25. Tegan
TEGAN
TEN MONTHS LATER (JULY)
“That grill is nice. I’m thinking about getting this one for next summer. What you think?” Harlem asked.
“I think that if you want this grill, you should get it.”
He pulled his fingers through his beard and nodded. “Yeah, well, I didn’t come here for grills anyway. I’ll get it eventually if it’s still here. Let’s head over to the lighting section. What did that list say again, bae?”
I pulled up the checklist in my phone and searched it as we walked down another aisle of Home Depot.
We had been piddling around the house bored, and he had decided that we needed to run an errand to collect home improvement items. He wanted to complete a few projects outside before it became too hot.
I loved that although my man could hire anyone to do the work, he took pride in doing some of the household work himself.
I knew that he had gotten that from his father because although Dr. Knox could afford to hire people to do just about anything on his home, he always said a man needed to know how to take care of his home and family in case things went bad.
Harlem was the best of his father and maternal grandfather, and his work ethic was incomparable.
We had been married for two months, opting for a small garden ceremony at his parents’ magnificent showplace of a home.
We invited our families, friends, and our staff from Knox’s Cutz & Stylz and Baby Got Buns.
We honeymooned in Fiji for two weeks, and we returned refreshed and relaxed and jumped right back into work and living.
Harlem wasn’t at the barbershop every day, but he always made time to meet me in the evenings and follow me home.
Life with my husband had been wonderful, and I enjoyed each day as it came.
“Uhm, let’s see, . . . we need more double and triple A batteries, garbage bags, light bulbs for the kitchen and garage, some nails, wood glue, a P-trap, and a couple of two by fours.”
He nodded and headed down the plumbing aisle first for the P-trap since we were closest to it. I watched as he stared at what appeared to be a million different U-shaped pipes tossing each one aside until he found the right one.
We went through the same thing over the batteries and light bulbs as he took his time calculating the unit price, the length of the battery and light bulb life, wattage, and a few other things that I wasn’t certain about.
“I’ll be back, Harlem. I have to use the restroom.”
“Word?”
“Yeah. I can’t hold it. I’ll be back.”
“Want me to go with you?”
“No. I’m good.”
“A’ight. Be safe.”
“I will. Hopefully by the time I return, you’ll have figured out the best battery to go with,” I stated, snickering.
I rushed off in the direction of the bathroom before I veered to the right to handle my business. When I returned several minutes later, he was just selecting a battery.
“Babe, I finally figured out what I wanted to do about the cooking classes for the youth,” I announced when we finally walked to another aisle.
Harlem looked up at me with renewed interest as though we weren’t shopping for hardware, and what I had to talk about was the only thing that mattered in this world. I loved that about him.
“You did, dulzura?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, let me hear all about it. What did you decide?” he asked, stopping midway down the light bulb aisle to give me his undivided attention.
I told him all the pros and cons of every decision that I had weighed before I finally explained what I wanted to do.
“So, I think it’s best if we offer the classes one weekend out of each month only.
I didn’t want to charge a fee at all, and I will waive the fee in certain instances, but I am going to charge five dollars, and here’s why: When people have nothing to lose, they don’t value or respect your time, but when they’re vested, even if it’s just a dollar, they’re quicker to show up.
They don’t want to lose out on the money they paid to be there, no matter how little or much it is. ”
“You’re right about that, dulzura. I’m glad you’re considering all these things, and you’re not taking anything for granted. How are you going to determine if you waive the fee or not?”
“It would be a case-by-case basis, but I would be willing to waive the fee for any child whose parent will volunteer to work in the bakery one day during that month. So, the parent would volunteer for two hours max. That way, I know that the parent is vested, and they will make sure that their child shows up and give his or her best.”
“I love your thinking, beautiful,” he replied, kissing my forehead.
When we pulled back and continued down the aisle, I asked, “How are things coming along with that house that you’re constructing?”
“It’s coming along well. We’re almost finished. Did you send me the email on the selection of landscapers you thought I should go with based on the consultation specs?”
He had pulled me into this project, and I found that although it was out of the scope of my normal work, I enjoyed it.
“Oh yeah. You didn’t get the email?” I asked, pulling the email app up on my phone.
“No. I thought you said you would send it last Tuesday, and I looked for it but didn’t see it, not even in my spam mail. I thought you got caught up.”
“Not hardly. Let me see,” I muttered as I slowly followed behind him as he pushed the cart. I flipped through the sent emails and found it. “I’m sorry, bae. I don’t know what happened, but it’s sitting right here in my sent emails. I’m resending it now.”
“It’s all good. I’ll look over it when I get home. That way I can call the selected vendor at that time and let them know we went with them. I’ll set up an appointment for them to get started.”
“Sounds good to me.”
I walked behind him, scrolling through my social media. Harlem was a good man, and I loved that he valued and respected my opinion enough to let me give feedback on a new project entirely. We continued shopping until we found all the items we needed.
“Hey, Hollis told me to tell you thank you.”
“Oh. Did they like the package?” I asked, looking up from my phone as we headed to the checkout line.
“He said they loved it, and Kena appreciated you taking her for a day out away from the baby.”
Hollis and Kena had made Harlem and me their baby’s godparents.
“Anytime. I think she’s a great mom, despite being so young, but she does need to have at least one day a month where she can get a break.
Mental health is so important, and people underestimate how impactful postpartum depression can be.
She seems like she has a great support system between her mom, grandmothers, aunts, and older sister, though. ”
“I don’t know about postpartum, but I’m glad you do.”
“I meant to tell you that I think you guys are doing a great job of supporting Hollis with your Friday night folds.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, he’s one of the crew now.”
Eli, JC, Josiah, and Harlem spent Friday nights with Hollis for three hours, just kicking it, letting him “fold” or vent about whatever he was going through at that time.
They gave him “big brother” advice and encouragement, and it usually happened while they were doing some recreational activity like playing basketball, bowling, attending a professional sporting event, or just going to the restaurant or one of the guys’ houses and kicking it.
“I love the work that you do, Harlem. You’re a great role model. Have you thought about who you’d like to mentor next?”
Hollis had grown out of the program, but Harlem had made it clear that their relationship wouldn’t end. He was taking a six-week break from his mentoring responsibilities before he jumped back in.
“Yeah. I’ve been chatting with this kid named Angel. He’s fourteen, a little Colombian kid. He’s pretty cool.”
“Well, you keep doing what you do, babe.” I tipped up and kissed his cheek after he scanned his card to pay for our purchases.
“Babe, what do you want with your steaks?” I called up the stairs.
“It doesn’t matter. Whatever you feel like eating. You sure you don’t want to go out to dinner tonight?” Harlem shouted back.
“I’m sure.”
“I’ll be down in a few.”
I turned to run back down to the main floor. When we returned home from the hardware store, Harlem had busied himself with some activities around the house, and I turned my attention to setting up a little surprise for him.
The minute that he hopped in the shower, I told him that I had to run to the grocery store, and I would need his truck. He gave me the keys without question or hesitation.
Because of the call that I made prior to leaving the house, I was able to make it back just as he got out of the shower. I ran around to the backyard and unlocked the side gate to set things up, and I busied myself over the next ten minutes getting everything ready.
“Baby? Where are you?” I heard Harlem shouting from within the house.
“I’m in the backyard, bae.”
I repositioned a few things and then turned around to face the patio door just as he swung it open.
“What’s this? Dulzura—for real? Aww, dulzura, you da shit, girl!” he exclaimed, swooping me up in his arms and spinning me around before he kissed me long and slow.
I felt my nipples pebbling underneath my shirt as his tongue enticed mine into a lazy, slow grind. Harlem’s hands dropped to my ass and cupped it. “You know you deserve to be fucked long and strong for this, right?”
I grinned up at him and giggled. “That’s what I was hoping you would say. You like it, bae?”
“You know I do, girl,” he replied, releasing me and walking to the grill that he had been fawning over at the store. “When did you do this?”
“The minute that I saw you loved it. Remember when I walked to the bathroom?”
“Yeah.”
“I walked around to the customer service center and paid for it and arranged to pick it up later. While you were working out front, I was back here setting this up,” I explained, waving my hand at the covered picnic table with the candles and a bouquet of blue orchids.
I walked to the table, picked them up, and handed them to him.