“Actually, I do. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but you’re right.”
They sat for a minute in an awkward silence. Love wondered what he was thinking, but decided not to ask. They’d pretty much said it all, and she was ready to close the book on that chapter for good.
“So, are you going to eat those fries?” he asked.
She giggled and picked one up, pointing it at him. “Wouldn’t you just love for me to say no.”
“Seriously, I’m hungry.”
They spent a few more minutes catching up, before he had to leave. He hugged her, and walked out of her life.
* * *
Drake watched his wife have lunch with her ex with narrowed eyes.
“Are you just going to let him worm his way back into her life?” Gloria said, elbowing him in the side.
He flinched, rubbing the spot she’d hit. “Damn, Mom. That hurt.”
“Drake, that is your wife. You need to go over there and get your woman.”
“They’re just eating,” he told her, more to convince himself than his pushy mother-in-law. “I can’t keep making scenes at work. I told you about what happened the other day.”
During their car ride that morning, Drake had confessed that he’d made a fool of himself at work and had since been tormented by his colleagues. His uncle-brother, El, had lead the charge, blazing on him every time he saw him. His younger brothers had also joined the group, making sure they mentioned his possessive ways every time they ran into him in the hall.
Drake noted the way Love laughed, and was entranced at the way her head fell back when she did so. She enjoyed Derrick’s company, that much was clear. And he hated it. He hated him.
“Hey, I’m all for giving zero—”
“Shh,” he hissed, before she finished her sentence with an f-bomb. Gloria and he had an understanding. There wasn’t much he couldn’t say to her, but he wanted to keep it clean.
“Hey,” she repeated, placing a hand on her hip. “Don’t shush me. You know I’m right.”
“You’re right,” he grumbled reluctantly. “I’ll talk to her later. Don’t worry.”
They watched as Derrick stood and hugged Love. Before Drake realized it, he’d stepped forward, halting in his tracks when Derrick rushed out of the cafeteria.
Gloria hooked her arm in his and pulled him toward Love, who was finishing her burger. “Hey, Lovely,” she said, taking the empty seat across from her daughter and forcing him to take the seat beside her.
Love shot a glance at him. “Hey.” She smiled at her mother. “Hi, Mom. How are you feeling today?”
“Better,” Gloria said. “Especially now that Derrick is gone. I hope he’s gone for good. Lovely, you really shouldn’t be eating all that cheese. It will mess with your stomach.”
As Gloria went on about cheese and the digestive system, Drake swept a hand up Love’s leg and squeezed her thigh.
“Lovely Grace, are you listening to me?”
Drake chuckled, knowing that she had tuned her mother out.
“Sure,” Love lied.
“I still want to throw you and Drake a reception.”
Drake dug his fingers into Love’s thigh. He’d spent the morning avoiding talk about a reception, but it seemed Gloria wouldn’t be deterred.
“Mother, I don’t think it’s a good time,” Love told her.
“I’m not going to deny that I was hurt when I found out about your hasty wedding. But I’ve moved past it. By the way, I heard you and Drake in the kitchen last night.”
Drake choked and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Mother, please.” Love covered her ears. “Oh, my God. I’m so embarrassed,” she muttered.
“What? You know I have ears like a hawk,” Gloria said innocently.
“Oh, God,” Love grumbled. “Make it stop.”
“Okay.” Gloria folded a napkin into a little square, like she used to do when they were children. “Anyway, I had to look at myself in the mirror. I swore I’d never be as old-fashioned as my parents were. I didn’t intend to raise my child the same way they raised me.”
“Mother, you’re nothing like your parents.”
Drake knew the history. Love’s grandparents had co-pastored one of those Southern Baptist churches in the backwoods of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, before moving to Las Vegas to start a ministry in what they called the den of sin. Her Nana and Papa didn’t understand when Gloria showed up pregnant out of wedlock, and they disowned her. They hadn’t even shown up for the wedding a few months before Love was born.
“So I can’t be too mad you went and eloped without me or your father there,” Gloria said. “But I can say I’m ecstatic that you married Drake. He’s perfect for you. And in an effort to prove to you that I’m really okay with this decision, I want to give you two a reception.”