“Whatever. You should be used to it. You raised me this way.”
“No, I didn’t,” she said, making her way back to the kitchen. “If I had anything to do with it, you would love trying new things and have an exquisite pallet like me.”
I spun my head in her direction. “Exquisite pallet? Is that what that’s called?”
“Come on, Alauni,” Denver chimed in. “Leave your mother alone. She makes good shit. You’re just too bougie to try it.”
As usual, Denver was taking up for my mother.
I swear, they loved tag teaming me. It’s been that way since we were kids. I would disagree with something my mother said because it was usually ridiculous, and he would always find some way to try to make it make sense. I don’t know why he made it a point to prove me wrong, but it was a habit that really worked my last nerves.
Walking into the kitchen I stood toe to toe with him. “First off, I’m not bougie. Second, the reason I’m so picky is because I’ve tried way too many things in my lifetime that taste disgusting.” Looking at my mother as she dipped another chip into the crockpot and stuffed it in her mouth, I said, “No offense, Mama, but some of that stuff isn’t meant to go in your mouth. It’s meant for the trash.”
“Wow, tell me how you really feel.”
I shrugged. “Sorry, I’m just being honest. I know how much you love cooking, and you can cook, but you don’t have to try everything you see on TV.”
“Don’t listen to her Ms. Frankie. You know I’ll be your guinea pig any day.”
“Thank you, son,” she said before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
I waved them off and changed the subject. “Is Nadene coming tonight?”
“Nah, she had to work,” Denver replied.
“Damn, she stays busy.”
“I know. The life of a dance instructor,” he said, smiling.
I couldn't help but smile with him. Nadene was Denver's girlfriend, and without question, I knew she was his soon to be wife. She was beautiful in more ways than one. Her spirit was genuine, and she did something for Denver that no one else could. She gave him peace and purpose again. When his parents died in a car accident a few years back, she helped pull him out of the tragic state that he was in. A state that I never thought he would recover from. For that, my mother and I were truly grateful.
“I’m amazed by how her business took off this year. A lot of our students go there.”
“Yeah, I know. Oh, and you know she really appreciates the fundraiser you had the team do to bring attention to her business. That definitely helped.”
“It was no problem. I know if she’s happy and thriving then so are you. That’s all that matters to me.”
And I meant that.
Whoever made Denver happy, made me happy. I’d seen him at his worst, and with the worst. Nadene was completely different from the women that I’d known him to be involved with. Even when we were teenagers, he had poor taste in women. It was like he would pick the most stank attitude, hoochie mama looking chicks that he could find. They usually wore too much makeup, too much perfume, and didn’t give a damn about throwing their pussy in his face simply because he was a star athlete. The shit was annoying. Especially since I could see him making out with them right from my bedroom window. And yes, I had a crush on him at the time, so that didn’t help much either. But that quickly changed when we actually tried to date and realized that we didn’t have anything in common on that level.
“Okay, you two. The food is ready,” my mother said as she motioned for us to come into the living room. She placed a tray of wings on the coffee table, along with her experimental queso dip, drinks, and paper plates.
It was Monday night, and the one time we got together every week to watch one of our favorite shows,911. My mother made a habit of making sure that we always made time for each other. Watching movies and TV shows together was our way of stepping away from our crazy lives long enough to simply laugh and recharge our batteries. No matter how old we got, moments like this never got old.
“I’ve been waiting all day for this,” Denver said as he stacked his plate with lemon pepper wings.
“Damn,” I spat. “Are you going to save some for me?”
“Shit, you better pick up the pace. You know I don’t play about my wings.”
Elbowing him, I snatched a plate from the table. “Move over.”
“Okay, you two. There’s enough for everyone.”
“There won’t be if Denver keeps acting like a greedy ass kid.”
“Man, quit tripping. A brother has had a long day and I’m starving.”
