I gave a small head nod. “What’s up, Pearlie?”
She grinned. “It’s almost time. Theo and I are so excited. We’re ready to do you proud, Bailey, and kick off the event with a bang.”
“Me too.” Bailey returned her grin.
“So, I put aside somethings for you two to taste.” She waved her hands back and forth and shook her head. “I know you’ve tasted my cooking, and I know I went over the recipes with you until we both were blue in the face. But I wanted y’all to try the final products.” She left us by the work island and walked over to the commercial style stove, removing two plates from the warmer drawer.
She set the plates in front of us and everything looked good as hell.
“We have the cornbread crab cakes.” Pearlie pointed at the crab cake.
“Cornbread crab cake?” I repeated. “What is that?”
“It’s a crab cake, just like your brother makes over there atGood Ashes. But we soul food aficionados substitute the bread crumb with cornbread. It gives them a little bit of a different texture and a little bit of a different taste, but they’re still delicious.”
I nodded.
“This is the lobster and grits”—she pointed before adding—“my personal take on shrimp and grits. The bourbon sweet potato bonbons. The buttermilk chicken tender. And the curried cabbage. For dessert I did deconstructed red velvet cake trifle in personal sized cups and banana pudding shots.”
“Damn, everything sounds good.”
She slid one of the plates closer to me. “Well, this is your plate. Try everything.”
The next few minutes were filled with Bailey and me moaning our pleasure over the taste of the offerings. Once we were done, Pearlie scooped up our empty plates. “I’m sure you have other stuff to check on, Miss Bailey. I won’t hold you.”
“Thanks, Pearlie. Your food is gonna be a hit.”
“Later, Pearlie,” I called as Bailey and I continued our walk through.
Once the guests started arriving, Bailey and I got separated. The bed and breakfast was full with people walking in and out of all five guest rooms, eating the food, and stopping to make reservations with Church, who agreed to play receptionist for the evening. Bailey had a deejay playing clean 90s hip hop and R&B. She even hired a bartender to offer mocktails, because she didn’t want anybody getting drunk at her event. The entire production was a vibe. I could see that Alisha and Bayliss were going to have a successful venture on their hands thanks to my girl.
I had just stuffed another sweet potato bonbon into my mouth when a text came through.
Bae-Bae:Bright, I’m in the bathroom upstairs. I need help.
She needed help?That sounded sketchy as hell. What kind of help did she need in the bathroom? I was gone off the girl, but I wasn’t sure we were at the point where I could wipe her ass. I blew out a sigh and headed for a staircase that was off limits to the guests. They led upstairs. There were no guestrooms upstairs, only a small apartment-like dwelling that was meant for the property manager to live in.
At the top of the stairs, I could hear her before I could see her. She was throwing up and it sounded violent.
“Damn, baby,” I muttered softly as I followed the sound.
There she was in the bathroom, on her knees in front of the commode. “Oh my gosh. I feel like a piece of shit. I think something was wrong with the food. What if the other guests get sick? What if they sue us?”
I took a moment to assess how I was feeling. I’d eaten just as much of the food as she had, probably more. “I feel cool. No bubble guts. Nothing.”
She heaved, but nothing came up. She groaned. “This is a disaster. First, there was the stench in the foyer, now the food is making me throw up. I just want to go home.” She started to cry.
A lot of thoughts and emotions were hitting me at once. I didn’t like seeing my girl down and I damn sure didn’t want her crying. But there was also something else at play. I tried not to lean into what I was feeling and keep my thoughts rational. “Bae-Bae?”
“Yes?” She sputtered through her cries.
“Do you think you could be pregnant?”
“Pregnant?” she practically shrieked.
“Hear me out. Hear me out,” I requested. “Lately, I’ve been feeling super protective over you. I mean, I’m always protectiveover you, but I’ve been feeling . . . I don’t know, extra ass protective. I basically don’t want people even looking at you.”
“Such a man.” She managed to chuckle with a small shake of her head.
