Page 18 of The Dating Prohibition
Logan opened his mouth to speak, but he made eye contact with his sister, who shook her head. “Thanks, Mom.” Kendra nodded,raising her glass to her lips for a big sip.I’m glad Lani brought a couple of bottles. Maybe I can sneak one of those downstairs with me for later.“It’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind as I plan out the supper club menu.”
“You weren’t planning on havingthison your menu, were you?”
Her dad jumped in, telegraphing a message to his wife through a wide-eyed stare. “That’s not to say this isbad, right, honey?”
Mrs. Porter caught on, though not quickly enough to go unnoticed. “Oh! Of course not, it’s notbad. It’s just different,” she offered.
Lani hid her smile behind a napkin as Shonda took a generous sip of wine.
Kendra used to think she was just being needy––surely the baby of the family was sensitive and simply craved attention. But it wasn’t that she didn’t receive attention; rather, the attention that she received was never the same kind that would be directed at her brother.
“What kinds of things were you thinking about for your menu, Keke?” Shonda spoke up with an encouraging smile.
Kendra shot her sister-in-law a look of gratitude. “I really want to bring our cultures together in some different ways. Smokedribs with an adobo-style sauce, panang curried jambalaya, a seafood soup where poh tok meets sinigang, fried okra with namprik kapi for dipping, lumpia stuffed with sai ua, butter pound cake with a calamansi glaze, ube bread pudding...” sherattled off. “I have a huge list of dishes that I’ve not only conceptualized, but I’ve already cooked them. Iknowthey work.”
Logan’s eyes lit up. “Panang curried jambalaya sounds fire.”
Lani nodded in agreement, pointing to her raised hand. “I volunteer as tribute––I’ll happily sample any recipes that you’restill working through.”
Kendra laughed. “Thanks, cuz.”
Mrs. Porter sighed. “I can understand why you’d want to blend to pay homage to our backgrounds, but some people are puristswhen it comes to food, honey. I just worry that you’re being too ambitious.”
Kendra’s heart pounded as she felt the knife twist in her chest. “Did you have that same worry when Logan and Shonda conceptualizedPALATE?”
“No, but—”
“It really be your own people.” Kendra pushed her plate away from her and held out her glass to her cousin. “Fill ’er up.”
“Is that responsible, Kendra Jhené?”
She turned to her mother, whose frustration sat on furrowed brows. “I live here. It’s not like I have to drive home.”
“Yes, it was very kind of your brother to let you stay here,” Mrs. Porter replied softly.
“Mom,” Logan warned.
“What? Why am I always the bad guy? You want to leave your job and go flitting around the globe taking cooking classes, fine.I didn’t say a peep! You want to start your own restaurant, okay. I’ll be honest––I’m glad that you’re doing this near yourbrother so he can help you if things go wrong.”
“But why is your mindset that somethingwillgo wrong? You didn’t think that for L. Why do you think that for me?” She hated that her voice broke as she asked, but itwas a question that needed an answer.Why don’t you believe in me?“And it’s not like I chose to leave my job. Who chooses to get laid off? I did good work while I was there, but it wasn’tsomething I loved, so I took advantage of the opportunities that I had and did something that I may never have another chanceto do. I wasn’t flitting around, I worked my ass off while I was gone.”
“You betta check your tone—” Momma pointed one ruby nail toward her daughter.
“Regina...” Mr. Porter looked at his wife, and her mouth snapped shut. She waved her hand away from her daughter as ifshe were removing herself from the conversation.
Kendra observed her dad warily as he turned to meet her gaze. “And you? You agree with her?”
“Keke,” he said, his voice a balm. His face held a warning not to keep pressing. “What your mother’s trying to say is thatwe all know this industry is not an easy one. And you needed that time while you were away, but we both thought you’d go backinto tech when you got home. We’re just trying to adjust.”
Mrs. Porter wrung her hands before standing and quietly excusing herself to go to the powder room.
Kendra watched her mom exit the room and rubbed circles into her temples. “I guess I’m trying to understand why this adjustmentfeels like a challenge to y’all. Logan was in tech. He pivoted. I was in tech. I’m pivoting.”
A countless number of conversations over the dinner table went this way, with Kendra having to point out what Logan had doneand questioning why her forging a similar path was worrisome or problematic. On one hand, it was like everyone knew that shewas smart and determined, but she needed protection in ways that he didn’t. She was only meant to admire roses, not handlethem, because the threat of injury by thorns was too great. Misogyny disguised as safeguarding was exhausting. And they’dsimply blame it on a generational gap when she called it out in the past, but that was nothing more than an excuse to avoidchange. Kendra’s mom returned to the table in silence, smiling tightly at her plate. Kendra took another sip of wine, willingthe moisture gathering in her eyes to dissipate.
Mr. Porter nodded. “You’re right, sunshine.” He glanced at his wife, who rested her head on her hands, her gaze averted fromthe table. “I think that we should continue this conversation another time, but I want you to know that we recognize you’rea hard worker. You’re a Porter––you can do anything that you put your mind to.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Kendra smiled half-heartedly as her dad rose from the table and kissed her forehead, petting her hair. He offeredher his hand, and she took it as she stood and stepped into his arms. In her periphery, Logan consoled their mother and ledher toward the front door.
