LITMIR.BIZ

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the shower curtain and reaching for her towel. As much as she didn’t want to spend the money, she was going to have to get a new water heater. Her current one couldn’t keep up with the demands of her two adolescent sons.

      “When they were little, I practically had to stand over them with a stick to get them to bathe. Now they have to spend an hour apiece in the shower like they’re mack daddies or something,” she muttered. She wrapped herself in a fluffy pink bath sheet and laughed at her reflection in the mirror. “Well, at least they’re clean. And who needs a sex life anyway? I’ve done without this long. I may as well go for the record.”

      She patted the excess moisture from her short curly hair and added some leave-in conditioner. With her usual efficiency, she dried her body quickly and put on her favorite scented lotion before getting dressed. It was Saturday morning, and she could have slept in a little longer, but she and the boys were going to a housewarming party that afternoon, and there was breakfast to be cooked and errands to be run before they left.

      Ten minutes later she was dressed in jeans and a peach T-shirt and heading to the kitchen with a bag of laundry. Alec, the younger of her sons, appeared in the doorway. He took the laundry from her hands and stopped her from entering the sunny kitchen.

      “Don’t come in yet, Ma. We’re making you a surprise,” he said with his endearing smile.

      “A surprise? For me? What’s the occasion?” She returned the smile, flashing dimples that looked just like Alec’s.

      Cameron’s voice answered. “We just wanted to do something nice for you. Okay, it’s all done. You can let her in.”

      Alec stepped aside and bowed as he gestured Ayanna to the table, which was set for three. “Have a seat, Ma. We made breakfast.”

      “Aww, you guys are so sweet! What did I do to deserve this?” Ayanna had to blink away tears as she looked at the effort they had put forth. There were cloth napkins with napkin rings and even a bouquet of daisies in the middle of the table. And the food smelled and looked wonderful. “You made me waffles?”

      “Yeah, Ma. Waffles and turkey bacon and grits and scrambled eggs. And it’s all gonna get cold if you don’t sit down and eat,” he warned.

      Ayanna beamed at the two loves of her life as they bowed their heads to say grace. They had always been sweet, cooperative children, and even now that Alec was fourteen and Cameron was sixteen, they were still good kids. The three of them shared a very strong resemblance, with the same rich brown skin and curly black hair. They all had the same big expressive eyes with long lashes, too; but that was all they shared. Her boys were now young men who towered over her. Ayanna was five-foot-six and slender, and she barely came to their shoulders these days.

      Their hearty appetites were to blame for some of their growth. They loved to eat so much that they’d begun to learn how to cook so they could fend for themselves when they went off to college. “These are delicious,” Ayanna praised. “And so are the grits and eggs. I can’t believe you guys did this all by yourselves.”

      “I made the waffles and bacon, and Alec did the rest. And we’re going to clean up the kitchen, too, as soon as you’re done.”

      She obediently finished off her meal between compliments. “This was the best, guys. And to show you how much I appreciate it, we’re going out to dinner after church tomorrow.”

      “Aww, Ma, you don’t have to do that,” Cameron protested.

      “That’s right,” Alec added. “We didn’t do this to get points or anything.”

      “That’s why we’re going to Dave & Buster’s tomorrow. Just because you didn’t expect a reward,” Ayanna told them.

      With big smiles on their faces, the brothers gave each other high fives. Dave & Buster’s was one of their favorite places to go. They liked the games and excitement as much as the food, and since they didn’t go out often, it would be a real treat for the family.

      They made good on their promise to clean the kitchen, which they did loudly and cheerfully with Kanye’s latest CD blasting as they put things back to rights.

      Trying to ignore the loud music, Ayanna put a load of clothes in the washing machine. Maybe I don’t have a love life, but what I do have is wonderful, she thought. I have two beautiful boys, a nice home, a good job and a future. Life is good, and sex is probably overrated anyway. Can’t miss what you haven’t had, now can you?

      A few hours later, their weekly errands were done, and they were on their way to the party.

      “So, Ma, did Miss Billie do all the work herself on this house?”

      “Pretty much,” Ayanna answered. “She designed all the changes and supervised everything, but a crew from Hunter Construction did the actual work. She got her hands on a few things, though.”

      “Billie” was Billie Phillips Wainwright, one of her bosses at work and a very good friend. She’d been a top runway model until she quit modeling. Now her career was in home renovation with her brother-in-law Nick Hunter. When she married Jason Wainwright he’d surprised her with a big brick mansion, which she had remodeled and refurbished. The party was an open house for all her family and friends to see the end result of her hard work.

      When they pulled up in the big circular driveway of Billie and Jason’s house, there were several cars parked already. “Alec, will you get the cupcakes, and Cameron, please take that pan of bread pudding for me? Thanks, guys.” The food was superfluous because all the women in Billie’s family were there and they could all throw down in the kitchen. But Ayanna’s Southern roots wouldn’t let her go anywhere empty-handed, and her desserts were welcome everywhere because they were too good to be believed.

      The recently wed Wainwrights came out of the side door of their new home to welcome Ayanna and the boys. Billie’s eyes widened when she saw the packages being carried by Alec and Cameron. “Yummy! You shouldn’t have, but I’m glad you did. Whatever it is I know it’s good,” she said. “Jason, look what Ayanna brought for the party.”

      Jason had his arm around Billie’s slender waist and gave her a soft squeeze before greeting Ayanna with a hug. “I hope it’s some German chocolate cake. That last one you made was the bomb. Here, guys, let me take those and you go hang in the back.”

      Since Jason had inherited some teenage nephews via marriage, Cameron and Alec were more than happy to comply. The backyard with its large patio and the tennis court beckoned, along with the prospect of an afternoon with friends near their age. Billie’s big black dog, Sadie, was already in the yard and ran to greet them with her usual happy smile.

      Billie held the door open for Jason, and she and Ayanna followed him into the big kitchen with all its new appliances. As Jason put the desserts on the counter, Ayanna grinned at him.

      “You’re in luck. I made cupcakes. Half are German chocolate and half are red velvet. And there’s some pineapple bread pudding, too.”

      The swinging door between the dining room and the kitchen flew open and a loud voice boomed out. “Did somebody say red velvet? Who said red velvet? Is there seriously some red velvet cake on the premises?”

      Ayanna burst into laughter with everyone else except the source of the voice, Billie’s older brother, Johnny Phillips.

      “Don’t play with me. I just came back from the motherland. I’ve been delayed for hours in every major airport in the world, I may never see my other suitcase again and they were talkin’ about strip-searching a brother at O’Hare just ’cause they could. So I’m not in the mood to kid around,” he said sternly.

      The afternoon sun streamed through the windows and glinted off his smooth shaven head. His slightly almond-shaped eyes were intense as his arms were crossed over his bare chest, and he towered over everyone as his expression demanded an immediate answer. Ayanna laughed again.

      “Hello, Johnny. It’s nice to see you, too,” she said pointedly. “Yes, I believe the

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