Chapter 17
SOLOMON COULDN’T help smiling at the way Kenya had arrived at the clinic on Monday afternoon. Instead of coming in bored and ready for the therapy to be over, Kenya’s face was set in fierce determination.
He stepped into the lobby to meet her. “You look really intense for a Monday.”
She shrugged, limping her way toward him, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Curly tendrils framed her face. “I’m just ready to work, Doctor.”
“Do you have plans to join a bowling league, perhaps?”
Her nose scrunched up. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Because maybe that night stirred up some underlying passions that have caused you to come into therapy with more energy than previous times.”
“No, I still don’t want to be here, and I think therapy is boring.” By the expression on her face, it looked like she enjoyed seeing his reaction to her words.
She grinned, her eyes sparkling in the midafternoon sunlight. “But I know that my return date to work is coming up soon, and in case I haven’t told you before, I am planning to run in the Fall Family Fun Run happening in downtown Huntsville later this month.”
She moved past him toward the check-in desk. But instead of signing in for her appointment with Dr. Jermaine, she stopped and turned back to him.
“Do you think”—her voice wavered, the warble in her throat catching him off guard—“I’ll be ready to run at the end of the month?”
Solomon glanced at his watch. His next client wouldn’t be here for another ten minutes. “That is something you need to talk to your Dr. Allen about.”
“What about giving me your opinion as my boyfriend? I trust you.” She drew out the last words, her eyelashes fluttering.
She inched closer to him, if that was even possible, looking up at him with rounded eyes that usually portrayed vulnerability, but now he saw the glint of stubbornness in them.
He was being played, but he was enjoying it.
“Thank you for your trust, but telling you something you want to hear won’t actually help you heal faster.”
Her lips formed into a playful pout, and his temptation to kiss her grew.
“Listen, since you like a good party, I have a proposition for you.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“My cousin gets married in a couple weeks, and there will be some pretty influential people there, including my friend from Blue Horizon.”
“Okay . . .”
“There is room on our invite list, at our table, and I was—”
“Yesss!” She lifted her hand. “I’m in.”
“Don’t you want to hear more details before you decide? Like the date and all that?”
“I’ve seen a few clips of Nigerian weddings on social media, and I’ve been dying to experience one.”
“Dying, huh?”
“You know what I mean. And I’m assuming that’s what you want to ask me. If so, I’m in. If not, I am still in because you will sneak me in to meet Robert Bluestone, capiche?”
Solomon burst out laughing. “Who says capiche?”
“Apparently I do.” She laughed with him and then stuck her hand out. “So, do we have a deal . . . again?”
He laughed. “I thought I was the one doing the inviting.”
“This will give me the edge I need for that makeup presentation. If we shake on it, you won’t back out. Or change your mind.”
He matched her intense gaze with one of his own, then grasped her hand, pumping it and holding it a few seconds longer than necessary.
He finally let go when she cleared her throat. “Um, time for my appointment, Solomon.” She grasped the handle of her tote bag and headed to the desk to check in.
After doing so, she gave him a slight wave and settled into her favorite spot in the corner of the waiting room, facing the windows where the light came in.
And it wasn’t until later when he was face-to-face with his own client that he recalled what she’d said that had made him feel like he could scale a building if he needed to. She’d called him Solomon, just Solomon.
“WITH ALL the money John makes, you would think he’d prefer a bigger house than this.”
“Celise!” Kenya hissed at her sister. She shook her head, raising her hand up to the doorbell. “Are you done? Before Adanne overhears your rudeness?”
“She knows that’s how I roll.”
Kenya lifted her eyebrows and pressed the button, challenging her sister as a chime sounded.
“Fine, yes, go ahead. I’ll be good.”
Before she could ring the bell again, Adanne swung the door wide.
“My girls!” She spread her arms wide, bracing herself as they all tumbled into her.
Joy overflowed from Adanne’s face, giving Kenya the shot of energy she didn’t realize she needed.
When her siblings released, Adanne didn’t. She held Kenya closer, tighter.
“You okay?” Adanne’s barely discernible mumble buzzed against her ear.
“Mm-hmm, of course.”
Her cousin stepped back, the slight concern in her gaze doing nothing to diminish the glow on her face.
“Marriage looks good on you.” Salome grinned.
“The extended honeymoon too.” Celise pursed her lips.
Adanne’s usually expressive eyes sparkled, and her high cheekbones lifted, kissed by the light from the lamp hanging above them, and Kenya swore the shine took on a rosier hue.
“So . . .” Adanne blinked. “More on all that later. Welcome, welcome. I’m ready to hear about all of y’all.”
“First, tell me again why out of all the houses, you guys decided to live here?” Celise asked.
“Seriously?” Kenya said, and Celise jerked her head, rolling her eyes at her sister. Kenya smirked. She’d been thinking it. Celise mentioning it first at least confirmed she wasn’t the only rude one.
“Because it’s my house.”
“Okay, and what about John? No offense, but this doesn’t exactly scream celebrity,” Celise responded.
Salome shook her head.
“And what’s wrong with updating?” Kenya gazed around the foyer.
“Nobody said nothing about not updating. I know you’re itching to give your decorative input, Kenya.” Someone could one day take this woman out of the event agency, but never, ever would event design leave the woman.
Adanne led them into the kitchen where they were greeted by a mouthwatering spread of appetizers and small bites. “John wanted to start our life together out here in Hope Springs to keep us, well, mostly him—his words, not mine—grounded. More space will come one day.”
Before Kenya could inquire further, Adanne turned and opened the fridge to grab lemonade and tea.
She set the pitchers down and filled four glasses with a mixture to create Arnold Palmers, remembering the specific amounts each cousin liked.
“Besides,” Adanne continued, “I am definitely okay with the lavish hotels and resorts we do get to stay at when we travel.”
Kenya raised her glass to her girls. “Now, that deserves an amen.”
They clinked their glasses. “Amen!” Their voices rang out and dissolved into giggles.
A few hours later, Kenya hugged her sisters goodbye, with Adanne promising to drive her home if she wanted to stay a little longer.
“So . . .”
“So, what?” Kenya turned away from the door her sisters had just departed through. Adanne closed it and shifted perceptive eyes to Kenya.
“You know what. I asked earlier. You don’t seem like yourself.” She joined Kenya on the sofa. “I’ve had my share of overwhelming moments. And even though I’m not trying to assume anything, I just want to make sure there isn’t anything I needed to check on.”
Kenya smiled. “This is nice, you know.”
“You’re not changing the subject, are you?”
“Of course not. Me? Never . . . at least not intentionally.” She picked up a pillow and squeezed it to her chest. “I do have an intentional thought forming. It’s nice to sit here with you and see what God has done.”
“What God is still doing,” Adanne added. “Marriage is beautiful but still not easy, and—”
“It suits you,” Kenya interjected.
Adanne nodded, her cheeks rising.
“And it is good to see. You’re still here, still you, but with more than we could have imagined.”
“Why? Because I married an actor?”
“Naw, because he had the sense to marry you. Will y’all just tell me ahead of time when y’all decide to start having babies?
I need to prepare myself for the overload of cuteness and for the amazing baby shower I will host. Can you even imagine it?
Little Stewart-Pope babies all over the place.
Their own monogrammed everything, trust funds, and social media accounts. ”
Kenya laughed and blocked the pillow Adanne threw at her with the one she held.
“Um, that is an absolute no. And don’t you dare get ahead of yourself. John’s mom is already asking when she is getting grandbabies from us.” Adanne’s sigh spoke of joy and anticipation, no matter how much she tried to deflect it. “So, what about you, cousin? What is for you in this season?”
Kenya chewed on those words. Let them roll around her head a little longer and soothe those inner raw places. What was for her in this season? There was hope in those words, if only she had the eyes to see it. “That’s just it. I’m not really sure.”
Adanne’s eyes widened. She looked around nervously and glanced back at the door. “Maybe your sisters are still in the driveway. Maybe I can catch them.”
Kenya laughed. “Why is that?”
“Because I need witnesses to attest to what you’re saying. You mean to tell me you are not really sure? Kenya, you’ve been sure about everything since toddlerhood. At least, the way you’ve always jumped into every opportunity never left any doubt.”
“Not much jumping to be had in the near future, though.”
Adanne laughed at her pointed expression. “You know what I mean, and I know that an injury is not enough to stop you.”
She wanted to say that maybe Adanne didn’t know her as well as she thought. Because all the confidence she wielded only covered the inadequacies and insecurities that seemed to latch on to her every step. But after her stumble, there seemed to be no going back to the rhythm she had before.
“Okay, I’m sorry, you are serious. I knew something was wrong.”
Kenya really didn’t want to have a full-out therapy session on her cousin’s couch. “It’s nothing that is too big of a deal. Just job stuff and therapy stuff.” And weird wedding-date-deal stuff.
“As in, therapy with that handsome doctor?”
“Who told you that?”
“I have my sources.”
“Well, he’s not my official doctor. Kind of against the rules. But he is helping.” Kenya shook her head. “Boy, things travel fast in Hope Springs.”
“Who are you telling?”
They laughed. Things didn’t seem to stay under wraps for too long in their town. Before Adanne could pick up the conversation again, Kenya struggled to stand up. “I’ll help you put everything away by making myself some to-go plates to take with me.”
Adanne stood up with a side-eye. Kenya ignored it. Her cousin sighed and hugged Kenya to her side. “Come on, I already have Tupperware with your name on it.”
They headed to the kitchen and worked silently for a few moments, a jazzy lo-fi mix in the background as they put food away.
“Tell me this.” Adanne dried her dish water–soaked hands on a piece of paper towel. “Why would it be against the rules for Solomon to be your doctor?” She pulled out the trash drawer and tossed the paper towel in it like a basketball. “It shouldn’t matter if you are just a client.”
“But that’s just it. I don’t know what I am.”
Adanne placed a hand on her chest, tipping her head down in surprise. “What do you mean? Are you and Solomon—”
“Yes, no!” Kenya groaned. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”
Adanne put her finger up and walked over to an upper cabinet. She pulled out a long, narrow wooden box. Kenya could see square paper pouches neatly stacked together through the glass cover. After setting the box on the counter, Adanne started rummaging around in the bottom cabinets.
“Adanne, what are you doing?” Kenya watched her, confused.
Adanne filled a kettle with water and then placed it on the stove. She clicked on the burner, the ticking and then release of flames drawing Kenya close to her cousin.
She turned to Kenya, hand on hip. “I’m making some tea because I need all the tea. You are going to tell me what’s going on, starting from the beginning. Because from the way you look, girl, you’ve got something bad. And I’m here for it.”