“Hi, Baby,” he said leaning over and kissing her softly.
“Hi. How was the rest of your day?”
“Fine. I spent the afternoon with my parents.” Taking off his jacket and tie, he sat down next to her placing her feet in his lap as he began stroking her legs.
“Really? So, how did that go?”
“It went well. They want us to come over for dinner when we get back from Charlotte.”
She was quiet for a moment and then asked, “Okay, dinner’s good. So what did you tell them?”
“That I love you and we’re building the rest of our lives together.”
“What did they say?”
He smiled saying, “They’re happy for us.”
CHAPTER 6
As they pulled into the driveway of her mother’s house, one family member after another poured out of the small rancher onto the lawn to greet them. Michael had never seen anything quite like it.
Janine laughed asking, “You ready?”
“I’d better be!” he laughed.
He got out of the car and went around to open the door for her. Janine’s mother pounced, hugging her tightly before making her way to Michael giving him an equally hearty hug.
Turning back to Janine she said, “Welcome home, Baby!”
“Hi, Mom! This is Michael!”
“Oh my goodness! Look at you! You are every bit as handsome as Janine said you were!
“It’s very nice to see you again, Mrs. Powell.”
“C’mon Honey and meet everybody.” Her Carolina accent was as thick as they come.
Her face beaming as she took his hand, she led him towards the other family members. He felt a little overwhelmed yet delighted at the warm reception. Janine stood off to the side taking it all in—essentially letting him fend for himself.
One by one her mother introduced the relatives: her aunts, uncles, a few cousins and finally her grandparents. Janine came to his side, took his hand and squeezed tightly. She smiled broadly as he leaned in kissing her lightly on the cheek.
“Ah, you can do better than that!” her Uncle Bernard said with a booming laugh.
“Just being respectful, sir,” he replied.
These were good-natured people, and Michael immediately saw where Janine’s sense of fun, humor and deep abiding love came from. There was nothing pretentious about any of them. Bernard was a postal worker with over thirty years under his belt. His wife Mae was a home health care aid. Her Aunt Carol and Uncle Raymond were both retired. The cousins and their spouses did a variety of professional and trade work. But he was most struck by her grandparents. Both in their late eighties, they sat proudly watching the revelry around them.
“C’mon in the house,” her mother said. “Dinner’s ready.”
With well over two dozen people, card tables were set up in the living room while TV trays were set in front of the sofa and chairs. The dining table, visible from the front door, was full of food, leaving little room for anyone to sit. Through the sliding glass door, he saw lawn chairs and trays set out where younger children ran around in the yard.
With only one chair available, Michael offered it to Janine, who promptly directed him to sit down instead while she sat on its arm.
“We’re so glad you came. We been hearing nothing but good things about you,” Aunt Mae said.
“That’s nice to hear. Thank you,” he smiled.
“So where your people from, Michael?” Uncle Raymond asked.
Janine chuckled knowing the family grilling she’d warned him about was beginning in earnest. Given they were forty, it wouldn’t be nearly as intrusive as it would’ve been if they were in their twenties. She placed her hand on his shoulder signaling it was going to be all right.
“My mother’s from Ohio and my father grew up in Detroit. They met at college in D.C. and that’s where they settled down.”
“So you got people in Detroit?”
“Not anymore. My father was an only child.”
“What your daddy do?”
“He’s a retired neurosurgeon.”
“That so?” Turning to Janine he winked saying, “You done good, girl.”
“It’s good to be equally yoked,” her grandfather said softly.
“Excuse me?” Michael wasn’t quite sure what he meant. He looked to Janine for guidance.
“Equally yoked. The good Lawd bless you with strong minds. You both make good money. Keep trouble out yo marriage if de husband make mo money than de wife. And if you trust on Him, you gon’ be jus’ fine.”
“I see.”
There was a brief and slightly awkward pause before Sheila spoke up.
“Granddaddy, that’s way past old-school. What’s important is they respect each other and build what they have together. Right grandma?”
“Oh, Honey, things is so different now. You just got to love one ‘nother and take care of each other no matter what. There’ll be days you can’t stand to look at him, but as long as you remember what brought you togetha, you be all right. Folks dees days so quick to get dem divorces.”
Mrs. Powell emerged from the kitchen calling out, “All right everybody! Time to eat! Wash up and c’mon so we can say grace!”
The table was full of every southern dish imaginable. There were fresh collards, macaroni and cheese, green beans, rice, peas, potato salad, ribs, fried chicken and fish, ham and a few other dishes he wasn’t quite sure of. There were also pound cakes and pies. Janine’s cousin Sheila yelled from the patio door for the kids to come inside.
Once they were all gathered, the kids squeezed themselves around the table while the adults formed a circle around them. Without instruction, they all held hands as her grandfather stood slowly and began to pray.
“Lawd, we comes to you today to say ‘Thank Ya’ for this bounty you has prepared for us. Lawd, we say ‘Thank ya’ for the blessins of family. We thanks you for the hands that prepared dis food. And we just wanna say ‘Thank Ya’ for travelin’ mercies you put on our Janine and her friend here, and gettin’ dem safely to us. For these and many otha blessins! In the sweet name of our Lawd, Savya and Redeema, the family say…”
“Amen,” they said in unison.
“Amen,” Michael said holding Janine’s hand. He brought it to his lips kissing it softly.
As was the apparent order, her mother made plates for her parents who moved back to the sofa where they sat side by side. Her cousins prepared plates as kids swarmed picking out what they wanted to eat first. Then one by one, the adults came to the table piling food on their paper plates before heading to trays and card tables to eat.
“What would you like?” Janine asked him.
“It all looks good.”
“Give that man some barbeque pig feet over there!” Uncle Bernard said.
“Some what?” Michael said.
They all laughed.
Janine chuckled. “Barbequed pig feet.”
He leaned closer whispering, “What the hell?”
“You’ve had oxtail before, you can handle it!” she teased.
He nodded as she put a small amount on his plate along with greens, rice, mac and cheese and chicken. To top it off, she added a big slice of sweet cornbread. He couldn’t imagine eating that much food in one sitting, but it did look good-with the exception of the glob of pork on his plate. Stepping aside, he watched as she reached for the potato salad, greens and ribs. They joined the others in the living room.
“You want somethin’ to drink, Baby?” Her grandmother asked. “Janine, get him somethin’ to drink. You know you ain’t supposed to eat ‘til your man have everythin’ he need ‘fo he set down.”
He couldn’t tell what was going on in Janine’s head. But apparently this was a tradition he hadn’t picked up on right away. But as he thought about what occurred around the table, wives were spooning food on their husbands’ plates while the men simply held them. He’d later learn it was considered poor “wifing” for a woman not to make sure her man was fed first
and well. It was based on the idea that a man was the head of the house. Period. The only acceptable variance applied to young children. He couldn’t wait to toy with her about this little ritual.
“Yes, Ma’am.” She looked at him, grinning from ear to ear as she stood up. “Michael, Honey. Can I get you something drink?”
She had switched that quickly to her own deep Carolina accent. He hadn’t heard it in a very long time. In the past it only slipped out when she was very relaxed or a little tipsy. He found it charming and amusing as hell.
“I’m fine. Thank you. If I need something you can get it for me later,” he toyed.
She shot him a look suggesting
Don’t play with me! causing him great delight.
“So I hear you a lawyer, like Janine, huh?” uncle Raymond asked.
“Yes, sir. That’s how we first met. In law school.”
“What took you so long to get wid her then?”
“Uncle Raymond!” Janine interrupted.
“She kept me waiting,” he replied looking at her with a smirk. “But she’s worth it.”
“Yeah, but you let that other man up get in dere first.”
“Raymond!” It was now his wife Carol and Janine’s mother who interrupted.
“Where’s your manners? You don’t say no mess like that!” Carol said.
Without missing a beat, Michael said, “We all make mistakes. She’s fixing that now.”
They all erupted in boisterous laughter, even Janine. She couldn’t have been happier. Admittedly, she worried her family might be a little “too down home” for Michael’s comfort, but he seemed relaxed and genuinely enjoying their company.
“I like him!” Raymond said raising his beer can. “He all right wid me!”
They continued talking and laughing. They were certainly a lively group of people, and he liked them. Several times he watched people go to the table for seconds as he finally took a bite of the pig feet. Janine giggled watching him struggle with the dish. He’d never had anything so grease-laden, fatty and slimy in his life. He hated every bite of it, but finished it.
“I see you saved the best for last. Do you want some more?” Janine teased.
“No thank you, Baby. That was more than enough.”
She got up, taking his plate and asked, “Do you want something to drink now? Maybe a beer?”
“Yes, thank you.”
After putting the paper plate in the trash, she went to the patio to get a beer from the cooler.
While she was away, Bernard asked, “So her momma say y’all getting married. Dat true?”
“Yes sir.”
“When?”
“We’re still trying to figure it out.”
“Y’all getting married down here or in Washington?”
Janine reentered just in time. She handed him the beer and sat back down beside him.
“Your uncle was just asking when we’re getting married…and where.”
“Oh. Well, we’re thinking about Belize.”
“Bell who?”
“Belize, Uncle Bernie. It’s a small country in Central America—off the coast. It’s beautiful.”
“Oh, so y’all doin’ something on your own. No family, huh?” He seemed as hurt as he was irritated.
“No, we plan to fly everyone down there. It’ll be a party for the whole family. All you need to do is go to the post office and apply for a passport. Everything else will be paid for.”
“Say what now?” Carol chimed in. “Naw, Honey. That’s too much money! How you gon pay for all these people?”
“Belize is important to us. That’s where we want to do the ceremony. Besides, we’d rather spend money having you all there, than on some ballroom full of people who don’t mean nearly as much to us.”
“Is there a church down there?” her grandmother asked.
“We’ll get married here with a judge and then have the ceremony down there.” Michael added.
“You want the Lawd to bless it, then it need to be in church!” her grandfather asserted. “This gal here was raised up in the church.”
Her mother finally spoke up. “Daddy, Janine and Michael are grown. It’s their day and they ought to be able to do it any way they want. People today do all sorts of things when they get married. We just need to stand with them—where ever it is.”
“I ain’t never been on no plane in my life! Too old to get on one now,” he declared.
Michael looked at Janine who now looked troubled. Rubbing her leg, he wanted to convey it would be all right.
“Baby Girl, I’m sorry. If you wants to stand befo a judge, dat’s fine. Your grandmama and me will try to be there. But we just can’t get on no aero-plane.”
“We’ll work something out, Granddaddy. I promise.” She looked at Michael.
Sensing her daughter’s distress, her mother said, “Honey, don’t worry. You and Michael do what you need to do. We’ll stand with you, no matter where our feet are.”
“Amen,” her grandmother added.
CHAPTER 7
As the evening wore on, the women got busy in the kitchen cleaning pots, pans and serving dishes. Michael offered to help, but they shooed him away telling him to join the menfolk. The older men gathered around the TV watching baseball but none of them said much. He eventually joined Janine’s male cousins, Caleb, Bernie, Jr. and Donald in the backyard. They passed around beers and Bernie Jr.-known in the family as BJ-lit a blunt.
“You smoke?”
“No. I’m a lawyer. An officer of the court.”
“Aww shit! I ain’t got to worry about you, do I?”
“No, man. You’re good. Enjoy,” he laughed.
“You all right, Josey. I like you a whole lot better than that other one.”
“Me too!” said Donald. He was a big man both in height and girth. “We can tell you love her too.”
“I do.”
“Treat her right, man. That’s all we ask.”
“I will. You don’t ever have to worry about that.”
“Janine’s real special…always has been. She’s more than a cousin. She’s like a sister. That girl’s our heart. You know what I saying?”
Then Caleb spoke. “When I got out the pen, she put me through barber school. She helped me open my shop ‘cause no one would hire me. I owe her, man. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. You feel me?”
“I can tell,” Michael said acknowledging their heartfelt expressions.
“She’s helped all of us out at one time or another when we fell on bad times. But we ain’t never took that shit for granted.” BJ raised his beer and the others raised theirs in honor of her.
“So when we say, treat her right…we mean that shit.” Donald said authoritatively.
“I hear you.”
“Good, ‘cause D.C. ain’t that far for us to come and kick your ass if you ever hurt her.”
Michael wasn’t sure if this was more of the family rituals Janine told him about or something else. Either way, he didn’t feel the least bit intimidated by any of them.
“Trust me. You’ll never have to worry about her. I’ll always take care of her.”
“Glad to hear it. ‘Cause we gon hold you to it. That other nigga was lucky Chicago’s so far away.” BJ seemed agitated just thinking about her ex-husband.
Sensing there was much more to be revealed, he simply listened taking another sip of beer. Janine didn’t talk much about her previous marriage. When she did, she simply said she and her ex didn’t really understand who the other was. The marriage lasted less than a year and that was all he knew about it.
Being mildly amused by the bravado being displayed, he asked, “Why’d you say that?”
“He put his hands on her!” Donald shouted.
“What?” He leaned forward in his folding chair making sure he was hearing what his heart wouldn’t let him immediately accept.
“She comes home jacked up. She spent…what was it BJ, two, three weeks...right here in her
mama’s house crying her eyes out,” Caleb recounted.
“Yep. It was a mess. Had the whole family shook up,” BJ confirmed. “We went the fuck off!”
“Wait a minute. What?” He still couldn’t believe what they were telling him.
“He beat the shit out of her! Bruises and belt marks all over her back, arms, legs…everywhere, plain as day. And Janine a dark girl, so you know it was bad. Her lips and eye was all swole up.”
The details BJ added made his blood boil. The more they talked the more furious he became.
“Her mama begged her to call the police, but she wouldn’t do it. She finally let Sheila take pictures of the marks, just in case she changed her mind. But she never did have his ass locked up.”
Opening another beer, Caleb added, “She at least had sense enough not to go back to that nigga. Some women keep going back. She got out...quick, fast and in a hurry.”
Michael was enraged thinking anyone had done something like that to her. This was clearly something she not only kept from him, but from their friends. He knew if Monica, Kelly or the others knew, they certainly would have told him even though he and Janine weren’t speaking at the time. His head was spinning, and his heart ached for her, thinking she had endured something so horrific. But listening to them, he was grateful she had her family to get her through it: these remarkable people he was growing to admire with each passing hour.
“So like we said, don’t hurt her. Don’t ever put you hands on her like that.”
“If anyone ever hurts her like that, they won’t live to tell it because I’ll handle it—you can believe that!” he told them with a fierceness that was unmistakable. Any doubts her cousins may have had about his devotion to her, or his “manhood” subsided quickly.
“See that right there? That’s what I’m talking about. Yeah, you all right, man.” BJ said passing him another beer.
Michael glanced towards the kitchen window. Janine was laughing and clearly happy talking with her cousin Sheila. As he watched her, he began to calm down. He was glad she couldn’t see him because it would have been difficult to hide the range of emotions he’d experienced.
“Girl, I’m just saying, that’s a nice tall cup of café latte you got out there!” Sheila remarked splashing Janine with dishwater.
Their Now and Forever (Book III) (The Allen Trilogy 3) Page 5