Page 6 of Taste The Smoke
Alonzo chuckled, then sent:Don’t hate because she loves me more.
He burst out laughing at the string of expletives that followed. Standing, he headed to his bedroom to shower. He and Deon had been friends since high school when both played on the varsity football team at the wide receiver position. Deon had gone on to play professionally for a decade and a half before retiring and taking on a role in his family’s bed and breakfast. Alonzo had been Deon’s best man when his friend married the love of his life and had been humbled when asked to be godfather to their daughter, Kamryn. He’d fallen in love the moment Deon placed her in his arms. The now ten-year-old wasa pure ray of sunshine and the more time he spent with her, the stronger he felt the pull of fatherhood.
While waiting for the water temperature in the shower to regulate, he stripped and tossed his clothes into the hamper. He moved beneath the warm spray and let the water run over his body. As he washed, his thoughts strayed to Kenya. She’d mentioned being married before, but did she have children? Or want them? Despite them only meeting last night, he experienced a relaxed camaraderie with her that had been missing from the other women he’d dated recently.
Alonzo finished the shower, dried off and got dressed. He sent a text to his sister to see if she wanted him to pick her up on the way.
She responded a minute later:Thanks, but I’m coming from the spa. Had to stop and pick up something. Leaving in a few and will see you there.
He pocketed the phone and left for the ten-minute drive to the Redondo Beach home he’d grown up in. Because his parents were expecting them, he used his key to enter, and he could hear the sound of Luther Vandross and Gregory Hines singing “There’s Nothing Better Than Love.” His mother loved Luther and all the male crooners of the seventies and eighties. The delicious smells of whatever she was cooking hit his nose and made his stomach growl. He hadn’t eaten anything since the scrambled eggs and toast at breakfast. Making his way to the kitchen, he stopped in the doorway and smiled at the sight of his parents dancing. After forty-five years, the two were still as much in love as when they married. It hadn’t been uncommon while he and Sonya were growing up to see them laughing, stealing kisses, or dancing to music playing or songs only they could hear. His father dipped his head and kissed his mother. Alonzo cleared his throat. “Y’all still do that kissing stuff? I hope you aren’t going to make Mom burn dinner.”
They sprang apart and his father glared at Alonzo. “I thought I taught you to knock.”
“Oh, hush, Lonzo.” His mother giggled, stepped out of her husband’s embrace and rushed over to hug Alonzo. “Hi, baby.”
Alonzo kissed her cheek. “Hey, Mom. It smells good in here.”
“I know,” she said, going back over to the stove to stir something in a pot.
Chuckling, he shared a man-hug with his father. “How’s it going, Dad?”
“It was going fine until you ruined a perfectly good kiss.” He winked at his wife, who blushed like a schoolgirl. He shifted his gaze back to Alonzo. “Still burning the candle at both ends, Son?”
“Not too much.” Alonzo, Sr. had fussed for weeks about Alonzo working so many hours at both jobs leading up to and when the spa first opened. It wasn’t until everything was up and running and he’d significantly cut back on his hours, did his dad relax. “I’m only at the spa for a few hours two or three times a week, so it’s not bad.”
“That means you have plenty of time to date again,” his mother said without turning around. Rosalind Bennett had been on his case about getting married again for the past six years, ever since he lost his fiancée in a mountain climbing accident, and it didn’t seem as if she would ever let it go. “You’re over forty, Alonzo. By the time you have children, they’re going to be confused about who’s the grandparent.”
His father burst out laughing.
“That’s just cold, Mom.” He shook his head.
“What? I’m just saying. And where’s your sister, by the way? She usually beats you here or you two come together.”
“She had to pick up something from the spa. She’s on her way. I’m going to check out the basketball games if you don’tneed any help.” Alonzo met his father’s knowing smile and guessed the man knew Alonzo was trying make his escape.
“No. Everything should be ready in about twenty minutes.”
Without another word, he spun on his heel and made a hasty exit. Moments later, his father joined him in the family room.
“You sure left quick.”
His eyes focused on the game, Alonzo said, “I figured since I interrupted your big kiss, I should leave and let you finish.”
His father burst out laughing. “That’s your story, huh?”
“Yep, and I’m sticking to it.” He tried to keep a straight face, but couldn’t.
Shaking his head, his father settled into his favorite recliner and trained his gaze on the television.
Several minutes later, Sonya arrived. “Hi, Daddy.” She crossed the room, leaned down and hugged him.
“How’s my baby girl? You aren’t working too hard, are you?”
“I’m good, and no, I’m not,” she said laughingly. “You ask me that every time we talk and I always say the same thing.” She came over to where Alonzo sat on the sofa, dropped down beside him and kissed his cheek. “Hey, big brother.”
Alonzo slung an arm around her shoulder, hugged her and dropped a kiss on her temple. “Hey. Everything okay at the spa?”
“Yes. I just left my planner. You know I need that thing.” She tucked her feet under her.
