We all glanced around.
She stood at the doorway, apron dusted with flour. I got it now. She’d cooked at home today. She’d probably spent the whole day reaching out to Tex too. Left him voicemails saying that Wednesday dinner would be at home. Probably wanted him to feel comfortable when he returned. But …
“Momma …” I started, voice low.
Her eyes darted from our faces, catching the silence like a scent. When neither of us spoke, she choked the words out in Kouri Vini. “What happened to my baby? My little Texas?”
madison
. . .
Ialmost took Washington up on his offer to attend Wednesday dinner. Truth was, I missed my family, the ones who had always been there, the warmth of their love filling the air. I’d called Washington later in the evening to ask about what good eats his momma had cooked. He hadn’t answered.
I’d already finished my workday and was tearing out of my glassblowing gear. Omari stood across the room, as if expecting me to strip out of my jeans and shirt. “Well, good morning, Mr. Riche,” I said, something between a smile and a grimace that read,Cool your jets, bro.
“Good morning.” He offered me a Café de Monde cup.
“Thanks.” I took my drink. “Any updates on your connection at HomeGoods?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” Omari pulled over an aluminum stool and sat down. “Martin will be in town the Saturday after next.”
“Crap,” I muttered. When he arched a thick brow, I elaborated. “I’ll be at a winery with Wash.”
“Okay, Sunday.”
“It’s in Shreveport.”
“Damn, so y’all are making a weekend of it?”
Pending some technicalities.Shonda said,Big toe. If my toe touched the threshold of my old home on Friday night, then yep, we’d have ahelluvatime at that vineyard. I said, “We can make it back Sunday afternoon.”
“How about that Monday? I’m rooting for y’all.”
“You are?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Besides, one word from him, I catch a case.”
“Touché.” I smiled, walking toward the cement building’s exit.
Out front, Zuri’s Maserati sat parallel outside, and I climbed in. “What’s on the menu for lunch?”
“Brightening up Momma Virginia’s day.”
“What?” I reached for the door handle.
She pressed the lock button, and my heart channeled a marching band, beating fast. First the cops kidnapped me for hours, then Washington threatened to pull a Bundy and Dahmer by not wanting me to leave him. Now this?
“Look,” Zuri said, “CeCe Winans and The King of Zydeco aren’t doing anything for her today. So, I was thinking, me, you, Phoenix, and G?—”
“If you finish with that woman’s name, I will leap from this car. Slow to a good twenty-five miles per hour. I’m not that confident in my tuck and roll.”
“You know they use safety gear.”
“I do. I watched a lot of behind-the-scenes footage on HBO in college. Of course, I’d tapped into someone else’s cable.”
She stared at me.
“Don’t judge. I’d dropped out of Stanford, swapped the law track for art. My parents had financially abandoned me.”Or full-blown abandoned me if we wanted to get technical.“So,Iwas thinking, with the controlled speed, body positioning, anda tucked chin, and perhaps you slowing down near a patch of grass, I’d be all good.”
