Chapter Eleven
Kemara
I didn’t know why Channing seemed to always pull back just when things were heating up, but in the end, I decided not to question it. I was living a real-life fairytale and I didn’t want to focus on what could be wrong. One minute I’m single and hoping against all odds I can find someone I can live this simple life with, no complications, no drama, and the next I’m swept up in this relationship with Channing that I enjoyed too much to doubt the little things.
It was easy and exactly what I was looking for. Plus, we were taking things slow. We were getting to know each other, before we took the next big step. That was how I wanted to see it. It wasn’t how my usual relationships happened. Then again, my typical relationships didn’t last, so I had every right to believe this would be different.
So, when we were one night cuddling on his couch, just watching a movie, and leaving me with this gentle calm feeling that Channing could be the one, I knew I was ready to bring up the fact that I wanted him to meet my family.
The movie ended and while Channing got the Blu-ray out of the machine, I proposed the idea to him. “What are you doing tomorrow night?” I asked.
He turned to me and smiled. “If it has something to do with me and you getting together, then whatever you have planned.”
I laughed. He was so sweet and he made me feel so safe and so loved. “Well, it has something to do with you, me, my sister, and my parents,” I stated. His eyes got big and I saw nerves take over. Here he was this buff man and he seemed scared. He got back to the couch and sat down next to me. “What do you say?” I asked.
“You want me to meet the parents?” he asked and I could see the anxiety rising in his eyes. His hue reddened and he looked like he’d seen a ghost. “You want me to meet your sister? Has she changed her theory on white guys?” he asked.
Truth was that she hadn’t and who knew if she would ever change her opinion, but it didn’t matter to me. I stood by that. She could think how she wanted to think. It was true that we hadn’t talked much since she walked out of the house, angry with me over our little debate about what a white man wants with a black woman, but I was choosing to believe that Channing was different than that.
“Probably not, but babe, that doesn’t matter to me. I want you to meet them. After all, our relationship can’t exactly go anywhere if you don’t, can it?”
He thought about that, then eventually shook his head. “I guess not.”
I was putting him in a tough spot. It was clear he didn’t know how to take the invitation, and while I wanted him to be excited to meet them, I couldn’t hope for a miracle with Tameka in the room. “It will be great. Trust me,” I said. All while I was being positive, I was hoping that I could trust my own words. It was a huge step for him to meet the family, and I wanted things to be perfect between us.
“Okay. I’ll do it for you,” he said. He leaned over and we kissed. The kiss was deep, even dipping down to my toes. In that moment, I craved him, although we were waiting on the perfect timing. I pulled back to make sure we didn’t do anything stupid.
“I better go,” I whispered. “Pick me up tomorrow at six, will that work?” I asked.
I stood up from the couch and he followed me to the door. “I’ll be there,” he said, turning me around to face him when we reached the door. He kissed me long and passionately as I wrapped my long fingers around the side of his neck.
“Thank you,” I said nearly out of breath as our kiss broke.
“No thanks necessary, Kemara. I owe all the thanks to you for spending the evening with me and making me a happy man,” he said and his smile melted my heart.
I brushed another soft kiss against his lips, left his house and went to my car.
In my car, I dialed up my parents’ number. We had been planning on the evening get together for a few weeks now, but I wanted to make sure they were aware there would be a guest added. My mom answered right away.
“Hello?”
“Hey, momma, it’s Kemara. So, I just wanted to make you aware that I’m bringing someone tomorrow night. Sorry for the short notice, but−”
There was a loud squeal, causing me to pull my phone away from my ear. She started rambling on about how she couldn’t wait to meet the guy that was actually invited to meet the parents. She also said some other things I wasn’t quite sure of. The words were too high-pitched for me to hear.
I let her go on, knowing she was probably thinking about the man I was bringing to the house. Most likely, she was picturing him as tall, dark chocolate, and handsome. He would have a PHD after his name or perhaps be a lawyer. There wasn’t a chance she would have the mental image correct, but I didn’t care. I glanced up to his house and he peeked out the window, probably wondering why I was still there.
“Momma, I gotta go, but expect us there at six thirty. See you guys tomorrow.” I hung up the phone, moving past her squealing sounds. I also wanted to give Tameka the news, so she could process it and hopefully not make an ass out of herself or embarrass Channing. I looked at my phone, then remembered Channing was watching me the whole time.
I didn’t want to worry him, so I started the car and backed out of his parking lot. I would call Tameka when I got home and lay it out there. There was nothing she could say or do that would change my mind about Channing. This was the happiest I’d been in a long time. I had a keeper.
***
He picked me up right on time. The nerves seemed to have disappeared, so I was happy about that. On the way to my parents’ house, I held his hand and just pointed out which way he needed to go.
“Do you think they’ll like me?” he asked me, when we were just about five minutes to their address.
I had no doubt that my mom and dad would love Channing. He was a good man. However, I was still worried about Tameka. When we talked the night before, she said she was disgusted that I felt the need to bring his kind to a family dinner. I expressed how I was falling for him and she should simply be happy for me and it went down from there. After I told her she should be glad Channing wasn’t a loser like her ex-husband, Tameka hung up on me, but not until after she said she wouldn’t subject her kids to such a circus, so we shouldn’t expect her.
Knowing Tameka, I had every bit of confidence she would come. She wouldn’t want to disappoint our parents, and that made me worry even more. If she was there, then it was easy to say there would be tension. I hated to know that would be what Channing was walking into.
“My parents will love you,” I said. I had to continue. “But I will say that Tameka will most likely be here and she can be a hard person to impress. So, please don’t take your interactions with her that serious, or take anything she says or does to heart.”
He stopped at a red light and turned to face me. He squeezed my hand and a smile appeared on his lips. “As long as you’ll be in my corner, then I can do anything, right?” He swept in and claimed my lips.
I sighed. Damn, he had all the right words to say. I immediately forgot that Tameka would even be there. I snuggled closer to him in the truck, when the light turned green. He was right, though. As long as we were together, we could do anything. That made me put my worries behind me. We drove the rest of the way, with me cuddled up next to him, holding his hand, and keeping the silence between us. When we got to the house, he stopped the truck, shut it off, and turned to me. I tilted my head and stared at him. “What babe?” I asked.
“Tell me one more time that we can get through this,” he said.
I smiled. “We can get through anything, as long as we’re together.” I brushed another kiss on his lips and didn’t even care that, right about then, they were probably all standing and gawking at us through the living room window. “Trust me,” I said.
He nodded, then kissed my hand, before I reached for the door. “Wait for it,” he said.
I frowned, not getting his words, until he jumped out of the front seat and ran around to my side. When he opened the door, I stepped down from the truck and looked at him. “Always the gentleman,” I said.
He chuckled. “I’m thinking we have an audience and I’m not going to have your parents think I make their daughter get her own door.” He winked at me, and I laughed.
He grabbed my hand and we walked up to the front door. Sure enough, I spotted my parents looking out the window. They backed away from it, when we reached the front walk. I looked at him, giving him an encouraging smile as I knocked on the front door.
It was my mother that welcomed us in. She pulled me into a hug, acting like we hadn’t seen each other in years, when it’d been just a few weeks. “Hey, Momma,” I said.
“Hey baby girl,” she pulled back and then turned to Channing. “You must be Channing.” She held out her hand to him.
He smiled and shook it. “I am. Thank you for having me over. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The corners of her lips quirked up, but she didn’t respond, before my father came out of the living room and made his presence known. “Hey, sweetheart,” he said, hugging me. He then turned his focus of attention on Channing.
“Hello, Sir,” Channing said, shaking his hand. I could hear the wavering in his voice and I wanted to tell him to calm down, that all would be well.
“Hello, Channing. It’s a pleasure meeting you, but you can call me Martin,” my dad said.
I hope they all feel that way after we have dinner. When the thought left me, I was shocked. I don’t know where it came from. I wasn’t worried about the evening anymore, outside of Tameka, and good feelings took up residence in my mind. I could only hope Tameka would keep herself at bay.
I opened my mouth to ask if Tameka was still planning on coming, when there was a knock at the door. I swallowed back the words, knowing that had to be her. Mom reached for the door and opened it up and, sure enough, Tameka and her two kids were standing on the front porch.
She looked like a little girl, afraid to come inside. I glanced at Channing and he seemed calm, all things considered. Mom and Dad hugged her and while they gushed over the grandkids, Tameka turned to us.
“Hey, sis,” she said.
I nodded. “Tameka…how’s it going?” I asked.
“Same ol’ same ol’,” she responded. Instead of asking me the same, she turned to Channing. “You must be the new boyfriend,” she said.
My mouth opened slightly. I wanted to crawl in a hole. Leave it to Tameka to come right out and speak her mind. I opened my mouth to criticize her choice of words, but Channing had already spoke. “The name’s Channing, ma’am,” he said. He reached out his hand to her and she looked at it. She then snubbed him.
“Well, Channing. You are a brave man to come here tonight. So, let’s see if you’re as great as she says you are.” She put up her nose and moved past us.
Dickens, I could have throttled Tameka for being so rude. I turned around and followed her with my eyes, then turned back to him.
I’m sorry, I mouthed.
He shrugged. “Don’t be.”
Mom and Dad acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. I was sure that was because they had the kids to tend to. Channing and I left the comfort of the foyer to go into the dining room, where Tameka had already situated herself. I looked at her and she seemed aloof to the fact that anything was wrong. This was going to be a long night.
***
To no one’s surprise, especially my own, Tameka didn’t let up on Channing the entire night. She fired questions at him that would leave most men running for the hills. “So, Channing…what are your intentions with my big sis?” Tameka asked as we were sitting around the dinner table.
I dropped my jaw and glared at her. That was not alright with me. I wanted to scold her, jump across the table and kick her ass.
Channing didn’t seem bothered in the least. “What are my intentions?” he asked. “Well, for starters…I enjoy your sister’s company more than any woman I’ve ever been around. She has this way about her that just makes me feel comfortable talking to her.” He smiled, then turned to me. “Right now, we’re just taking things slow and really getting to know one another.”
I grinned. In my eyes, it was the perfect answer. I didn’t care what Tameka thought. I turned to her, and she rolled her eyes, seemingly looking like she didn’t believe him.
“How’d you guys meet?” My mom asked, turning our attention to her.
I looked at him and he gave me the floor, so I told the story. “Well, we initially met when my cellphone died, and I went to a gas station to buy one. There he was, looking way to intimidating for me,” I said with a laugh.
He chuckled. “I intimidated you?” he asked. He turned to my parents. “Fact of the matter is, I was way too scared to talk to her, so I nearly missed out on my chance.”
I nodded. “That’s true. It wasn’t until nearly three weeks later, when we officially met and got each other’s name,” I added.
“Wow…three weeks?” Mom asked.
Channing and myself nodded and looked at each other. The spark in his eyes was shared in mine, displaying our electrifying chemistry. “What drew you to Kemara?” Tameka asked, interrupting our eye contact.
Channing turned to her. “That’s easy. Two things…her eyes and her smile,” Channing said.
I grinned. Another score in favor for Channing.
Tameka laughed. “Really? Because most men would say the ass. It was her eyes and her smile for you though? Ha! Sounds like a rehearsed, generic answer that a man gives just to be on the safe side.”
“Tameka, settle yourself down,” Dad scolded.
She turned to Dad and shrugged. “Just being honest,” then turned back to Channing. “So, do you still stick with that answer?” she asked.
Channing nodded. “I stick with that answer, because it’s the truth. Maybe I’m not most men,” he added.
Tameka’s round, light brown face was fire red as she scowled at him. Then, she turned to me, looking annoyed at his perfect answers. “Why is he really here?” she asked.
I groaned. “Tameka,” I hissed. “I wish you would drop the ‘tude! It’s making you look and sound bitter.”
She shrugged, then looked back at him.
He didn’t waver. “I’m here because I know my meeting Kemara’s family makes her happy, and I would do anything to make your sister happy. Besides, family is important to both of us, and this would be rightfully the next step.”
Tameka’s mouth hung down. I knew her and there was no way she could not be going a little soft for Channing. He was killing it, but then she laid down my most cringe-worthy question. “Can’t you find one of your own?” she asked.
I closed my eyes, angered by the way she was discounting every word I said to beg her to stop. I also saw the uneasiness in my parents’ expressions. “It’s not that I can’t find one of my own, as you put it. I can assure you I’ve never felt this way about anyone…ever. You can’t really choose who your heart is drawn to and you can’t choose who you are attracted to. Kemara has both inner and outer beauty, and I’m one lucky man that she has given me the time of day. I’m sure she could have anyone in this world she would want.”
I looked at him, feeling so much love and affection for him that my heart couldn’t get any bigger. Even though Channing said everything right and had both my parents seeming to go along with my choice, my sister was one tough critic. She still had a few questions of concerns, but ones that weren’t nearly as earth-shaking as the ones prior.
Tameka had me shooting looks back and forth from her to Channing. He didn’t bat an eye at any of the questions. His responses were to the point and very informative, especially to me. If I wasn’t already falling for him, I certainly would be after his responses.
I held his hand underneath the table and squeezed it to show him he was coming along quite nicely and silently prayed her questioning would soon end.
Once dinner was over, I could sit back and see the real Channing. When my niece and nephew wanted to go out back and play hide and seek, but Tameka said it was getting dark and they needed someone out there with them, it was Channing that offered to go.
“You don’t have to do that,” I hissed. My biggest concern was that Tameka wouldn’t allow it and would embarrass him for trying, but that wasn’t the case.
He smiled. “I want to.” He got up from the living room, where everyone was sharing coffee and just chatting and went out back.
Tameka immediately got up too. I figured she was going to check up on them, because she didn’t trust Channing. I wanted to have a little talk with my parents, so I stayed behind.
“What do you think?” I asked them, after everyone else had left the living room.
Mom looked at Dad, who looked back at Mom and then they both just nodded. “He’s a fine gentleman,” my dad responded.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Having my dad’s blessing would help out with everyone else coming around. I turned to Mom. “Momma, what do you think?”
She smiled. “I’m with your father. He seems like a great man.” She then hesitated, before asking, “The most important question is what do you think?” she asked.
I laughed. “Well, I think that hearing you guys say that you like him certainly leaves me feeling better about him.” I shrugged. “He makes me happy and I think I might be falling.”
My mother gasped and smiled so brightly. My father touched her hand as he smiled at me, too. Both my parents seemed excited about the news of me finally finding a man that they approved of and that I was falling for. After talking to them a bit more to get the feeling that they really did feel good about the prospects of Channing and I being an item, I stood up from my chair and went to find Channing and the kids, but more importantly…Tameka.
“Let me get out here and check on him,” I said.
“Yeah, you let him hang out to dry by sending him out there with Tameka,” Mom said and laughed as she stood up and started washing dishes.
When I walked out of the kitchen, Tameka was standing by the back door watching Channing’s interaction with my niece and nephew through the window. I snuck up on her and peered over her shoulder.
She jumped when she noticed me. “Holy shit, Kemara. You scared me half to death.”
I chuckled. “How’s it going?” I asked.
She looked away from me and turned her eyes back to the backyard. “Well, he’s doing more for those kids than what their father’s done and that’s playing with them,” she mumbled.
I smiled to myself and looked out the back. Sure enough, Channing was leaning up against the tree and counting as the kids ran around looking for a hiding spot. It was dark outside, but the moon and back porchlight lit up the backyard with just enough light to illuminate it for a good game of Hide and Seek. When he was done counting, he went on the search for them.
I watched it unfold with excitement. I remember Tameka and I running around that very yard with our father in pursuit of us. Dad would play with us for hours, until we were too tired to hide. I turned to Tameka. “He’s a good man, Tameka.”
She didn’t say anything at first, but then nodded. “Yeah. I’m starting to see that. Hell, he didn’t back down from any of my third degrees and that certainly is a shocker.”
I wrapped my arm around her, and for the first time I felt like I could breathe easier around her, if I wanted to mention Channing’s name. It was a great feeling.