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She looked at Kemara and smiled softly, then shifted her gaze to me. I smiled at my mom. “Thank you, Mom,” I said, mouthing the words. She then turned back to Kemara.
“How do you feel about my son?” she asked.
It had to have been rough for Kemara to speak that way in front of me and to my mother, but she didn’t seem phased by the question. “I do love your son, Mrs. Holloway. I have never felt this way about anyone ever before.”
Mom smiled. “How does your family feel about my son?” Mom asked.
“Mom!” I quickly stated. “Is that necessary?”
“I don’t mind answering,” Kemara said. She turned to my mom and I tried to relax. “My family was skeptical, at first.” She smiled. “Well, my sister was pretty sure it wouldn’t work out, and my parents were unsure if we could make a go of it when I introduced them to Channing.” That was news to me, so I quietly sat back and listened to her. “However, when they got to know him and see us together, they immediately saw how much I care for him and that he cares for me, and their doubts slipped away. Even my sister was impressed by him. He played with her kids, just like it was the most natural thing. They loved him.”
“I’ll be honest with you, Kemara. I mean nothing against you, because I didn’t even know you, but I had my concerns. Even when I saw how my son felt about you, I was worried that he was somehow blinded.” I tilted my head, ready to argue with my mom if she was going to give a bullshit answer that Kemara wasn’t good enough for me. I soon found out I didn’t need to argue with her. “You have proven me wrong. I have no doubt that you would make my son very happy. You love him and that’s all I need to know. Plus, you’ve got this spunk about you that I like,” she said and smiled.
In that moment, I didn’t have any reason to feel uncomfortable in the house. Kemara’s natural beauty shined through as she talked to my mom like she was one of her best friends. Mom offered
us coffee and we took the conversation into the kitchen. It was an intimate setting that quickly went to when I was a little boy.
“Did he ever tell you the time when he was sure that Martians were living in the attic?” Mom started laughing and I could feel my face redden.
Kemara shot me an amused look, one that told me she wouldn’t let me live that one down. “No, he never told me about that,” Kemara said, chuckling as she took a drink of her coffee.
“Mom!” I groaned. “Kemara doesn’t need to hear every small detail of my life. Besides…I was five. Give me a break.” The table erupted into laughter and Mom kept going on.
“Well, when he said he needed to take the food up to the attic, so the Martians wouldn’t die, I nearly lost it,” Mom said, shaking her head.
I covered my face and felt doomed. Kemara reached out and touched my hand.
I pulled my hand back.
She was grinning from ear to ear. “I bet you were a cute five year old.”
I laughed. “I was darling.” That brought laughter into the kitchen again.
Kemara turned back to my mom and the smile never left her face. “Well, Channing hasn’t told me much about his childhood, but I can tell that I should come to you for some great stories.”
Mom winked at her. “Us women have to stick together.”
Kemara smiled and turned to look at me and her whole face lit up. I watched her and the love I felt for her couldn’t have been any greater. I squeezed her hand and that’s when Mom sighed, causing me to turn to look at her. She nodded, giving me a knowing look, and for the first time I believed that everything would be alright. Even if things never went this well with my father and brother, I still had Mom on my side. It was a good idea to come and see her, and I sensed that I at least had one family member I could count on.
Things were simple between Mom, Kemara, and I. A couple of hours passed and it seemed like minutes. I could continue to see the happiness in Kemara’s eyes, as we talked. After a while, we decided it was time to go before Dad got back from his Sunday evening fishing trip. The telling tale that Kemara was having a good time was when she looked disappointed that we had to get out of there.
I stood up, pulling Kemara up after me. “We should go Mom, but thank you for being so amazing.” We walked over to her. I kissed her on the cheek, then Kemara and Mom hugged. It was a sight I feared I would never see, and yet it happened right before me, when I was the happiest I’d been in a long time.
“It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Holloway,” Kemara stated.
“Same to you, dear. As long as I’m here, you’re always welcome in this house,” Mom said. That made me feel good to hear her say that, and Kemara was beaming.
“Thank you!” She looked at me and the grin was apparent.
We started to walk to the front door, when it swung open and in walked my father and brother. We froze and my father’s eyes landed on me. He put down his tackle box and his voice roared. “What are you doing here, Son?” He then shot a look to Kemara. “What’s that black bitch doing here? She’s not welcome here and you knew that already.”
“Chadwick Luther Holloway!” My mom snapped.
Kemara inched closer to me, and I held her tight. I wouldn’t let go of her for anything.
He looked at Mom. “What the hell are you doing?” Dad asked. “You know good and damn well we don’t allow black skinned people into our home.”
I felt Kemara’s muscles tighten as I held her. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes turned dark.
