Page 66 of Love Always, Nova Black
“Ugh, let’s not even go down that road,” I said before grabbing Don’s hand and leading him inside. “Is the food ready?”
“Yeah,” Kendra replied. “Oh, just to let you know, Granny is in rare form today. I think she may have had one too many drinks, so I would avoid her if possible.”
“That was already the plan.” I took a deep breath, reminding myself that everything was going to be fine.
“You good?” Don asked.
“Mmhmm.”
But I wasn’t fine at all. The second I stepped into the living room everything in me started to flare up. My palms started to sweat, and it was like a weight had suddenly been dropped right on my chest.
Kendra rolled her eyes. “Jarell and my sister are outside running their mouth, but I’m not going out there. I don’t feel like dealing with them today.”
I nodded, barely hearing a word that she was saying. My eyes were too focused on the kitchen, which was where my Aunt Patricia and granny stood. As soon as they made eye contact, they strolled right into the living room.
“Well, hello my beautiful niece. It’s so good to see you. Who’s your friend?”
I frowned, knowing that we’d already had that discussion. “This is Don. But you already know that.”
“Don, huh?” my granny said before lifting a beer can to her lips. “Did you know that she’s still married, young man?”
I dropped my head.
“Yes ma’am,” he replied.
“And you’re still choosing to be involved with her? That’s not very Christian like of you.”
“Granny!”
“What? I’m just trying to figure out why any man would want to be with a woman that belongs to someone else.”
“I don’t belong to anyone.”
“Sweetheart, as long as you’re still carrying that man’s last name, you belong to him. Clearly, that’s not changing anytime soon. If it was, you would be divorced by now, wouldn’t you?”
Realizing that my grandmother had crossed a line or two, my aunt grabbed her. “Okay, so why don’t you guys go ahead and grab you a plate. Mama, I think you might need to get some rest.”
“I don’t need to do anything. I’m just fine.”
“Nah, you definitely need to take a break,” Kendra said. “Maybe you’ll sleep off some of that disrespect.”
Aunt Patricia eyed my cousin with a lifted brow while helping my granny to the back. “You’re not helping.”
“Since when have I ever done that?” She shrugged.
“I’m only staying here an hour, Kendra.”
“Fine by me. You know I don’t want to be here anyway.”
“Cool.”
After taking a few more deep breaths and tossing my grandmother’s crazy behavior to the back of my mind, I headed into the kitchen. The food looked delicious. But that didn’t come as much of a surprise since Jarell was the one on the grill. Even though I couldn’t stand his ass most of the time, he was a good cook.
Placing my plate down on the dining room table, I looked at Don. “I’m going to run to the bathroom. Are you going to be okay right here?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Oh, and if my aunt comes out and starts asking you a bunch of questions, just—”
