Twenty-Two

G enesis and Jaxson sat in a booth at Piquant, Holy Mound’s new upscale restaurant. Across from them, Blake and Pilar enjoyed an easy banter. They all held flutes of bubbly. What was left chilled in a bucket at the center of the table.

Blake looked around, his smile wide, his blue eyes sparkling. “Who wants to do the toast?”

“I think Jax should do it,” Genesis answered. “He’s the one who saw the video that started this whole thing.”

Pilar raised her glass slightly. “I agree. It’s on you, Jax.”

“That’s right, buddy.” Blake placed an arm around Pilar’s shoulders. “It’s on you.”

Jaxson made a show of squaring his shoulders and clearing his throat. Genesis looked on in admiration at what a fine pair of shoulders they were and how perfectly they showcased the tan-colored pullover her man wore. One he’d paired with the same color brushed-cotton slacks and two-toned cowboy boots. Memories of what he’d done to her with the strong, thick fingers that grasped the delicate glass stem almost made her shiver. He looked at her and winked, as though he’d read her mind as well as he regularly played her body.

“This is a special moment,” he began.

“A toast, not a speech,” Blake mumbled.

Everyone laughed, including Jaxson. “Given what we’ve gone through in this process, I could probably deliver a sermon.”

“I’ll say amen to that,” Genesis said, raising and waving her arm the way she’d seen the church ladies do when she’d finally attended an actual service.

“Seriously, though, I have to give props to you, Blake, for taking a chance on a man with no construction experience and making me your partner. I hadn’t felt grounded since football, you know, part of something, part of a team. Flipping houses with you changed that. And making the smart decision to make Pilar a priority changed you. Pilar, you’ve made him a better man.

“And speaking of better.” He turned to Genesis. “When I plucked your drenched ass out of the mud—”

“Jax!” Pilar exclaimed.

Blake guffawed.

Genesis play-punched his shoulder, then kissed his cheek.

“My bad. Let me say that another way. When I rescued you under very unique circumstances, I had no idea how much you’d change my life, too. I saw the video and thought about you, never thinking the idea would blossom and grow into what it’s become. That you and I would become a team.”

“Quarterback or safety?” Blake asked.

“Tight end.” It was a reflexive comment said without thinking. Then he wriggled his eyebrows to show he saw nothing wrong with it.

Genesis smirked, half humored, half chagrined. “Okay, dude. That was strike two.”

“What? Baby, you’ve got one of the best backsides in America. Nice and tight and—”

“Will this toast ever end?” Pilar emoted.

Like clockwork, the server delivered their appetizers.

“I appreciate all of you.” Jaxson lifted his glass. “To Holy Mound Minis!”

“To amazing families!” Genesis added.

“To the timely appetizer delivery” was Blake’s dry response.

Amid laughter, Pilar shouted, “Hear, hear!”

Genesis took a sip of champagne and continued. “She’s not here but I personally want to thank Chelsea Skinner, Mike and their daughter, Tru, for being the first village residents. Currently, we have space for twenty homes. As of this morning, three of those spaces have homes parked, and half of the rest have been leased.

“Of course, I want to thank you, Jax. Like Blake said, it was your spark of an idea that lit this fire. I never would have thought of using the land to build a community. I also want to thank my great-uncle, the late, great Cyrus Perry, for knowing what I needed far better than I did.”

“That was beautifully said, sweetheart.” Jax leaned over and offered a quick kiss. “I love you.”

She tried to play it off, but his declaration caught her off guard. He was probably more surprised than her.

The words felt good on his tongue. So much so Jaxson offered another kiss and said them again. “I love you, Genesis.”

A pause and then she said to him, “I love you, too.”

Both acted like what had just happened was no big deal. But what had happened was a Very. Big. Deal.

A few nights later they were chilling, spending a quiet evening at Genesis’s house, when her cell phone dinged.

She reached for it. “Oh, wow. It’s Mom.”

Jaxson glanced over. “Everything okay?”

He watched her eyes go back and forth as she read. “I guess we’ll soon find out.”

“How’s that?”

“You’ve been officially invited to meet the family. It’s my mom’s fiftieth birthday party, which means it’s an invitation you can’t turn down.”

“I wouldn’t think of it.” He paused for a sec. “I guess Hank will be there.”

“Of course.”

“And he’s okay with me coming?”

“I’m sure that had he not given his stamp of approval you would not have been included in this text.”

On a Saturday night three weeks later, Genesis and Jaxson arrived at a club on the outskirts of Memphis. Genesis had told Jaxson the owner and her mother “went way back.” Their mothers had been pregnant together. The children, now fifty, had known each other all their lives.

“Nervous?” Genesis asked Jaxson as they neared the entrance.

“Terrified” was his honest response. No one would have suspected this truth. When they entered the main room, eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. Men and women alike. He looked like someone who could control the room and everyone in it. But there was only one person he was concerned about. Genesis waved to someone across the room, reached for Jaxson’s arm and pulled him in that direction.

They stopped in front of an attractive woman with Genesis’s eyes and skin tone. Next to her was a nice-looking, well-dressed man in a suit covering a girth that suggested he didn’t miss meals.

“Hello, Mom.” Genesis leaned down and kissed her mother before placing a gift bag in front of her. “Happy birthday.”

“What’s this?” Lori asked. She reached for the bag, but her eyes were on Jaxson.

“That’s part of your gift. This is Jaxson King. Jax, this is my mom, Lori, and my stepfather, Hank.”

They exchanged pleasantries.

“Where’s Hank and Habari?”

Lori nodded, indicating someone behind them. Jaxson turned to see Hank approaching with a nice-looking woman on his arm.

Hank stopped in front of Jaxson. He felt Genesis’s eyes on him, along with the rest of the family. Wanting to defuse any tension right off the bat, Jaxson held out his hand.

“Hurricane Hank.”

Hank paused. Looked at Jaxson’s hand. Looked at Genesis. Looked at Jaxson, shook his hand. “What’s up, Jax?”

Just like that, and with the soulful sounds of Muddy Waters grooving in the background, more than a decade of animosity dissipated. It seemed the room itself sighed in relief.

Hank leaned over and hugged Genesis. “You look happy, baby girl.”

“I am.”

“You’ve been chasing my sister since high school. I guess you finally caught her.”

“Or the other way around.”

“I don’t have to tell you what’ll happen if you hurt her.”

“Nah, man. We don’t have to have that conversation at all.”

Muddy Waters gave way to James Brown telling everybody that he felt good. Jaxson pulled Genesis on the dance floor. Hank and his fiancée, Xenia, danced beside them. A mix of blues, soul and R & B kept the party jumping. When someone initiated the Electric Slide, partygoers packed the floor.

“Baby, I’m so happy!” Genesis exclaimed, Jaxson on one side and Hank on the other. “You being accepted by my family is more than I dreamed. Life can’t get better than this!”

They stayed until the end, almost three in the morning. Halfway through the evening, Jaxson ditched the suit coat and rolled up his sleeves. Genesis danced out of her shoes. Everyone he met made him feel welcome. He and Hank reminisced about old times. Jaxson mentioned the tiny-house project and asked for his number to discuss something similar in Atlanta. The happiness in Genesis’s eyes when she witnessed the exchange made subduing his pride and making the first move more than worth it. She didn’t know it yet, but in Jaxson’s mind, a plan was forming. One where, if he had his way, he’d be attending family functions with Genesis for a very long time.