord gave me legs for,” she chuckled.
He hugged her gingerly, but his mom grabbed him and planted a huge kiss on his face. He then stood back so he could introduce her to Ayanna. April clapped her hands under her chin and looked at Ayanna with a brilliant smile.
“My goodness, you are beautiful.” She put out her hands to take hers. “Ayanna, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you.” Ayanna took her hands and Mrs. White squeezed, her eyes twinkling. “Thank you so much for coming. I hope the trip up was an enjoyable one.”
“It was, and it’s so wonderful to meet you too, Mrs. White. I feel like I already know you with all that Jon’s told me.” Ayanna smiled at Jon’s mother, noting the family resemblance between the two.
“I feel the same way, and please call me April,” she said, immediately putting Ayanna at ease. “Sit, sit. Have you guys eaten lunch? Can we get you anything?”
“We stopped on the way up. We’re good,” Jon said while everyone finally sat in the comfy leather sofa and chairs. Jon grabbed the throw to put on her lap.
“Jon, baby, it’s mid-August and 80 degrees outside. I don’t need a blanket,” she sighed shaking her head, then looking at Ayanna for some help. “Do I look like a 90 year old woman?”
Ayanna smiled sheepishly. “No, ma’am.”
“April. And I hope I don’t look like a 90 year old woman. I just had my hair cut and colored this morning. Someone better tell me how good I look,” she directed to her son.
On cue, Jon said, “You do look good. Like the gorgeous woman you are. Much better looking when you’re vertical rather than horizontal, I might add.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” she giggled.
The woman exuded confidence and fun. She was an attractive woman who was slim in build, and had shoulder length light brown hair with gorgeous blue eyes.
Jon’s eyes. Ayanna could tell he was so happy to see her, his own baby blues crinkling at the edges. He couldn’t get the smile off of his face. “How are you feeling?” he continued. “Are you driving Cammy crazy?”
“It’s more like the judge and Cammy are driving me crazy. You’d think I had a heart attack or something,” she snorted.
Ayanna giggled.
Jon rolled his eyes.
“I don’t want to talk about me. I want to talk about Ayanna with Ayanna. Don’t you have something to do while she and I get to know each other better?” she asked Jonathan. “I’m absolutely dying for some girl talk.”
“Whattaya mean? I just got here,” he said,
exasperated. Ayanna could tell he wasn’t really upset. “You don’t wanna talk to me?” he huffed.
“I already know you. I don’t know Ayanna. So, no, I don’t wanna talk to you. Right now, I want to get to know this beautiful woman who has captured your heart.” She turned to Ayanna. “Do you mind? Can we just sit and chat for a bit?”
Ayanna was a little taken back, but at the same time thrilled. She could already tell she was going to love this woman.
“I would love to sit and chat with you.” She looked at Jon, then back at his mom. “And I think I have the perfect thing for Jonathan to do while we’re hanging out. I asked Jon in the car if it would be alright if I made dinners while we were here. I wasn’t sure if you already had something in mind, but if you don’t, I would really like to do that if you would be okay with it, as a thank you for your hospitality.”
“Yes, I would love for you to cook! Jon said you were a chef,” she said excitedly, then turned to Jon. “Jon, maybe you can do some special food shopping.” She turned back to Ayanna and put her hand on Ayanna’s thigh. “What’s on the menu? Ooh, I’m so excited. We’ll just give Cammy the next two nights off, which means I won’t have to eat her rabbit food. And don’t you dare tell her I said that, young lady, because I’ll deny it.”
Ayanna laughed and looked at Jon who was shaking his head. He mouthed the word sorry, but was smirking while he did it.
“Well, my dad is actually a heart surgeon, so I kind of grew up around talk of what his patients should be eating…”
“Oh, no. Please don’t make me eat grass, Ayanna. I’m begging you.”
Ayanna laughed out loud at that. “No grass on the menu. What would you like to eat?”
“You mean I get to choose?” April was so cute.
“Well, why don’t you choose what you want, and I’ll try to make it as healthy as possible,” Ayanna smirked.
“I would love some meat, but I know I shouldn’t. How about a lean meat of some sort, like a chicken?”
“Perfect. We can do some grilled chicken with veggies and grains. How about a green salad with blueberries and walnuts, and quinoa casserole with lots of veggies, like some peas or broccoli? You’ll get your antioxidants from the berries, your whole grains from the quinoa, and lots of veggies. I promise it won’t taste like grass.”
April waited a beat. “God, I love you, you sweet girl.” She turned to Jon and said, “Can you go grab a piece of paper? Let’s give you a list.”
“Yeah,” he grumbled good naturedly as he got up, “I guess I know what I’m good for around here.”
April looked at Ayanna, shrugged her shoulders and smiled. Then she shouted after him, continuing to rib him. “Puhleeze. You know you’re always looking for an excuse to drive that car.”
He walked back with paper and pen that he found in a kitchen drawer, and Ayanna gave him a smirk. He leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth.
Ayanna nearly swallowed her tongue. She couldn’t believe he just kissed her in front of his mom.
“Don’t look so shocked. She can handle it,” he said, tweaking her nose. He sat next to her ready to write down the food list. “She’s used to seeing middle schoolers play tonsil hockey in the hallways on a daily basis.”
“It’s so true,” April said. “Those kids can’t keep their tongues in their own mouths to save their lives. Nothin’ like watchin’ a bunch of 13 year olds makin’ out when you’re running to use the restroom in between classes. I tell ’em all to get a room,” she snorted.
Ayanna let out a gut laugh. She would’ve loved to have had this woman as a teacher.
Ayanna then turned to Jon and proceeded to tell him what to get at the store. She gave him things to get for the next night as well. When she was done, he leaned over and kissed Ayanna goodbye, then went to his mom to do the same. When he stood back up, he pointed his finger at his mom.
“Now remember, April White, the goal here is for Ayanna to want to still date me by the time I get back.”
April rubbed her hands together and laughed an overly exaggerated evil laugh.
Jon rolled his eyes again. “You’re such a dork,” he said jokingly.
“Yeah, yeah.” His mom wasn’t even fazed by his comment. “Don’t worry about Ayanna, baby. I’m confident she can handle herself otherwise you wouldn’t have fallen in love with her. Now, take the long way to the store, okay?”
“Good grief,” he mumbled. “Bye, you two. Don’t create too much mischief while I’m gone.” He gave them a wave, gave Ayanna a pointed look that said sorry about this, and was out the door.
Chapter 22
“Did you see that look he just gave you? As if I’m going to have you for dinner, or something. No faith in me whatsoever.” Jonathan’s mom smiled and shook her head good naturedly. Then she sighed and leaned back into her chair, looking at Ayanna tenderly.
“I’ve been looking forward to this moment for two weeks now. And first, I want to say thank you. Thank you for loving my son.”
Ayanna loved people who were straight shooters, so she decided to be just as direct.
“I adore your son. It is an absolute pleasure to love him.”
His mom sighed happily. “He really is a catch, isn’t he?”
Ayanna laughed. “Yes, he absolutely is.”
“He told me you guys fought a lot in the beginning. I’m glad he wised up.”
“Well, I’d say we both did.”
“So, you’re a chef? Tell me a little bit about how you got there.”
They both settled in and Ayanna told her about her desires as a kid to write and cook. She told her of her grandmother and eventually her scholarship to NYU, her time in Europe, and the restaurant in Manhattan. She finally told her about The Local Yokel and how well the food blog was going.
“That’s wonderful. I’m always so thrilled when artists can make a living doing what they love. Where would we be without all of you? You’re the ones who help us discover our passions and emotions. I couldn’t imagine a world without you creative types.”
Jon had said a similar thing at the dinner with her parents.
“That’s sweet of you to say, thank you. It’s great that you’ve instilled that into your kids, too. Jon told me that you used to take them to museums a lot. A lot of parents don’t do things like that.” Ayanna hesitated then continued. “They might care more about practical things, like finding good paying jobs and whatnot.”
“Were your parents like that?” she asked quietly.
Ayanna debated for a second how honest she should be. Then she figured what the hell.
“Yeah. Definitely more practical. My mom’s a lawyer, dad’s a heart surgeon as I said earlier. They had certain expectations about which career field I chose. I didn’t really go in the direction they wanted me to. We don’t always see eye to eye, but I’m hoping to find some common ground with them soon.”
“I imagine being so creative with parents in those professions wasn’t easy.” She looked at Ayanna with a poignant smile. “You know, the majority of parents just want what’s best for their kids. And sometimes they go about it the wrong way. Most of us don’t realize how much our parents loved us until we’re much older. We’re just not able to understand them until we’ve lived a little more. Once we understand them and where they were coming from for all those years, they finally cease to be our enemies. Don’t get me wrong. Parents make tons of mistakes, but it’s not like anyone sits you down to teach you about parenthood before you have kids. It’s just a lot of trial and error.
“I always tell the parents of my students when they’re struggling with their kids that they just won’t get along with them during those teenage years. It’s like they’re aliens from another planet between the ages of 12 to 20, but when they reach their early 20s they miraculously become human again. Just like we were when we were that age.” She chuckled. “And boy, there needs to be a lot of grace and forgiveness to make it through. And ultimately, lots of love.”
&
nbsp; “That is so true,” Ayanna murmured. “I can’t imagine you making a lot of mistakes.”
“Ha!” She barked out a laugh. “Oh, honey, let me tell ya. The list is very long. Jon and I used to have some doozies. When he was fourteen? Dear Lord. I went to mass every day that year.”
“What did he do?” Ayanna was already starting to crack up.
“He would test the boundaries every chance he got. I mean, I was a teacher. I knew how kids’ minds worked. But when your own kid pushes back? Oy.”
“Was he that bad?”
“He was such a jokester in class. And he went to a really strict school. The teachers would call me and say they loved having him in class and that he was so smart, but that he didn’t know when to stop sometimes with the jokes.”
“Jon?!”
“I know! You’d never expect it, right?”
“I mean he’s got a great sense of humor, but I would never picture him like that.”
“Well, let me clarify. He wasn’t like his brother, who is always over the top. I can’t imagine where he gets it from,” she deadpanned. “Jon was more subtle. Quiet and sneaky. He would do things like write a love note to a girl pretending to write it as another boy in the class. Then when he’d get caught by a teacher passing it, he would just say he thought he was passing a homework assignment from a friend, or something. The teacher would inevitably read the note and keep Jon after school because she’d recognize his handwriting. He didn’t realize that all teachers know their students’ handwriting. He wasn’t always the brightest bulb,” she finished dryly.
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Ayanna began with a smile.
“It was only bad when he didn’t get caught by the teacher, and the note made it into the hands of the girl who thought the other boy wrote the note and had feelings for her. Then when she wrote a note back to the unsuspecting boy, it would go on and on from there. He could play it out for days.”
Ayanna laughed and shook her head.
“So, like I said, never bad stuff and nothing over the top. Just a sneaky little bastard,” she smiled, then looked heavenward and crossed herself.
Redemption (Iris Series) Page 32
