Page 81 of The Dating Prohibition
“Yeah, well. Lani figured out that BJ and I had been seeing each other. She blabbed to Shonda, who told Logan. And then Logancalled BJ in to basically give him the third degree and I overheard their conversation. BJ was saying how he wasn’t readyfor anything serious and it makes me feel like... like somehow they think I inadvertently forced this on him or something.”
“Well, we all know that’s not the case, love.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel good to want something more than someone else does. Why do I always have to be the one that’s readywhen the others aren’t?” She thought about her encounter with Chase.
“Feels like that for a lot of women,” Auntie Mack agreed. “You know, women are often allowed to feel their feelings so muchmore than men, we tend to get to a place where we know ourselves, what we want, and whether we’re willing to put in the emotionalwork. And I think sometimes we’re a little less scared of things like therapy, where most men are taught not to feel thosefeelings. And so to them, therapy is invasive. They don’t want to talk through their feelings—they don’t even want to admitthey have them half the time,” she joked. “But that doesn’t mean what he did was right. And I’m sorry that the chain of eventscaused you pain.
“For what it’s worth, when he looked at you, it was clear to me that he had feelings for you. How deep they were and whetherhe was ready, those are different questions. But I saw with my own eyes that he was enjoying his time with you. However longwe get to experience that, it’s a blessing.”
A tear fell down Kendra’s cheek and she nodded. “You’re right. It was a blessing. One that I hoped would last a little longer than it did, but I’m glad that it happened at all.”
“So, are you ready to put this thing in motion, young lady?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am. I will get things started on my end and I’ll call you again tomorrow with some of the details so you canhelp me facilitate things.”
“That sounds perfect. I’m really proud of you, my sweet.”
“Thank you, Auntie. Your support means the world to me.”
“Well, just don’t forget to clue in your parents, because you know that they’re going to want to support you too and they’llbe crushed if they feel like I’m the only one who knew.”
“No, you’re right.” Kendra’s parents had never given her a hard time for the closeness that she shared with Mack—they werejust happy that she felt like she had someone. She’d always been one to share things in her time and they’d always given herthe space to make her own decisions.
“They should be back to their Savannah house by now, but I am pretty sure they’re planning to make their way back to DC forsome event,” Auntie Mack said. “So, just give them a call.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you, Auntie.”
“Of course. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you.”
“I love you too. Bye.”
Kendra pulled out her laptop and shot off some emails to the real estate agent to decline the proposal for the DC property.After, she picked up her phone to send a group text to Lani, Logan, Shonda, Stanley, her parents, and BJ to invite them toa special Monday dinner at her place. She didn’t want to deal with a bunch of people griping at her for not inviting him,but she also figured she could use her family as a buffer to avoid him.
The group thread pinged over and over with differentpeople accepting. Noticeably, the one who didn’t respond was BJ.
?Kendra finished chopping the last of the chives and parsley for various garnishes as she awaited her family. She broughttwo table leaves out of the closet to extend her dining table so that there was enough space for everyone.
Her parents ultimately let her know that they weren’t able to make it back to DC from Savannah in time, so she had a separatecall with them to share her news. As she sprinkled parsley on top of the jambalaya, the doorbell rang. “It’s open,” Kendracalled.
“Hey, sis. You need any help in here? Everything smells good.” Shonda walked in first, followed by Logan and Lani. “We sawBJ and Stanley. They’re both parking.”
“Okay, cool.” Kendra’s stomach flip-flopped at the thought of BJ being there. He never responded to her text, so she assumedhe wasn’t coming.
Logan stepped into the kitchen to eye the feast Kendra had prepared. “What’s the occasion?”
“I just wanted to have a family meal. There’s a lot that’s been going on and we haven’t been able to do this in a while. Wehad these with more frequency when I lived here before.”
Shonda nodded. Before Kendra moved to Silicon Valley and then went off on her two-year trip, she would host elaborate supperclub dinners for them and their friends, putting together a special menu. Everybody would bring booze or contribute cash tothe fund to help support. She would think of different themes like a Sunday brunch or a holiday meal and tie the food to thatparticular theme.
Shonda still raved about her spring-themed lamb chops, while Logan was partial to her lemon and blueberry Bundt cake.
Logan eyed the various dishes on the island and on the stove. “Wow, it’s like all of our family cultures in one meal.”
“Well, that’s what I was going for.” She grinned.
On the stove was a version of their mom’s jambalaya, though Kendra could never simply make a recipe of someone else’s—shealways had to make it her own, so she added some different touches to it that she hoped her brother would notice. On the islandwere some freshly fried lumpia that she had rolled and frozen a month earlier. She’d also skewered and grilled moo yang andmade a mango sticky rice for dessert.
“I was tempted to make some lechon, but I figured that might be too much, given everything else. I did do some extra chickenand sausages, since I know some folks like the added protein.”
