“I was pretty bummed about it, too. Mainly because they haven’t won an NBA championship since 1998, which, of course, was just before Michael Jordan retired and Phil Jackson left as well.”
“Yeah, things have definitely been different since then, and it’ll be interesting to see when they might win again.”
James forked up a few more pieces of meat and set them in the foil-lined Teflon pan. “So, on a different note, how’s married life treating you?”
“To be honest, it couldn’t be better and we couldn’t be happier.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I became Alicia’s stepfather when she was just a small girl, and I love her just like she was my own child.”
“She loves you the same way,” JT said, gazing toward the patio and watching Alicia and her mom bringing food out and placing it on the table.
“She’s a very special young lady, and I just hope the two of you can have the same kind of relationship Tanya and I have. My wife means everything to me, and after all these years, we still love each other like we did in the beginning.”
“If I have it my way, I can assure you, Alicia and I will be together and very happy until the day one of us leaves this earth.”
“I like your attitude and you’ll certainly be able to do just that, as long as you keep each other first in your life-after God, that is-and you never allow anyone else inside your marital circle. I’m telling you this because there is a ton of temptation out there, but if you ignore it and stick together as a couple, you’ll be okay.”
“I agree, and I won’t ever let any woman cause me to be unfaithful to my wife,” he said, but when he looked back over toward the patio and saw Carmen and her mother walking onto it, a heat wave swept through his body. Alicia had told him early this morning that she’d invited Carmen and her mother but that since Carmen’s mother still hadn’t been feeling well, they probably wouldn’t be able to make it. Then, when JT had phoned Carmen, insisting it wasn’t a good idea for her to visit NLCC again, he’d been pretty sure he’d also convinced her not to drop by his in-laws’ either. He’d thought he’d made himself very clear, but apparently he hadn’t.
“Hi, Dad James. Hi, JT,” Carmen yelled out to both of them.
“How’s it going?” JT said dryly.
“How are you, Miss Carmen?” James said, smiling, obviously glad to see her. “It’s been such a long time. And how are you, Rita?” he said to her mother.
“I’m fine, James, how are you?”
“Wonderful.”
“Baby, come up here for a minute,” Alicia said to JT, and he walked closer to where they were all standing. “Sweetheart, this is Carmen’s mom, and Mom Rita, this is my husband, JT.”
They shook hands and Rita said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, and congratulations on your recent marriage to Alicia.”
“Thank you.”
“Also, if I might add, you’re even more handsome than Carmen told me you were.”
“That’s what I thought when I first met him, too,” Alicia said.
Everyone laughed, but JT had never felt more uncomfortable. This whole scenario was teetering toward a possible disaster, and he didn’t like it.
“Everything looks wonderful, Tanya,” Rita said. “And thank you for having us over.”
“Oh, please. We haven’t seen each other in forever, so I’m excited to have you.”
JT shot a glance at Carmen, who seemed very full of herself, but then he quickly looked away when his mother-in-law called his name.
“JT, if you don’t mind, can you go out to the garage to get the card table we have stored toward the back of it? I was thinking we wouldn’t need it, but I can see now that we do.”
“Of course,” he said, and started toward the glass patio doors. But once he’d walked inside the kitchen, he heard Carmen say, “Alicia, could I use the restroom?”
“Girl, you know you don’t even have to ask something like that. Go ahead.”
JT walked as fast as he could toward the door leading to the garage, opened it, and then closed it behind him once he was on the other side of it. He hoped Carmen wasn’t planning to follow him, but to his regret, she didn’t waste any time.
“So, are you glad to see me?” she asked.
“Carmen, why are you here? Why did you come when I specifically asked you not to?”
“I came because I wanted to see you and it’s like I told you on Friday: I’m tired of spending all my holidays without you. And anyway, doesn’t a girl have a right to change her mind?”
JT moved closer to where the table was stored and picked it up. “You’ve got to stop showing up like this.”
“I’ll stop coming around just as soon as you stop ignoring me the way you did yesterday. I tried calling you at least twenty times, and I never heard back from you.”
“Didn’t I already explain that to you earlier? I was with a very sick man, and there was no way I could get back to you.”
“But you could have called me when you were on your way home.”
JT lifted the table, making sure it didn’t touch his starched khaki shorts. It wasn’t excessively dirty, but it would definitely have to be wiped down before they used it. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back.”
“Can I see you tomorrow evening?”
“Fine,” he said, but only so Carmen would leave him alone and let him get back to the patio. He told her what she wanted to hear; however, he knew he couldn’t make good on his words because he’d already promised Diana he would be with her. There was no doubt Carmen would probably go ballistic once she realized he wasn’t coming to her apartment, which was the reason he’d have to have some sort of an excuse ready before then.
When JT finished setting up the card table and cleaning it with soap and water, he scanned the main table and couldn’t wait to dig in. Tanya had prepared everything from potato salad, baked beans, and spaghetti to coleslaw, tossed salad, and some sort of fruit concoction that was drenched in whipped cream. Then there was all the meat James had finished up as well, and JT couldn’t have been more content than he was right now. He hadn’t been blessed to have parents like Tanya and James, and he was thankful just to have them as in-laws.
After listening to another twenty minutes of small talk, mostly between Alicia and Carmen and then Rita and Tanya, they all held hands and JT said grace. Seconds later, they began reaching for various dishes and started filling up their plates.
“Everything looks great, baby,” James said to Tanya.
“I wish I could have done more. Especially with the decorations.”
“The whole setting is wonderful,” Rita added.
“And these baked beans are to die for,” JT said.
“Why, thank you, son-in-law,” Tanya said, smiling.
Alicia and Carmen offered their compliments as well to both Tanya and James, and then Tanya said, “Carmen, I really am glad you decided to contact Alicia after all these years. She told us how you looked her up on the church’s website and e-mailed her.”
“I’m glad, too, because now I realize just how much I missed her.”
“I missed you, too. That’s for sure.”
JT forked up a helping of potato salad and wanted to kill Carmen. She was acting as if she were Alicia’s best friend, and he hated the way she was deceiving her. He hated that he’d allowed this whole mess to spin way out of control.
“I’m thrilled about it, too,” Rita said. “Because you girls were so close when you were children.”
Tanya drank a couple of sips of tea. “You really were, and you used to spend the night with each other all the time.”
“You were just like sisters,” Rita said, and then grabbed both sides of her head and leaned back in her chair.
Carmen slid her chair back and turned toward her. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“My head is killing me.”
“Is it worse than it was yesterday?”