A Menu For Loving

by Olivia Gaines

  “I know this is a surprise, Jennifer, but are you at least going to say something more?” Michael asked her.

  “Love doesn’t hurt,” she said as she grinned at him like the sun had just begun to shine after a month of rainy days.

  “I know that now,” he told her and moved towards where she was standing, but the back door opened and in walked Tony with a platter of grilled chicken. He was followed by a soaking wet Sasha and Raja, who had a nosebleed. Vella was trying to help, but Johnny had come into the kitchen and was helping the young boy, all the while fussing.

  He looked up and saw Michael.

  He saw him at the same time Sasha and Tony spotted him. Sasha squealed and ran over to ask for his autograph. It still had not connected with Tony, who the man was other than a famous actor as he walked over and extended his hand. “Micheal Ealing, hey, I’m Tony P.” The two shook hands as the men stared at each other.

  Michael’s eyes went to Jennifer.

  Jennifer’s eyes stayed with Tony.

  Tony’s eyes went back and forth between the two and suddenly, he connected the pieces. “Oh! You are that Michael!’

  Without missing a beat, he looked at Jennifer. “Is he staying for dinner? Sasha is about to set the table, we have room for one more, right?”

  Jennifer asked the question. “Michael, would you care to join us for dinner?”

  It was an odd moment as every eye in the room looked at him. Michael swallowed. “If it isn’t an imposition?”

  Tony was cool. “There is always room for one more.” He turned his attention to his wet child. “Sasha, shower, change, and hurry so you can help G-Pop set the table.”

  Having had the tour of the house earlier, Sasha knew where Jennifer’s room was and headed in that direction. But Johnny wasn’t too happy with Tony inviting that man to stay. Michael must have sensed it. “Mr. Taylor, good to see you again.”

  Johnny only grunted, “How you doing Micheal?” He did not wait for an answer as he asked Tony to join him on the patio. “Tony, son, come help me shut down this grill.” He added extra emphasis on the son.

  Before the back door even closed, he lit into Tony. “Why the hell you asking that man to break bread at my table? I don’t even like that son of a booger and I want to know why he is in my house?”

  Tony, calm and composed answered, “Sir, he is part of her history. I am her future. He needs to see for himself that she has moved on so he can as well.”

  Johnny stood still staring at Tony. “Gloria said you are Isaiah Peay’s son.”

  “I am. You knew my father?” he asked.

  “Yes, we worked with him to set up Gloria’s nonprofit. Your dad was a good man,” he said to Tony. “You seem to be a lot like him.”

  “I can only hope to be worthy enough in your eyes for you to accept me as your son-in-law. I would like to ask you for Jennifer’s hand in marriage,” Tony said firmly as he looked back in the window at her.

  “Tony, I would be pleased to have you and Sasha in my family,” he told him as he turned off the gas on the grill. He mumbled under his breath as Katie Mae dragged herself out of the pool. “Well, let’s go inside and get this circus moving.” He called to the boys and Katie Mae to get cleaned up for dinner.

  He only shook his head as the woman and her breasts made their way towards the house. “Good Lawd, save me from the choices of my children,” Johnny mumbled under his breath.

  Dinner progressed amazingly well considering Katie Mae’s children occupied most of the conversation with bad jokes, arguing amongst themselves and in between mouthfuls of chicken and corn on the cob, yelled at Jennifer, “This is some good grub.” Katie Mae sat making googly eyes at Gloria, who was truly embarrassed in front of their father.

  Johnny called her out on it. “Why you acting all embarrassed now? She acts the same way when you are around your friends. The woman seems to be in love with you, Gloria.” He whispered it so the kids could not hear it.

  Domini wanted to know. “Mr. Taylor, can we call you G-Pop, too?”

  “Why? You planning to be around a lot?” Tony bit his lip to keep from laughing.

  Raja answered for his brother. “Yes, sir! I can help with chores, too, if you let us come and use your pool on the weekend. Domini can cut grass, too!”

  “Oh, he can, can he?”

  “Yes, sir. And I want to be a lawyer like you so we can have a big fancy house like this, too,” Domini said with pride.

  Jennifer sat watching her father and she felt like a kid again during the Christmas holiday season, her absolute favorite time of year. Especially when it came to seasonal shows. She always considered her father to be a bit of a cross between Yukon Cornelius and the Grinch. Here he sat, in the middle of an island of misfit toys, Sasha on one side and Raja and Domini on the other, her grandchild-less father gained 3 grandchildren in one afternoon. She found herself smiling as Sasha grilled Michael about his choice of movie roles, all the while taking selfies with him in between bites of food. Gloria chatted with Tony about his mother and her needs and it was the most oddball and wonderful family moment their house had experienced in many years. The dining room table had not been full of family or laughter in countless seasons and Jennifer was struck by a superfluity of emotions that bubbled up inside and started to run down her face in liquid form.

  Tony noticed immediately and gathered her in his arms. “Are you okay, Jen?”

  She leaned into the power of his embrace. “Yes. It’s just been so many years since this house has been so full of life.”

  All eyes were on them but Tony didn’t care. “In a little while, we will be filling our home with sisters and brothers for Sasha.”

  “I know, Tony, I’m just being silly,” she said as he planted kisses against her forehead.

  “No, you’re not. It’s a nice feeling. I rather like it myself,” he told her softly in her ear. It was now Jennifer’s turn.

  “Kiss me and tell me you love me, Tony,” she said into the side of his neck.

  His fingers wiped away her tears as he stared into her eyes. “I am so lucky. You are absolutely an amazing woman. I love you, Jennifer.” The kiss he planted on her was to ensure that Michael knew her life had no room for him. The tender moment was ruined by Sasha, who had to add her two cents.

  “You two need to stop, Daddy,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “G-Pop, I came home from school and I found them trying to make me a little brother! It was gross!”

  It was all that Michael needed to see. After dinner, he left the envelope he had brought for Jennifer on the kitchen counter. If she had any questions of him, she knew how to reach him. His chances of winning his wife back were long gone. She loved another man and had a family.

  Fruit and fiber...

  Tony walked around his house wearing lounge pants and a confounded expression after he saw Sasha off to school. Last night was odd, yet satisfying. Jennifer’s father was a straight shooter and a smart man. He accepted Sasha as his grandchild, as well as Raja and Domini and by the end of the evening, even Tony found himself calling the man G-Pop. What really perplexed him was Michael. He never revealed why he was there or what he wanted.

  Johnny commented on how cool Tony was being, and in truth, he had handled himself well. He saw no need for childish antics or a jealous temper tantrum, especially not in front of his daughter. Or Jen, for that matter. She had made her choice and chose him. Michael did not feel like a threat and therefore he saw no need to treat him like one.

  What was threatening him was his desire for his Jennifer. In his heart he knew he could not last a whole year. Morally, he could not continue to sleep with her either, whether an engagement ring was on her finger or not. If she was going to be his wife, it had better happen soon, because he did not want to spend another day without them under the same roof and in the same bed. He needed to talk to her.

  Tony reached for his phone to call his girl. He chuckled at the reference to his dad often used to describe his mother, an
d swiped the screen. The phone began to vibrate in his hand. Jennifer’s face covered the screen.

  “I was just thinking about you,” he said as he answered the phone.

  “I was thinking about you, as well,” she replied. “Has Sasha left for school?” she asked.

  “Yes, I was about to hit the shower, get dressed, and knock out some work before calling to see if I could take you to lunch,” he told her as he leaned against the back of the couch.

  Jennifer was grinning at his thoughtfulness, but she was a step ahead of him. “Why don’t you get off the couch, take off those blue loungers and let me join you in the shower to wash your back?”

  Tony jumped and began to look around as he spotted her on the front porch, peeking in the window. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” he said as he opened the door and pulled her into his arms. “I was just thinking about you,” he said to the top of her head. Jennifer pulled away from him to lock the front door and kick off her shoes.

  “I hope you are thinking what I am thinking,” she said as she began to discard clothing and make a beeline for his bedroom.

  “Well, I am now,” he replied as he followed her down the hall.

  “Don’t forget to lock the door!” she told him as she stripped down to her white tee and disappeared into the master bath, starting the hot water.

  Tony’s mind was all over the place, but his feet had remained affixed to the floor. He really needed a heart-to-heart with her. There were things he needed to say. He was about to ask her to wait until he stepped around the doorjamb and saw her perfect naked bottom poking out as she leaned to test the temperature of the water. All reason left him. He stripped down and lifted her into the shower with him, using his oversized sponge to soap, wash and enjoy the beauty of her feminine form. He kissed her everywhere his mouth could reach and places where the shower head would not forcibly drown him before turning off the taps and roughly drying them both.

  He needed a bed to take care of the rest. Tony took his time as he made love to her unhurriedly, bringing them both to the peak of pleasure, and riding the wave in slowly. She felt so amazing and they were good together, but this could not continue. He had to put a stop to it.

  “Jennifer, I need to marry you,” he said to her. She was laying lazily half atop him, with her thigh draped across his, her calf rubbing against the fine hairs on his legs.

  “We have already established that,” she told him as her fingers toyed with the hairs on his chest.

  “No, sweetheart. I need to marry you soon. Like in the next month or so,” he told her as he looked down at her face.

  “Why the rush? Are you pregnant?” She was laughing, but when she raised her head and looked at him, he was not smiling. “What’s wrong, Tony?”

  “I don’t do this, Jennifer. And I definitely can’t see us doing this for a whole year.... I mean, I thought maybe we could get past the 6 months, then get married, but that doesn’t work for me, either... sneaking over while Sasha isn’t here...” he went quiet.

  “Jennifer, in twelve years, I have never done this and I am not about to start. I didn’t want you sneaking in and out of my house like we’re doing something wrong. And it feels wrong to me. I can’t lie. I love you with every fiber of my being and I want to marry you,” he said flatly.

  “I love you, too, Tony, but...” she said as she gathered her thoughts, “... we have only been seeing each other for two months. And to get married... just like that?”

  “Do you plan to keep looking for a husband and another man to be the father of your children?”

  She sat up in the bed. “No, of course not.”

  “So I’m it, then? I am the one you have chosen?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Then why wait?”

  He had a point. She clutched the sheets to cover her breasts as she looked down at him, sprawled out on the bed. “You sure about this?”

  “I can’t be any more certain. I want to go to bed at night with you and wake up next to you in the morning. I want to have evenings at home watching Jeopardy and baking cookies. I am ready for us to be a family,” he told her.

  There was still some hesitancy in her gaze. He sat up, as well. “We will never know everything about each other and we have a great deal to learn, but that is part of the beauty of this. It will be done together.”

  “I’m in, but there are a lot of details we have to iron out in the next month or so,” she told him.

  His eyebrows were up. “Details like what?”

  She exhaled softly. “I got an offer today on the Pretentious Puss. Someone wants to buy it and God knows I want to sell it. That place is sucking the life out of me.... And living arrangements, we have to discuss living arrangements.”

  “What’s the big deal? We get married and you move in here with me and Sasha,” he told her. To Tony it was a no brainer.

  “I have a house, Tony,” she said in a lowered tone.

  “You stay with your dad.”

  “Yes, but the house is mine. My mother left it to Gloria and me. I bought Gloria out so she could buy the building we went to on Saturday night,” she admitted.

  “That is your house?” he said with total surprise.

  “My grandmother left it to my mother and she and Dad added the pool house and updated it, along with the kitchen, but yes, it is my house,” she told him.

  This added a glitch that he was not prepared to handle, and he had an idea that popped into his head that he needed answered. “Out of curiosity, what did Michael want?”

  She gulped hard. “He sold our house in Los Angeles and he was bringing me my half of the proceeds.”

  Tony was still sitting in the middle of the bed staring at her. To him, this was something very important and he needed her to understand before they moved forward. “Jennifer, my father was a preacher, like his father before him. I am not talking about the type of ministers with two cars and a private plane. They had a base salary and ministering to the congregation was their full time job.”

  It was clear she didn’t understand, but he needed her to. “Material things don’t mean much to me. What matters to me is family and love.”

  “I can give you those things,” she said as she moved closer to him in the bed.

  “Well, let’s set a date, because I sure want to give you lots of love and add to our family,” he told her as he pulled her back into the bed. “I want a son, Jen,” he said to her as his mouth found hers. To him, this was just the fruit on the pound cake. Jennifer was going to be his wife, but first she had to survive dealing with his mother.

  Pudding and more...

  It was a quiet Saturday afternoon when Tino pulled up to his house. Since Jennifer was off last Saturday, she was not able to join them tonight. She did promise to come to the house tomorrow to meet his mother, and hopefully his brother, if Tino was still in town. It also depended on how well the get together went today. He had faith that all would go well and that their mother could have the conversation with her son so she could begin to heal.

  It would also be a healing time for Tino.

  Tony could not imagine growing up knowing he was adopted and not knowing who his parents were. The first thing that came to mind when she said Tino’s father was a black man was the famous father figure actor that was being outed as the roofie rapist. He shook the idea out of his head. His mother wouldn’t have an opportunity to be around someone of his fame during that time. In his heart, although he was a forgiving man, it was good that he did not know who hurt her, because he would go after the bastard. After speaking with Gloria over dinner, he was even more disheartened when she gave him the staggering number of women who had, in their lifetime, either been assaulted or violated by some man. Sometimes the men were strangers, but more often than not, the attacks were perpetrated by someone they knew. It had crossed his mind that Tino’s father may have been someone his mother had known. The anger was welling up inside him again.

  Right on time, Tino arrived
and pulled into the driveway. Sasha was ecstatic and wearing the necklace her uncle had given her. Tony was surprised when a carmel skinned black woman got out of the car as well. He smiled at them both, welcoming each of them into his home.

  “Hey, Uncle Tino,” Sasha said as she threw her thin, muscular body into his arms. Her eyes went to Ebony. “Is this your wife?”

  Tino was pulled into her enthusiasm. “Not yet, but soon. This is Ebony Miller.” It was then that Tony realized that his daughter really needed a woman’s touch as she opened her mouth, he began to pray for her to lose her voice.

  “You are so pretty. You have pretty dark skin like G-Pop! I can’t wait for you to meet him and Chef Jennifer, who is going to be my stepmom. I guess when you and Uncle Tino start having little pretty cream colored babies, and my daddy and Jennifer have pretty creamy colored babies, it will be like our own little diversity club. I think Chef Jennifer’s sister, Gloria, is a gay. Ooh, ooh and then there is Raja and Domini ... those two are a trip. They are always all turnt up,” she said with an OMG look on her face.

  Ebony’s mouth was wide open. Tino was laughing and Tony ... well, he wanted a light ray to shine on her vocal chords and seize them up.

  “Sasha, will you get some drinks for our guests?”

  “Sure, Daddy, I made strawberry lemonade like Chef Jennifer makes. You two aren’t allergic to berries are you?” Ebony, still in awe of the 13-year-old, simply stared at the child.

  “Ebony,” Tony said. “Please don’t be surprised by my child. I have been a single father and did the best I could,” he said with a bit of embarrassment. “Besides, I need to school you on Cleo, Mom and Waldo before they get here so you two don’t have any more shockers register to your face.”