"What's that?" Mia asked as she chopped the vegetables helping to make the fresh salads.
"Jayden has come a long ways from where he used to be and I never thought that that would happen." Nita spoke honestly to her friend.
"Okay everybody, the barbeque is done, come on out so we can eat." One of Nita's relatives announced interrupting their girl talk. Mia and Nita each grabbed a bowl of the fresh salads that they had finished making and carried them out to the backyard where long buffet tables had been set up to accommodate the foods. After placing the salads on the table, they joined the forming line where everyone stood waiting for a chance to make their plate and enjoy the fine food.
"Never thought the day would come when I would see Jayden with a girlfriend." Avery teased his best friend as Mia and Nita joined them at one of the picnic tables with friends and family.
"So you can imagine how surprised I was, right?" Jayden teased as Mia sat next to him.
"Ha-ha…" Mia responded as she gently pushed her knuckles against his head in jest.
"Just goes to show there is somebody for everybody." One of the elders spoke.
"Jayden how is your father doing?" Nita asked.
"Actually he's improving. He remembers some of the U.S. presidents from two thousand and one through five. He remembers his old address and even the name of the nursing home."
"Does he remember you?"
Jayden hesitated. That was still a touchy subject for him, but not as much as it used to be.
"No not yet… The doctor says he may never become a hundred percent. He says it's a miracle that he's even at sixty percent now." Abruptly Jayden stood and held out his hand for Mia. She looked up questioning him with her eyes.
"Let's take a walk…" He said while looking down at her with a smile.
"Oooh… Mia and Jayden sitting in a tree…" Nita began teasing with the old children's nursery rhyme and then the others joined in.
"K-i-s-s-i-n-g… First comes love; then comes marriage… Then comes baby in the baby carriage; sucking his thumb, wetting his pants… Doing the hula, hula dance!"[vi] By the end of the song, everyone was up dancing and clapping to the beat teasing Mia and Jayden as they walked off holding hands.
"You're blushing?" Jayden teased as he turned slightly towards her looking at her reddened cheeks.