Page 94 of The Dating Prohibition
“I’m sure he’ll let you know when he’s ready. Ah...” She smiled. “I forgot to mention that I was bringing a date.” Shewinked at Kendra.
“A date?” Kendra grinned. “Oh my gosh, let me meet him.”
“Jackson, this is my niece, Kendra.”
Jackson was tall with salt-and-pepper hair, his close-shaved beard framing a mouth with smile lines, crow’s-feet crinklingat the corners of his eyes. “Kendra, I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Well, I am at a loss, but I look forward to getting to know you.” She smiled.
“I will say that this special lady—” he reached for Auntie Mack’s hand as she blushed “—she has captured a great deal of myattention, and I have been endeavoring to know every little thing about her.”
“Well, she is one of the greatest treasures in my life,” Kendra admitted. “So, I appreciate the care you are taking to getto know my aunt.”
Jackson dipped his head.
“Please, come in and have some refreshments. Take the tour.” She gestured inside.
Auntie Mack winked at her and mouthed,I love you.
Kendra mouthed it back. She stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. The night air had turned cool, but not cold. Kendralooked up at a crescent moon and wondered whether BJ was doing the same.
Chapter 25
Kendra cleared her throat and Logan tapped his wineglass to get everyone’s attention as they milled about. Heads turned towardher and she smiled wide. “Hi, everyone. I just want to thank you all so much for coming. I am Kendra Porter, owner and founderof Porter Prohibition, and I’m so grateful to you all for joining us tonight. This business has been something that I havebeen thinking about over and over and over again. I’ve had the opportunity to apprentice under chefs in different countries,but most importantly, I have apprenticed under my brother, my mom, my aunts, and my granny for my whole life.
“Cooking and sharing food with people is truly a part of my love language and one of the best ways that I communicate. Andso Porter Prohibition was born. I have always had a fascination with the Harlem Renaissance, with speakeasies, with rumrunners,and with learning about how different parts of history impact one another.
“The Prohibition Era wasn’t startedbecauseof the Harlem Renaissance, but it did feed right into it. And I thinkof people like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston and Louis Armstrong, to name a few.” She gestured toward the wall, where paintings hung featuring some of the greats. “Giants whose shoulders we now stand upon. We are always looking to move forward and progress, but it is still necessary sometimes to look back and remember how far we’ve come and how we got here.
“Having the bar as the main portion of the business and creating a speakeasy supper club has been a dream of mine that I wasn’tsure I was going to see come to fruition,” she continued, a flurry of nerves in her stomach. “But with the support of my familyand friends,mostof whom are here...” She paused as BJ’s face flashed in her mind before suddenly it appeared in front of her in the flesh.He stood in the crowd, people moving aside as he stepped closer.
“Uh,” she stammered, her mouth open as she blinked in confusion.
He nodded at her, dressed in a charcoal-gray suit and a black button-up, one of his hands in his pocket. His eyes shone behindthe rims of his glasses. His locs were pulled back away from his face into a half bun.
Kendra shook her head, trying to find where she lost her place and laughed nervously. “I’m sorry. As I was saying, it tooka whole community to help me create this place—to envision it, to plan for it, to account for every little thing. And I’vebeen blessed because every piece of this—including getting the liquor license—everything has gone smoothly and far more quicklythan I could have anticipated.
“To be having the grand opening this Saturday is a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself that living my dream has now become my reality. And so I raise my glass.” She peered around the room, her champagne flute in the air. “To family. To community. To remembering where we come from andstill exuberantly chasing every single dream until it becomes real.”
“To dreams!” Everyone raised their glass.
Logan squeezed her shoulder and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Proud of you, sis.”
They turned as BJ approached. “I didn’t think you were coming,” she said cautiously. Her family continued to stand aroundthem as the other guests milled about, taking tours and sampling food.
“I had to handle a few things first before I could confirm that I was coming, and when I was done, it seemed better to justshow up.”
“What do you mean? I don’t understand.” Her eyes darted to her cousin, her sister-in-law, to BJ.
“I received confirmation today that I am the newest addition to the architectural history department at the University ofSouth Carolina.”
“You’re what?” She blinked, stunned, frozen in her space. Her heart pounded as she stared at him.
BJ came closer. “I wasn’t sure that I was ready for something serious. It’s taken me a long time to get over my past. AndI’m not proud of how I handled everything, but something hit me when you announced that you were leaving and I realized thatI wasn’t going to get to see you almost every day.
“I went years without seeing you while you were working in Silicon Valley and then traveling all over the world. I can’t dothat again, Kenny,” he said gently. He reached for her hand. “When you left, obviously I didn’t handle that well. I didn’tknow what to say, and I couldn’t reconcile my feelings. Your brother practically acted as my therapist.”
Logan chuckled, but Kendra couldn’t tear her eyes away from the deep brown depths of the orbs fixed on her.
