Page 92 of The Dating Prohibition
“We wouldn’t be anywhere else, sweetheart.” Her mom stepped forward, embracing her daughter before pressing herhands to Kendra’s cheeks as their foreheads touched. “We are so proud of you,” she sniffled as she stepped back.
“Hey, sis,” Logan pulled Kendra into a bear hug. “I have no idea how this has all come together so quickly, but the outsidelooks great!” He kept an arm around her shoulder as they turned to face the building.
The heavy double doors had bronze pulls. A solid black awning overhead offered shade and cover in case of rain. Iron bencheslined the hallway just inside the entrance for people awaiting access to the Speakeasy Supper Club.
A couple of large windows with black frames shone in the sunlight, but the glass was mirrored so that people could only seeout from inside.
“I love that you make it so we can’t see through the windows,” Shonda said admiringly as she squeezed Kendra. “It just makesthings feel even more mysterious on the inside.”
“That was the plan.” Kendra beamed.
“Cousin!” Lani yelled, launching herself at her best friend.
“I mean, you’re the one that I saw most recently. Are you okay?” Kendra laughed.
“I’m just so proud of you! Even in the short time I’ve been gone, you’ve done so much. This looks beautiful.”
The outside brick had been power washed and painted a deep black.
“Hey, Stanley.” Kendra nodded in his direction.
“Hey, Kendra, this looks awesome. I can’t wait to see what’s inside.”
“Well, then, y’all better come on in.” She pulled open one of the doors.
Logan admired the woodwork. “I love how heavy these are.”
She nodded. “I wanted it to feel like you walk in and you’re immediately transported to a different place.”
They stepped inside and several gasped.
“It really feels like we’re stepping into the Harlem Renaissance.” Shonda’s eyes took in the room.
The gold fixtures, the cream and brown accents, the exposed brick contrasting against the polished floors. The shelving onthe bar with backlit warm light and the Edison fixtures above glowed.
“This is... wow.” Logan’s eyes went wide. “You really did it.” He squeezed Kendra’s shoulder.
“I had a lot of help.” Her eyes grew misty as she watched her family take it all in. “Is anyone else coming?” she asked quietly.
Her brother shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Okay.” Her head bobbed slowly, her face downturned.Of course he’s not coming.It felt hard to breathe, as if someone held her lungs in a vise grip, but Kendra tried to smile through it. She’d tried tokeep herself busy––to remind herself that he had important work he was trying to complete too. But all roads led her thoughtsback to Ben.
“Hey, do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head, willing herself out of her feelings. “Maybe later. Let me show you around,” she announced to the group,stepping away from her brother. She pointed to the bathroom area, where individual water closets shared a common long vanityfor people to wash their hands with a large mirror above it.
The curving booths and pub tables surrounded the communal table in the main room. “On Saturday, we’ll move this big tableso that one of the local jazz ensembles can come and play live music.”
Toward the back was a second hostess stand guarding a heavy barn door that rolled open to reveal a U-shaped dining table so that all present could experience and see the othersin the room. The open part of the U allowed servers to place plates in front of their owners and explain the components and themes of the dishes being served.
In the kitchen, the setup was very similar to that of Logan’s restaurant, though she’d added a convection oven meant for pastries.Pantry-style shelving against one wall and cooking stations lined both sides of the room so that she and another cook couldhave full access without stepping on each other’s toes, ensuring that dishes for each course would come out piping hot andin the right sequence.
Lani gawked. “Cousin, this is even better than what you were posting on Instagram.”
“Well, I didn’t want to give it all away. The dining table in here was made by one of Auntie Mack’s friends. By the way, AuntieAl and Uncle Ronnie are coming down for the soft launch tomorrow.”
Lani nodded. “Yeah, and Mom will be here tomorrow too. She’s already seen the place so she wasn’t super worried about beinghere today—she’s got some business to attend to.”
