Over the Hedge: Part 2- The Finale (Lucky in Love) Read online

  He had Lashawnda sneak some sausages out of the fridge to throw on the grill. If Mrs. Price knew she would have had a fit. She wanted everyone to save their appetites for dinner. As a mother who never raised boys, she wasn’t aware there was no such thing. Big men like Brent and I always had an appetite. Eating now wouldn’t hinder either one of us from demolishing the food being prepared in the kitchen. Mr. Price wasn’t a small man either. I could tell he was a formidable force in his prime.

  “Did your wife teach you how to cook?” Brent asked in a string of garbled words.

  He was trying to chew and cool a piece of sausage on a hotdog bun at the same time. The steam coming from the hot meat barely had time to cool before he shoveled his face. Each word he spoke emitted a puff of swirling steam.

  Mr. Price did a quick flick of his wrist, flipping the long, stainless-steel, two-pronged fork into the air and catching it effortlessly.

  “No, she did not. I learned how to cook from my momma. Actually, I’ve had to teach Elizabeth a thing or two in the kitchen,” he boasted.

  “Really?” I asked in surprise. “Lashawnda never mentioned that when I asked her who taught her how to cook. She makes it seem as though your wife ran the kitchen.”

  Mr. Price shook his head.

  “Yes, Elizabeth did the cooking by the time the girls were born, but when we first got together, there were a few things she just didn’t know how to do, proper. As you can tell by now, my wife loves to have dinner parties. I couldn’t sit idly and let people talk about her behind her back. So, I gave her some tips that made her cooking stand out better than all the other wives in our circle of friends. By the time we had the girls she had learned enough. She no longer needed my help,” he explained.

  “Well Lashawnda is teaching me how to cook now, so I guess she must get that from you,” I said.

  “Yeah, Lucky is a lot like me, but she mostly takes after her momma. Now, that other one, the hard-headed one—that’s my twin right there,” Mr. Price said with pride, looking fondly toward the house.

  He made a few adjustments to the meat on the grill, then grabbed a plate and put a bun and a piece of sausage on their before handing it to me. Brent couldn’t wait to eat and ended up with his plate five minutes after the meat had touched the hot surface of the grill. I was hungry, but I was also not trying to act like I didn’t have any home training in front of my girlfriend’s parents.

  Plus, Sandra Colcord would box my ears so hard for embarrassing her.

  “Thank you, sir,” I said taking the plate from Mr. Price. The smacking sounds that were coming from Brent’s mouth were making me hungrier than I thought I was.

  “When Elizabeth was pregnant the first time I prayed for a boy, but out came my beautiful baby girl. I was so happy she was healthy that I didn’t care one bit about her gender. Lucky was smart as a whip too. She started talking and doing all kinds of stuff before the other kids that were born at the same time. Yes, my Lucky was a special one. Y’all might have noticed she’s a little clumsy at times. But I got a theory about that.” He turned to me and winked.

  “I think that big brain she got in her head is doing more thinking than her body can keep up with. So, when her mind says left leg take a step, by the time it decides to move her mind is already telling the right leg to move. Then she just ends up falling or bumping into something because her limbs are confused on what they are supposed to be doing,” he explained.

  I laughed fondly at Mr. Price’s observation. There was no doubt in my mind the older man was correct. After months of being with Lashawnda, it was the best explanation for her clumsiness. Either that, or she was cursed. Since I planned on being with the woman for the rest of my life, I wasn’t going to take the latter explanation.

  “I think you might be on to something, Mr. Price,” I mused.

  “I’ve had to keep a real close eye on her over the years. You know what; I wouldn’t have my Lucky any other way.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Especially when she was first learning how to drive. Can y’all imagine what I went through?”

  He bent his head toward Brent and pointed at a bald spot.

  “You see this spot right here. I got that when I was teaching Lucky how to drive. Now, the hair didn’t fall out at once. First, it turned brown, then gray, and that was just after her first lesson. But, by lesson number three that spot was as bald as a baboon’s ass.”

  Brent and I were laughing so loud, the neighbor’s dog barked in response.

  “Yep, I think you’re right.” Brent leaned in to touch the spot.

  “Now, y’all might think it’s funny, but I’m dead serious.” Mr. Price reached over and patted me on my shoulder. “You’ll have a lot on your plate when it comes to keeping her out of trouble. But it’ll be worth it. My Lucky is a really good girl.”

  I felt my face warm at Mr. Price’s words of confidence. I was glad the older man had warmed up to me. Forever with Lashawnda, with her dad not liking me, would have been tough.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” I told him with confidence.

  Mr. Price gave me two more pats on the shoulder, then, nodded his head.

  “Now my Crisis…” Mr. Price stretched out his long legs in front of him. “She is another story altogether. When Elizabeth was pregnant the second time, I just knew it would be a boy. I used to go to bed thinking about teaching him how to play all kinds of sports; how we would take father-son trips together every year. And, I planned to coach his little league team. I just knew he would play in the NFL, but still go to college and get a respectable job. He would marry a beautiful young lady and name their first son after me.”

  I listened to Mr. Price and wondered if my own father thought the same things about me before I was born. Did he look to building a relationship with me as his son? What dreams and aspirations did he have in mind for me? Was I living up to any of his expectations? It was times like this I missed him the most.

  “But, as you both see, the good Lord decided I needed a Crystal in my life and not a Christopher.”

  “Was that what you would have named him?” Brent asked stretching out his fork to pluck another helping of sausage on his plate.

  “Do you not have any food at your house?” Mr. Price leveled him with a scowl.

  “Yes, sir, but none as good as this.”

  I was used to this type of behavior. Brent had no shame in trying to fill his bottomless stomach wherever he went.

  “He could eat everything on that grill right now and still ask for more,” I chimed in.

  “See, that’s why you need a steady woman in your life, young man. If you have one, trust me, you will never go hungry again.” Mr. Price was offering some sound advice but to the wrong man. The day Brent decides to settle down would be a cold day in hell.

  “I’m a long way from making that kind of commitment.” Brent took a moment to take a long swig of his lemonade. Licking his lips, he smiled at Mr. Price.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Mr. Price said. “That’s why you over here acting like you are starving, boy.”

  “Speaking of Crystal, I thought Lashawnda said her husband would be here as well?” I asked.

  Mr. Price got up from his seat and went back to check on the meat.

  “With any luck, he would decide not to show up,” he said, stabbing the chicken breast all the way through to the other side with the fork.

  At the look on Mr. Price’s face, I hoped for the same thing.

  “Excuse me for a second. I think I’ve had more than my share of lemonade.” I got up and made my way inside to relieve myself.

  When I entered through the back patio and toward the guest bathroom down the hall from the kitchen, I could hear the women laughing and carrying-on. My mother’s high-pitched laughter was one of the loudest. Crystal’s voice was among them as well. She was MIA when we showed up. I was about to make my way into the kitchen to say hello when I saw Lashawnda coming out of the bathroom.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I asked
walking up to her.

  Lashawnda jumped at the sound of my voice.

  “Hey, you. You guys having a good time out there? I could hear you laughing from all the way inside.”

  “Yeah. Your dad is a riot. I think he’s finally warmed up to me.”

  She was standing in the doorway with her back against the frame. Placing my hand above her head, I leaned close and caged her in. I had become accustomed to reading Lashawnda’s moods in the brief time we had been together. Based on the tone of her voice, I could tell that something was bothering her; although she was doing a damn good job of hiding it with a forced smile.

  “You gonna tell me what’s wrong with you?” I asked concerned.

  “What...no…nothing is wrong,” Lashawnda said with a shaky voice.

  I let out an exasperated breath. She shouldn’t have been surprised I knew something was up. We have become too close for that. Leaning in, I brought my lips to her forehead and gave her a tender kiss. Her small hands crept up my sides and rested on my waist.

  “Okay…then what’s bothering you? And, don’t tell me nothing, because I know that something isn’t right.” I pressed, hoping for an answer this time.

  Lashawnda pulled me close and settled her head underneath my chin. The tension in her body set me on edge. What could possibly have happened between the time we arrived and now to have her in such a mood? My overactive mind was trying hard to come up with something.

  “I love you,” she whispered against my chest.

  The feel of her warm solid frame was an aphrodisiac. As I stood in her ardent embrace, I could smell faint traces of our bodies mixed together—perfume, barbeque smoke, spices, and the sun on my skin. It was an odd combination, yet it reminded me that we were all here to make our two families one.

  Just then Crystal came walking down the hallway.

  “Ooh y’all better move before I tell Daddy y’all in here hunching.” She sounded like a tattling five-year-old.

  “You better not say that. I think your dad is finally starting to like me.” I yanked her ponytail playfully.

  Lashawnda looked at the two of us and a genuine smile spread across her face. “Aww, it’s great that my man and my sister get along so well.”

  “We won’t be if she goes telling on us.” I faked an angry scowl in Crystal’s direction, but it didn’t faze her one bit.

  “Come on Lashawnda. Mrs. Colcord is about to tell us some more embarrassing stories about Sean.” Crystal grabbed Lashawnda’s hand and pulled her back towards the kitchen.

  I reached out to grasp her other hand, but she was slightly out of my reach. I barely grazed her fingertips and was left grasping thin air.

  “We’ll talk later.” I said, reminding her that my inquisition was left unanswered.

  She nodded and blew me a kiss before I stepped into the bathroom. I was going to have a talk with my mother as well. Yes, we were a family now; but did she really have to divulge every secret on the first day?

  CHAPTER 8

  LASHAWNDA

  To my surprise dinner made it on the table on time. It felt like Momma, Crystal, Mrs. Colcord, and I spent most of the day in that kitchen talking and not doing any cooking. We must have done something right, because a substantial feast was spread out before us in the formal dining room. The massive table took up more than half of the space, and the best of southern cooking covered every inch of its surface.

  Crystal and I had both called dibs on the antique cherry wood table. One of my great-great aunts passed it down to my grandmother who then passed it down to my mother. I argued, ‘that being the oldest daughter, it entitled me to the family heirloom’. Crystal countered my argument and said, ‘she deserved it more because she was the favorite’. Daddy threw his hat in and said, ‘he planned on using it for firewood when he became old and helpless’. Because he knew by the time old age hit him, he wouldn’t be able to afford to heat the large house during the winter. We had to remind him we lived in Florida where it was above eighty degrees for over ninety percent of the year.

  Regardless of who would end up with the table it would be put to good use tonight.

  When Sean and Brent came inside, they were both wide-eyed at the display of food. Brent bumped Sean with his shoulders, and they covertly did a fist bump. I knew they couldn’t be that hungry considering the two large helpings of smoked sausage they had me sneak out of the house earlier. But they had exposed me to their voracious appetites on the few occasions when Brent stopped by Sean’s place.

  The seating arrangements were casual. In the past when Momma and Daddy had dinner parties for his colleagues from work at the house, she would always complain about having to creatively organize a seating chart that would provide just the right balance of healthy discourse and drama. Thank God, we didn’t have to worry about that tonight.

  Momma and Daddy sat at each end of the rectangular-shaped table. On the right of Daddy sat Brent, Crystal, and the empty chair saved for Brian. Momma had Brian sit closest to her; putting Crystal in the middle. On the left sat Sean, Mrs. Colcord, and me.

  “Elizabeth, I think you and the ladies have outdone yourselves on this one,” Daddy praised Momma as he helped her take her seat.

  Sean assisted his mother and me, while Brent did the same for Crystal. Just as Daddy went to take his seat the doorbell sounded.

  “I wonder who that could be,” he said in annoyance as he excused himself from the dining room. He returned shortly with a very handsomely dressed Brian in tow. He also had an aggravated scowl on his face.

  I looked nervously at my sister, who had immediately lost her carefree demeanor from earlier. Momma went into the kitchen to grab another place setting. Sean and Brent wore the same expression as my father. Poor Mrs. Colcord looked around the table confused; sensing the shift in the air. So much for my earlier thought on there being no drama at the dinner table.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Crystal murmured under her breath as Brian made his way into the room.

  Whatever argument they had earlier still had her pissed. Crystal being her usual self didn’t hold back on vocalizing her displeasure of him showing up. However, I prayed she’d keep hold of her wicked tongue. It was not the time or place for her to dig into him. But Crystal wasn’t one of those people that could let things wait. She was a no-nonsense kind of woman who wouldn’t think twice about kicking asses first and not even bothering with taking names. I admired that trait about her, but I was praying she didn’t get out of hand with Sean’s mother visiting us for the first time.

  “You want me to call the cat to come and drag his ass back out?” Brent asked her.

  Crystal pressed her lips together. Looking up at Brent, she murmured an apology.

  “No need for that,” he said reassuringly. “But, when you’re ready to take me up on my offer just let me know. I’m terrific friends with a lot of the pussies around town.”

  Unable to hold it in, Crystal erupted into a burst of laughter that sounded like choking noises, which she quickly stopped by covering her mouth. A quick glance around the table, and I saw Sean giving Brent a menacing glare. For Brent to be his best friend, there was nothing friendly about his behavior.

  Crystal looked at Brent from beneath hooded lashes. He was staring right back at her. That heated gaze was enough to set the entire table on fire. If Sean thought his threatening glares would stop whatever was brewing between Brent and Crystal, he was sadly mistaken.

  “I bet there is more truth to that statement than you’d care to admit,” Crystal said in a low whisper.

  “Not at all. I make no apologies for being good at what I do,” Brent whispered back. His words made her blush, and she bit her bottom lip before looking away.

  Sean was giving Brent the evil eye, but he ignored it. I was thankful for it. If flirting with Crystal was diverting her attention away from her husband, then it was worth it. I almost felt the tension rolling off her petite frame when Brian stepped through the door.

 
; The whispered conversation did not go unnoticed by Brian.

  “Hello to you too, Crystal,” Brian greeted her with a hard tone that was anything but welcoming.

  “I see you can make it to other people’s homes but not your own,” Crystal said as soon as he took his seat next to her.

  “I’m not even going to entertain you right now,” Brian replied in a low voice meant only for Crystal’s ears. I was thankful they were sitting so far away from Daddy.

  “Trust me, I’d pay good money to see you do anything entertaining,” Crystal retorted.

  She spoke loud enough that Momma heard it as she returned with the place setting in hand.

  I didn’t want to point fingers at the culprit behind this debacle, but if Momma hadn’t invited Brian, we wouldn’t be having this problem. She should have taken the advice she gave Daddy and minded her own business. I wasn’t about to say what I was thinking out loud. My mother might have been a good seven inches shorter than me, but she was the last person I would disrespect.

  “Brian, I’m so glad you could make it,” Momma chirped, setting the plate down in front of him.

  “Thank you very much for having me. I wouldn’t miss the chance for a home-cooked meal for nothing in the world.” Brian smiled up at her.

  Crystal folded her arms underneath her breasts and stared at him through the corner of her eye. That comment about a home-cooked meal was meant for her. Brian apparently didn’t know my sister well. She refused to play the wife role since he decided he no longer wanted to work on their marriage. Honestly, he was better off not eating anything she cooked. I’m not saying Crystal had it in her to poison him, but she was devious when pushed. And Brian was pushing.

  “Brian, I don’t think you’ve met Sean. This is his mother Sandra Colcord and that one there with the hungry eyes is Brent,” I said making the introductions.

  I laughed when Brent flexed his eyebrows at me. All three said their, ‘hellos’ to Brian. Brent and Sean’s salutations were not as welcoming as they could have been. I shouldn’t be surprised since Sean offered to beat Brian up for making Crystal cry. Here he was again in big brother mode.