Chapter 16
SUNDAY
I ’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous about meeting with Jaeda’s mom and stepfather. I had a good idea of who the Dillingers were and what to expect, but this was a different ballgame. I’d only briefly met her mom on our first date. Going to her home was another story.
Since her father made it clear we had to split Sunday between both families, we settled on a late lunch with her mother and dinner with her father. When I pulled up to the house, Jaeda was outside with a young boy, who I assumed was her little brother. He was dressed as Kakashi Hatake from Naruto .
For a moment, I sat watching them. Lil dude was throwing his best punches and kicks, but Jaeda was ducking, dodging, and blocking them all.
For a kid, his moves were impressive as hell.
I remembered during one of our talks, Jaeda told me that Kerrion taught self-defense and hand-to-hand combat.
If I had to guess, he taught lil’ dude too.
Grabbing my keys, I shut off the car and got out. Jaeda looked up to see me, and her little brother caught her in the side with a kick.
“Shit!”
“I’m sorry, Jae!” he said, immediately throwing his arms around her.
She hugged him back and kissed his temple. “It’s okay, bubby. You got me good. Jaiden, I want you to meet someone.” She turned him to face me as I walked up. “This is Quaid.”
I extended a hand to him. “Nice to meet you, Jaiden.”
He shook my hand as he eyed me curiously. “Is this the one that likes Legos and Anime too?”
She giggled. “Yes, this is him.”
“That’s a dope Kakashi outfit,” I complimented, causing him to give me a toothy grin.
“Thank you! Jaeda got it for me. You wanna see my action figure collection?”
“Sure, man. I’ll have to show you mine too.”
Jaeda shook her head. “Jaiden, it’s gonna have to wait until after lunch. Mom and Dad are waiting to meet him.”
He kissed his teeth. “Okay.”
“Go on inside.”
He waved at me before darting into the house. I stepped closer to Jaeda and pulled her into my arms. Leaning in, I planted a kiss to those luscious lips.
“I missed you,” I said.
“I missed you too. My mother is excited to have you here. She called my daddy and cursed him out for ruining her dinner plans.”
I chuckled. “I like her already.”
“Come on, let’s?—”
She paused at the sight of another car pulling up behind mine. The door opened, and out stepped Kerrion. He gave us a head nod as he rounded the passenger side and opened the door. Out stepped a beautiful plus-sized woman.
“Well, this is different,” Jaeda said, folding her arms.
“He’s seeing somebody?”
“If he is, that’s news to me. He’s never mentioned it.”
She smiled as her brother and the woman approached us.
“What’s up?” Kerrion asked. He slapped my hand and hugged his sister. “This is Donna. Donna, this is my sister Jaeda and her boyfriend, Quaid.”
Donna smiled as she extended her hand to me. “Nice to meet you.” She pulled Jaeda in for a hug, clearly surprising her. “Jaeda, I’ve heard so much about you! It’s nice to meet you, beautiful.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Jaeda said once they parted. “Forgive me, but I haven’t heard a thing about you.”
Donna laughed. “I’m sure you haven’t. We’re not really a public thing.”
“Sooo, . . . are you two a couple?” Jaeda asked, pointing between them.
Donna shook her head. “No. We’re close though. Getting closer.”
Kerrion smiled, and I could tell he felt something for this girl. What it was, I wasn’t sure. But it was something.
“Where did you?—”
Her brother cut her off. “What’s with the third degree, Jaeda? You all up in our business.”
Jaeda punched him in the arm. “Don’t show out in front of your friend. Bring your ass on in the house.”
She grabbed my hand and led me inside. The first person to greet us was a girl younger than Jaeda but older than Jaiden. She hugged her brother before looking between Donna and me.
“Okay, I know this is Quaid, because duh, but who is this?” She pointed at Donna. “When did you get a girlfriend, KD?”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” her brother said. “This is Donna. Donna, this is my little sister, Kalia.”
“Hey, beautiful,” Donna said, her smile infectious. “So you’re the fashionista Kerrion has told me so much about.”
Kalia flipped her hair. “That would be me! If you ever need a stylist, I’m your girl.”
Donna laughed. “A young entrepreneur. I love it. You have Instagram?”
“Yes. It’s KayDaFashionKilla.”
“Ghetto ass name,” Kerrion mumbled. “You wanna be a hood baby so bad.”
Kalia shoved her hand in his face. “Don’t be a hater.”
Mrs. Jenkins came into the living room, followed by an older man I assumed was her husband. My gaze dropped to her belly, reminding me that Jaeda said she was pregnant.
“Y’all made it!” she said, coming to gather hugs. Her embrace was as motherly as one could get. “It’s nice to see you again, Quaid. We didn’t have time to really talk before, but we’ll make up for it today.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“This is my husband, Hershel.”
I extended my hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Nice to meet you too. It’s about time I met the man putting such a big smile on my baby girl’s face.”
He leaned over and kissed Jaeda’s cheek, making her blush.
Mrs. Jenkins pulled Kerrion in for a hug and kissed his cheek before her eyes settled on Donna.
“Well, who is this beauty?” she asked.
“Donna,” Kerrion answered. “She’s a friend.”
“You’ve never brought a friend to dinner, so she must be special.”
“You could say that.”
Donna pulled her into a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins. I’ve heard a lot about both of you. I’m very happy to meet you.”
“In that case, you and Quaid come on into the kitchen so we can have a private conversation.”
Jaeda and Kerrion protested, but their mother waved them off as she linked her arms through mine and Donna’s before pulling us toward the kitchen. Her husband followed close behind, chuckling at their children’s antics. Mrs. Jenkins motioned for us to take a seat at the kitchen island.
“Can I offer you anything to drink?” she asked.
“Just a water,” Donna answered.
“I’m good right now,” I said.
Mr. Jenkins grabbed a water from the fridge and handed it to her.
“So, Quaid,” Mrs. Jenkins said, turning back to the stove. “You ready to meet the entire Dillinger clan later?”
I chuckled. “As ready as I can be, ma’am.”
“Don’t let those fools intimidate you, my son included. They talk big shit, but deep down, all of them are soft as hell for each other.”
“I’ve gathered that much from our interactions. I get it, though. I’m an only child, and if I had a sibling, I’d be on people’s head about them too.”
“Your parents still married?”
“Yes, ma’am. Been together since they were eighteen.”
“What about you, Donna?”
Donna cleared her throat. “My father passed away when I was fifteen. I’m an only child, so it’s mostly my mom and I.”
Mrs. Jenkins turned to face her. “I’m so sorry for your loss, baby.”
“Thank you. It’s okay. He died fighting for his country, so there is no greater badge of honor.”
“Has Kerrion met your mother?”
“Yes. She adores him.”
“I have to ask, . . . what are you two?”
“Baby,” Mr. Jenkins said, placing a hand on the small of her back. “You’re being nosy.”
“What? I just wanna know. You know Kerrion doesn’t bring women home. Donna is the exception, and I want to know why.”
Donna giggled. “Kerrion and I have a very special relationship. I’m not his woman, he’s not my man, but we share something pure and beautiful. He’s really my best friend. We just wouldn’t make it in a traditional relationship.”
“Why not?” his mother asked.
“I’m not a settle down and get married type of girl. It’s just not a desire.”
“We respect that,” Mr. Jenkins said before his wife could comment. “As long as you aren’t giving our son false hope of something more.”
Donna shook her head. “No, sir. He’s well aware.”
He nodded his head and turned to me. “What about you, Quaid? You believe in marriage?”
“Absolutely. Respectfully, I can’t wait to get married and have kids. I know it’s soon, but I feel it in my heart that I’ve found the one with Jaeda.”
Mrs. Jenkins beamed with excitement as she rubbed her belly. “That’s good to know. My Jaeda is special. She’s a bit of a hopeless romantic, so I hope you are everything she needs.”
“Trust me, if I’m not, I have no problem becoming it.”
“Okay now!” Donna said, playfully slapping my shoulder. “I hear that. You two make a beautiful couple.”
“They sure do,” Mrs. Jenkins agreed. She smiled at me before looking over my shoulder. “Go on and bring y’all’s nosy asses in here.”
I looked back to see Kerrion push Jaeda from around the corner. The look on her face said they had been eavesdropping. We chuckled as the two of them playfully fought their way into the kitchen.
“What y’all in here talking about?” Kerrion asked.
“Like you didn’t hear,” Mr. Jenkins said with a smirk.
Kerrion matched his smirk. “Is the food done? I’m hungry as a mutha?—”
“Watch your mouth!” his mother said, throwing a towel at him. “Don’t make me beat your ass in front of guests.”
They started going back and forth, and I found it comical. I was thankful this was the first stop of the day. I would hate to be in a bad mood when it came time to eat with the roughnecks of the family. Hopefully, this day didn’t go from sugar to shit.
Lunch was great.
The Jenkins’ clan was hilarious. They spent most of the time cracking jokes on each other. Laughing got me thrown into the mix. I had to admit that Kerrion was the chill one, next to Maceo. He and I could possibly build a friendship if he got to know me with a mind of his own.
Not surprisingly, Jaiden turned out to be the coolest little dude.
After we finished eating, he made Jaeda come with us to his room so he could show me his action figure collection.
For a kid, he had a dope ass room, with a special closet for all his costumes and collectibles.
I could tell Jaeda helped him set it up.