When we’re at the front door, my mouth dries, my heart palpitates, and my muscles quiver. Nevertheless, I ring the doorbell before I adjust my purse strap that’s on my shoulder. I fight the urge to bite a hole in my lip when I hear the locks disengaging. My shoulders sag, and sudden giddiness fills me upon seeing Zakai as the door opens.
“I have never seen a more beautiful woman in my life. Zakai Tillman,” he says and extends his hand toward Aunt Emmy, who blushes before she swats his hand.
“Oh no, we won’t have any of that. I hug, handsome.” Aunt Emmy pulls Zakai into her arms as a panty-melting grin forms.
My God! I don’t know who’s charming who.
My eyes become misty the longer Aunt Emmy and Zakai embrace, as I watch the exchange. Zakai’s head bobs, which tellsme that Aunt Emmy shares something with him that’s between the two of them.
“I got you, Auntie. No worries,” Zakai says before he steps out of Aunt Emmy’s arms and curls his finger toward me.
My heart leaps, and I walk toward him without hesitation as my lips upturn. The minute I’m in his space, peace surges through not only my body but my bloodstream.
“I missed you, Ziya,” Zakai whispers before he places a feather-like kiss on the top of my head.
“Aw.” Aunt Emmy gushes.
“I hate to interrupt, but can we take this love fest inside?” a male voice says, and my eyes shift from Zakai to his father, who stands at the door.
The next five minutes go by in a blur as introductions happen, and we settle in at the Tillmans’ dining room table. In addition to Mrs. Naomi and Mr. Walter, Zakai’s sister, Asia, and Zakiyah are in attendance. My thoughts scatter, and I’m too excited to think straight when Zakiyah requests to sit by me instead of Zakai. There is no greater feeling than Zakiyah’s affections.
“Before we dig into this food, I want to take a minute to thank Caziya and Emmy for joining us. I hope this marks the beginning of many more dinners like this one. Would you like to say grace, Emmy?” Mrs. Naomi asks. The warm smile on her lips matches the brightness of her eyes.
“Only if you agree to calling me Aunt Emmy. If we’re to do this moving forward, Emmy sounds informal, and I can’t have that.”
“I sure can.” Mrs. Naomi winks.
“Oh, my wife is the only one pretending to be polite. You were already Aunt Emmy to me,” Mr. Walter tells Aunt Emmy as everyone laughs.
“Perfect. Everybody, bow your heads for a word of prayer,” Aunt Emmy says before she takes a few minutes to pray over the food and everyone under the sound of her voice.
“I hungry, Pwitty,” Zakiyah tells me with a pout.
I chuckle before I go through the steps of adding small portions of food to her plate. I even add a dollop of mashed potatoes before I wink at Zakai, whose eyes watch me intently.
“This shit is crazy.” Zakai grumbles when I hand Zakiyah her plate, and she digs into the mashed potatoes first.
“Don’t hate, boo. I have the magic touch,” I tell Zakai.
“You sure do, because my niece turns her nose up every time I try to feed her mashed potatoes.” Asia cuts in with a playful roll of her eyes.
A sheepish grin forms because I have no response to that comment, or why Zakiyah lets me feed her the potato without rebuttal.
“Don’t be looking shy now, girl. I see my big brother isn’t the only one who’s succumbed to your wiles. We’re gonna have to hook up so I can see if that magic will extend to me,” Asia adds.
“Only after she and I go to lunch and the spa,” Mrs. Naomi says.
The statement causes my eyes to bulge when her suggestion and warmth flood my body. Of all the things I thought would happen during this dinner, the invitation to outings with Zakai’s sister and mother wasn’t on my bingo card. If nothing else happens before I leave here, my night has already been made. The easy flow of conversation around the room makes it feel like we’re all anything but strangers. In fact, it’s the most comfortable I have felt with anyone other than Aunt Emmy. I love everything about it and didn’t mind doing this again.
A Month Later. . .
“Bunny, I need you to climb from under Zakai and come to my house. Don’t make me come looking for you, missy. Be here or be square at nine tomorrow morning.”
The voicemail from Aunt Emmy has been on repeat ever since I heard it last night. With Aunt Emmy being retired, her sleep and awake hours are like those of a newborn, so it's no surprise that she called me late last night. But she was on the money, because I was good and snuggled up with Zakai at the time. I’m not sure who whines more whenever I attempt to go home, Zakiyah or him. To pacify them, I have been spending more nights in Zakai’s bed and more mornings at his stove.
Even now, I’m up cooking breakfast for Zakiyah and Zakai so they will have something to eat. It’s Sunday morning, and I should still be in bed with my man, but I know better than to test my aunt. The fact that Aunt Emmy requests my presence on a day when she typically attends church has me slightly out of sorts. With a heavy mind, I have been unable to settle the various thoughts that have been on a steady loop since I woke up. Even the aroma of the bacon that usually puts a smile on my face doesn’t ease my mind.
“Damn. You got it smelling great in here, Ziya.” Zakai’s voice causes me to jump and grab my chest before I turn to see him walk into the kitchen. “You good?” His face contorts, and his brows pinch.
