His eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I see.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Tonya and Gage Toussaint invited us to their home next Sunday for brunch. You can bring Kendra, because Eustace’s grandchildren are also coming.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“There’s no special occasion. Tonya said it will be the first time they’re going to host a gathering as a married couple.”
“Are you aware that they live a couple of blocks from here?”
Nydia’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. “You’re kidding,” she said when recovering her voice.
“No. You didn’t know?”
She shook her head. “She held her wedding at Gage’s house and the reception in St. John’s garden, and I missed both because I was in the hospital.”
“You’re still experiencing discomfort, aren’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“I see you wincing and gritting your teeth every once in a while.”
* * *
Nydia peered into the basket. “I had to undergo an emergency appendectomy in June and I’m still healing.”
“How long were you in the hospital?”
“Four days.”
A slight frown furrowed Lamar’s smooth forehead. “Why so long?”
“I’d ignored the pain for almost a week, and by the time I went to the hospital the sepsis had spread throughout my body. They put me on massive doses of antibiotics to counter the infection.”
“You should’ve known something was wrong when you were in pain for that long.”
Nydia met his eyes. “At first I thought I’d pulled a muscle from either twisting my body the wrong way or lifting something that was too heavy. But when it became too intense I called my father and asked him to take me to the hospital. The entire ordeal taught me a valuable lesson: do not ignore pain, because there is definitely something wrong.”
Lamar ran a finger down the length of her nose. “My mother used to say a hard head makes for a soft behind.”
“Amen to that.”
He noticed Nydia looking at something over his shoulder and turned to find his daughter heading in their direction.
* * *
Nydia had just removed two aprons from the basket when Kendra entered the kitchen. “Are you ready for your first lesson?” she asked the tall, slender young girl who had covered her braided hair with a colorful bandana stamped with flags from different countries.
A shy smile parted Kendra’s lips as she met Nydia’s eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
Nydia winced. Kendra calling her “ma’am” made her feel much older than she was. “You may call me Nydia.”
Kendra nodded. “Okay, Miss Nydia.”
Suddenly it dawned on Nydia that some young people in the South addressed their elders as Miss or Mister. She handed Kendra an apron. “If you’re going to become a serious cook, then you need to wear an apron.”
Kendra opened the package and clapped a hand over her mouth when she unfolded the bright yellow bibbed apron with a spatula and whisk andChef-in-Trainingstamped on the front. “I need to get my phone and take a picture of this to send to Morgan and Taylor.”
“You can send it later,” Lamar said, smiling. “Miss Nydia has a lot to go over with you, so the sooner you start, the more you’ll learn.”
