25
TEGAN
TEN MONTHS LATER (JULY)
“That grill is nice. I’m thinking about getting this one for next summer. What you think?” Harlem asked.
“I think that if you want this grill, you should get it.”
He pulled his fingers through his beard and nodded. “Yeah, well, I didn’t come here for grills anyway. I’ll get it eventually if it’s still here. Let’s head over to the lighting section. What did that list say again, bae?”
I pulled up the checklist in my phone and searched it as we walked down another aisle of Home Depot. We had been piddling around the house bored, and he had decided that we needed to run an errand to collect home improvement items. He wanted to complete a few projects outside before it became too hot.
I loved that although my man could hire anyone to do the work, he took pride in doing some of the household work himself. I knew that he had gotten that from his father because although Dr. Knox could afford to hire people to do just aboutanything on his home, he always said a man needed to know how to take care of his home and family in case things went bad.
Harlem was the best of his father and maternal grandfather, and his work ethic was incomparable. We had been married for two months, opting for a small garden ceremony at his parents’ magnificent showplace of a home. We invited our families, friends, and our staff from Knox’s Cutz & Stylz and Baby Got Buns.
We honeymooned in Fiji for two weeks, and we returned refreshed and relaxed and jumped right back into work and living. Harlem wasn’t at the barbershop every day, but he always made time to meet me in the evenings and follow me home. Life with my husband had been wonderful, and I enjoyed each day as it came.
“Uhm, let’s see, . . . we need more double and triple A batteries, garbage bags, light bulbs for the kitchen and garage, some nails, wood glue, a P-trap, and a couple of two by fours.”
He nodded and headed down the plumbing aisle first for the P-trap since we were closest to it. I watched as he stared at what appeared to be a million different U-shaped pipes tossing each one aside until he found the right one.
We went through the same thing over the batteries and light bulbs as he took his time calculating the unit price, the length of the battery and light bulb life, wattage, and a few other things that I wasn’t certain about.
“I’ll be back, Harlem. I have to use the restroom.”
“Word?”
“Yeah. I can’t hold it. I’ll be back.”
“Want me to go with you?”
“No. I’m good.”
“A’ight. Be safe.”
“I will. Hopefully by the time I return, you’ll have figured out the best battery to go with,” I stated, snickering.
I rushed off in the direction of the bathroom before I veered to the right to handle my business. When I returned several minutes later, he was just selecting a battery.
“Babe, I finally figured out what I wanted to do about the cooking classes for the youth,” I announced when we finally walked to another aisle.
Harlem looked up at me with renewed interest as though we weren’t shopping for hardware, and what I had to talk about was the only thing that mattered in this world. I loved that about him.
“You did, dulzura?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, let me hear all about it. What did you decide?” he asked, stopping midway down the light bulb aisle to give me his undivided attention.
I told him all the pros and cons of every decision that I had weighed before I finally explained what I wanted to do. “So, I think it’s best if we offer the classes one weekend out of each month only. I didn’t want to charge a fee at all, and I will waive the fee in certain instances, but I am going to charge five dollars, and here’s why: When people have nothing to lose, they don’t value or respect your time, but when they’re vested, even if it’s just a dollar, they’re quicker to show up. They don’t want to lose out on the money they paid to be there, no matter how little or much it is.”
“You’re right about that, dulzura. I’m glad you’re considering all these things, and you’re not taking anything for granted. How are you going to determine if you waive the fee or not?”
“It would be a case-by-case basis, but I would be willing to waive the fee for any child whose parent will volunteer to work in the bakery one day during that month. So, the parent would volunteer for two hours max. That way, I know that the parentis vested, and they will make sure that their child shows up and give his or her best.”
“I love your thinking, beautiful,” he replied, kissing my forehead.
