Authors: Adrienne Williams
After they said their goodbyes to E, Sam and Carol, Elliott and h is parents walked back over to his house
in silence. Once inside, Elliott dialed Kayla's number. She answered on the second ring. "Hi," she said. "Hello, Kayla," Elliott replied. "Thanks for returning my call. I'm calling to set up a time for lunch or dinner," she said rather formally. Elliott smiled and said, "The sooner, the better. How about lunch tomorrow." Without hesitation, Kayla agreed to meet her father for lunch the following day. "Will Matthew join us?" Kayla told him that she would be calling him to let him know about lunch, but she did not make any promises for her brother. "I will do my best to bring him along," she said. Elliott took a deep breath after the call with Kayla ended. Ben and Lena were sitting on the couch looking expectantly at Elliott. "So, you are going to see them tomorrow? That's perfect!" Lena all but squealed. "Do you suppose we can come along, Elliott? We can hardly wait to meet them. I mean, we don't want to overwhelm them or anything, we're just anxious to see them." Elliott said to both of his parents, "Let me call Kayla and let her know that you will be joining us tomorrow." Elliott called Kayla and told her that their grandparents wanted to meet for lunch as well. She said that would be great. Elliott asked her if she'd had a chance to speak with Matt about coming to lunch. "He wasn't home so I had to leave a message. He will probably call me back later tonight or early in the morning. " Elliott confirmed with Kayla once again the address to the restaurant before they ended their conversation.
Matt carefully rolled out of bed so that he would not wake Victoria. He went into the kitchen to get
a glass of water. As he was reaching for a glass out of the cabinet, he noted the blinking light on his answering machine. Whenever Victoria spent the night with him, he always turned off his cell phone and turned the ringer off on his home phone. They did not want to be interrupted. Elliott played the message that Kayla had left for him. He stood there thinking for a minute before he called her. "Hey, so where is lunch tomorrow?" Kayla gave him the information and told him that Elliott's parents would be coming along as well. Elliott replied "One big happy family, huh?" Kayla did not respond to that comment and asked if he would be there. "Yeah, of course I'll be there. I'll even come by and pick you up." As they hung up the phone, Kayla breathed a sigh of relief that her brother would be there with her. They were just like all other brothers and sisters, sometimes getting on each other's nerves, but when it was all said and done, they would always be there for each other. As he was finishing his glass of water, Victoria padded her way into the kitchen and slipped her arms around his slim, well-toned waist. She looked sleepy/sexy with her dark brown hair disheveled and wearing one of Matt's T shirts. "Are you in here making dates with other women?" she teased. He turned to face her and said "I'm going to meet with Elliott and his parents tomorrow." Victoria looked at Matthew with concern and asked if he was okay. "I'm fine. It's just a little weird, that's all. It's kinda hard to explain." Victoria squeezed him to her and said, "Okay, baby. Do you need to talk?" Matt kissed Victoria's soft, full lips and said "I'm fine. Let's get you back to bed." Before she could respond, Matt picked her up over his shoulder and carried her back to his bedroom.
The following morning, Matt woke up at 6:30. He got out of bed slowly, so as not to disturb Victoria, and went into the bathroom. The warm spray of water from the shower was relaxing, and he felt that he would definitely need a relaxing start to this particular day. When he finished his shower, Matt stepped out of the shower and looked at himself in the mirror. He was struck at how much he looked like Elliott. For so many years he wondered whether or not he resembled his father at all. He bore some resemblance to Renee, but now he knew for sure that he and his father shared an uncanny appearance. The only difference in their appearance was that Elliott's skin was white and Elliott's skin was the same rich pecan brown tone as Renee's. Elliott and Matthew had the same brown eyes, thick curly hair, and slim muscular build. Matt had been told from the time he was about sixteen that he was devilishly handsome, but he never really gave his looks a second thought, that is, until he finally saw Elliott that day in Renee's office. "Good morning," Victoria said sleepily as she padded her way into the bathroom. "Hey, babe. I didn't mean to wake you up," Matt said. "It's okay. It'll give me some extra time to get ready for work this morning." Matt pulled her close to him and said "Mmmm, are you going to come over here again tonight?" Victoria giggled and said "You know I have to make a good impression at work, right? We're working late tonight on a case, so I'll probably just go home afterward, but I'll call you." Matt gave her a little boy pouty face complete with bottom lip stuck out. Victoria stood on her tiptoes and kissed Matt's bottom lip and said "Now get outta here and let a girl get herself together."
Matt arrived at the building where Kayla worked at 11:30 that morning. As he walked into the office space where she worked, he was greeted by the shy, coy smiles of some girls , while other girls were much more bold in their admiration of his good looks. When he found Kayla, she had just finished typing information into the computer and was readying herself for that day's lunch date with Elliott and his parents. She looked absolutely beautiful with her dark brown, thick, curly, shoulder-length hair. She wore a simple blue dress with princess seams that fit her petite frame as if it had been made specifically for her, and mid-heel, peep-toe red sling back pumps. "Hey," Kayla said as she stood up to make her way over to her brother. Matt asked her "You ready to do this, kiddo?" Kayla replied, "As ready as I'm gonna be." They walked down the steps and got into Matt's car. "Now Matt, please, please try not to be so angry with Elliott. I know that his yelling at Mom the other day really pissed you off, but . . . " Matt cut her off and said "Listen, sis, I don't need you telling me how to act around people, okay? I mean I am definitely not going to bend over backward to be nice to Elliott, but I really do want to meet our grandparents. So you don't need to worry that I'm going to lose my cool and embarrass you." Kayla sighed and rolled her eyes. "I wasn't trying to tell you how to act around people. I just want us to make a good impression, that's all." They pulled into the parking space and crossed the street to the restaurant, a small Italian eatery that was very nondescript, but served some of the best fare around. As they were walking into the restaurant, Kayla saw Elliott and his parents already seated at a table that provided them with a view of the ocean. Elliott's eyes lit up when he saw Kayla and Matt walking toward him. "Hello," Elliott said to both of them. "I'm so glad you both were available today." He really was just as nervous as Matt and Kayla, and really did not know what to say to them. Kayla replied "Oh, it was really no problem at all. My last class was at 10:00 this morning. After lunch I plan on going back to work for a few more hours before calling it a day." Elliott could not help but to be in awe of his beautiful daughter. He nodded and thanked her again for meeting with him. Elliott was now standing face-to-face with Matt. "Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice. I really appreciate it," Elliott said to Matt. Matt looked directly into his dad's blue eyes and said, "No problem, Elliott." The trio made their way to their table where Elliott's parents were waiting. Ben and Lena could barely contain themselves. They both stood up at the same time, smiling. "Oh, Elliott," Lena said, "they are so beautiful." Kayla smiled shyly as she was enveloped in a warm hug by her grandmother. "Just look at her, Ben. She's perfect," Lena continued to gush in her soft African accent. Ben stood there smiling at the shy yet anxious expression on his granddaughter's face and said "She certainly is" as he gave her a hug. Ben and Lena then turned their attention to Matt who was standing there quietly observing the scene they were creating. Ben extended his hand to Matt and said "It's so nice to meet you Matt." Matt shook Ben's extended hand and said "Likewise, Mr. James." Lena seemed to be absolutely stunned at how much Matt and Elliott favored. She finally found her voice and said "Matthew, I am so pleased you could meet with us today. Please forgive me for staring, but you are truly just like your father." With that she extended her slim, elegant hand to him and gave his hand a soft squeeze. After all introductions had been made, the group sat at their table and continued to talk. Conversation was a bit stilted at first, however, it gradually became easier, as both Ben, Lena, and Elliott were very good at gauging people and making easy conversation for them. They focused on easy subjects like work, school, hobbies, and life in New York. After they had finished eating their lunch, it was Kayla who said, "I have had such a wonderful afternoon. I know that today was probably nerve-wracking for everybody, but it's good to finally do this." Lena looked proudly at her granddaughter and said, "Yes, child, this day has been a long time coming, but now that it is here, we have nowhere to go from here but up." As they were leaving the restaurant Ben approached one of the wait staff and asked for a picture of them outside the restaurant with his camera. They had all exchanged phone numbers and other contact information. Ben promised that he would make sure that Matt and Kayla got copies. When Lena saw the picture she exclaimed "Look at that! Matthew, you look exactly like Elliott, and Kayla, you are so beautiful, just like Renee." When Lena said those words, Elliott's body language seemed to stiffen a bit. They said their for-real goodbyes and agreed that they would get together over the weekend at Elliott's place.
Chapter 10
"See, sis, I told you I wouldn't embarrass you, didn't I?" Matt said to Kayla on their drive to her apartment.
Kayla said "I remind you, Matthew, I never said you were going to embarrass me. I just didn't want you to get into it today with Elliott." As he pulled into a parking space directly in front of Kayla's door, Matt said "I have no intention of ever getting into it with him. As long as he knows where he stands, he and I do not have any problems. Now if he forgets where he stands, that could be a problem for him." Kay pursed her lips and sighed. Matthew said, "Ben and Lena are very nice. Are you surprised that Ben is white and Lena is black?" As they entered Kayla's apartment, she said "I'm not surprised. After seeing Elliott that day for the first time, I kinda suspected that he's biracial." Kayla went to the refrigerator and poured herself and Matt a glass of iced tea. "I'm looking forward to dinner Saturday. You are going to be there, right?" Matt said "I am scheduled to work Saturday, but I will see if someone will be willing to trade days with me." Before Kayla could say anything, Matt said "Don't worry about it, I'm sure someone will take Saturday for me." Kayla thought about it for a minute and said "Okay, when will you know for sure?" Matt told her that he should know something by tomorrow and that he would give her a call. "Well, I need to get back to my work, sis. C'mon and I'll drop you back on campus. Kayla got her purse and they got back into Matt's car and went back to the University.
Ben and Lena could not stop talking about Kayla and Matthew. "Elliott, they are so smart, beautiful, and well-spoken. Renee has done an excellent job in raising them," Lena beamed. "Yes, they certainly are son," Ben agreed. "Matthew seems to be reserved, but I think he may just be shy, sort of like you were at that age." Elliott’s jaw tensed at the mention of Renee’s name. His tense jaw did not escape his mother’s eye, so she decided not to press further conversation that involved mentioning Renee. “Yes, they are. I wish we could have spent more time with them, though.” Ben replied, “This week will go by quick enough, the weekend will be here before you know it.” Lena said “A cookout would be perfect. Your dad and I will take care of the meal preparation. Would you like to invite E and his family over, Elliott? Lena asked. Elliott replied that he would prefer to just have the kids over, to spend more time with them, having them get comfortable with him. “I can’t wait for E and his wife to meet them, but not just yet.” Ben and Lena understood and set about planning Saturday’s menu. After spending the rest of the afternoon and evening discussing their delight at meeting their grandchildren, Ben and Lena finally settled themselves down enough to watch some television before retiring to bed. Elliott stayed up a little bit longer. He went into his bedroom and took out his iPad. He immediately went to Renee’s website and looked at her image staring back at him. He didn’t know why he had gone onto her site. He told himself it was because he needed to know more about her skin care company, that it was only fair that he know about her company because after all, she is the mother of his children and he had a right to know about her line of work. Even as he was rationalizing this, somewhere inside of himself, he knew that wasn’t the reason for going to Renee’s webpage. When he saw Renee at her office that day, he was absolutely stunned at what a beautiful woman she had become. Of course when he last saw her all those years ago, she was a very pretty girl. He loved looking at her. He loved touching her brown, silky skin and looking into her dark eyes. She wore her thick hair either in an afro or twists that she would pin up or let hang loosely. Seeing her now, though, she was just so fine. Her smooth, nut-brown skin was a smooth as ever and her dark eyes could still draw him in. Her shoulder-length dreadlocks were black and thick and luscious. As he sat there looking at her computer image, he couldn’t get one question out of his mind: Why? Why had she ended things as abruptly as she did? Why didn’t she tell him she was pregnant. Surely she had to know that he loved her? Why had she not attempted to call him? Before Elliott realized it, it was after midnight. He turned off his device and went to bed.