“I know,” she said again, inhaling and exhaling against her daughter’s hair. “Kenya, why do you care so much about what I think anyway?”
Kenya jerked her chin up. “Why wouldn’t I? I always did. I was almost afraid you would talk me out of all this, and I would give it up because...” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Because I want you to be proud of me.”
Her mother held her tighter. “I did so much in my life for approval.” Her words tumbled into Kenya’s hair. “But you are choosing to jump into this for joy. Oh, baby, why would I ever take that away from you?” She stepped away and wiped her eyes. “Before I forget, I have something for you.” She turned to retrieve her tote bag from an accent chair.
Kenya’s curiosity rose as her mother pulled out a box. She brought it close and handed it to her daughter. Kenya’s hand dipped at the weight of it.
“Is this a Bible?” She recognized the type of box. Her eyes ran over the words.
Before she could read them, her mother answered. “It is. It is called the Grace Bible, and it is specifically made for readers with dyslexia.”
Her mom’s words whooshed into her heart. She stepped back at the realization.
“A Bible, for me?” Kenya pulled off the box lid, ignoring the pieces of colored overlays that fell to the ground. She pulled out the Bible, her fingers resting on the leather-soft cover as she opened it somewhere in the middle.
Kenya gasped. “I can read these words easier.”
Her mother nodded. “It’s a special typeface with weighted letters to keep them from moving around or looking like another letter. Their own kind of anchor.” She flipped the pages over to where a ribbon was.
“And I hope this verse becomes a strong anchor for you too.” Her fingers settled on a passage she’d already highlighted. “Let’s read Exodus 36:1 together. ‘Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the skilledpeople are to work based on everything theLordhas commanded. TheLordhas given them wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of constructing the sanctuary.’”
Her mother’s voice had drifted off halfway, but Kenya continued to read. When she was finished, she turned misty eyes to her mama, her throat too thick to say anything else. Her mother placed her hand on Kenya’s cheek. “I know it is out of context, but I couldn’t help thinking of you. You, my girl, are a gifted artisan. Filled to overflowing with God’s wisdom and, yes, understanding too. Don’t let any circumstance ever tell you different.”
“Look at all this progress.” A voice interrupted their moment.
Kenya glanced at the doorway. Althea stood there ... with Favour Anruchi.
She cleared her throat as best she could. “Oh, hello, Althea. I didn’t expect you. I was just showing my mother everything.”
Althea stepped forward first in greeting. “It is so nice to meet you. We are excited to have your daughter join us in this endeavor.”
As they talked, Kenya walked to Solomon’s mother. “Mrs. Anruchi, first I want to say thank you for this opportunity to help with your brand. And I know I haven’t seen you in a while, but I also want to apologize for what happened at the wedding—”
Favour raised her hand. “I am the one who needs to say sorry.”She clasped Kenya’s shoulders, her expression softer than Kenya had seen it. “I am happy to have you as a part of this endeavor that is close to my heart.”
She surveyed the room. “Now, enough with our talk. We came here to work. Tell me what to do.”
Kenya bit back a grin and showed her some of the sketches and swatches she had pulled.
What should have been a short visit to the boutique on her mother’s first day of fall break turned into a full day of work. Kenya answered a few phone calls related to her agency and continued to chat and dream with the ladies as they unpacked boxes. There was more to come, and the setup was messy and varied and complicated and dazzling, all together.
Exactly like her. And she was grateful to be with them in the midst of it.
35
KENYA WASN’Tat her office. Or at the physical therapy clinic.
She had left Solomon a message that she needed to talk to him. He’d been so busy reestablishing his temporary license and registering for the next test, he’d missed her call.
He passed the library and chuckled, remembering the hesitation in her steps, and then sobered when he remembered the fear in her eyes. She hadn’t been exaggerating. He wished he’d done more to encourage her, but even then, she had recovered and turned that hour into a memorable one for everyone.
He circled back to downtown and pulled into a parking space across from the hotel Auntie Thea and his mom were opening their boutique in. And that’s when he saw her. Walking out of the adjacent Starbucks.
She looked so unlike herself that he almost didn’t recognize her. Yet she was still Kenya, just with her hair in a ponytail, wearing exercise leggings and a T-shirt. She had a stack of magazines under one arm, and after placing them in her back seat, she got into her car and started it up. He was too late to call out her name.
Instead, he decided to take a chance and jumped back into his Volvo. He waited until she pulled out and then began to follow her.
Hopefully she didn’t have spy skills as part of her portfolio and wouldn’t figure out someone was tailing her. He kept one to two cars between them and followed her all the way to Monte Sano Mountain. She parked in the lot next to the overlook.
