Chapter 3 #2
After church, my mother was up to her usual shenanigans—acting like I didn’t have anything better to do with my Sunday than to wait around for her.
I looked over at Julianna, who sat on the pew with her hands folded in her lap and her legs crossed at the ankle, looking prim and proper like she belonged at church.
“Aye, I should’ve warned you that this lady doesn’t know how to leave once she gets here. At least that way you would’ve known to drive yourself so you could leave when you wanted to.”
“I’m okay.” She grinned at me. “I really didn’t want to drive myself. I would’ve had to walk in by myself, and people would’ve been looking and stuff.”
I studied her thoughtfully. “You’re not the same. The way I met you…the way I remember you from two or three years ago…You’re not the same.”
She didn't respond beyond a small smile.
“Does everybody notice?”
“They notice,” she admitted, finally breaking the silence. “Langston already asked me if I wanted him to arrange something like my dad did for him and Jia.”
“Both of your sisters had arranged marriages?”
“Semi-arranged. Jia and Langston were already in love when my father suggested that they court, and you already know that my father just wanted Jianna connected to a Hill. He thought it would be Donovan. It just happened to end up being Dolton.”
“What about you, lil bit? Would you ever consider an arranged marriage?”
“You know,” she began, “I used to think that whole scenario was archaic, patriarchal, and just…gross. The thought of marrying for anything other than love seemed weird and the opposite of spontaneous.”
“But now?”
She sighed. “But now, the dating pool is filled with pee and dookie. Maybe?—”
Julianna’s thought was interrupted by an attractive older woman with soft features and sharp eyes.
“Good morning, Brother Nico.”
“Good morning, Sister Perkins.” I spoke to the pastor’s administrative assistant. “Pastor asked me to step out here and grab you. He’s hoping to have a quick word with you before the next service.”
“Cool.” I stood from the pew then reached my hand back.
Julianna hesitated for a few seconds before taking it.Sister Perkins led the two of us through hidden corridors behind the sanctuary and into the area that held the church’s offices. At the pastor’s office, she knocked lightly on the door and awaited his response.
“Come in.”
She pushed open the door, ushered us inside and backed out of the room, leaving Julianna and me alone with Pastor Royal Sharpe Jr.
Pastor Sharpe was a young dude around my same age. He wasn’t necessarily short, but he definitely wasn’t tall, standing around five foot ten or eleven inches. He had a medium build, brown skin, and short, close-cropped hair. He often wore a bright smile, and Clark Kent glasses.
“Thank you for coming by, Brother Hill. Is it okay if I call you Domenico, or do you prefer Brother Hill?”
“I prefer Nico if I’m being honest, Pastor.”
“I got you, Nico. And who is this we have here? I know you’re a visitor, because I saw you stand up when we acknowledged the visitors.”
Julianna nodded with jerky, stiff movements. I could tell she was nervous.
“Yes. I’m Julianna Outlaw.”
“Are you local, Julianna? Is this your first time visiting us at Faith in Harvest?”
“Umm…yes. I was raised Catholic. I attended St. Monica with my family for years. I wanted to try something…different.”
Pastor Sharpe’s eyes bore into Julianna for a moment or so. Long enough to make me start to feel uncomfortable.
Finally, he spoke, “I hope you find what you’re looking for. We would love to have you here at Faith in Harvest. What do you do, Julianna Outlaw?”
He gave her a smile that was as big as it was friendly.
“I umm…I’ve done a lot of things in the past that didn’t…engage me. Recently, I’ve been decorating baked goods. Cookies and cupcakes are my specialty.”
“Do you bake the goods yourself?”
She nodded. “I do. I’m pretty good at baking. I grew up doing it with my mom and my sisters. Now, I only really bake so I can have something to decorate.”
The three of us laughed.
“Would you be interested in teaching a class?—”
The surprise of the request caused her to interrupt the pastor. “Teaching a class? What kind of class? What do you mean?”
“Yo, Pastor Sharpe, she’s a visitor. She doesn’t belong to this church. Quit trying to sign her up for volunteer duty,” I joked half heartedly.
He held up his hands in surrender. “My bad. My bad. I’m not trying to put your girl to work as a volunteer.”
I let his suggestion that Julianna was my girl slide because his presumption didn’t bother me. Julianna was fine as hell…sexy too. I didn’t feel any kind of way about her being confused for my lady.
“You know, after the pandemic, it’s taken time to rebuild our ministries and auxiliaries. The ministries that have managed to not only bounce back but thrive involve our children. Our children’s, youth, and teen ministries are highly populated and active, so we try to keep them engaged.
“Having said that. Here at Faith in Harvest, the week of Valentine’s Day is known as ‘The Week of Love.’ Each week day, we’ll host an event. Monday, there will be a blood drive. Tuesday, the Food Pantry ministry will give away 214 bags of groceries. Wednesday evening, there will be a father-daughter dance. Thursday evening is the mother-son dance. Friday is kids night—the children’s ministry will have the little ones create cards that will be delivered to a local nursing home on Saturday morning. Afterward, they’ll make pizza and watch a movie.
“Now Saturday, that’s our big day. We call it The Great Date Night . All of our adult couples are invited to experience a performance by Zach the Comedian, he’s a Christian comedian. We’ll provide childcare for the parents while they enjoy the show. That’s where you would come in, Sister. I would like you to do a breakout session with some of the youth. Cookie decorating would fit right in. I already have somebody coming in to do mask painting, jewelry making, and photography. The church will pay for the ingredients and for your time. Would you be interested in doing something like that?”
“I could be.” Her smile was radiant.
“I’m going to have you leave your information with Sister Perkins. She’ll email you a contract along with the details.”
“Okay.” Julianna’s smile remained plastered across her face.
It was cool to see her genuinely happy.
“Brother Nico.”
I turned my attention away from Julianna and gave it to the pastor.
“Pastor.”
“I just wanted to touch base with you quickly to let you know that your contract is also forthcoming. Yours was a little more…involved.”
“A little,” I said with a smirk.
“Once you receive it and review it, please let me know what you decide.”
I nodded in the affirmative before standing. Both Pastor Sharpe and Julianna followed suit.
“Take care, Pastor.” I offered him my hand for a shake.
“You too, Brother Nico.” He removed his hand from mine and extended it to Julianna. “It was nice to meet you, Sister…Outlaw, you said?”
Julianna’s head bobbed up and down. “Yes. It was nice to meet you, too, Pastor Sharpe. Thank you for this opportunity.”
“Thank you for coming to visit Faith in Harvest.”
* * *
On Tuesday morning, right around 11:00 a.m., Julianna showed up at my shop. Kayla called me from the intercom at the front counter. I wouldn’t say that I hurried to the front of the shop to see Julianna, but I damn sure didn’t take my time. It had only been two days since I’d seen her, and I already missed her face.
When I got to the front counter, she was pointing to a plate of colorful confections, while Kayla’s eyes bloomed.
“Hey.” I joined the two women. They had already been joined by three of my male employees—Khalil, DeAngelo, and Sherwin.
“What’s this?” My question came even as I watched all three men snatch colorful little squares from the plate on the counter.
“Hey.” Julianna stepped out of the crowd to offer me a greeting that was combined with a quick hug. “Sorry to interrupt your work day. I needed unbiased taste testers and figured that your shop could offer that.”
“Damn, these shits is good as hell.” DeAngelo’s mouth was full as he gave the complement. “It’s like a little ass miniature lemon cake.”
“That’s basically what it is.” Julianna rewarded him with a smile.
I watched with a shake of my head as DeAngelo’s young, hood ass actually blushed.
“Look at you blushing.” Kayla pointed her finger at him as she giggled.
“As fine as she is, a smile from her is worth blushing about,” Khalil commented, watching Julianna thoughtfully.
Khalil was my best worker. He was fast, thorough, skilled, and reliable. He was also one of the reasons that our customer base was heavily female. He was polite, soft spoken, and treated our customers with respect. Many of the ladies who frequented the shop fell victim to his obvious street savvy and unbothered charms. He was an asset to me, but I would bust his ass if he tried it with Julianna.
Where did that thought come from? I thought to myself, shaking my head to clear the thought.
“What are they?” He questioned.
“Petit fours.”
“Petty fours?” DeAngelo repeated.
“Petit Fours,” she corrected kindly. “They’re French.”
“Why you ain’t make more?” He popped another one into his mouth.
“Right?” Kayla popped one into her mouth as well.
What had been a plate of confections was now down to two. Julianna snatched up the plate, offering the last two to me.
“Aw shit, big homie.” Khalil’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “We didn’t know this was you.”
“Shut up, and get back to work.” I chastised him jokingly before popping one of the delicacies into my mouth.
The petit four was complex in flavor. There was, of course, the sweetness because it was a tiny miniature cake like DeAngelo had suggested. There was also the creamy tartness of the lemon. The layers of cake were moist but also fluffy. The frosting was barely sweet with the perfect amount of sugar to compliment the cake beneath it. I wasn’t the biggest fan of sweets. I could take them or leave them. But Julianna’s petit fours were delicious.
I plucked the last one from the plate and put it in my mouth. Although it was small, I took my time and savored it, enjoying the flavors as they played in my mouth.
“Why’d you come by here and tease us with this?” I asked once I had swallowed. “Bringing five of these mini cakes when you know hungry dudes work here?”
“I have a small kitchen and only one oven?—”
Khalil spoke up, cutting her off. “If you need a bigger kitchen, you should come through my spot. My kitchen is big as hell.”
“You got double ovens in this big kitchen of yours?” she asked him, holding his gaze with hers.
I wanted to laugh. Khalil was a flirt, but so was Julianna’s flirty ass. It was cool to see a flash of the person she used to be and not the sullen, sad person she had become.
“You,” I said, including Khalil, DeAngelo, and Sherwin in my finger-pointing, “go back to work. You…” I made eye contact with Julianna, “in my office.”
She turned on her heel and headed toward my office. I followed her, watching her ass as it swayed from side to side in an easy, rhythmic motion as she moved.
“Take a picture! It’ll last longer.” I heard Kayla call out.
I ignored her, wondering instead about the unusual things I was feeling for Julianna. Not that it was unusual for me to be attracted to a pretty woman, but it was the fact that there was more than just physical attraction brewing.
When we made it to my office, I closed the door and took a seat at my desk. She sat in front of it.
“You ready for Saturday? You ready to teach cookie decorating to the church’s youth group?”
“I’m not sure.” She hiked her shoulders up and down in a tense shrug. “I had the idea that I would pre-make the cookies. I mean, trying to bake and decorate cookies is a lot for one sitting. You have to allow for baking time and cooling time.” She threw up her hands theatrically, and I smiled. “It would just be a lot. So, I want to take the cookies to the church pre-baked.”
I nodded slowly. “That sounds like a plan. If your cookies taste anything like your petit fours, you have real talent, lil bit.”
The grin she gave me actually made me feel like I was about to blush. It actually caused me to chuckle a little bit.
“Aye, don’t be coming around here slaying all the gangsters in my shop with your smile,” I teased.
“Sorry.”
I could tell that she wasn’t really sorry because the bright smile remained on her pretty face.
“It’s been a minute since I had a legit reason to smile.” She shook her head. “Almost started to wonder if I remembered how to smile. And thank you for the compliment. Oh, and thank your crew for being taste testers for me. Next time, I’ll bring the treats straight back here so they don’t eat them all up before you.”
“Yeah, do that.”
“I should go. I have a lot of cookies to make, and I really do only have the one oven.” She sighed. “It’s times like this when I wish my mother hadn’t sold her home. She had a huge kitchen with double ovens and ample space for me to cool cookies and whip up royal icing.”
“You trying to get me to invite you over to my place to bake cookies?” I joked.
Her eyes widened. “I wasn’t, but do you have a humongous kitchen with double ovens and lots of counter space?”
“I stay in a smallish house that’s the very definition of a bachelor pad.” I admitted and watched the smile on her face dim significantly in wattage. I sighed and made a decision. “But I might know a place.”