Nadine

Sarah’s Cuisine

“Mom, it was unnecessary for you to come down here.” I told the woman with a shake of my head.

“Well, your grandmother acted like this was a home away from home. Just wondering why my only daughter didn’t invite her only mother.” The woman said with all the sarcasm she’d been storing for that blow.

“Because the last time I saw my only mother, she chose to invite an ex-boyfriend, that I told her repeatedly that I wasn’t interested in, over for dinner.” I retorted. “Therefore, since she has no respect for my wishes, I didn’t take her into account.”

Grandma laughed, but tried to cover it up with a cough, gaining a glare from mom.

“Sweetheart,” Lazarus rubbed his wife’s neck but with a possessive hold.

I swear, it seemed to simmer her down. The man was really good for mom. I was still shocked he put up with her shenanigans, but to each their own.

Grandma continued to share all that she had done. How she was hanging out with Ida, Nina and even crazy ass Pops. Lazarus took it all in strides but mom seemed skeptical. It was confirmed when she said, “How can they afford all of this stuff? Isn’t he a farmer?”

Grandma turned her face up at her only daughter and said, “The fuck is wrong with you? I didn’t raise you this way. You ain’t learn yet that money isn’t the only thing in the world? You had everything and yet nothing at one point in your life. You still act like a little spoiled child with fantasies of grandeur, when you’re the happiest now without all of the shit that got you caught up in the first place. Shit, you sit here trying to get your daughter hooked up on some fantasy about being with a rich man. Yeah, one that will easily let her go, not invest in her dreams, not treat her like the queen she is, for what? Some gotdamn coins.”

Grandma sneered, threw her napkin down and said, “Baby girl, I’ll see you back at the house. I just lost my appetite.”

“Grandma,” I called, but she was done and headed for the door.

My eyes turned on my mom whose mouth was wide open as she looked after her mom.

“I just don’t want you...” she inhaled sharply and put her head down in shame. “Don’t want you to struggle.”

“That’s what you don’t seem to get.” I tried to take the bite out of my voice. “I’m not and so what if I do, between him and I, we will make things work. I want a partner, mom. Not a benefactor. I just wish you would, for once, get that.”

Mom began to cry. Lazarus nodded to me and said, “Go on, Nae. We’ll see you at dinner tomorrow. I’ll take care of the bill.”

I hesitated but he nodded and smiled.

“Go on.”

By the time I got home, grandma was nowhere to be found. However, Mills was home.

“Hey sweetheart,” he called to me as he emerged from the kitchen.

The look on his face was different, he almost seemed subdued like he was hesitant. Fuck. That damn paternity test.

“It’s yours?” I whispered as I stood in the sunken living room looking up to him as he stood in the mouth of the kitchen. “Rebecca’s baby, it’s yours?”

I exhaled slowly and began to think of what all that meant for me. For us.

“Sit down, Nadine.” He was in my space before I could even gather all my thoughts. “Come on and sit.”

Shit. This was worse than I thought.

“Look, I said that I would deal with this. Whether it was yours or not, but I...” I stopped myself because there was no going back.

Either I was in or out and it just was not fair to play with this man like that.

“Sorry, go ahead.” I corrected myself.

Mills grabbed my hand and kissed each one before he said in a low voice. “There was no paternity test.”

My pulse sped up and I swear the side of my neck was beating wildly out of control. It wasn’t even in tune with my heartbeat.

“What!” I exclaimed. “Does this mean you believe her?”

“Nadine,” he squeezed my hands. “There was no test because she’s not pregnant.”

Wait, what?

“What?” I muttered as my brain tried to understand everything that was being said.

“She wasn’t pregnant. It was a phantom pregnancy. When a woman thinks she is pregnant and has all of the symptoms. That is what happened to Rebecca.” He shared. “Even her mom confirmed, at the last minute, that she couldn’t have kids after a riding accident when she was young.”

“What!?!” I gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, Nadine.” He shook his head. “I can’t even make this shit up. Pops and Troy were there with me. Rebecca needs help so I’m praying they get it for her. She isn’t well.”

Damn.

All of my treacherous thoughts about her seemed to vanish and I actually felt sorry for the woman. That had to be some ordeal for her to walk around for months thinking she was pregnant when she wasn’t.

I found myself saying, “That’s unfortunate.”

Mills’ eyes met mine, then he kissed my forehead and said, “That’s why I love you. I thought the same thing.”

We didn’t even have to mention that we weren’t talking about the baby, but Rebecca. We felt sorry for her.

It was simply true, but unspoken.

Later that evening, Grandma came in as we were watching an Amazon Prime movie called Deadly Sexy. I paused it and asked, “Grandma, you alright.”

“Yeah, honey.” She was beaming. “I’m better than alright. Just met your old landlord, Walter Munn. He’s a nice man. Very charming.”

“That so?” I tilted my head back in surprise.

“She’s been hanging with that Ida.” Mills muttered.

“I heard that,” Grandma retorted as she went to her room. “Y’all have a nice night.”

I burst out laughing and then caught Mills up on what happened at the diner. We finished watching the hilarious movie, directed by Iris Bolling and then promptly went to bed. To say I was not nervous about the next dinner at Pops’ house with my mom present was an understatement. I was absolutely nervous, but after Mills made me come several times, with just using his tongue, well, the nervousness went away.

Dinner almost went over without a hitch. This time, Ida was sitting right next to Pops near the head of the table. She seemed to be a bit subdued. Mom was definitely on her best behavior. Grandma and Pops sparred some about the best way to make macaroni and cheese. She said his was a little loose the last time. Why in the hell did she say that? The debate turned to whether to use egg or not. Troy and I laughed most of the time and Mills seemed to be stirring about something. I hoped it wasn’t about Rebecca. I was still taken aback by that revelation, even though if I were honest, it was a relief. That would not have made me happy, but I would have gone along with it for Mills.

Only Mills.

“You alright?” I whispered in his ear.

“Yeah, sweetheart, I’m good.” He squeezed my thigh.

“Mmkay,” I kissed his gruff face. “Let me know if you need something.”

He turned to me, meeting my eyes and said, “Yeah, actually I do.”

“What?” I asked, ready to do what he needed.

But he stood up and said, “I need for you to say yes. Yes, that you’ll marry me. Yes, that you’ll have my children. Yes, that we’re going to build our family in the same house that we build. Yes, to my job offer, and yes, that you’ll love me forever because you know I’ll never stop loving you. I need you to say yes, Nadine.”

I blinked as each word, syllable, movement of his lips registered to my cloudy brain.

“Mills?” I called as a runaway tear escaped from my eye.

“That’s what I need, Nadine.” He was still standing.

“The ring,” Troy hissed.

It took him a while for the words to register, then he frantically patted his side pockets and pulled out a black velvet small jewelry box. Mills went down on one knee and said, “Marry me, Nadine. I just need a yes.”

There was some noise in the room, but I couldn’t hear or decipher, nor did I give a flying fuck. My man.

Mine.

He was down on one knee asking me to marry him while my heart was beating out of my chest, sweat was pooling in various places on my body. I was extremely hot despite the air conditioner Pops had going in the summer heat.

“Yes,” I replied almost automatically. “Yes, Mills.”

His smile was huge and I looked down to realize that he never opened the ring box. Someone laughed, but when he opened the ring box, mom gasped and so did I. The ring was humongous.

“Mills,” I exclaimed. “This is too much.”

“No, it ain’t,” Mom muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Hush up,” Grandma hissed at her.

“It’s just a symbol,” Mills said with shining eyes looking up at me. “Just a fraction of what you mean to me.”

“Well, man, if that’s a fraction, then you got a good one. She said yes before she saw that monstrosity.” Troy chimed in and we all laughed out loud.

Mills put the ring on my finger, stood up and kissed me so soft, yet needy.

“Alright, alright.” Pops cleared his throat. “Take that to your damn house.”

More laughter rang out as Mills let me go and we sat back down to everyone smiling at us from all around the table. It was unfortunate that J.D., Tess, Knox and Nina weren’t here, but I knew they’d be excited too.

“I got this on video. It’ll probably go viral,” Troy tapped his phone, as if it was the keys to the kingdom.

Mills shook his head and said, “Send it to me.”

Dinner was almost over when Troy received a call. He looked at his phone several times and then answered with a hesitant, “Yeah.”

He listened, then he said, “Wait, what? A snake? What do you mean a snake? Cordelia, slow down. Yes, you can have the days off, but where are you going to go?”

He moved away from the table into the living room and since I had something to do, I decided to move in that direction as well.

“Where are you now?” he asked. “Okay. No, you can’t do that. It’s too expensive. You have a kid. I won’t allow it.”

Troy’s voice took a tone I never heard before. Commanding. Like Mills. The man was always so jovial, but there was nothing funny about what I was overhearing.

“You stay right there. I’m coming,” he told whoever was on the other line. “You’re staying with me.”

Wait, what?

She must have said the same thing because Troy repeated himself and said, “I said, y’all are staying with me. Now stay right there and do not move.”

Then he hung up the phone and made a beeline to the front door.

Oh boy.

Wait until I tell Mills.