Folding his arms over his chest, he waited.
“Ugh.” She rested her forehead in her hand. “We’ve been talking for a while and he wants to take me out to a movie. Is that okay with you, Warden?”
He shrugged, since he didn’t really know much about this Kevin character who’d been making eyes at his baby sister. “I don’t know. Where does he live? What does he do for a living? Who does he—”
“Lay off.” She cut him off before he finished his last question. “I know what I need to know about him. And since he asked me to the movies and not to get married, I’m not going to entertain your questions.”
Ken frowned but backed off. He knew Miyu was stubborn, always had been. If he kept pressing her, she would lay her most epic silent treatment on him. It was either back off now or have his sister block his calls and avoid all contact with him for weeks on end.
“Kenny, you know I love you, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” Miyu reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “But regardless of all that, you’re my brother, not my dad. You’ve got to let me live my life.”
He sighed. “Sorry, Miyu. You know I can’t help myself sometimes. When I heard you talking about that guy, the old protective instincts kicked in.”
She crinkled her nose at him.
“But that’s no excuse. I’m really proud of what you’ve accomplished, and I respect you as an adult. So if you like this guy, and you want to go out with him, go ahead, and have fun.”
A bright smile lit up her face. “Thanks, Kenny.”
“But not too much fun.” Jokingly, he shook a finger at her.
She responded with a playful punch to his shoulder. “Goofball.”
“Whatever. You know you love me.” Laughing, he scooped up another forkful of food.
Chapter 13
“Okay, class. Let’s move into second position, arms and legs, please.” Nona modeled the position for her students, giving them time to reproduce her positioning.
As usual, she moved between the rows of students to reposition those who were a bit off. Once everyone was in the correct position, she went to the corner of the room where she kept her boom box, atop a small table.
“I’m going to start the music. Let’s run through the recital routine once, so I can see how much of it you’ve committed to memory.” After a brief countdown, she started the compact disc that had the dance music on it.
As the music filled the room, she clapped along to help the kids keep time. Her eyes swept over them as she circled the group, assessing them as they moved. She could see that most of them had mastered the opening few steps and turns but began to falter as the song moved into its first chorus. Still, she let the song play to the end, letting the kids complete the routine to the best of their ability. Once the music ended and the kids returned to their resting stance, she returned to the front of the room.
“Your opening moves are looking very good, class. We’ll need to practice the rest of the routine more, but I think you’re all off to a very good start.”
Betty began shifting her weight from side to side, then giggled.
Nona looked her way, knowing something had her distracted. “What’s so funny, Betty?”
In response, the young girl pointed behind her. “There’s a man in the door, Ms. Nona.”
Turning around toward the entrance to the classroom, Nona smiled when she saw Ken standing in the doorway. In his arms he carried a huge bouquet of sunny yellow roses.
Turning back to her students, Nona spoke. “Class, can you all sit down for me for a moment? I’ll be right back.” She waited for the children to comply with her request, then strolled over to the door.
“Hi.” He wore a Cheshire cat grin on his handsome face.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to give you these.” He extended the flowers in her direction. “And this.” He gave her a peck on the cheek.
A few giggles erupted from the little girls in the class.
Blushing, she took the flowers. “Thank you. I’ll take these into the break room and put them in some water.” She eased around his muscular frame with the blooms.
When she returned, he’d entered the classroom fully, and the students were peppering him with questions. The queries were flying like buckshot on a quail hunt, but he didn’t seem flustered or uncomfortable in the least.
“Are you Ms. Nona’s friend?” Marie asked.
“Yes, I am,” Ken answered easily.
“Where are you from?” Ralph fixed curious eyes on Ken.
“I was born and raised here in Charlotte, but my family is from Japan, if that’s what you mean.” Ken looked toward the young boy who’d posed the question.
“Ooh! Say something in Japanese!” Diamond, who could barely contain her excitement, asked.
“Aete ureshī yo.”
“That was so cool!” Diamond’s brow crinkled in confusion. “But...what does it mean?”
Ken laughed. “It means ‘pleased to meet you.’”
Nona could feel the smile stretching across her face. Hearing Ken speak Japanese did something to her, something she couldn’t dwell on while they were in a room full of children.
“Are you Ms. Nona’s honey bear? My mommy calls my daddy her honey bear,” Betty commented.
Instead of fielding that question, Ken swung his gaze to her. “I’m not sure. Ms. Nona, am I your honey bear?” His tone was playful.
Nona couldn’t hold back her laugh. Her students could always be counted on to keep things interesting. Meeting his eyes, she gave her response. “I wasn’t sure, but the flowers put you over the top. So, yes, you are my honey bear.”
Girlish giggles erupted from the female students, but the boys were either wearing confused looks or making gagging noises.
With a shake of her head, Nona looked at the wall clock. “Looks like that was our class chat for tonight. You all can go ahead and get ready for pickup time.”
As the children got up from their seats on the floor and began bouncing around the space, Nona extended her hand toward Ken. “You are really something else.”
“Your students are very bright. Inquisitive, too.” He captured her hand in his own, raising it to his lips to kiss it. “You’ve got a great group here.”
“Thanks again for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
“Beautiful blooms for my beautiful blossom.” He grazed slow, gentle fingertips over her jawline.
She let her eyes communicate the desire she felt building inside her. “Listen. I’ve got to make sure the kids get home safely. But I promise to thank you properly for your gift and your visit soon enough.”
“I can’t wait.” He gave her a peck on the cheek and began moving away.
She let her fingertips remain connected to his as long as possible, stretching her arm as he walked out the door. After he left, she stood there for a few seconds, wearing a goofy smile. Inside, she felt like an adolescent girl in the throes of a major crush.
Diamond sidled up beside her, grinning. “You’ve got it pretty bad, don’t you, Ms. Nona?”
She nodded. “Yeah, looks like I do.”
“I like him. He’s nice.” With a wave, Diamond went to the main entrance of the dance school. “See you later, Ms. Nona.”
“’Bye, Diamond.” As if Ken hadn’t already won her over, he’d now endeared himself to her students. He’d already shown himself to be a gentleman, a talented artist, athletic and a considerate lover. Can he really be this great? What’s the catch?
Though the skeptic in her told her that Ken was too good to be true, the romantic in her didn’t want to believe that. She just wanted to keep seeing him and find out where things went.
* * *
The band rehearsed on Saturday morning, then headed
over to their favorite spot for lunch. By a quarter after noon they had their usual booth at the Brash Bull and were waiting for their order of forty buffalo wings with veggies and dip to arrive.
Ken stifled a yawn as his eyes darted between the televisions blaring various sports. He never really paid much attention to any of it, except when the summer Olympics rolled around. Then he watched all the track and field events with rapt interest. The rest of his bandmates had a long-standing love of football, but personally, he could take it or leave it.
Marco, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet during rehearsal, finally spoke. “Guys, I’ve got something to show you. It was in my mailbox yesterday.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, oblong box. It was see-through, and as he set it in the center of the table, everyone leaned in to study it. Inside the box was an aged piece of black fabric.
Ken was the first to ask the question on everyone’s mind. “What is it?”
“It’s one of Coltrane’s personal saxophone straps, according to the label on the bottom.” He flipped the box so everyone could read the words there.
“Holy crap. That’s amazing!” Rashad reached out for the box.
Marco blocked his hand. “No way. Look, but don’t touch. This is a piece of music history.”
Darius shook his head in disbelief. “Let me guess. There was a note from the Music Man with the box, right?”
Marco nodded, chuckling. “Yes. Whoever this guy is, he’s got some serious connections.” Tucking the box back into his pocket, he settled into the leather seat. “This baby is going in a place of honor in my house.”
“He’s left us all something at this point. An item of great significance that’s somehow attached to our jazz icons.” Rashad laced his fingers together.
“Everyone except me.” Ken felt a little left out at this point, but he assumed his gift from the Music Man would be forthcoming. “But I noticed he sent you guys something only after you were in a committed relationship with a woman. Maybe that has something to do with it.”
Darius scratched his chin. “Good point, Ken. I mean, whoever he is, he knows enough about our lives to know when we’ve settled down. If he wasn’t leaving us these priceless gifts, I’d be concerned he was some weird stalker.”
“He never makes contact with us until he leaves a package, so I’d say he’s probably not the homicidal type.” Rashad shrugged. “I had Monk’s sheet music professionally framed. It’s hanging in my living room.”
“I did the same thing with the Duke’s signed photo,” Darius commented.
The waitress appeared then, setting their order in the center of the table. After she’d distributed the plates and napkins, she left to take care of other tables.
While they dug into the wings, Marco asked, “What’s going on with you and your reporter, Ken? Is she still pumping you for information?”
He shook his head as he spooned ranch dressing onto his plate. “Nah. She says she has everything she needs for the article, so thankfully, the interviews are done.”
“So she’s finally out of your hair,” Rashad quipped.
He hesitated for a moment before admitting the truth. “Not exactly. We’re sort of seeing each other.”
“What do you mean, sort of?” Darius asked between mouthfuls. “Either you’re seeing her or you ain’t.”
He said nothing, choosing instead to stuff a piece of celery into his mouth.
Marco slapped him on the back. “You are seeing her! Ken’s finally got a woman.”
“If only the Brash Bull served champagne!” Rashad laughed.
Rolling his eyes, Ken swallowed the celery. “Yes, I’m seeing Nona. She’s amazing, I enjoy her company and she’s great with kids.”
Everyone at the table paused. No one chewed, drank or spoke, and all eyes were suddenly on Ken.
“What?”
“Good with kids? How do you know that?” Darius asked.
“She teaches a dance class. Jazz dance. I went over there to take her flowers and—”
“Yo! Hold on, player. You bought her flowers?” Rashad’s face had morphed into a mask of wide-eyed disbelief. “The same dude who vowed that no woman would ever get under his skin or distract him from his life is taking a woman flowers?”
Marco was shaking his head slowly. “I can’t believe it. This woman must have magic and sunshine under her dress.”
“Well, she does, but that’s not why I—”
Rashad gasped loudly, clutching his chest and acting as if he were going to fall out of the booth. “Dude, so you already hit it, then? Marco’s right. She put a spell on you.”
“I can’t believe Ken the Zen got taken down like that, man.” Darius chuckled as he took a drink from his bottled beer. “This is a day that’s going down in history, for real.”
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m buying a lottery ticket as soon as I leave here today.”
Grabbing a carrot stick, Ken tossed it at Rashad’s head. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
Plucking the carrot stick from his hair, Rashad tossed it aside. “Whatever, man.” He stuck out his hand. “Welcome to the ranks. Nice to have you join us, finally.”
Shaking his head, Ken shook hands with each of his friends. He realized their reactions were warranted. For the longest time, he’d been in denial that any woman could affect him. Aside from that, he’d teased them as they became enamored with the women in their lives. Now that it was happening to him, they deserved to have their fun. He smiled, because their jokes didn’t bother him in the least. Having Nona in his life was worth any amount of foolishness they could dish out.
By way of changing the subject, Ken asked, “Darius, how’s the family?”
A proud smile came over Darius’s face. “Thanks for asking, man. JoJo is five and half months old now, and he’s trying to sit up on his own. I think Eve is adjusting pretty well to being home with him, considering how hard she worked at FTI. She’s great with him.”
“That’s good to hear, man.” Marco reached out to bump fists with Darius. “I’m going to need some pointers from you when Joi delivers. She’s only about seven weeks along now, and I’m already nervous as hell.”
“You know I’m here for you, man. When it comes to raising a family with the woman you love, the old saying applies.” Darius held up his open palms. “Ain’t nothing to it but to do it.”
Rashad swiped a napkin over his mouth. “We’re still searching for the right child to adopt. Lina and I don’t have any desire to go through the baby stage, so we’re looking to take in an older child.”
Listening to his friends talk about their families made Ken smile. He enjoyed seeing them so happy. It also made him think about his future. Would Nona be his wife? Would she one day give him beautiful little curly-haired babies? Things were so new now, he had no way of knowing. Whatever their future together looked like, he was glad to be along for the ride.
“You got quiet, Ken.” Marco ribbed him.
“Just...thinking about the future.” Since his boys knew Nona had hooked him, he saw no need to try to hide it.
“I’ll bet.” Darius chuckled. “Just let things happen naturally. You’re gonna get there one day.”
As he took a drink of root beer, Ken wondered just how long he’d have to wait.
Chapter 14
Dragging herself to the break room for her third cup of coffee, Nona stifled a yawn. It was around two o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon, the point at which it seemed the workweek would never come to an end. After an entire morning spent rewriting her feature article and eating lunch at her desk while she proofed one of Crystal’s articles, she was running on empty.
Once she’d fixed the coffee to her liking, she trudged back to her office and plopped down in her desk chair. What she wanted more th
an anything was to take a nap. Eyeing the stacks of paper on her desk, she seriously considered knocking everything off the desktop and resting her forehead there so she could catch a few quick minutes of sleep. Knowing that was impossible, she took a long draw from her coffee mug instead.
Porter, the department intern, rapped on her office door. “Excuse me. Can I come in, Ms. Gregory?” The ever chipper Porter was in his junior year as a dual journalism and English major at UNC Charlotte. He was the only intern at the paper who kept working through the summer; while his peers went home for vacation, he stayed and took summer classes. His short blond hair was styled with gel into some sort of spiky do, and his blue eyes always seemed to hold a hint of humor, as if he was in on a joke no one else knew about.
“Come on in, Porter.” She waved him into the room. “What do you need?”
“Mr. Huffman asked me to see if you’re done with the second draft of your feature.” He stood on the other side of her desk, careful not to infringe on her personal space.
She shook her head. Despite the hours she’d spent on the article already, she wasn’t satisfied with it. “Not yet. Tell him I’ll have it ready by five.”
“Sure thing. I’ll come back and pick it up then.” He slipped out as quickly as he’d entered.
Stifling another yawn, she took a longer drink from her mug. Then she shuffled things around on her desk so she had a bit of space to lay out the printed pages of her draft article. Huff had already been through it, writing his questions and comments in the margins. On the first page was his main comment, one that annoyed her to no end.
Your story is good, but not compelling. Something is missing, something to hook the reader.
As far as she was concerned, the story had a built-in hook: the exorbitant amount of money the city had paid Ken to take on the Grand Pearl project. After all, that was what had gotten the executives excited about the story and why they’d requested the feature in the first place. Huff had obviously bought into that, because he’d mentioned it when he’d first assigned her the article.
No, something else was at play here. She and Huff had worked together for nine and a half years, and he’d edited everything she’d written for the paper. She suspected that Huff had read the draft and immediately known that she had more information than she was including in the story. While that was true, she’d made a promise to Ken. The details of his family’s past were simply out of the question. If she betrayed him now, he’d never trust her again.
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