Page 91 of The Switch: A Friends To Lovers Romance

It was considered disrespectful to leave a room before an elder unless dismissed, but Luke was too livid to take his traditions into account.

The war had been bitter and long, but it was over. When the dust settled, he’d have to see how much of his relationship with his parents could be salvaged but, as of this moment, Luke would be fine if he didn’t see them again.

He stepped into the bright sunshine and headed for his car. Just as he slid in, he got a call from Ashanti.

“Hey,” he picked up, smiling in spite of the disappointing conversation.

“Luke,” Ashanti said, her voice bright and perky, “I need you.”

His pulse quickened. “Where are you? At home?” He threw his car into drive. “I’m coming.”

“No, I’m not at home.”

Luke slammed on the brakes and adjusted the phone against his cheek. “Then where are you?”

He heard someone shout in the background. Ashanti lowered her voice and said, “At the market with your grandmother.”

“What?”

“Yeye was supposed to pick us up, but his car broke down and we have all these grocery bags. Can you help us?”

“Give me ten minutes.” Luke hung up and sped to the market.

Traffic thickened as he neared the gated lots filled with wooden stalls. The market was cut in half by a bus station and, even though it was Sunday, the streets were filled with travellers and customers buying the fresh farm produce.

By some miracle, Luke managed to find a parking spot and hopped out.

As he walked into the gates and scanned the crowd for Nai Nai and Ashanti, he noticed the vendors eyeing him.

Most of the farmers were Hispanic with tan skin, deep wrinkles and shiny black hair. There were a few Mennonites in dirty overalls and straw hats, their eyes bluer than the sky.

Luke quickened his pace as he travelled deeper into the lot. The dust rose and surrounded him like a mist. Colorful produce lay on wooden planks—bananas, papayas, green plantains, green peppers, carrots and tomatoes.

Luke noticed someone waving in the distance and sighed with relief when he recognized Ashanti. She wore blue jeans and a plain T-shirt. Her hair had been braided into two thick plaits that dangled over her shoulders.

Her eyes sparkled when he neared them. “Were you speeding? You got here in less than ten minutes.”

“You said you needed me,” Luke replied simply.

“How cute.” Nai Nai grinned at him. “Here are our bags, Luke. Please take them to the car and come back.”

“Come back? Aren’t you ready to leave?”

“No,” Ashanti explained. “We just needed somewhere to put the groceries we already purchased.”

His jaw dropped. “You’ve been here for an hour.”

“And we’ll be here for another. You can wait in the car, dear.” His grandmother waved.

Ashanti smiled.

Shocked, Luke balanced all the plastic bag handles on his arms until his veins popped out. He waddled to the car and carefully placed the bags in the trunk.

Since waiting in the car would be like sitting in a barbeque grill for an hour, he headed back into the market to find his grandmother and girlfriend.

He turned a corner and spotted them haggling over the price of a mamey fruit. A grin climbed his face as he watched Ashanti and Nai Nai tag-team the poor vendor who ended up lowering her price by fifty cents.

The high five the women exchanged was jubilant.

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