Page 12 of The Noisemaker

I nodded. “And I can’t wait.” Pointing around my plate, I said, “We’re starting off with new beginnings, wisdom, and financial abundance.”

He nodded profusely. “Oh yeah, we’re definitely starting off right then.”

“Here’s to us getting a running start on the blessings of the new year,” I started, holding up my bottle of water.

He grabbed his and raised it in the air. “Here’s to us doing everything we planned to do today.”

“Here’s to new adventures.”

He leaned forward. “Baby…” He pressed his lips against mine. “The adventure is just getting started.”

“Oh?”

He sat back and nodded. “Oh yeah.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter where we’re going or what the adventure is. As long as I’m with you, I’m ready.”

The smile on his face made me feel warm inside.

“Cheers to that,” he uttered.

Our bottles touched and then we took a sip.

Dipping our forks into the Hoppin’ John first, we took a bite at the same time.

“Oh, that’s good,” Desmond gushed. He put another forkful in his mouth and nodded. “Yeah, I like that. Where’s this from?”

“They say South Carolina.” I took another bite. “I can’t believe I’ve never had this before.” I licked my lips. “This is really good.”

We ate in silence for a few minutes, tasting everything.

I watched him chew. “What do you think?”

“You killed this Hoppin’ John and the cornbread.”

He had just tasted the collard greens.

I laughed. “So does that mean you’re not feeling my greens?”

“Areyoufeeling them?”

“I can’t stand you!”

“I’m serious.” He pointed at my plate and how I’d eaten everything but the greens. “You know something ain’t right with these.”

I covered my face. “They are bitter.”

“I thought I was eating spinach.”

We snickered through the rest of the meal, getting seconds of the Hoppin’ John and cornbread. Just as we were finishing, there was a knock at the door.

“Oh, that must be something I ordered,” I said in a sing-song voice. “Can you get that?”

Desmond got up and went to the front door. I put our plates in the dishwasher and washed my hands.

“What is this?” he asked as he returned, placing the box on the kitchen table.

“It is something I ordered,” I reminded him.

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