Page 71 of Jaeda

“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. Fora 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.

He told me nobody but her and his mom were allowed inside his special room. If that wasn’t Jaeda. Once I showed him pictures of my collection, he made Jaeda promise to bring him to see it in person. I could already see him being my favorite kid.

We left their parents’ house around five and headed for the compound. I’d only been as far as Jaeda’s house, so I was surprised when we pulled up in front of the big ass house she referred to as the big house. The place was massive and looked like it could fit at least three whole families inside.

“This is nice as hell,” I said as I met Jaeda at her car. I looked over at the maze off to the side. “You ever got lost in there?”

She giggled. “No. My brothers have though.”

“Since we’re on semi good terms right now, I won’t say they should have stayed lost.”

She playfully smacked my arm. “Be nice.”

“I’ll be as nice as they are.”

She linked her fingers through mine, and we followed Kerrion and Donna into the house. The inside was just as grand as the outside. We headed into the kitchen where a group of women congregated around the kitchen island. When they saw us, a round of greetings went up followed by another round of hugs.

“So this is him?” the older woman asked, looking me up and down with a grin. “This is the young man that had my son and grandson in an uproar.”

“This is him,” Jaeda said, squeezing my hand. “Granny, meet Quaid. Baby, this is my grandmother, Rebecca Dillinger. Those are my aunts April and Denise, and that’s Mia’s mom, Maddie.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, ladies,” I said, offering a smile.

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