Page 14 of Forbidden Fruit

“Where are you, Chitrita?”

“I’m on my way home. I should be there in ten minutes.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

Hmm.That was different. He sounded calm… too calm.

It felt weird not having to sneak in. I couldn’t wait until I got a job and started making money. I’d be out of here on the first thing smoking. When I walked through the door, Daddy called out to me from the kitchen. Walking slowly, I made my way to him, grimacing with every step. For some reason, I didn’t feel like this would be a good talk. I walked up to him and kissed his cheek. “Hello, Chitrita. We need to talk.”

I nodded my head, and he gestured to the chair at the table for me to have a seat. Nervously, I pulled the chair out and sat, waiting to see what this was about. He sat across from me and stared at me for a moment. That shit really made me uneasy. “Chitrita, I’m trying my best to be calm, but Dr. Kumar saw you today at a restaurant called K-Asian. He said you were with a young man, that umm, looked a little questionable. Who were you with?”

Great. The shit was about to hit the fan. “His name is Jedrek. He’s my boyfriend.”

“Really? What does he do? How old is he?”

“He goes to LIT and graduates in December. He’s twenty-two.”

“Okay. Well, I would like to meet him. Kumar said he looked like a thug. Is that true?”

“He works at the car wash for now. He’d just gotten off work, so that may be why he thought that.”

“Okay. Plan to have him here for dinner one day this week. Check with him on his schedule.”

“Okay.”

This shit was gon’ be the most fucked-up dinner of the century. I could feel that shit like I’d grabbed ahold of a fucking powerline.

Eight

JEDREK

Istood in the mirror and adjusted my tie. I was nervous as hell. Vashti’s dad invited me to dinner, because one of his friends saw us together. Giving myself a once over in the mirror, I took a deep breath, then headed to my Mustang. My mama flipped when she found out I was going to dinner there. She started looking for another job the day after she found out, because she seemed to think they were going to fire her. I was sure they already knew I was her son before they invited me. Vashti had to have told them.

We would be eating a dinner that my mama prepared, so I already knew that it would be good. I looked at my reflection in my car window, my navy pants, light blue, long-sleeved dress shirt, and the striped navy, maroon, and light blue tie. Taking a deep breath and exhaling did nothing to calm my nerves. It was five, so I decided to head that way. Dinner was at six, but I wanted to spend a little alone time with Vashti. My aunt was going to pick my mama up from work, so she didn’t have to wait around.

I drove in the driveway as my heart rate picked up speed, and the heat coming from my collar practically scorched my neck. Felt like a damn blowtorch was in that muthafucka. My mama was just walking out of the door. Rubbing my sweaty palms on my pants, I got out the car and her eyes widened. “Drek, you look nice, baby. You must really like her. I can tell how much she likes you. Over the past few days, whenever we talk, no matter what we’re talking about, your name comes up.”

The smile on my face had me feeling all cheesy and shit. My gaze dropped to the ground, and Mama lifted my head by my chin. “Just be yourself, baby. If they can’t accept you for who you are, then it’s their loss. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am. Thanks, Ma.” I hugged her and kissed her cheek. “See you later.”

“I love you, Drek.”

“Love you too, Mama. Hey what did you cook?”

She smiled. “Your favorite, along with some of theirs.”

She did shrimp. I loved shrimp, no matter how it was cooked. I smiled at her, then turned and made my way to the door, only to find Dr. Levine watching me. “You know our maid?”

“Hello, Dr. Levine, I’m Jedrek Harris. Yes, I know her. She’s my mother.”

I decided to use manners that he hadn’t by speaking and introducing myself. He frowned. Seemed like Vashti would have told him who I was before I got there, but obviously she hadn’t. He looked surprised by that information. I could already see this dinner was gon’ be all the way fucked up. I was just hoping I didn’t have to walk out on their asses.

His eyes scanned me from head to toe, focusing on my diamond studs. He shook his head as a smirk appeared on his face. “My daughter sure knows how to pick ’em. Come in, I guess.”

I could feel my temperature rise, but I was able to hold my tongue. As I walked through the door, Vashti was coming down the stairs. “Drek! Hey!”

She ran down the remaining steps, then hugged me tightly. “Hey, Chitrita.”

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