Page 14 of When Love Takes Over
Many of the posts showed her in the kitchen making the desserts she also posted pictures of. In the videos she posted, I could hear and see the love she had for preparing the desserts and how much joy it gave her.
I saved some pictures to my camera roll so I could easily access them, and I watched the videos repeatedly, memorizing all her mannerisms, but eventually, I stopped stalking her page and took my ass to sleep. At that point, she was so ingrained in my mind that she appeared in my dreams.
I slept later than usual the following morning, but I woke up refreshed and in a great mood. After taking care of my hygieneand dressing in a lightweight jogging suit, I went upstairs to the kitchen. I couldn’t avoid my parents and Gramps much longer, so I prepared myself for whatever they threw my way.
“Hey, Ma, Pops, Gramps,” I greeted before kissing each of them on the cheek.
“Good morning,” they chimed simultaneously.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d join us this morning, but I put your plate in the microwave,” my mother said.
“Thanks, Ma. I appreciate that.”
Without looking to see what was on my plate, I set the microwave for a minute and went to the fridge, grabbed the orange juice, and poured myself a glass.
“Are you out of your feelings now?” my father said.
“I was never in my feelings, Pops. I simply didn’t appreciate being ambushed.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Gramps said dismissively.
The microwave sounded, and I removed my plate, then stood at the island to eat my food.
“Come sit, Son,” my mother requested.
I didn’t want to, but I did. My gut told me they were still on some bullshit, and because I respected them so much, I wouldn’t knock all this shit off the table and leave.
“I realize we probably didn’t handle that conversation in the best way,” Pops admitted.
“You won’t get any arguments from me.”
My tone was short, and I didn’t hide my annoyance.
“It wasn’t an easy conversation to have, but it had to be done,” Ma added.
“I don’t see what my being married has to do with me running this business. Did Gramps and Grandma force y’all to get married?”
“They didn’t have to because by the time we were your age, we’d been married almost ten years,” Pops said.
“Kenzo, we give you your privacy and don’t get involved in your love life, but people talk,” Ma said.
I chuckled. “Dopeopletalk, or are you referring to your nosy friends?”
“You’re pushing it, boy. Watch your tone when you're talking to us, especially my wife,” my father warned me.
“You can call them nosy all you want, but we keep each other informed. That’s how I know you’re still seeing Callie. Just because you don’t bring your sexual conquests here, we know you deal with numerous women,” my mother informed.
“It’s not that many, and I’m a single man, so why does it matter?”
“Because the last thing we need is one of your random women to pop up pregnant or make up something horrible about you when they find out they mean nothing to you. At least Callie is from a well-established family with a long legacy of Black excellence,” she continued.
I didn’t respond right away because I hated to admit that my mother had a point. I was out here doing my thing and didn’t take any of the women I got pussy from seriously. I only fucked around with them once or twice before dismissing them, but for some reason, I kept Callie’s conniving ass in rotation, even after what she pulled.
“We’re not uppity niggas who feel you must marry a woman from an affluent family, Son. We honestly don’t care where she’s from as long as she loves you.”
“Speak for yourself, dear. I think who he marries is very important, and we should?—”
“Dinah, let’s be reasonable,” my father interjected.
