Page 15 of Peter

ChapterEight

Iput the address in the GPS, grab the keys, and head to the car. I want to have everything ready before Lenny wakes up. Thirty minutes later I am back at Lenny’s house. I check to see if she is still asleep and get to work. Ninety minutes later, everything is set and I go to wake Lennox up to eat. I wake her and walk back out to the dining room to make sure everything is ready and I didn’t forget or miss anything. A few minutes later, she walks in still wearing my shirt, she put leggings on underneath and her locs pulled into a ponytail.

“Peter? Where did you get this food from?”

“The grocery store Lenny”

She freezes. “You cooked this?”

“Do you have to sound so surprised?”

“Yes, I do. You cooked collard greens with smoked meat, rice, baked mac and cheese, candied yams, cornbread, and fried chicken. Yeah, I gotta ask if you cooked this”

“I don’t know why. Your mother had me in the kitchen as much as she had you in the kitchen. I still remember what she taught me; I just don’t get a lot of chances to cook. Now hush and eat,” I say as I fix her plate, “And don’t eat too much, I made peach cobbler for dessert.” I tell her.

Lennox:

Peter is an extraordinary man; I have been in awe all day. From the over-the-top luncheon he provided for the women of the clinic, to the Oprah-like giveaway he had and now he remembered a conversation we had where I told him I missed my mothers cooking, this meal especially. And he provided it. I have been battling with moving from Alabama, even before I went to Mississippi for the symposium and since I was reunited with Peter it’s been even worse. I worked hard in Alabama to get where I am, and even though the job in Mississippi is a promotion it would require me leaving where I have seniority, and the clinic and women I have come to love. But Peter…

“This is delicious Peter,” I moan out around a mouthful of greens. “It tastes so much like mommas. I forgot she used to make you get in the kitchen with us when you came to pick me up or study together.”

“My mom didn’t cook, we had a cook for that, so your mom is the only one who taught me how to cook. I used to love coming to your house, I would get some business advice from your dad and cooking lessons from your mom. My mom gave me my mouth and drive. I miss her every day.”

“Peter, we’re face to face now maybe we should talk about all the stuff we’ve been avoiding.”

“I leave very early tomorrow morning Lenny, and I would hate to get into that type of conversation when we don’t have the time to explore and talk about it fully.” He says as he gets the peach cobbler out of the oven. He grabs some ice cream, bringing them both to the table.

“Maybe we can just pick one question and talk about that and save the rest for a later time.” I propose as I take a bite of the peach cobbler and swoon at the table. “I think this might be better than mommas!”

“Impossible” he exclaims. “Ok Lenny what do you want to talk about?”

“Well…”

His phone ringing interrupts me. “I’m sorry this must be an emergency, excuse me.”

Peter gets up and takes the call and is in motion without thinking about it. He goes into the bedroom and grabs the overnight bag and heads back out. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.” He barks into the phone.

“I’m sorry baby, there is an emergency at one of my hotels and I need to go take care of it. Apparently, there was a homicide and fire there and I need to go handle it. Will you forgive me?”

“Of course, Peter”

“Thank you, baby” Benny leans in and kisses me. “Please hurry up and come to Mississippi so we can talk, if you can’t I will plan another trip here so we can finally have that talk that’s overdue.”

“OK,” I say as I trudge to the door with Benny obviously disappointed.

He kisses me at the door again, gets in his rental, and heads to the airport disappointed that this night didn’t turn out like either of us wanted it to.

Peter:

The emergency was anything but. It was some kids pulling a prank. They were there with their parents and had their own room. Their prank cost their parents a pretty penny. It was too late to go back to Lenny’s house, so I headed home. I stayed in constant communication with her. I really wish we had time to talk more but hopefully that will change soon. I need her here; she does not take care of herself, and she needs to be here so I can make sure she is cared for. She worked an eighteen-hour workday all she had to eat was a bowl of cereal and an apple. That shit is unacceptable. I had lunch delivered to her from a restaurant every day for lunch and dinner. She called and tried to convince me it was unnecessary to which I told her to eat the food and hush.

I get the notification that the flowers I sent to Lenny was delivered. I made sure she had to sign for them considering they are some of the rarest flowers in the world. I sent her Chocolate Roses; they are a red rose that have brown edges and smells like chocolate. I push thoughts of Lennox to the background as I prepare for my meeting with Shepp. I go to the front desk to wait for him to arrive. Finally, he arrives looking like a businessman in a nice suit and locs pulled up in two-barrel rolls.

“Hello, Mr. Bennett,” he says as he offers me his hand to shake. He breaks character after the handshake. “How are you GP?” he asks.

“I’m good Shepp,” I tell him.

“Let’s go back to my office and talk a little business.”

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