“I told Kaynaan right away so he wouldn’t spend time investing in a dead situation. But instead of scaring him off, he was okay with it. Which I honestly thought was weird. But Kaynaan’s very?—”
“Persuasive?” she questioned with a small smile.
“And likable and kind. I want to be with him, but not at the expense of him having issues with his family. Especially when the baby is not biologically related to any of you.”
She seemed to sit up straighter in her chair as she steepled her fingertips together. “Since you’ve been so forthcoming and transparent with me, Wyndi, let me do the same with you. But before I share, you need to know that Kaynaan and I talked. I told him that I was going to ask you to lunch today. He told me that he was all right with you knowing everything.”
“Everything?”
She grinned. “Yes, everything. You think your life is too messy for you to deserve my son’s love. Here’s the thing about Kaynaan: He doesn’t see your life as messy. He sees your life as life. Life is messy, chaotic, unpredictable, ugly, and beautiful. He knows you aren’t your current situation. And I’m going to tell you how he knows that. But before I speak, I want to reiteratethat Kaynaan knows what we’re about to talk about. My son is a famous professional athlete. Ineverdiscuss his business withanybody. And I mean anybody. There are parts of my son’s story that if they fell into the wrong hands could cause unnecessary scrutiny and speculation. But he trusts you. He says you’ll keep what I’m about to tell you to yourself.”
“I would never betray Kaynaan.”
“Me, I’ll be honest. I wanted you to sign an NDA.” She shook her head. “He wouldn’t hear it. As far as he’s concerned, you’re his future.”
My heart went pitter-patter.
“My husband was sheltered as a child. He was black, brilliant, and from a wealthy family. My in-laws sent him to all of the best schools, put him in all of the programs, and had high expectations for him. They sent him to college with the instruction that he was there to earn his degree, then come home and begin the process of learning the family business. Well, Jericho, God bless his heart, he went to college and did what most sheltered children do when they get a little freedom. He got buck wild.” She rolled her eyes, and I had to laugh.
“I could tell that Mr. Israel had a wild side to him. There’s always a little twinkle in his eyes like he can’t wait to make mischief,” I joked.
She rolled her eyes again but with no malice. “That’s my Jericho. He’s nothing like his parents, and he’s paid the price for being his own man. Anyway, while he was out there being for the streets, he met a young lady. She was smart and had big hopes and dreams. She was from a poor family, though. She was at Londynville University on a partial scholarship, along with her hopes and dreams.
“He liked her, but neither of them were looking to get serious. They were just hanging out. They were away at college being young and doing what young people do. Before long, shefound herself pregnant. Jericho is an upstanding guy. It was the 1990s, and nobody expected him to marry her, but there was an expectation that he would support her and be a present father for his child. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that Georgia Israel acted a fool when Jericho brought this young lady home to meet her and his father.”
“So, you and Mr. Israel were in the same predicament as Kaynaan and me?”
“Oh, I wasn’t the young lady in this story.”
My mouth fell open, and my jaw could’ve hit the floor. But before I could say anything, a set of two servers descended on our table with our plates. I tried to be gracious and wait patiently for them to put everything down and make sure that we had all the water, napkins, and condiments we needed.
When they finally moved away from the table, I looked over at her. “Let’s bless the food,” she said.
My exact thought was,fuck this food. But I bowed my head and blessed my food. “What? What do you mean the girl who was pregnant isn’t you?”
“No. Her name was Kenya. Georgia took one look at her and immediately decided that Kenya was a no-go. Behind Jericho’s back, she reached out to Kenya and offered her money to . . . disappear.”
“What?” This conversation was wild as hell.
“Kenya needed money. She was working on a dual degree of Spanish and Mandarin. She had dreams of traveling internationally and being a translator. College was her ticket out of a life of poverty and lack. She wanted to take the money, but she didn’t see how she would be able to raise a baby while she finished school or while she traveled after she got her degrees. So, Georgia offered to arrange and pay for the abortion.”
“This is so dramatic,” I commented as I lifted a forkful of food toward my mouth.
“Trust me, Wyndi. Whenever you find a family that’s had money for multiple generations, you best believe that there’s some juicy, crazy, appalling dirt in that story.”
“So, this baby she was carrying, it was Kaynaan, right?” I asked.
“Yes. Kaynaan’s biological mother was Kenya.”
“What happened?”
“When J found out about all of this, he was furious. He begged Kenya to have the baby. He told her that he would raise it and give it the best possible life. He promised her that she could be as involved or uninvolved as she wanted. She had the baby, took Georgia’s money, and left. A week later, I was sent to the home of Jericho Israel by an exclusive agency to be the nanny of a newborn baby boy.”
My eyes ballooned. “You were the nanny?”
“Yes. I was in medical school. I needed a job where I could have the necessary study time. While Kaynaan slept, I studied. Newborns sleep a lot.”
“Oh wow. What did Mrs. Israel have to say about Jericho marrying the help?”
She giggled. “Girl, she was not pleased. I’m sure he was the biggest disappointment in her eyes. First, he got the poor girl pregnant, then he married a different poor girl. Because let me tell you, when I was nannying Kaynaan, I didn’t have two nickels to rub together.
“But J and I spent a lot of time together. I felt like it was inevitable that we would fall for each other. I got to see exactly what kind of man and father he was. He got to see who I was. And he noticed how much I adored little Kaynaan. Georgia noticed, too, which is probably why she didn’t fight the relationship too hard. She fought it, but when J told her to back off, she did. As much as she didn’t like Kenya, Georgia has been enamored with Kaynaan since he took his first breath.
“She doted on him then, and she still dotes on him today. That’s the reason it hurt her so bad that he was pissed with her. She’s going to accept you, Wyndi. Because she can’t stomach what would happen if she doesn’t. Kaynaan would surely cut her off.
“So, please rest assured that you didn’t cause a break in their relationship. Their relationship can be tenuous, because of Georgia’s first concern always being what something looks like to others. He can’t stand that. He can’t stand her obsession with optics over people’s actual feelings.”
I smiled to myself. My baby was a man with a heart.
She reached across the table, and I put my hand in hers. “The reason that paternity, circumstance, and all of that isn’t a dealbreaker for him, is because the mother who loves, cherishes, and adores him isn’t the one who birthed him. He doesn’t care about blood ties, DNA, and stuff like that, Wyndi. Kaynaan cares about love.”
