Suanne was spinning around like a top in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the main dish. Pot roast sautéed with Portobello mushrooms and onions. She topped off the edges with freshly cooked vegetables with a dash of red wine to add a kick – just the way Kevin loved it. Party streamers hanged from the ceiling in the main areas, a color scheme of emerald green, gold and white, which complemented the huge floral arrangement on the center table. Soft instrumental music played in the background, setting the atmosphere for a royal feast. This was an engagement party Suanne intended to make the talk of the town, because it was not often she got to host this kind of event at her home, especially for her grown sons.
Kevin entered the kitchen after having let in a third batch of folks from the church. He was becoming concerned, because the party hadn’t started yet and there were at least nine people milling about in the front room. He left Hunter to entertain them until he returned with some finger food. Hopefully the food would keep them distracted from asking so many questions about his and Hunter’s relationship.
“Ma, what did you do?” he complained. “You invited the entire the church, eh?”
Suanne tossed a pair of oven mitts to Kevin and grinned. “Boy, hush your mouth and help me take the mac and cheese out of the oven.”
“Seriously, Ma, how much people did you invite from the church?”
Suanne shrugged. “I don’t know…could be fifty, could be more.”
“What?! All of these people aren’t necessary. Do you even have enough food to feed them all?”
Suanne suddenly screamed at Kevin, almost causing him to drop the mac and cheese to the floor. “Boy, don’t rest that hot pan on my good countertops before you burn a hole through my hard earned money. Put it on the rack over there!”
Kevin laughed, giving in to the temptation to tease his mother. “I thought after recommitting your heart to the Lord on Sunday, you would have slowed down on being so grouchy. It looks as if you got worse.”
Suanne cut her eyes at her son. “God took away my sins, not my senses…and I’m not grouchy; I’m firm.”
Kevin playfully rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. You just hate to admit that I’m right.”
Suanne wiped her hands on a cloth, suppressing her snappy comeback. Kevin was right, she needed to work more on controlling her sharp tongue. “But I am grateful,” she said, “for the opportunity to make things right with the Lord. I will never forget this past Sunday as long as I live. Didn’t the Holy Ghost rock that place? Makes me wanna go off in my heavenly language just thinking about it.”
Kevin grinned, although he himself was still trying to get used to the idea of what it means to be a born-again Christian. “I have a lot to learn about all of that stuff,” he said. “But I will tell you that I do feel different…like a heavy load has been lifted off my shoulders.”
Suanne nodded her head in agreement. “Nothing like turning it over to Jesus. I wish Armando had been there to experience it. Lord knows he needs the Holy Ghost, especially with him being married to that crazy woman.”
Kevin chuckled. “We all have shortcomings, Ma. You shouldn’t judge Annalise so harshly.”
“God Himself can’t reach Annalise,” Suanne quipped.
“So you’re saying there’s no more hope for her?”
Suanne waved Kevin off. “I’m not saying anything that I don’t see. Some people come in this world hating God all their lives. Natural born enemies of the cross…but of course, I’m human and I’m not too big to admit that I could be wrong about Annalise. It’s God who has the final say over a person’s destiny, right?”
Kevin rubbed his mother’s shoulder and smiled. “I’m proud of you, Ma. You’re beginning to sound like a true saint.”
Suanne playfully took a swing at Kevin. “Boy, hand me that phone so that I can call your brother.”
“Which one.”
“Armando, of course. I want to know if he still plans on coming to the party tonight.”
“Good luck with that,” Kevin said. “Drake and I have already tried to get him to come. He says he and Annalise are preparing to fly back to Trinidad first thing tomorrow morning and they want to have an early night.”
“Well, you and Drake are not his mother. Let me handle him.”
Suanne yanked the receiver out of Kevin’s hand. A few seconds later, he walked out of the kitchen, to the sound of her spitting out rebuke after rebuke in Armando’s ears. The hell she raised would set Armando straight for the next six months.
By the time Kevin made it back to the front room, Hunter was more than ready for an escape. She thought she could have handled a nosey batch of churchgoers, but she sensed she was in over her head by the fourth question. She jumped up and pulled Kevin aside.
“Boy, am I glad to see you,” she grinned.
“You are?”
“You have no idea…” She subtly gestured to the smiling faces in front of them and said through clenched teeth. “They want to know how many times we’ve French kissed since we starting dating. According to them, God doesn’t honor any sort of thing done outside of marriage.”
“Well, what do you think?” Kevin asked.
“I don’t know….I’m new to this whole Christian experience.”
“And so am I.”
Hunter patted Kevin on the back and grinned. “It’s your call, handsome. I have to go outside to my car anyway.”
“What for?”
“I left your mother’s gift in the passenger seat. It’s the pendant I had designed especially for her.”
“Rest your tired legs, my love, and let me get it for you.”
“Good one. But you’re not escaping the hot seat that easily.”
Kevin smirked, falling in love with Hunter all over again. “You’re so wrong to leave me alone like this.”
“I’m sure you can handle the terrain…you have to. I want to steal a few minutes alone with your mother when I return…I pray she loves the gift.”
“Well, knowing it’s coming from her white daughter-in-law, she will love it without even seeing it.”
Hunter laughed. She was about to kiss Kevin on his cheek, but she wisely restrained herself. There were at least a dozen pair of eyes intently watching her every move.
“I’ll be right back,” she said and then proceeded through the front door.