A McClendon Thanksgiving Page 8

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

  2 tablespoons sugar

  1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1/2 yellow onion (chopped)

  1 green bell pepper

  Faith and her family gathered at Uncle Henry McClendon’s home in a nearby Chicago suburb for the Labor Day barbecue. Henry was Faith’s favorite uncle—concerned, funny and supportive of everyone. He reminded her very much of her father; there were many similarities between the two brothers.

  Faith and her siblings, along with all of her other cousins, loved to visit his home. He and his wife, Alice, were the only McClendon couple who didn’t have any children. But their house was always buzzing because the nieces and nephews were there frequently.

  Faith was surprised when she’d heard that her uncle hadn’t moved out of the sprawling, five-bedroom brick ranch after her aunt passed away. Henry and Alice had entertained quite often, throwing the best holiday parties, other than those of Russell and Myra. Everyone wanted to be invited to the McClendon family barbecues in the summer because they knew there would be plenty of food and drinks to go around.

  They continued to host the parties until Alice’s health failed. Then they spent most of their time battling her disease. Her uncle never remarried after Alice passed on, deciding instead to travel and see the world, something he and Alice had planned to do, but never had the chance.

  The weather was perfect because it was very warm outside, but Faith didn’t think it was warm enough to be in the pool, so she didn’t take her bikini.

  Just as they did at her parents’ house for Thanksgiving, the McClendons partied hard at Henry’s place. As she led Michael around to the back of the beige-brick home, which sat on a cul-de-sac, she could hear the children squealing, running around and playing with a large ball. Their parents were milling about, enjoying their adult beverages, conversation and music that blasted loudly.

  You would always find music at a McClendon family gathering. Her Great-Uncles Martin and Freddy were in their own world, playing a game of chess on the outside patio table. At yet another table sat relatives playing bid whist. She could hear her Uncle Chester talking trash as she and Michael walked past the table, going toward the screened-in porch.

  Leave it to the McClendons—they knew how to have a good time.

  Faith found her mother coming from the large porch that led to a fully functional outdoor space. She had her hands loaded with a stack of paper plates and a box of plastic silverware on top.

  Faith rushed over to assist. “Mama, let me help you with that,” Faith said, picking up the box of spoons, forks and knives from the top of the pile.

  Michael stepped forward as well, relieving her of the rest of the items. “Mrs. McClendon, I can take that for you.

  Faith kissed the side of Myra’s face. “I didn’t see Treecie or Renee,” Faith said, following her mother over to the table they were setting up for the food.

  “They’ll be here shortly and Jennifer is on her way. She didn’t want to wake the babies from their naps.”

  Faith scanned the backyard, looking for a familiar face. It had been so long since she’d attended a family gathering that a lot of the young people she didn’t recognize. She spotted her Uncle Henry over by the built-in grill.

  At fifty-five years old, Henry McClendon still had broad shoulders that made him look much younger, along with his smooth fair-colored skin, attractive facial features, short salt-and-pepper hair and trimmed beard. Faith sniggered as she watched him turn the meat over, wearing a white smock and chef’s hat that seemed to be too large for his head.

  She leaned over to Michael. “Do you remember my Uncle Henry?” Faith pointed in Henry’s direction.

  Michael chuckled as he viewed Henry in his getup. “No, I don’t.”

  Faith grabbed his hand and they strolled over to where Henry had just closed the lid over the sizzling meat.

  “Hey, Uncle,” Faith said, smiling brightly. She was genuinely happy to see him. Since her wedding, they both had suffered losses in their lives.

  Henry turned around to face her. “Hey, it’s my girl,” he said, grabbing her in his arms.

  Faith noticed the one-carat diamond winking at her from his left ear and the masculine scent of his cologne waved through her nostrils. She hadn’t believed Patrice when she said that their uncle had turned into a real bachelor. Now a widower, he had started dating, but didn’t have a serious relationship with anyone.

  Finally, after releasing her, he stepped back. “Baby girl, you still are as lovely as ever.”

  Faith blushed at her uncle’s words. He knew what to say to make you feel good about yourself.

  Henry studied Michael carefully, his eyes roaming from Michael’s head to his toes, before turning back to Faith.

  “So, do I know this guy?” he asked Faith.

  Faith put her arm around Michael’s waist and pulled him close. “You should remember him. This is our neighbor Michael Montgomery who lived across the street.”

  Henry raised his eyebrows. “Oh, the kid with the camera?”

  Michael smiled. “Yes, that’s me.” He offered his hand to Henry.

  Henry shook Michael’s hand, but his eyes moved back to Faith. She sensed by his expression that he was curious about the nature of her relationship with Michael.

  “So, you two dating now? You were together all the time back then.”

  Faith pushed her uncle’s right shoulder. “Uncle Henry, remember, Michael was my best friend.” She didn’t want anyone at the barbecue to think that she was involved with her friend because she didn’t want to make Michael feel uncomfortable.

  “Sometimes your best friend can become the love of your life.” He tilted his head to the side before continuing, “Your Aunt Alice was my best friend and she became just that…the love of my life, so I was blessed with the best of both worlds.”

  Faith noticed the faraway look in his eyes, as if her Aunt Alice were standing right there.

  Just as quickly, he smiled and said, “But life goes on.”

  Faith thought to herself, I could only imagine what it must be like to have the love of your life for thirty years and suddenly they’re gone.

  “I hear you, Uncle, but we’re just friends,” Faith said adamantly.

  Henry shrugged. “Well, I’m only asking. You look like a couple to me.” He pointed down at their hugging at the waist.

  Both Faith and Michael shook their heads, but released their embrace. It hadn’t crossed Faith’s mind that embracing Michael looked anything but friendly. It always felt right and they had done it so much that it was normal.

  Her uncle gave her a side-eyed look and said, “Well then, why don’t I introduce you to my friend’s nephew. She asked me if I had any beautiful single nieces.”

  “Uh, come again,” Faith said. What was her uncle thinking, trying to play matchmaker? Who told him that she was looking for a man in the first place? She’d have to stop this before it got started.

  “Uncle, you don’t have to do that because I’m very busy and don’t have time for a relationship right now.”

  “Well, okay…only if you’re sure. He’s a nice fellow, got his own job, house and car.”

  Faith tried to smile, but couldn’t because she didn’t want to feed in to something she wasn’t interested in. She kissed her uncle on the cheek and scanned the yard because it was time to end that conversation. She spotted Jennifer entering with the twins.

  “Uncle, I’ll let you get back to tending the meat.” She kissed his cheek.

  “If you’re going inside, tell your daddy to bring the rest of that meat out here,” Henry said in response before lifting the hood on the smoker to check the chicken.

  Faith rushed over and lifted little Mariah from her sister’s arms before she even spoke to Jennifer.

  Michael smile
d and said, “Jenn, the babies have gotten bigger since the last time I saw them.”

  Jennifer nodded. “I think they grow every single day. They are getting too big for words and now that they have walking down, they are starting to run. I have to be careful or they will get away from me.”

  Faith smiled at her sister before raining kisses all over her niece’s face as Mariah bubbled over with laughter. Faith thought both Mariah and Micah were such happy babies. She looked over at her sister wearing white walking shorts and a turquoise cotton top.

  “I’m starving today,” Jennifer said, putting Micah on his feet next to her. She grabbed his wrist so that he wouldn’t get away from her. “Where are our sisters?”

  Faith hunched her shoulders. “I haven’t spoken to either of them today.”

  Jennifer turned toward the house, looking through to the patio. “I think I’m going to see if they need any help, because I’m ready to eat.”

  “Michael and I can watch the twins until you come back,” Faith offered.

  “You sure you don’t mind?” Jennifer asked.

  Michael waved her away. “We can handle it,” he said, looking at Faith for confirmation.

  “Yep, we got this,” she said, hugging her niece, reveling in the wonderful scent of the baby lotion she had on, pressing her cheek against Mariah’s smooth skin.

  Jennifer walked away while Faith and Michael made their way over to the sitting area of the patio. She placed Mariah on her lap and Michael sat with Micah. There were so many people arriving now. She knew it was a matter of time before someone would come over to talk. That was okay because she was ready for whatever they threw her way and that was evident by the manner in which she handled her Uncle Henry trying to set up her with his friend’s nephew.

  Just thinking about it caused her eyes to rest on him, but they softened as soon as she saw how happy he was that everyone was enjoying themselves. She was sure that he had to be lonely, but then she saw a dark-skinned woman of average height and weight, with long hair and blonde streaks, walk over to him and slip her arms around his waist.

  Life truly does go on.

  Chapter Eight

  The Saturday-morning sun shined brightly in the room as Faith stretched her body in the warmth of her bed. She rolled over and saw the time illuminated on the clock beside her bed. She had to get up and get moving. Today would be an extremely busy day with her move.

  She had contracted with a long-distance moving company to retrieve everything from the large storage unit she was leasing in New York and bring it across the country. They assured her that she would receive updates on her smartphone, with the estimated time of arrival or details about any delays.

  She grabbed her phone from the nightstand by the bed and, sure enough, there was one message just letting her know the time the truck left the storage facility and hit the highway.

  Faith was grateful that there were only a few pieces of furniture she’d had to buy, namely a bedroom set. She left the other one with Kevin since he and his lady friend liked using it so much. She left it, along with him, in the virtually empty condo. She’d setup delivery for it today as well.

  Faith rolled out of bed and started grabbing the rest of the things she hadn’t packed. She’d chosen not to bring too much into her parents’ home since her stay was only temporary. She had several suitcases with clothes, sketch pads, personal items and electronic tablet that she kept in her purse. Everything else was in the storage unit.

  She jumped into the shower, spending some time under the spray to release the nervous tension she suddenly felt. Stepping out, she toweled herself off quickly with a bath sheet and slipped on a red jogging suit, white T-shirt, white socks and gym shoes.

  Standing in front of the mirror, she brushed her long dark-brown hair back into a ponytail and secured it with a dark band and a jeweled barrette.

  Now she was ready.

  As the sun beamed from the sky, Faith was happy the weather was holding up for September because it wasn’t too hot or too cold. Having to wear a heavy coat would have been more of a hindrance than anything else. The last thing she wanted was to get sick, so thankfully only the jacket from her jogging suit was needed today.

  Faith rolled the luggage out to the car, filling the trunk and backseat with her belongings. She drove over to the apartment.

  As soon as she parked, when she thought about living alone for the first time, the nervous belly flutters appeared again. All of her life Faith had lived with someone. Today, Faith was alone, which made her nervous and excited.

  She went into the apartment to check things out, making sure that nothing had changed, before she retrieved her things from the car.

  When she strolled into the main living space, she scanned the area, imagining it in its completed state. Once she added her decorative touches, it would look like exactly the way she pictured it. She loved the generous space offered by the built-in shelves, and the real wood-burning fireplace would get much use with Chicago’s harsh winters. She hurried through the rest of the apartment, walked back to the car so she could get started, just as a hefty moving truck pulled alongside her parked car.

  A short, dark-skinned man jumped down from the truck, carrying an electronic device. Removing a long silver stylus pen from behind his ear, he flipped through the electronic pages, scanning the dossier, and looked up at Faith. “Ms. McClendon?”

  Faith nodded. “Yes, I’m Faith McClendon.”

  The delivery driver handed her the board. “We have the following items to be delivered to you at this address today. Confirm these belong to you, and if so, please put your initials in the box at the bottom.”

  Faith accepted the tablet from the delivery driver’s outstretched hand. As she scanned the manifest, she trusted that she could remember all the items that she’d put in storage. That day was one she’d never forget because she had to move quickly and get the job done before Kevin came home from work.

  She studied the list then pressed the empty box with the rubber-tipped pen, agreeing that everything was in order, and signed her name.

  “You should receive an email confirmation that everything has been delivered, along with a copy of the manifest with your initials.” The man hit the screen several times.

  “Thank you,” Faith said, pulling out her phone to check her email.

  He tore off the top copy, gave it to her and then motioned for the tall, heavyset guy standing at the back of the truck to pull the lever that opened the back.

  Faith walked around to the rear of the truck and watched as the door slid up, revealing all of her belongings.

  “Ms. McClendon, if you’ll show us where things go, we can get started.”

  Thirty minutes later, Faith had so many people going in and out of her apartment that she couldn’t keep count. From delivery drivers and movers, to security and cable-system installers, it was like Grand Central Station. The furniture ordered online had just arrived, and Faith was thankful because by nightfall she was going to need her bed.

  When she heard a knock on the door, which was already standing open, she hoped it wasn’t a nosey neighbor trying to introduce themselves. She wasn’t ready for that today.

  Faith peeped from the hallway near the guest bathroom to see Renee and Jennifer walk in the apartment one after the other, carrying bags of groceries. She was so happy they’d shown up tears sprang into her eyes because she felt like she was about to drop. Moving was an exhausting experience.

  “What are you guys doing here? I thought you’d be working or something.” Faith took one of the heavy bags from Renee and started toward the kitchen, with her sisters following.

  Putting the groceries on the countertop, Renee turned around. “I knew you would need some help today, even though you didn’t ask. So I called Patrice, but, you know, Saturday is a busy day for her. Then I called Jenn to see if she had customers.
”

  “I have several appointments in a couple of hours, but wanted to help as long as I could,” Jennifer said, scanning the area.

  The movers were carrying her large table and chairs into the kitchen, so the women moved to the side. Faith loved the tall, dark wooden set that had matching chairs so tall they reminded her of barstools. The table complemented her current kitchen very well, she noted as she stood next to the tall kitchen cabinets. She asked the movers to situate it for her because the table was so heavy.

  “I have no idea where anything is, even though they are clearly marked. There’re so many boxes laying around this place.”

  Renee took off her jacket and hung it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “What would you like me to do?”

  Faith hugged her sister. “I really appreciate this.” She scanned the room, observing all the grocery bags and such. “How about you take care of the kitchen, and Jenn and I can do another room.”

  “Do you have a specific way you want your cabinets organized? You know women can be funny about their canned goods.” Renee giggled.

  Some men too, Faith wanted to add, but didn’t.

  Kevin never cooked or washed a dish, but was anal about the labels on the canned goods facing forward. He always said, “You shouldn’t handle a can more than once. So when you open the cabinet, you should be able to see what’s inside right away.” It was crazy as hell to her, but anytime he happened to go into the cupboard and they were not aligned properly, he pitched a fit.

  “I don’t care, so however you fix it is fine with me. I just appreciate the help,” Faith said in response.

  Renee went into her purse and removed two hairpins, then pulled her hair back and pinned it so that the long sides wouldn’t get into her face. She rolled up the sleeves on her pink angora sweater, opened the refrigerator and pulled out the top rack.

  Faith didn’t remind her that the fridge was new, because the blue tape was still on some of the shelving. Renee was doing what their mother had taught them about the cleanliness of the refrigerator.

  Standing at the sink, Renee looked over her right shoulder. “Why are you guys still standing there? Let’s get it cracking.”