Page 9 of Judgments of Fire and Desire

Once she’d released Genesis, I extended my hand to my mother. She came to my side as Genesis turned to see her family standing behind her. “Mama, this is Judge?—”

“I know who he is, Gen. I voted for him. Hello, Judge Patrick. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Gabriella Farris.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well. This is my mother, Carolyn Patrick.”

They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. I glanced over at Genesis to see she was talking to her brother. Once our mothers had quieted down, she introduced him to us. He lookedfamiliar to me, so when he said he was a police officer, I figured that was how I knew him.

“Would y’all be okay with going to get a bite to eat together?” my mother asked.

Everyone agreed, and we took off walking. Today had been a trainwreck. I had no plans of talking about anything concerning my father’s infidelity. I’d only accepted the invitation so I could spend time with Genesis. Plus, my mother thought it would be good for me to do this to get some sort of closure. That didn’t happen, thanks to the man who introduced me. I wanted to grab him by the neck and choke the life out of him.

Having Genesis by my side after the morning I’d had meant everything to me. I’d gotten a phone call, threatening me about the trial for Darlene Doll. They’d brought her through a colleague’s court for arraignment, and everything about that woman said coercion and defeat. She wasn’t in this alone. She had help. If the district attorney didn’t see it, then the citizens of Jefferson County had done themselves a disservice when they elected him. She bonded out within hours. I would have remanded her.

I watched our mothers talk as they walked like they were best friends already. Genesis was walking next to me, quietly following their lead. I slid my hand to hers and intertwined our fingers. She looked up at me and blushed. I gave her a slight smile as I said, “Thank you for coming to my aid. Your presence produced a calm in me that I’ve never felt, especially around strangers.”

She smiled and leaned into me a bit. I wanted to put my arm around her, but I didn’t want our mothers in our business. I could tell that her mother was no better than mine when it came to meddling in business that wasn’t theirs. Finally, she looked up at me and said, “You’re welcome. I saw you struggling, and I didn’t want you to feel like you made this trip for nothing. I hada feeling you were going to leave that podium without saying half of what you said.”

“You’re right. I wasn’t going to say a word. My mama was trying to silently encourage me from her seat, but I was looking right past her. However, even if I wouldn’t have spoken, my trip wouldn’t have been in vain. Seeing this gorgeous face again is definitely worth it.”

She bit her bottom lip as she stared up at me, and I swore I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and take her back to my hotel room. I was grateful that I had the gumption to get separate rooms for my mother and me. She fussed about me wasting money, saying that we could have shared a room. I only rolled my eyes. I was a grown man, and I wouldn’t have felt comfortable sharing a room with her.

I liked to walk around in my underwear. Had I been sharing a room with her and messed around and got aroused from my thoughts of Genesis, I would have been extremely embarrassed. The entire moment would have been awkward. I needed my privacy, even if Genesis didn’t come to my room later.

Genesis was still blushing as she released my hand and looped her arm around mine. I knew this was the woman I was meant to be with at this very moment. The way she soothed my soul spoke volumes. Had she not been here, my anger would have consumed me, and I could have possibly ruined my reputation. The gentleman apologizing for making me uncomfortable did nothing to smooth things over. If anything, it made them worse.

With Genesis by my side, I was able to at least nod at him without saying a word. He was a liar, and he wanted to shine a light on my father’s inability to be faithful to my mother. It was like he knew it would get a rise out of me. I slowly shook my head as I thought about it.

“What are you thinking about?” Genesis asked.

I glanced down at her and smiled, something I didn’t do very often. “I’m thinking about how great it is to be spending time with you… finally.”

She giggled. “You’re making it seem like we’ve been trying to sync our schedules for months. It’s only been a little over a week.”

“Closer to two weeks.”

She slowly shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully. “It has not been… Well, maybe it has.” I bit my bottom lip as I watched her think things over. “It’s been two weeks since we first met… a week and a half since our first phone conversation.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. I’d been wanting to see her again since she led me out of that burning building. “Whatever. The point is that it has seemed like forever.”

She gave me a smile as our mothers entered a sandwich shop. Samuel followed behind them, but I didn’t miss his glance back at us. I didn’t know if he was being protective or if there was something he had against me. It definitely seemed like it was personal. We entered right behind them.

After going to the counter and placing our orders, we all sat at a table. Our mothers seemed to have bonded immediately, but I also noticed the shift in their moods. They seemed a lot quieter. I slid my hand to Genesis’s as I asked my mom, “Are you okay? You’re rather quiet suddenly.”

“Yeah. I supposed during our talk about your father and her husband, we retreated within ourselves. Despite what happened, Kyrie, I really miss him.”

I nodded as Ms. Farris nodded and hugged my mama. When I saw the tear trickle down her cheek, I couldn’t hold my position next to Genesis. I stood and went to her side, pulling her in my arms. Instead of sadness filling me, too, I was starting to feel angry. I really wasn’t sure why or who I was even angry with.Like she’d said, whether he was on that plane with his mistress or had been alone, the fact remained that he was no longer here.

She laid her head against me as I glanced over at Genesis. When I saw her tears, I knew I would be in for a long day. It was like my mama’s sorrow served as a domino effect, sinking everyone into their feelings. Samuel was comforting his mother and Genesis. I hated that I wasn’t the one comforting her.

“I’m so sorry, everyone,” my mama said, lifting her head and wiping her tears. “I got everyone in this sunken place. We are supposed to be remembering the life they lived and what they stood for. Kenneth was a loving man. I didn’t know the man that the media portrayed after the attack. The man I knew loved his family. He loved Kyrie with his soul. He was his pride and joy. Genesis and Samuel, I’m sure the same was true for your dad.”

Ms. Farris nodded. “Absolutely. He was so proud of his children.”

As we talked, the lady from the front counter brought out a cookie with a lit candle in it. She set it in front of Genesis, and we smiled at her. She’d made twenty-seven today. I was so embarrassed that I’d forgotten to get her a gift. Genesis smiled at the cookie and candle and said, “Thanks.”

Her mama started singing the birthday song, and we all joined in. Genesis’s cheeks had reddened, and the second we stopped singing, she blew out her candle. That had to be hard, losing her father on her birthday. While she talked to my mama about her birthday plans of doing absolutely nothing, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

My heart rate climbed a bit. I didn’t even know who was texting me yet. However, when I looked at the text, my heart rate increased even more when I read it.Be careful on your flight back. I would hate for you to go out like your father.

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