“Then, let’s roll,” Akeem says. Then he turns to Charis. “You coming to meet her?” he asks.
“Next time,” she says, then looks at Quise. “Have fun.”
“I will,” Quise says, then walks toward the car.
When Quise is a few feet away, Charis rolls her eyes at Akeem again but he merely chuckles before leaving her on the porch in her apparent jealousy. He’s only a few steps behind Quise, so Akeem makes quick strides to catch him.
“You good?” Akeem asks, making sure Quise didn’t pick up on his mom’s weird ass vibes.
“Yeah and hungry,” Quise assures him while rubbing his hands together. “And I see you, Pops.” He smirks.
“What?” Akeem questions.
“She’s pretty,” Quise utters, then nods toward Sunjiya in the front seat.
“Yeah, she is, very pretty and nice. When we get in here, you just make sure you show her the gentleman you were raised to be.”
“You know how I do,” Quise says before opening the back passenger door.
When Quise closes the door, Sunjiya turns around and faces him. “Hi,” she says. “I’m Sunjiya. Your dad talks so much about you.”
“Nothing but good, right?” Quise says with a big smile.
“All good,” she says with a nod.
Akeem slides into the driver’s seat right before Quise says, “Good. Nice to meet you, Miss Sunjiya.”
“Sunjiya is cool,” she says and he nods.
When she faces forward, Akeem stares pensively. “Y’all straight?” he mouths to her and she smiles, assuring him she and Quise are indeed straight. “Any stops before we get there, ’cause it’s about a forty-minute drive,” Akeem says.
“I’m good,” Sunjiya says.
“Me too,” Quise adds. “All I want is my oxtail mac and cheese and a jerk chicken pizza.”
“Damn, two meals?” Akeem jibes.
“You know I’m trying to get right. Plus, I ain’t really eat lunch. I’ve been waiting on this,” Quise admits.
“My pockets missed when yo’ ass could eat off the kids’ meal.”
“Long time ago, Pops. You gotta get over it. I’m a man,” Quise says.
“Close to one but not quite,” Akeem says.
“Man, come on. Don’t clown me in front of Miss Sunjiya,” Quise hisses, then shakes his head. “I’m tall as you,” he says because Akeem only has him by three inches. He had a growth spurt last summer and shot up almost five inches.
“Height don’t mean shit. Tall men fall harder actually,” Akeem schools. “You’re turning into a man but you’re not one yet. You don’t even have a license.”
“But I’m working on that,” Quise says and Sunjiya smiles.
She enjoys seeing this side of Akeem. His banter is fatherly, loving, and jovial with Quise and the love between them suffocates the car in a beautiful way. Because this is a dynamic and feeling she never had the privilege of experiencing, she soaks it all in as they head to the restaurant.
By the time they pull into the parking lot of the world famous House of Mac, she’s as caught up on Quise’s exciting life as Akeem. He’s super excited for homecoming, even though he hasn’t secured his date or a suit for the dance. He’s hype and training for the homecoming game and almost completed his online course for his driving license. He’s a busy, athletic teen with an inquisitive mind and big heart.
“Have you ever been here, Miss Sunjiya?” he asks as they walk toward the restaurant’s door and she doesn’t bothercorrecting him. Out of respect, he’s not letting go of the miss before her name, even with her insistence.
“No, never, but I looked at the reviews and some of the mac-n-cheese looks too good,” she admits.
