Page 12 of In a Perfect World

“Of course,” he answered easily.“I made the mistake of mentioning Nadine last week, and my mother about shit herself.”He shook his head as he sighed.“She was about to start making wedding arrangements.”

Nadine Barker was a manager at the First Union Bank, and her specialty was money market accounts, and that’s how Winston had met her.While he didn’t bank there, he’d heard of their great portfolio options, and so he’d made an appointment with her, and while it was still early, it was going well for him so far.

“How did you calm her down?”I asked, semi-seriously.

“I told her that if Nadine and I didn’t work out because of her meddling, then I’d make sure to set boundaries the next time, practically barring her from my personal life altogether,” he answered, seemingly unbothered by it all.

“What did she say to that?”

He grinned.“What do you think?She snatched me up by my ear, then dared me to threaten her again.”

That made me laugh because I could picture it.If there was one thing that Black mothers didn’t do, it was let their children disrespect them.They were either smothering you to death with love and affection, or else they were handling business, and Winston’s mother was a queen if I’d ever met one.

“And then?”I chuckled.

“She sat me down, and then we had a serious conversation about how she might still be my momma, but that I was a grown man now, and she needed to respect that in the same way that she demanded respect from me,” he answered.“All-in-all, I got my point across, and she didn’t kick my ass.”

I laughed.“She should have kicked your ass on gp.I mean, you’re bound to deserve it sooner or later.”

After a few seconds of sipping on our drinks, he said, “You know, Nadine has this friend-”

“Oh, no,” I rushed out, stopping him.“I’m not doing the blind date thing.”

He laughed good-naturedly.“Why not?”

“Because blind dates are the worst, and you know it,” I replied.“They’ve got to be the most awkward thing in creation.”

“Then how else are you going to get Momma Booker off your back?”he questioned, a huge grin still on his face.

“Maybe I’ll just remind her that there’s nothing wrong with being gay,” I retorted.

“Well, since I am a teacher, I’ll be more than happy to come along and explain it to her,” he offered, half-serious.

“Thanks, but maybe she just needs a quick reminder that a parent’s job is to love their child just as they are,” I remarked.

“Amen,” he preached, seriously this time.“A-fucking-men.”

Yeah, it was time for another drink.