Let's Get It On (23 page)

Maurice shook his head. “I don't think so. I'm not sure that I want her to hear what your people are going to say about me. Turn left up here,” he said.

“Where are we going?” Kenya asked.

“You'll see when we get there.” He laughed, then said, “Make a right.”

Kenya followed his directions, and they ended up at Fourth Ward Park. “What are we doing here?” she asked as she pulled into a parking spot near the fountain.

“You'll see,” he said as he hopped out of the car. Maurice led Kenya to the picnic area, where there was a gourmet meal waiting for them. “You like?”

Kenya surveyed the scene: the red roses in the center of the table, two tapered candles burning at the end of the table, and expensive champagne chilling in a bucket of ice. Dinner consisted of slow-roasted salmon over wild rice, a green salad, and chocolate mint mousse for dessert.

“I love it,” she said.

Maurice motioned for her to sit down. “So, tell me about this Atlanta trip?”

She placed her napkin in her lap and looked up at him. “I think we've had enough conflict to last a lifetime, so I want to make it clear to everyone that you're the man I love and the man I'm going to marry. It would be nice if they stood beside me on this,” she said.

“I feel you on that,” he said. “But what if they don't?”

Kenya shrugged her shoulders. “Can we cross that bridge when we get to it?”

“And let's not think about that tonight,” he said as he leaned over the table, with a forkful of salmon.

After dinner, Maurice and Kenya took a moonlit stroll around the park. She looked over at him, smiling and silently hoping that when her family looked at him they'd see how much he loved her.

Kenya and Maurice didn't make it to Atlanta until two days after their romantic dinner in the park. Though they were supposed to leave the previous day, they took advantage of not having to go to work and spent the day in bed, making love.

Driving to Atlanta in her Mustang, with the top down and the man she loved by her side, should've been fun for Kenya, but the closer they got to the Georgia state line the more nervous she became.

“You're quiet,” Maurice said. “Is everything all right?”

“I'm fine,” she lied. “I just want everything to go well.” Tightening her grip on the steering wheel, she had a flash of her mother chasing Maurice out of the house, wielding a meat cleaver as she ran after him.

Maurice placed his hand on her knee and smiled. “It will. Think positive.”

Kenya shot him a sidelong glance before looking ahead at the road. “My father hates you. You do know that, don't you? And my mother doesn't like you, either.”

“Mr. Taylor is going to be fine,” Maurice said confidently.

Kenya and her father, Henry, didn't have an extremely close father and daughter relationship. But when it came to keeping his little girl safe, Henry would do anything to protect her. Angela and Henry had made it clear that they thought Maurice was toxic, and that they wanted nothing more than to banish him from Kenya's life permanently.

“Yeah,” she said, though she didn't believe it. Instead of feeling like a confident adult, she felt as if she were a teenager bringing home the neighborhood bad boy for dinner.

“What happens if your family doesn't stand by us?”

“Nothing changes. We're still going to be together,” she said. “I love you, and no one is going to change how I feel. I couldn't even change that, and I tried hard.”

“I can't blame you,” he said. “I didn't give you a reason to love me. I can't blame your family for thinking that we're a mistake.”

“But we're not,” she said.

“No, we're not. I've made all of my mistakes, and they're called Lauryn Michaels.”

“Please, don't bring her up,” Kenya said, wrinkling her nose. “I'm surprised she hasn't reared her ugly head lately.”

“She doesn't want to go to jail,” Maurice said.

“What do you mean?”

“I took out a restraining order against her, because I don't want her anywhere near us.”

“When did you do that?” Kenya asked.

“A few days ago. Lauryn wants to cause problems for us because she thinks that somehow she can creep back into my pocket. Her girlfriend even dumped her.”

“How do you know that?”

“They were outside of my building the other day, when I went home after practice,” Maurice said. “If Lauryn shows up again, she's going directly to jail without passing Go.”

“This isn't a game,” Kenya said. “A piece of paper probably isn't going to keep her from causing trouble.”

“She can only cause trouble if we let her,” Maurice said. “I don't plan to allow that.”

Kenya sighed and didn't answer. Why was she still letting Lauryn's ghost affect her?
Maurice is with me and not her. So, I'm going to have to stop letting her name bother me,
she thought.

By the time they made it to Atlanta, Kenya wasn't thinking about Lauryn; she was worried about facing her parents. “Before we head to my parents' house, can we stop for a drink?” she asked.

“No. You're driving, and alcohol isn't the answer,” he joked.

“Whatever,” she said as she pulled into the parking lot of Justin's, a restaurant and bar on Peachtree Street. “I know my parents.”

Getting out of the car, Maurice couldn't help smiling. “You act as if we're teenagers,” he said. “You're a grown woman, and what can they do? You're not a trust-fund baby who's going to have all of her money taken away. I think you're overreacting.”

“Maybe you're right. We'll see, won't we?” She sprinted to the entrance of the restaurant.

Maurice and Kenya took a seat at the bar once they made it inside. “How about we just have some coffee,” he whispered before the bartender walked over to them. “If you go to your parents' smelling like liquor, just imagine how that's going to make me look?”

She waved for the bartender and turned to Maurice. “You got jokes,” Kenya said before ordering a gin and tonic. “I'm just worried, Mo. And I know the only thing this drink is doing is putting off the inevitable.”

“Then let's go.” Maurice slammed a twenty on the bar. “There's no need to fear anything. If we could find each other after all of these years, anything is possible.”

Though Maurice was saying all the right things to calm Kenya down, he was just as nervous as she was, if not more. He knew that if he were Kenya's father, he wouldn't want to see Maurice in his house, on his daughter's arm.

When she pulled into her parents' driveway, he didn't think about the times they'd played hide-and-seek in the backyard; nor did he think about the first time they'd made love in the toolshed. The only thing that flashed through his mind now was getting punched in the face by Henry Taylor or getting told off by sharp-tongued Angela Taylor. The punch was looking more and more inviting by the minute.

“Ready?” Kenya asked as she turned off the ignition.

“I should be asking you.” Maurice stepped out of the car, smoothing his khaki shorts and green golf shirt.

Kenya knocked on the door, then reached out for Maurice's hand.

“Kenya, what's he doing here?” Angela said when she opened the door.

“Ma, before you say anything, can we come inside?” Kenya said.

Angela stood aside, allowing Maurice and Kenya to enter. “Where's Daddy?” Kenya asked.

“In Covington, with Jimmy. They went fishing. I told him you wanted to have dinner at Houston's, but that man said we're having a fish fry.”

“He's catching dinner?” asked Kenya.

Angela shook her head. “He's going to say that he did. But, anyway, enough of the small talk. What the hell is Maurice doing here, and what did you mean by a big announcement? And it had better not be what I think it is.”

“It's nice to see you, too, Mrs. Taylor,” Maurice said.

Angela rolled her eyes at him. “Uh-huh. Kenya. Kitchen. Now.”

Kenya smiled at Maurice as her mother nearly dragged her by the arm into the kitchen. Maurice was too afraid to sit down but felt like a fool standing in the middle of the living room, like a brother who was about to be carted off to jail. Just as he was about to sit down, the front door opened.

“Angie! We came across a mess of . . . What in the hell are you doing here?” Henry said, his voice booming like thunder.

Kenya ran into the living room. “Daddy,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Henry hugged his daughter loosely. “Kenya, I'm glad you're home, but why is he here?”

Maurice looked from Kenya to Henry as Kenya walked over to him and grabbed his hand.

“Dad, Mom,” Kenya said as Angela walked into the living room. “Maurice and I are getting married.”

“What?” the Taylors said collectively. Henry stormed onto the front porch, muttering profanities that made Maurice blush.

Despite his misgivings, Maurice followed Henry onto the porch. “Mr. Taylor?”

“Boy, I don't want to talk to you,” Henry said angrily. “Haven't you done enough to hurt my daughter? Now you come here and claim you want to marry her? I've seen Kenya cry over you too many nights, and I won't watch it happen again.”

Maurice folded his hands underneath his chin. “There's nothing I can say to change the past.”

“You're damned right!” Henry grabbed Maurice by his collar and pushed him against the door. “The best thing for you to do is to walk away. You'll never be welcomed into this family.” Henry dropped his hands and stepped back from Maurice.

“What about what Kenya wants? I love her, and I know I've made mistakes, but she's forgiven me,” Maurice said, rubbing his neck.

“Then my child's a fool,” Henry said before rushing into the house.

Maurice shook his head, thinking, That went well
.

 

 

Kenya rushed to her father when he walked in the door. “Daddy.”

“What are you thinking, Kenya? Just what the hell are you thinking?” Henry asked.

Angela nodded in agreement.

“I love him, and we're getting married,” Kenya said.

“Why?” Angela asked. “You know that Maurice is an arrogant, selfish bastard. What about that DVD of him and that woman?”

“It was a fake,” Kenya said.

“DVD?” Henry questioned.

“Wait, wait,” Kenya said, waving her hands. “Neither of you have to live with Maurice. I just wanted some peace, and I wanted us to sit down and be able to talk like adults.”

Henry walked out of the living room, grumbling about the mistake that Kenya was making and how she was on her own. Angela turned to her daughter.

“Is this about money?” she asked.

“What?” Kenya slapped her hand against her forehead in frustration. “Mother, you know I don't need Mo's money. This is about me loving him and wanting him. I never got over him, and who am I to turn down a second chance with him?”

“He should be thanking God for you, and not the other way around,” Angela said. “I don't like this, but you're an adult. Just don't expect me to support this union.”

“Then I guess there's nothing left to say,” Kenya said as she grabbed her car keys from the coffee table.

“Wait. I don't want you to leave here angry. If something happened to you, I wouldn't forgive myself,” said Angela. “Henry!”

Kenya's father walked into the living room. “What?”

“They came too far for us to let them leave without feeding them. So, get the fish ready,” Angela said. “Tell
him
that he doesn't have to stay on the porch.”

Kenya walked outside and looked at Maurice. “Are you okay?” she said, then sat on the step, beside him.

“I'm sorry,” said Maurice.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Everything that I've caused, this domino effect that I've had on your life,” he said. “I didn't know that my actions had had such an adverse effect on your—”

Kenya placed her finger to his lips. “It's going to take some time to win them over, but we got the rest of our lives to do that.”

“Sounds like a Vegas wedding to me.”

Kenya kissed him on his nose. “Nope, because you're going to go in there and win them over. I don't know how, but you're going to.”

Maurice sighed. “All right. I mean, I understand where they're coming from. If you were my daughter, I wouldn't want some jerk coming back into your life, either.”

“You're no jerk.”

Maurice turned around and saw Henry frowning at him. “Yeah, if you say so,” he said as he and Kenya rose to their feet.

Kenya walked in ahead of Maurice; then Henry blocked Maurice's entrance. “I heard what you said out here talking to Kenya,” he said. “You mean that?”

“Yes, sir, I do. I love Kenya, and I've always loved her.”

“Humph. You had a hell of a way of showing it. Imagine listening to your daughter crying her eyes out when she thinks no one's around. There's nothing a father can do to heal a broken heart. If it happens again, you're going to have a short career, because I just might kill you. And I ain't going to a tawdry Las Vegas chapel to watch my only child get married.”

Maurice held his hand out to Henry. “Sir, I wouldn't dream of it. Kenya can have the wedding that she wants.”

Henry shook his hand. “And you're paying for it. Come on in so we can clean and cook this fish.”

One down and one to go,
Maurice thought as he followed Henry inside.

 

 

Kenya and Angela sat on the back porch, silently sipping iced tea. Kenya turned to her mother. “Will you say what's on your mind?” She leaned back in her chair and set her glass on the wrought-iron table, ready to hear everything that her mother had to say.

“I think you're making a huge mistake with this boy. Sure, he's charming and attractive, but he's not loyal. You know that.”

“All in the past, Ma. If I can forgive Maurice, why can't you?”

Angela reached out and took her daughter's hand in hers. “Because he hurt you, and don't think that I don't know what happened in college.”

“Because I told you,” Kenya said. “He cheated on me. I was—”

“At Clark Atlanta. The baby.”

Kenya fell silent, chewing her bottom lip and fighting back the tears. Angela patted Kenya's hand and continued talking.

“I waited for you to tell me. Then I thought about some of the things I'd said before you went off to college. I didn't make it easy for you to talk me. I had such high hopes for you, and I thought being tough on you was the way to make sure you achieved your goals. When you were going through so much, I was powerless to help you, and he was off the hook in Charlotte, living it up. I watched you cover up your heartache with schoolwork and then your career, and there he was on
Sports Center,
celebrating in the end zone and the Super Bowl. I hated him. Hated what he did to you and hated the fact that you never got over him.”

“How did you know all of this stuff?” Kenya asked.