“And? People die much younger than my age every day. I hope the Lord don’t come for me before one of y’all gives me a grandbaby.”
“You know what, Ma? I gotta pick up my food. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I know why you’re ending our call, but it’s fine. The Lord hears me. I love you, Son.”
“I love you more, Ma.”
The call ended as I parked in front ofSoulful Diner. I got out, secured my car, went inside, and headed straight to the area designated for pickup. On the way, my eyes connected with a woman who made my heart skip a beat because she was so beautiful.
I hated to stare, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her if I tried, and it seemed she was having the same problem. Our eyes didn’t disconnect until they were forced to when I walked past her.
While I waited for my food, I could only see the back of her head, with her hair piled high in a curly bun. I couldn’t clearly see the person with her, because of how they were seated, but from the glimpses I caught, he looked fairly young.
I watched as she stood, fixed her shirt, and headed in the opposite direction toward the bathroom. I bit my bottom lip as I admired her body. She was taller than the average woman, lean but definitely not skinny, with a nice, round ass. I was willing to bet she was no stranger to the gym.
When she disappeared, my attention returned to the person she was with. He was too focused on his phone to notice me staring, and I couldn’t get a good look at him. I concluded that he was definitely not her date unless she was into robbing the cradle.
“Are you St. Patrick?” the woman behind the counter asked.
I was the only one waiting, so it didn’t take much for her to figure that out.
“Yes.”
“Here’s your food. The greens are in a bowl with a lid, but be careful so the juice doesn’t spill,” she told me.
“Thank you. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
I grabbed the bag, and as I headed toward the door, my eyes connected with the beauty again.
“Shit!” I said aloud.
I was pretty sure she’d heard my slip of the tongue when her lips curled into a coy smile. She looked away from me as we turned sideways, facing each other to get by. If she were alone, I would’ve said something, but I decided I’d let fate bring us together again.
I thought about the beautiful woman on and off for the rest of the night. I wasn’t sure what it was about her that kept her on my mind, but I prayed we’d run into each other again soon.
“We need to get Ma and Dad out here soon. She misses us,” my brother offered when he sat in the passenger seat of my car.
Knox decided to go with me to the singles mixer, and I’d just picked him up.
“I know. I talked to her last night and this morning.”
“I called her this morning, and she keeps reminding me that I let you drag me all the way to California.”
We laughed because she’d been saying that since I accepted the job.
“It’s kinda soon to bring this up to them, but you think they’ll move out here?” I asked.
“That’s kinda tricky. Dad loves Chicago too much to live anywhere else permanently.”
“True, but Ma don’t give a damn. She’s been tired of the brutal winter for years, and Dad will do anything for that woman.”
“That’s true too. Maybe they can buy a small vacation home, and they can come and go as they please.”
I nodded. “I might suggest that next time she’s laying on the guilt trip. There’s plenty of room in the house I’m renting, but maybe having their own space would be a good selling point.”
“Your father is cheap as fuck, though.”
