Chapter 18-Kenya
“Okay, turn left at the next intersection,” I said, giving Devon directions to my parents’ house.
Things were going great for us, so a couple of weeks ago, I finally extended an invitation to Sunday brunch.
He was supposed to come the previous Sunday, but something at his club came up.
Devon tried to be two places at one time to make me happy, but I assured him that it was okay for business to come first.
As he drove, I was waiting for God to answer my prayers by calming my nerves. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that my mother would be on her worse behavior, but I hoped that she could put aside her prude ways and be excited for me for once.
For once in a really long time, I was genuinely happy with where I was in life.
I hadn’t said it, but I loved Devon. He was a great man and an even better father. There was so much more to him than met the eye. He had so many layers, and the more I knew about him, the deeper I fell.
Yes, I knew how I felt, but I didn’t want to be the first one to say I love you .
I felt like it was too soon to say it, but it was what my heart felt.
I saw my future when I looked at him. Even meeting Dreux felt right.
It felt like I was supposed to be part of their lives.
Before I met Devon, I had never entertained the idea of having a stepchild, but it had become a definite possibility.
He turned left just as I instructed him to, and once we were close, near the cul-de-sac, I pointed out the mansion that was my childhood home.
I got out of his truck so I could punch in the key code to open the large steel gate.
Once I saw the gates opening, I walked around, got back in the truck, and instructed him to park behind Kendra and Ivan’s Mercedes.
“Baby girl, why you look so nervous?” Devon asked me as he took his keys out of the ignition.
“Because I know how my family, especially my mother, can be. I just want this to be a good brunch. I don’t want my family to run you off.”
“They could never run me off from my baby. We’re in this the long way,” he said, then placed a reassuring kiss on my lips. “Now, come on before your parents see us out here kissing and they get the wrong idea.”
He got out, came around to open my door, and helped me out of his lifted truck. The last thing I wanted to do was break my Jimmy Choo pumps trying to enter or exit his truck.
Sunday brunches at my parents’ house were anything but casual, so I asked him to wear a pair of slacks, Steve Madden dress shoes, and a checkered Oxford shirt.
I wanted him to wear that particular outfit, so that he could match my black Tom Ford dress.
I knew that it wasn’t his typical style, but I appreciated him for making the sacrifice for me, and I could admit that it felt good to know that Kendra’s family wouldn’t be the only ones at the table matching.
We walked toward the front door, and it opened before I had the chance to ring the doorbell.
“You two are a beautiful couple,” Fancy said, wearing a bright smile.
“Hey, Ms. Francesca, it’s been years,” Devon spoke as he leaned in to give Fancy a hug.
“Yes, Devon, it’s been far too long. How are you doing? Taking good care of my baby, I hope,” she said as she motioned her head in my direction.
“You know she’s in excellent hands with me.”
“Yes, I know. I also saw y’all out there smooching, so I know for a fact that she’s happy. Now come on in here, brunch will be served shortly.”
Once we were in the house, Fancy quickly hugged me, then disappeared toward the kitchen.
“Here goes nothing,” I said as I grabbed his hand and walked into the formal dining area.
The second we approached the grand doorway, all eyes were on us.
I looked around, taking in the various reactions on the faces of the people surrounding the table.
The only people who were unbothered were my nieces and nephew.
“There’s my beautiful daughter,” my father stood and said as soon as we walked in, “and this must be the young man that has you smitten. Hello, I’m Kevin,” he said and extended his hand to Devon.
My father knew about Devon to the extent that I was dating him and that I found our relationship significant enough to invite him to brunch.
I’d never invite someone to my parents’ home without asking permission, which was the full extent of my mother’s knowledge of my relationship.
“Hello, Kevin. I’m Devon. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“ This is who you decide to bring to brunch? Kenya, I do wonder about your judgment,” my mother said with her nose stuck up.
She stayed seated, her posture radiating an air of preeminence, as if standing to greet him was beneath her.
“Olivia,” my father said sternly, his face darkening with rage. “I will not allow you to insult our guest.”
“Oh, Kevin, please.” She shooed him away like his words meant nothing to her.
“Kenya, do you despise me this much? Of all the men that you can have, you bring this man, covered in tattoos, looking like a regular miscreant thug off the street. Where did I go wrong with you? Did your father and I not give you the best of everything? You come in here with the least viable man.” My mother tossed her hands upward then proceeded to rub her temples.
“Please say this is a phase. Oh, dear God. The things people will say.”
“Brunch is served,” Fancy sang as she entered the room, unaware of the war zone she’d entered into. When she noticed how tense the room was, she stopped and became rigid.
“Get him out of my home. Now!”
“Ma’am, I’ve been escorted out of better places. Trust me … Look, Kenya, I’m out. This doesn’t change anything about us, but I don’t deal with disrespect,” Devon said as he turned to walk away. “Call me when you’re ready.”
“Wait, don’t leave,” Fancy said with pleading eyes, taking the words right out of my mouth because mine seemed to be stuck in my chest.
“Yes, you guys, don’t leave,” Kendra spoke up.
“I don’t know why you couldn’t be more like your sister. Look at her, sitting at the table with her successful husband, a well-dressed, educated doctor, and their beautiful family,” she said with disgust and sarcasm pouring from each word, her eyes never wavering.
“Olivia, that is enough!” my father yelled, causing everyone in the room to jump.
“I agree. Let’s all calm down,” Fancy added her attempt to diffuse the situation.
“Oh, dear God. Don’t you have something to clean?” my mother questioned Fancy.
“Olivia!” It was rare for him to raise his voice, and he’d just done it twice in a matter of minutes.
I looked to see that my father was changing color before my eyes, due to how angry he had become.
“Kevin, I should have known that you would come to her defense. You always do,” my mother responded as she picked her glass of wine up and drank the remnants.
“Olivia, we are not doing this today. Devon, please accept my apologies for my wife’s poor behavior. I’m disappointed and embarrassed to even be associated with her,” he said, causing my mother to gasp like she was appalled.
“I don’t know why I expected her to be cordial.” With a sigh of disappointment, I shook my head, the movement reflecting my inner turmoil. “We are leaving. Father, Kendra, Ivan, kids, I apologize that you all had to witness this.”
“Kenya, you have nothing to apologize for. You have exuded class and tact today, unlike your uncouth mother. Let me walk the two of you out,” my father spoke, with his eyes never straying from his wife.
He quickly escorted us out of the dining room before my mother had a chance to make any additional remarks, and when he passed Fancy, he embraced her in a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
There was something about their interaction that made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t explain it, but it didn’t sit right with me. I’d never seen him be anything other than kind to her, but the kiss, although it was on her cheek, felt unnecessary and inappropriate.
However, I was so bothered by my mother’s devious rascality that I chose not to dwell on it.
“I feel the need to apologize again for that. While I can’t say that my wife spoke out of her normal character, I can say that it was unacceptable and unforgivable. I guarantee you that it will not happen again.”
I nodded in response because he was right. My mother’s behavior at the table was showcasing her heart, but it wasn’t appropriate or called for.
I couldn’t remember the last time I brought a man to meet them, and when I did, her behavior was a true embarrassment. I didn’t know if I could forgive her, or if I wanted to, for that matter.
She’d exhausted me, and I was starting to realize that she’d never be happy with anything I did, even if I did it with the mindset of gaining her approval.
“Tell Fancy that I’m sorry,” I said as I kissed my father on the cheek.
“Will do. Please, Devon, take my lovely daughter to brunch, my treat,” my father said as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet.
After opening it, he retrieved five crisp one-hundred-dollar bills.
“No, sir, I can’t accept that,” Devon said adamantly, as he shook his head.
“If you don’t accept it, I will feel worse than I already do,” my father responded, not backing down. “Humor an old man and help me ease my conscious.” Even with his plea, Devon didn’t move to accept his gesture.
“Thank you,” I responded, taking the money from his hand and giving him a goodbye kiss on the cheek.
I knew that neither of them was going to back down from their stance, and I was ready to get far away from my family and the house as a whole.
Devon helped me into his truck, got in, and waved at my father as he went back into the house.
How could she treat him like this?
How could she disrespect me like that?
Embarrassment plagued me, and I was downright humiliated, to where looking Devon in the face felt like a burden.
All I knew to do was to stare out the window.