“What is all this?” Perkins inspected the contents of the bag closest to her right foot. “It’s meat. Lamb chops . . . and steak and stuff.”
A lightbulb went off and I knew exactly where the groceries came from. As I pulled out my phone to text, a message came through.
Bright:Yo, I heard dinner is early today on account of it being Easter. You got any idea what time I should head towards your mom and Bay’s spot?
Me:There are like ten bags of groceries on Perkins’s front porch. Why?
Bright:I know Alisha taught you that its impolite to answer a question with a question.
Me:You are soooooo annoying! Dinner is at 3. Now, why’d you have groceries dropped off here?
He didn’t respond.
As soon asI made it to my mom and Bayliss’s house, I went on the hunt for Bright. I found him on the back deck. I walked right up to him and gave him a punch in the bicep.
“Ouch, girl.” He grabbed his arm, rubbing it like I was Clarissa Shields or somebody.
“I know that little punch didn’t hurt you, but if it did you deserved it. Why’d you ignore me? Why’d you drop groceries off at Perkins’s house?”
He blew out a sigh. “I dropped groceries off because you told me that you like to cook meals you find on the internet withexoticingredients. I’m already knowing that if your money is so tight that you had to force yourself to buy that little workout number you wore to the track on Friday, you’re not splurging on crab meat and lamb chops. I wanted to do that for you. Seems like you could use somebody who’s willing to do the things that put a smile on your face.”
My mind immediately tried to remember the last time somebody actively tried to put a smile on my face. It was probably my mama. Alisha was always going out of her way to show us how much we meant to her. The fact that the last person to try to make me smile wasn’t Xander said something about my marriage—something that I had only recently started coming to terms with.
I was quiet for so long, lost in my own thoughts for so long that Bright kept talking. “I knew if I tried to give you the cash, you’d try to give it back. Or refuse to take it. I cut out the middleman.”
Without really thinking about it, I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thanks.”
He seemed caught off guard, but eventually his hands slid around my waist. “You’re welcome.”
We released each other as the back door came open. “Bring your big headed ass in here before—” Bayliss stopped talking when he spotted me. The fake frown he was giving Bright morphed into a sincere smile. “Hey, Steppy.”
Bayliss called all four of us, my sisters and me, Steppy. My best guess was that it was short for step-daughter. Whatever thereason, we all answered to it like it was our name. It was hard to deny Bayliss, though.
Initially, I didn’t understand how my mother could just quit her job and leave her hometown and everything she knew for a man she’d just met. But once I spent time around Bayliss and got to know him, I totally got it. He had a presence about him. He was handsome, charming, confident, and innately nurturing. Everything about him said that he would take care of you. He made you feel safe and even more importantly, he made you feel accepted. It was easy to put yourself in his hands, because he seemed like the type that would never fumble you.
The original resentment I felt toward him for taking my mama away quickly faded as I got to know him. Before long it morphed into gratitude and thankfulness. After years of being taken advantage of, mishandled, and played by men, my mother deserved a man who didn’t play about her. In the short time they’d been married, Bayliss’s love managed to smooth out so many of my mother’s rough edges and insecurities. Because of that, he was one of my favorite people.
“Hey, Bay,” I replied.
“My baby wants everybody to come to the table. Come on.”
I walked into their home with a small grin on my face at him referring to my mother as his baby.
At the table, I was once again seated between Bright and Perkins. My mother and the senior Mrs. Strong had thrown down. As platters of prime rib, scalloped potatoes, roasted asparagus, macaroni and cheese, chopped salad, and buttery yeast rolls went around the table, the conversation moved to the upcoming spring festival.
“So,” the senior Mrs. Strong began, “I’ve already talked to the staff at City Hall. They’re gonna start constructing the booths for the Stream Violet festival tomorrow and they’ll be done by Tuesday evening. We’ll start setting up our booth on Wednesdaymorning if everything goes to plan. This year, the focus will be on our event packages. The weddings, the babymoons, the honeymoons, and the girls’ trips. Now that we have the onsite salon back up and running, we’ve become even more popular with black women wanting to pamper themselves and spend their money within our own community. We’ll be raffling off a few two-night stays in the lodge, a few spa services, and some very luxe gift baskets. We’re also doing a silent auction for a complete wedding package.”
“That sounds good, Ma,” Beckham told her. “You know I’ll have a booth with information about and coupons for wilderness adventures. We’re raffling an ATV package for four.”
“Alisha and I will be at your booth, Ma.” Bayliss’s eyes found my mother’s. “We’re doing discounts on horseback riding lessons and horse boarding.”
“Do you have a booth?” I whispered to Bright.
Before he could respond, the conversation kept moving. Brewer was going to sell “festival size” portions of the most popular dishes atGood Ashesat his booth. Collins had a booth where she would be doing consultations for event and occasion hair styles, while Perkins did quick wig installs and some woman named Malaysia gave tutorials on cornrows. It seemed like everybody was involved in the festival except me.
“Well, Perk, while you’re at the booth I’m happy to watch the girls,” I offered, wanting to contribute in some way even if it was small.
“Thanks, but Church is keeping them. She already planned something for them to do. My girls are super excited to get to spend the day with Church. You know they think she’s the coolest one in the family.”
