Gina
ALTHOUGH I'D BEEN INMiami since university days, there was a lot of ground I hadn't covered. Kofi seemed to know everywhere worth visiting. This time, he took me to a comedy club. I had a ball and enjoyed listening to several stand-up comedians, including a ventriloquist and his sidekick.
We left the club some minutes after nine and walked down the street to a small steakhouse. The food was delicious and I couldn't help teasing Kofi about eating seafood when the restaurant had juicy steaks on the menu. He chose not to respond to my ribbing other than to tell me the crab legs were good and he wasn't missing anything.
Over a glass of Shiraz, I asked Kofi to tell me about his family. I got the feeling he might have refused if I hadn't insisted that I wanted to know about them. The leather booth gave us a sense of privacy and distance from the other patrons that made me feel Kofi and I were in our own space. In answer to my intent study, he gave me a faint smile. "There's my mother and my father. Then I have two younger brothers and a sister."
"Are they all still in Ghana?"
"One of my brothers is here. The rest of them still live there."
"Where is he?
"New York."
"What does he do?"
"He's into banking."
"Man, you're just full of information."
"Did you ask a question I didn't answer?"
His comment was snide, but in true Kofi style it was delivered with dry wit.
I laughed, shaking my head. "You know exactly what I mean."
Sipping from my glass, I watched him. "How does your mother feel about you being here this long?"
"Why do you ask?"
"No real reason. If your mother is anything like mine, she'll want to know what you're doing and why you aren't coming home more regularly and when you plan to come back permanently."
He laughed and drank some of his soda water. "Yes, that sounds a lot like her. I get those questions every time I call."
"Me too."
"So why haven't you gone back home?" he asked.
I chewed on a piece of baked potato while I considered his question. "I guess I'm not ready."
"You make it sound like you need to prepare to go where you belong."
"You don't know my mother."
"You make her sound formidable."
"She can be."
I didn't feel like talking about her any more, but Kofi had other thoughts. "Tell me about your family."
Soothing background music flowed between us as I gathered my thoughts. "Well, there's Chase, and you know about Garth and—"
He shook his head. "No, I am asking about the real deal."
"Huh?" My fork slowed, then stopped.
"What kind of man is your father?"
