#thadelightfulone

Erik took his hand off the steering wheel and reached out for DeeDee’s. He laced his fingers with hers and kissed the top of it. The diamonds gleamed in the afternoon sun. DeeDee giggled and squeezed his hand.

“So, are we headed to the Juke Joint first? Or did you want to get settled in our hotel room?” Erik kissed her hand again before settling it in his lap.

“I’m hungry, E.”

“And so am I, Dee.”

“For food, man.” DeeDee shook her head, “If we go to the room, who knows what time we’ll surface.”

“Can you blame me?” Erik stopped at a red light and looked at her.

“Erik.”

“Oh, I’m Erik now?” He pouted at her.

“Don’t you start that.” She rolled her eyes, “At least, feed me before you try to put me out of commission.”

Erik focused forward as the light turned green. He released her hand and gripped her thigh. 

“As long as you know what you’re in for.”

“Boy, stop.” DeeDee pushed his shoulder and looked ahead as they drove to Miss Carrie’s restaurant.

---

“My babies are home!”

Miss Carrie yelled when she saw Erik and DeeDee walk through the door. They all shared hugs and Miss Carrie showed them to their booth. 

“How have y’all been?” She spun DeeDee around, “Let me get a good look at ya.” She smiled at them, “Love looks good on you, child.”

“Thanks, Mama,” DeeDee responded as she sat down. 

“And you?” Miss Carrie looked up at Erik, “What do you have to say?”

“It was definitely worth the wait.” He slid into the booth and picked up DeeDee’s hand. 

Miss Carrie’s eyes went wide. She reached across the table for their hands. 

“I am so happy for you two.” She glanced at DeeDee once more, “Anything else you need to tell me?”

“MAMA!!! You and my mom need to stop that.” DeeDee covered her stomach. 

“Girl, your hips have spread. But don’t pay me no mind. I only had 6 of my own.” Miss Carrie shrugged and picked up their menus.

Erik smirked at DeeDee. She punched his thigh under the table. 

“So, I know what I want-”

“Smothered pork chops, with home fries and fried eggs. You still eating that nasty wheat bread, Erik?” Miss Carrie threw out. 

“How do you do that?” Erik shook his head, “Yes, ma’am. But for you and today only, I will do sourdough.”

“Sourdough, huh?” She tapped her pencil on the table, “So, DeeDee is rubbing off on you. Thank god.”

DeeDee and Miss Carrie shared a laugh while Erik frowned. 

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that weight you put on either, young man.”

Erik lifted his hand to cover his mouth and pointed at DeeDee.

“Not my fault. He loves your cooking, Mama.” She shrugged at him. 

Miss Carrie smiled at her knowingly. “I taught you well, child.” She slapped a towel onto her shoulder.

DeeDee bowed her head at her great-grandmother. Erik laughed at the two of them.

“Mama, I’ll have the -”

“Cheddar, spinach, and mushroom omelet with a side of bacon and sourdough toast.”

“And what are we drinking?” Erik asked Miss Carrie.

“You like that god-awful black coffee and she loves her cranberry juice.” She picked up the menus. “So, how long are you two here for? You’re a few days early for my birthday party.”

“We’re here for the entire week, Mama.” DeeDee answered.

“Great. Can you be here tomorrow at 9am?”

“Ma’am?”

“No need for you to be locked up in some hotel room. Come help me organize my files in the office.”

DeeDee laughed at Erik’s frown. “Sure, I can be here.”

“Wonderful. I’ll be back with your order.” Miss Carrie looked over at Erik, “I’ll make sure you don’t have to go back out to eat tonight.” She winked at him and walked away. 

---

“And you were worried about me overfeeding you?” DeeDee says as she put multiple containers of food into the fridge in their suite. She returned to the counter and folded up the bags.

Erik walked up and wrapped his arms around her, “But you do. Miss Carrie just feeds me differently.” He nipped at her ear.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay over there?”

“But you were so far away from me. I hate being alone.” He kissed her neck.

DeeDee turned around in his arms, “I really wasn’t looking forward to helping, but maybe she has a point.” 

Erik lifted DeeDee up and wrapped her legs around his waist. DeeDee squealed as his hands found her ass to hold her up. 

“Then let me make sure you sleep well tonight. Don’t want you to be late for your first day back at the restaurant.”

---

DeeDee walked into the office the next morning and put away her keys. Miss Carrie and the rest of the staff were in the kitchen getting their day started. She sat down at the desk and took in the moment.

She officially stopped working at the restaurant almost 5 years ago. Miss Carrie wanted her to focus on her Ph.D. program and knew she needed a job in her field. DeeDee would help during the holidays and summer when things were busier than usual, but that was it. 

It felt weird being back in that chair after so long. Dee hadn’t done her great-grandmother’s office work in years. But she knew how meticulous she was with her records. So, it should be easy enough to finish today. 

DeeDee looked up when she heard a knock on the door. Miss Carrie walked in as she tied her apron around her waist and made her way to the desk. 

“Good morning, baby. I wanted to get you started for the day. Just like old times.”

“Thanks, Mama.” DeeDee stood up and kissed her great-grandmother. “So, what do you actually need me to do in here?”

“Well, you know I’m good at keeping all the receipts and such together. But everyone wants me to back it up online.” Miss Carrie pointed to some filing folders on her desk.

DeeDee nodded her head, “Of course. It’ll be easier to update any documents if you have a spreadsheet for your expenses and revenue.” 

“Yeah, that’s the stuff they be sayin’. So, can you do that for me?” Miss Carrie looked up at DeeDee. “You already know my filing system so it makes sense to have you create any report I may need.”

“I can definitely do that for you.” 

“Great, thank you, baby. I’ll let you get to work.” She walked to the door and turned, “Oh, and I’ll send Brenda by with some milk and a freshly baked cinnamon roll for you.”

“Thanks, Mama.” DeeDee smiled at her as Miss Carrie closed the door behind her. 

DeeDee sat back down, grabbed the folders of receipts, and turned on the computer. 

---

DeeDee worked for a few hours and then took a break for lunch. She walked to the kitchen and placed her order before going outside to take a stroll around the property.

She spotted the old house in the back, which is more like a museum now. The house that started it all. Miss Carrie learned how to cook in that house. She taught all her children and grandchildren how to cook there. When they built the current house/restaurant, she started teaching her great-grandchildren how to cook. DeeDee was the only one who took to it and began working at The Juke Joint when she was old enough. 

DeeDee stood in front of it and smiled at the memories of running through the house with her cousins. 

“Were you lucky enough to spend time here?”

She turned to find Erik standing beside her. “Not a lot, but it was enough.” DeeDee hugged Erik, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to tell you lunch was ready.” She looked at him confused and he shrugged.

“Mama.”

“Who else? Now, come on. She said she had something new for me to try.”

DeeDee shook her head and laughed as they walked back towards the restaurant. 

---

On her way back to her seat after a quick bathroom break, Deedee knocked a blue folder off the desk.  She bent down to pick up all the papers that fell out and the first page caught her eye. 

“Ownership? Why would she have these papers out?”

She sat down at the desk and looked through them. DeeDee knew that her great-grandmother was the sole proprietor of The Juke Joint. Miss Carrie completed the restaurant side after her husband died, so she never had a partner. 

As she read through the document that was updated in August 2014, her hold grew tighter and the paper crinkled in her hand. 

“What the fuck?” She slammed it down on the desk. “How could they keep this from me?” 

DeeDee ran her hands over her face, then sat back in the chair. Staring at her on the page were the names of the current owners of The Juke Joint, Carrie Ann Taylor and Erik Stevens.  

She knew Erik had money from being royalty, and she knew he cared about this place as much as she did. During all those chats about how much she loved it here, how did this never come up? It would be different if he had helped with a few thousand dollars to help rebuild and keep the restaurant afloat. 

But he shares ownership with her great-grandmother. This is bigger than that. 

She sighed, “Dammit, Mama. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

DeeDee shoved the paperwork back into its folder and tried to clear up the desk. She was done for the day. The reports were created and she filled in all the expenses. Her great-grandmother could have someone add the revenue later. 

“I can’t believe they lied to me.” 

She got up and grabbed her things just as the door swung open. DeeDee looked at her great-grandmother. 

“You good? I heard some banging around in here.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m exhausted. I forgot what it was like to stare at spreadsheets all day.” She walked to the door. “I’m gonna call it a night. Everything’s done now. You just need your people to work on it.”

“Oh ok. Thank you, baby.” Miss Carrie turned to DeeDee, “I wanted to tell you Erik was here.”

DeeDee’s face fell, “Oh.”

“Hey pretty girl.”

“I have to go to the bathroom.” She shoved her bag in Erik’s hands. “Be right back.”

DeeDee rushed out of the office. Erik watched as she turned the corner and quickly disappeared from his view.

“What happened?” He asked.   

“I don’t know. I heard a lot of noise coming from here. So, I came in to see what was going on.”

“Did I do something? She wouldn’t even look at me when she ran out.”

“No, baby. I don’t think it was you.” She pointed to a chair, “Have a seat and we can wait for her.” 

Erik took a seat on the small brown armchair in front of the desk while Miss Carrie looked around the office. 

“Oh, shoot.” She exclaimed. 

Erik looked over at Miss Carrie, who was staring at an open folder on the desk. She frowned and met his stare.

“Erik, we have a problem.” She lifted the top sheet and handed the slightly crumpled page to him. “She knows.”

“Fuck,” he shouted and then lowered his voice. “I’m sorry, Miss Carrie.”

She waved away his apology “As much as I wanted you to keep this a secret. I guess it’s time for you to tell her.”

“I was really hoping I would never have to explain this, honestly.” He stood up. 

“You and me both. She doesn’t do well with deceit.” Miss Carrie sat down at the desk. “Sure, she’ll understand why you helped. But that’s not gonna matter.”

“I’ll try to fix this tonight.” Erik took Miss Carrie’s hand, “Hopefully, she’ll talk to me because she definitely did not look happy to see me standing there.”

“I know you will.” She squeezed his hand, “Don’t let her show up to my party mad at the world.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Erik stood up and walked out. 

He walked to the front of the restaurant in search of DeeDee and found her outside waiting by the car. 

“DeeDee.” He called out to her. 

She stared at him as he came around to her side and unlocked the door. Then she hopped in and reached out for the door handle. Erik stood in front of the open door, blocking her.

“DeeDee say something, please.”

“Move Erik.” 

She reached out again, and he grabbed her hand. 

“I know what you saw. So talk to me.” He rubbed her hand, “What are you thinking?”

“Why? It’s not gonna change anything?” DeeDee said and pulled her hand away. “I’m ready to go back to the hotel, please.” 

“DeeDee.” 

“I’m ready to go, Erik.”

He moved away from the door and stepped out of the way as DeeDee slammed it shut. 

“It’s gonna be a long night.” He got in the car and drove off.

---

Erik watched as DeeDee walked to the bed. 

She was quiet on the ride back to the hotel. She didn’t talk as they ate dinner at the restaurant. And DeeDee made herself scarce by staying in the bathroom most of the night. He sat on the chair in the corner of the room. 

“DeeDee, please.”

“Please what? I have nothing to say to you right now.” She punched the pillow and pulled back the covers.

Erik sighed, “DeeDee, you know we have to talk about this. And I would prefer now rather than later.”

“Later, much later.” She mumbled into the pillow as she turned her back to him. “Good night, Erik.” She turned off the light on her side of the bed. 

Erik sat there for a moment with his phone in hand and pressed send. 

Erik: Can you and Serena meet me for lunch tomorrow? At Miss Carrie’s place. 

Quis: Yeah, we can be there. It’ll be nice to see DeeDee before the party.

Erik: She’s not coming.

Quis: You good?

Erik: I’ll explain everything when I see you.

Quis: Alright, man. I’ll see you at 1 after my class. 

Erik: Kool. Night Quis. 

Quis: Night E.

He got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Erik looked over at DeeDee as she faked sleep. 

“I love you, pretty girl.”

---

DeeDee woke up the next morning and sat up in the bed. She looked over and saw that Erik’s side was made up. He was already gone. She sighed and climbed out of bed to get ready for the day. 

DeeDee looked at her phone as the call connected. 

“DeeDee, Mama told me you and Erik were here. How are ya?”

“Ma, are you free today?” she muttered.

“Dee, is everything ok?”

“I need to talk to you. It’s important.” DeeDee’s voice cracked.

“Yeah, come by the house. I’ll be here.”

20 minutes later, DeeDee arrived at her mother’s house. 

“Hey babygirl.” Gloria pulled her into a hug and DeeDee burst into tears, “What’s wrong?”

“‘He lied to me. They both did.”

“Who lied to you? And why does it have you so upset?”

Gloria held DeeDee’s hand and led her into the house. 

“Go sit down and start from the beginning.” 

They walked over to the couches in the living room. Gloria sat across from DeeDee. 

“Erik and Mama lied to me. Well, Erik lied but Mama kept the truth from me and I’m mad at the both of them.”

DeeDee explained how she found the ownership paperwork while helping Miss Carrie. 

“That was Mama’s choice not to tell anyone about how she got out of trouble.” Gloria said.

“Wait! Everyone knew the restaurant was in trouble? See this is what I mean. Why couldn’t she tell me about that, too?”

“DeeDee, your great-grandmother is just like you. Do you think she wanted anyone to know that she was having issues keeping the family business afloat?”

DeeDee shook her head.

“Right. And no. We knew nothing until we noticed she was slowly putting the place back together after the fire.”

“HA, the fire. I asked her if she needed me to come back and help her again after the fire and she said no.”

“DeeDee, you’d just started your research. Mama was not gonna let her issues hinder anything you were working on. You are the biggest worrier we know. Taking on the entire world’s problems like they are yours.”

“Ma-” 

“Tell me, you wouldn’t have placed your doctorate on hold for Mama?”

DeeDee hesitantly met her mother’s eyes, “I- I can’t.”

“Exactly. Now, what does this have to do with Erik?” 

“He’s the other owner.”

“Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that your young man is the one who helped keep The Juke Joint open?”

“Yeah, he’s a-” DeeDee sighed, “His family has money, so it makes sense that he could help Mama.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“He didn’t tell me about it.” Gloria gave DeeDee a blank stare. “Mom, we are supposed to be getting married and he can’t even tell me that he’s co-owner of my great-grandmother’s restaurant?”

Gloria looked at her daughter and shifted over to the same couch as her. “DeeDee, have you and Erik ever had a fight?”

“Not really. We’ve always talked things out.”

“So, why are you talking to me about how you feel and not Erik?”

“I don’t know what to say to him. I keep thinking if he kept something like this from me, what else would he keep from me.”

Gloria nodded and grabbed DeeDee’s hand, “He is not your father, Deidre.”

“Wh-what?”

“Erik is not your father. You can trust him, Dee.”

“But what if the only reason he is with me is because of Mama.”

“Girl bye.” Gloria sighed, “I’m so sorry, DeeDee. I never thought that my relationship with your father would have such an impact on you.”

“I- I don’t get it.”

“My lovely daughter. I have no idea how you could trust your own feelings for Erik and then not trust him to be completely honest with you.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Really? Because you were floating when he came into town, for you, might I add. And then when those offers from Cali rolled in, you knew exactly where you wanted to go. You wanted to be near and have a relationship with him. Look at what the two of you have built over the last year and some months?”

“Then why am I so mad about it?”

“You don’t do lies, of omission or otherwise. I am sure there is a perfectly good reason that Mama and Erik kept this from you and everyone else. But you also let the fear that he would turn out to be a compulsive liar like your father seep in.”

“Oh.” DeeDee breathed out. 

“Have you spoken to him about this at all?”

DeeDee shook her head, “No, every time he tries I shut him down.”

“Don’t make him pay for something that you won’t let him explain.” Gloria squeezed and released her hand. 

DeeDee sighed, “Yes, ma’am.”

Gloria stood up and stretched, “Now, you hungry? I got some gumbo on the stove. I just need to make some rice.” 

“Yeah, I could eat.”

“Come on, then.”

--- 

Erik showed up at The Juke Joint before Marquis and Serena. When they arrived, he walked over to Miss Carrie and asked her to join them for lunch. She filled a pitcher with sweet tea and handed it to him.

“How did it go last night?” Miss Carrie asked Erik as they made their way to the table.

“She wouldn’t let me explain at all.” 

“What did you do, Erik?” Serena interjected. 

“Now, now. It’s not his fault, suga.”

Serena and Marquis stood to give Miss Carrie hugs. Erik pulled out her chair before they all sat back down.

“Thank you, baby.” She bumped his shoulder, “He was honoring our agreement and keeping his promise to me.”

“What agreement?” Marquis jumped into the conversation.

Miss Carrie nodded at Erik. 

“About the restaurant. Miss Carrie and I are partners.”

“How can that be?” 

“Since when?”

Serena and Marquis spoke over one another.

“A few years back, I was having a lot of trouble keeping things together here. Business was steady, but not enough for when I needed to repair the kitchen after that grease fire. I was barely breaking even and didn’t have enough to cover all the costs. I couldn’t take out a second on the property because of the original deal.” Miss Carrie picked up glasses and poured everyone some tea. “So, I called in a favor. Erik said if I ever needed his help to give him a call.”

“But he would have given that to you freely. No questions asked.” Serena said. 

“You are right about that. And if I still had DeeDee around, it would have turned out differently. But I wanted her to focus on school and getting out of here like she always wanted.” Miss Carrie sipped her tea.

“Silent partner?” Marquis spoke up. 

Erik nodded, “I wanted to make sure that Miss Carrie never ran into any issues ever again. After speaking with my lawyer, he said that the best way besides just giving her the money was to build an agreement with her.”

“Erik quietly flew out here to meet with me and we set up our partnership. I run the business and Erik financially backs everything. To everyone else, it appears as it always has. Miss Carrie’s place - The Juke Joint with one owner.”

“So, what happened and why is DeeDee mad?” 

“Yesterday, she found out.” Erik mumbled. 

“DeeDee didn’t know?” Serena shook her head.

“No one knew besides the two of us.”

“It was the only way she would accept long-term help from me. No one was supposed to know, not even my wife if I ever got married,” Erik shrugged.

“But you have a fiancée and she -”

“Is my great-granddaughter, yes. So, now you see the issue.” Miss Carrie took another drink from her glass. “She’s mad at the both of us, but she is taking it out on Erik.”

“And when she’s mad, there is no talking to her, which I was not aware of.” Erik sighed, “I don’t know how to fix this, especially if she won’t let me explain.”

Serena looked at Marquis and they both laughed. 

“Finally, some flaws. Thank you, Jesus.” 

“You love to see it.”

Miss Carrie smacked their hands, “You two stop that. The boy don’t know it yet.”

“Uh, what don’t I know?” Erik asked, confused.

“I bet she was quiet all night.”

“Stayed in any room that you weren’t in.” 

“Probably scooted to the edge of the bed as far away from him as she could.” Miss Carrie added. 

“Miss Carrie, we’ve never had a fight.” Erik whined.

“WE KNOW.” Everyone responded. 

“And it shows. Oooh boy, does it show.”

Erik rolled his eyes at Serena’s comment. “I need to get her to speak to me. I just need her to understand.”

“Good luck with that.” Marquis mumbled.

“Just accept that you are going to a party with a madwoman.” Serena said.

“I can’t. Not when that madwoman is also mad at the birthday girl.”

Miss Carrie pinched Erik’s cheek, “He called me a girl, so sweet. It’s ok, baby.” She tapped his arm, “As long as you can still get her to come tonight, it’ll be alright.”

Serena touched her arm. “Everything will be fine, Miss Carrie.” 

---

Erik was sitting in the living room area. DeeDee was in the bedroom, still getting dressed. 

“DeeDee. The party starts in 20 minutes. Are you ready to go yet?”

“Yeah.”

He stood up and walked to the doorway. DeeDee was in front of the full-length mirror. She smoothed out her dress, checked her gloss, and grabbed her clutch. 

“Don’t forget Mama’s present.” She said as she walked past him to the front door. 

“I got it.” He followed her as she walked out of the room.

He picked up the present and locked the door behind him. Shaking his head, Erik knew not to expect her to be waiting for him at the elevator. DeeDee would be at the car on the passenger side. 

Erik clicked the unlock button as he entered the 2nd story garage. He heard a door open and close. She let herself into the car. 

He put the present in the back seat and got into the car. He turned to face her. 

“DeeDee.” He waited until she turned to face him, “I know you are mad at me. But we need to talk about this.”

“Can this wait?” She looked at him, “Not tonight.”

“Then when? Because I was hoping we could have this resolved before the party.”

“We are good right now. So, just drop it.”

“But you won’t talk to me. How are we good?” He asked her.

“Erik, please let it go.” 

“We can’t go home like this. You know that, right?”

“Just drive, Erik.” DeeDee turned forward, “We’re already gonna be late for her party.”

---

Music was blasting from outside the house. They could hear it as they drove by. Erik parked in a spot further down the block. He locked the doors before DeeDee could jump out.

“Really?”

“Can we at least act like we’re happily together?” He reached behind him and handed her the gift. 

“We’re fine, Erik.” She unlocked the door and hopped out. DeeDee walked in the center of the road back to Miss Carrie’s.

Erik jumped out of the car, hit the alarm, and ran to catch up with her. He pulled up in front of her and stopped.

“You know this is the most words you have spoken to me in the last 24 hours?” 

DeeDee tried to move around him, “I know. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“And why can’t we talk about it?” Erik moved again, blocking her path. 

“Erik.”

Erik folded his arms over his chest. “Why can’t you talk to me?”

DeeDee looked at him, then down at the present in her hands. “I don’t trust you.”

Erik shook his head, “I don’t -”

“There you guys are.” 

“Miss Carrie has been looking for the two of you.”

Erik turned around while DeeDee looked up to face the voices. Marquis and Serena walked up to them. 

“Come along, you two. The birthday girl is ready for cake and presents.”

Serena grabbed the present from DeeDee and pushed her into Erik. Marquis flanked Erik’s other side and nudged him into DeeDee. 

The group walked to Miss Carrie’s house together. Serena led them to the side of the house into the backyard where all the action was happening. 

Erik reached for DeeDee’s hand and she pulled it away. She followed closely behind Serena and never looked back. 

Marquis clapped Erik on the back, “Let’s go get a drink.”

Erik watched as she greeted everyone before walking in the house. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Has it gotten any better?” Marquis led them to the outdoor bar along the back wall. 

“Nope. In fact, it may have gotten worse.”

“Worse. How is that possible?” Marquis grabbed two tumblers and filled them with whiskey.

“She told me she doesn’t trust me.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Marquis handed Erik a glass. 

“First, she won’t talk to me,” Erik knocked the drink back and refilled it. “And now, she doesn’t trust me,” he knocked back the second drink, “I don’t know what the hell’s going on.” Erik refilled his drink again and downed it.

“Okay, that’s enough for you.” Marquis took Erik’s glass away. “Don’t need you drinking your feelings.”

“One secret, Quis.” Erik lifted up his index finger, “One. I have never lied about anything else or kept anything from her. Hell, I told her I’m a fucking prince, and she didn’t flinch. But this is the breaking point?”

“Erik, lower your voice, man. People are starting to stare.” Marquis looked behind Erik and waved.

“You’re right. It’s not about me. It’s about Miss Carrie.” Erik rubbed his temples, “Is there a water cooler around here?”

“Yeah, we passed it on the way back here.” 

---

Serena and DeeDee walked over to the gift table. 

“How long have you guys been here?” DeeDee asked. 

“We got here about an hour ago.”

“Early birds. Should have been us.” DeeDee looked over at the bar where Erik and Marquis were standing. 

“So, how are things with you two?” Serena grabbed DeeDee’s hand and inspected the ring, “This is some beautiful craftsmanship.”

DeeDee pulled back her hand, “We’re good.”

“That’s not what it looked like when we found you.”

“We are fine, Serena,” DeeDee gritted out. “So, drop it okay.”

“Then why isn’t he here?” Serena pointed next to DeeDee, “Erik’s always at your side.”

DeeDee stared at the space next to her then back at Serena, “Reena.”

“Don’t Reena me.” Serena glared at DeeDee, “Sweetie, what is going on?”

“He lied, okay. Erik lied to me.” DeeDee bit out. 

“Okay and have you talked to him about it?”

“No.” DeeDee deflated, “I mean I can barely look at him, Serena.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, it just makes me mad and sad all over again.” DeeDee’s voice cracked, “He didn’t trust me enough to tell me and that hurts Reena.”

“Did you tell him that?”

“That I don’t trust him? Right, before you two came up to us.”

“DeeDee. You know that’s not true.” She shrugged at Serena, “Wow. That’s how you really feel?”

“I don’t even know. Mom told me some stuff today and I just- I can’t bring myself to talk to him about everything yet.

“But if you won’t hear him out, then how can it be resolved?”

“Whose side are you on, Serena?”

“The side that wants to see a summer wedding next year.”

DeeDee rolled her eyes, “I’m gonna go inside. I’ll see you around.”

“Don’t make me come find you, DeeDee.”

She waved off Serena’s comment and went to the backdoor of the kitchen. DeeDee walked inside, saw a pile of dishes near the sink, and started to wash them.

“So, this is what we are doing now?” DeeDee looked up to see Miss Carrie. “Hiding out in the kitchen?”

“Hi Mama.” DeeDee dried off her hands and pulled her great-grandmother into a hug, “Happy Birthday Pretty Lady.”

“Thank you, baby.” Miss Carrie pulled away, “Now, where is that handsome fiancé of yours?”

“Somewhere. I don’t know or care.” DeeDee nonchalantly replied.

“Deidre Marie Chabert! What is wrong with you?” Miss Carrie looked at DeeDee and groaned. 

“ME? Shouldn’t I be asking you two that?” DeeDee yelled.

“Little girl, who do you think you are talking to?” Miss Carrie snapped back, “I know you are mad at us, but you will respect me in my own damn house!” 

DeeDee turned around and focused on the dishes. 

“You got some nerve.” She spun DeeDee back around, “Why are you so angry, child?”

“Mama, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“That The Juke Joint was in trouble.” DeeDee pulled on the edges of the dishrag.

Miss Carrie waved her off, “If that’s why you mad, then get in line.” 

“Mama, I’m serious.”

“And so am I.” Miss Carrie took the dishrag out of DeeDee’s hands, “You aren’t the only one who is upset that I didn’t tell anyone when I was in financial trouble. Hell, ya mama just stopped asking me who gave me the money like six months ago.”

DeeDee looked over at Miss Carrie, “But you pushed me away, Mama.”

“The Juke Joint has always been my responsibility, not yours DeeDee. I wanted you to earn your degree without worrying about me or this ole place.” Miss Carrie leaned against the counter, “I knew Erik would help, but I never imagined he would be there for me and our family like that. So, if you want someone to be mad at, then it should be me and not him.”

“But he lied to me.” DeeDee mumbled.

Miss Carrie walked to the door and yelled through the screen, “Erik, bring your ass in here.” 

“Mama, are you ok?” A voice called out. 

“I’m good, suga. I just need to speak with these two. Keep everyone outside.” 

She opened the door for Erik, who slowly walked up the steps. 

“Is everything ok, Miss Carrie?” He asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Could be better. How is she treating you, baby?” 

“How am I treating him? He’s the one who lied to me.” 

“For me, Deidre.” Miss Carrie rolled her eyes at DeeDee, then turned to Erik. “I’m so sorry, Erik. If I thought for one second -”

“There the two of you go. I’m right here. What about me?” DeeDee whined.

“What do you want me to say, DeeDee? I have spent the last two days trying to talk to you and you shut me out.” He walked towards her, “I have nothing to say to you. We have nothing to talk about. We’ll talk about this much later.” Erik mocked DeeDee. He stopped a few feet away from her, “Oh, and my new personal fave - I don’t trust you.”  

DeeDee crossed her arms over her chest. Miss Carrie stood back and shook her head.

“Is there anything else you need to say to me? Please let me know if anything else I have done has changed the way you feel about me.” His voice rose.

“Erik, I-”

He clasped his hands in front of him and waited for her to continue.

“I didn’t mean that.” She watched him roll his eyes at her, “Okay, fine. I meant it.” DeeDee rubbed her temples. “Why did you lie to me?”

“Did I lie? No. Did I keep something important from you? Yes.”

“Why? I thought we could tell each other everything. And as many times as we have talked about Mama and The Juke Joint, this should have come up.”

“It wasn’t my business to tell. And don’t you think if I could I would have?”

“What was stopping you from being honest about owning my great-grandmother’s restaurant? Tell me why you couldn’t say that part.”

“First of all, Miss Carrie is still the owner. I am only a financial resource and that was all it was ever meant to be.” 

Erik looked over at Miss Carrie, who nodded at him. 

He continued, “She only agreed to let me help her and with those terms if I never told anyone. We added it to the contract, and I never thought about it or what it meant again.” 

Erik took a few steps forward and grabbed DeeDee’s hands. He stared at the ring on her finger and grazed his thumb over it. 

“And then I met you.” He sandwiched her hands between his, “The love of my life. My heart and soul. The person I knew I would share my life with and have the kind of forever love I desired.” Erik entwined their hands together.

“When she told me you were her great-granddaughter, I couldn’t believe it. Even though I told you how special this place was to me.” He looked back at Miss Carrie, “I couldn’t break her trust or our agreement without talking to her about it first. But we spent so much time together that week I spent here, I never got the chance.”

“What about when I came to Oakland for New Year’s?” DeeDee spoke softly.  

“I was so excited to see you again so soon. I figured it would’ve been months before I got the chance. And then when you shared your news with me -- told me that you were moving to Cali and wanted to give us a chance.” He chucked her under the chin to make her look at him, “I know it’s no excuse, but I honestly forgot about it.” 

“How do you forget something like that?” She asked him. 

“Have you seen you?” Erik smiled at her. 

DeeDee laughed. “I’m serious.”

“And so am I. Do you remember when I finally came clean about thinking I didn’t deserve a love like my parents had?” Erik swung their hands together and his voice softened. 

She nodded at him. 

“I wanted to make sure that you knew that you did not make a mistake by giving us a chance and trusting me with your heart. So, I focused on building our relationship and truly forgot until a few weeks ago.”

“What do you mean a few weeks ago?” DeeDee looked at him. 

Erik shrugged, “This was supposed to be her announcement to make.”

“Whose?” She followed his line-of-sight back to her great-grandmother.

“We dissolved the partnership, DeeDee.” Miss Carrie said. 

“Wait. What? Why? What’s going on?” DeeDee pulled away from Erik and walked over to Miss Carrie.

“Calm down, child. It’s nothing you did.” She winked at Erik, “Ok, that’s not true. You are the reason for the change, but it’s not a bad thing. I promise.” 

DeeDee gave her a hug, “So, then what is it?”

“I’m giving up my ownership, DeeDee.” Erik said.

“Don’t do that. You don’t need to do that for me. I’ll get over this.”

Erik walked over to DeeDee and Miss Carrie. He took each of their hands. 

“I just felt that The Juke Joint should go back to being family owned.” He squeezed DeeDee’s hand, “I’m relinquishing my ownership to you, baby.”

“You’re the only one who has ever loved this place more than me. Even more than Erik.” Miss Carrie interjected.

“I never meant to keep this from you or hurt you in the process. You were only supposed to accept when Miss Carrie offered you co-ownership and then I could share my part.” Erik spoke.

“I can’t just become an owner of the restaurant. My life is in Cali with Erik.” DeeDee looked at Erik and her great-grandmother, “Mama is something wrong?”

“Erik, talk this girl off the ledge, please. I have guests to entertain.” Miss Carrie tapped his arm and hugged DeeDee, “Let him finish explaining everything.” She whispered to her.

Erik led DeeDee to the kitchen island and pulled out a stool for her. 

“You want some water or something?” 

“No, I’m fine. I just want someone to tell me what is going on.” DeeDee rushed out.

“DeeDee, nothing about the arrangement changes. You will be Miss Carrie’s financier while she continues to run the day-to-day as she always has.”

“With what money, Erik? I am still paying off grad school loans.”

“You wouldn’t be if you would let me help you. But I don’t want to start another argument.” He grabbed her hands, “DeeDee, you will be my wife. You will have access to everything I have. Which will allow you to do exactly what I have done for the past 7 years; wait until Miss Carrie calls with a need or concern.”

DeeDee looked up at him, “You mean I’ll be a silent partner like you.”

Erik laughed, “No, absolutely not. Miss Carrie wants everyone to know that you are the other owner of the restaurant. The Juke Joint is a family run operation.”

“But you will be family, too. Why give all that up for me?”

“Because then I would have to continue to keep this from you. It wasn’t worth that for me.” He pulled her up from the stool. “I didn’t want this to ever become an issue. But we never thought you would find the paperwork either. She had it out for me to come by and pick it up. I was dropping off the new agreement that you would sign.”

“Oh.” DeeDee looked down.

“DeeDee, I love you.” Erik wrapped her in his arms. “What did I tell you before I left Baton Rouge?” 

“That you found me and you weren’t letting me go.”

“And I mean that shit.” DeeDee giggled into his chest, “So, do you forgive us for keeping this secret? She thought this would be the best time to do it with all your friends and family around for her birthday. A dual celebration in her honor.”

“Uh huh, I forgive you.” She leaned up to peck his lips. “But that old woman has got it coming.” DeeDee wiggled in his arms.

“You better leave Miss Carrie alone.”  

 “Let me go.” She turned around and tried to pull his arms away from her. 

“Woman, what did we just say? You ain’t going nowhere.” He tightened his grip on her, “You’re mine now.” He whispered in her ear. 

“Ewwwww.”

“Get a room.”

DeeDee and Erik look up to see Serena and Marquis standing there with looks of disgust on their faces. 

“Oh, you two can go to hell.” Erik barked at them.

“What did we do?” Serena asked. 

“Nothing. Absolutely, nothing.” Erik said. 

“I gave you water. An irresponsible friend would have let you keep drinking.”

Erik shook his head. “I had it under control.”

“No, you did not. You were going to drink away your pain.” Marquis explained. 

“Pain? What pain?” DeeDee froze, “OMG. My trust comment.” She turned around to face Erik. “Baby, I am so sorry. I really didn’t mean to say that. I was projecting my feelings about my father to you. And you don’t deserve that.” She reached up on her tippy toes and kissed him, “I am happiest when I am with you. I do trust you and I can’t wait to become your wife.”

“Say it again.” Erik said. 

“I love you and I can’t wait to become your wife.” Erik lifted DeeDee up and spun her around as she squealed.    

“Glad to see y’all are all happy again.” 

Everyone turned toward the new voice. Miss Carrie walked back in with a knife in her hand. 

“Now, let’s go have some cake and enjoy the rest of my birthday party.”

--- 3 Days Earlier ---

Demi’s hand felt along the nightstand for her vibrating cell phone. Someone was about to get cussed out waking her up and the sun wasn’t even shining through her curtains yet? She blinked at the bright screen and saw it was her best friend, Xavion calling.

“MiMi, I have a huge favor to ask.” The voice rushed out over the phone line.

“What’s in it for me, Xay?” Demi sighed.

“My undying devotion.” He sang.

“I have that already. Give me something else.” She yawned, glaring at the red numbers on her digital clock that read 4:30am.

“My first child?”

“I don’t want kids.” She mumbled out as she rolled back over and put the phone on the pillow next to her. “One more try and then I’m hanging up.” Demi pulled her comforter over her head.

“Demi, come on.”

Demi’s soft snores could be heard on the line.

“Please. I really need this favor, so I can look good at work.”

She lifted her head off the pillow, “What do I have to do?”

“I have a client for your practice.”

Demi threw the comforter off of her and sat up in bed. She put the phone on speaker and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

“So, my boss had this really interesting case where the guy was given mandatory therapy before returning to work.”

“I’m listening.”

“He doesn’t want to do it, but he has to, ya know. So, we told him that we would find a therapist for him to complete his sessions with and sign off on his return. It’s simple, meet with him the minimal number of times allowed by the program and then clear him.”

Demi looked down at her phone in confusion. This could not be her friend asking her to do this.

“Xay, you know that’s not how therapy works. Hell, that’s not even how I work.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s all or nothing. It’s my license on the line if he repeats or reoffends.”

“Trust me. You do not have to worry about that with him. He’s good people.”

“Good people don’t end up in mandatory therapy programs, Xay.”

“MiMi!” He groaned.

“Absolutely not. I understand that your bosses have people on payroll to do shit like this for them and that’s great. But I will not be one of them.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, “and for you to even come to me with this bullshit this early in the morning. Thanks friend.”

“MiMi. I didn’t mean to - ”

“You want me to see this man as a client? Then you inform him about how I work. He can see it through to the end and at my recommendation or he can find someone else to buy off.”

“Demi, please -”

“No Xay. Talk to your client and if he is fine with my proposal, you can send me his file.” She hung up the phone.

---

Xavion sent her an electronic file that contained a picture of her new client, Erik Stevens. It contained the court case details and the anger management program paperwork she would sign upon completion. Demi had heard of him and didn’t understand how a man of his status ended up taking the entire blame for this situation.

Handling this case appropriately would provide the exposure she needed to help build her practice. All she had to do was get him to complete the program as outlined by the judge.

---

Erik Stevens looked up at the red brick building and then looked at the note on his phone. This was the place. Apparently, there was a couch with his name on it inside. He was supposed to walk in and speak candidly to some quack for 6 months. There was nothing wrong with him, but the courts didn’t see it that way. Nothing he couldn’t fix during this first visit though.

He entered the lobby and walked to the elevator bank. Erik locked his phone and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket. He stood back and waited for the approaching elevator car.

Erik looked at his watch as he exited onto the 5th floor. ‘Early is on time, on time is late and late is unacceptable.’ He smiled to himself, “Time to let Dr. Bishop know how things will go.”

The floor had an open layout with a desk in the center and multiple closed doors surrounding it. He appreciated the mix of modern and classic furniture that made up the office suite shared by all the doctors.

He walked over to the receptionist, who gawked at his entrance. She straightened up in her seat as he approached. “I’m here for Dr. Bishop. I have a 3 oclock appointment.”

“Uh, yes sir, Mr. Stevens.” She smiled up at him, “Please have a seat.”

He returned the smile. “So, you do know who I am?” He looked down at her over the countertop that covered her seated position.

Erik surveyed her. Her pressed hair and pearly white smile to her chaste blouse down to her skirt that showcased glistening chocolate brown legs in stiletto heels. He lifted his gaze back to her face and when he met her stare, she immediately looked away.

“Of course, I’ve attended a few of your seminars before. You are the reason I have this job.” She looked at her computer and then back up at him, “You are quite early, but I’ll let her know you are here.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” He stood up and pushed back the panels of his jacket revealing a gold lining. Then he leaned onto the counter and followed her line of sight until she met his again, “By the way, what’s your name?” He held his hand out to her.

“Sylvanna.” She giggled and slowly placed her hand in his.

“Sylvanna, what a beautiful name.” He rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb. “Are you doing anything tonight?”

She nodded at him and Erik immediately relaxed his hold on her hand. Sylvanna quickly corrected herself, “I’m sorry, Mr. Stevens,” She took a deep breath and exhaled, “No, I am not.”

“Good girl. Go out with me.”

“I’d love to.”

“Wonderful. I’ll need your number.” He tapped a notepad in front of her.

Sylvanna flipped to a fresh sheet, wrote it down and gave it to him. He slipped the piece of paper from her hand, folded the sheet and placed it in his pants pocket. He took her hand again and gave it a slight squeeze.

“You can let Dr. Bishop know I am here now.” He winked at Sylvanna, turned and walked away.

She shook her head, took another deep breath and reached for the intercom, “Yes, Mr. Stevens.”

---

For several minutes, Erik stood by the window observing the cityscape. This was his town and his home, Oakland. His work was for his people. He didn’t understand why he was here when he paid people to take care of things like this for him. Why have a law firm on retainer when they couldn’t even get him out of mandatory therapy?

Erik sighed, “Sometimes, you gotta do the messy work yourself.”

Sylvanna called his name. “Dr. Bishop will see you now, Mr. Stevens.”

He turned as he buttoned up his suit jacket to find her standing, “Thank you, Sylvanna.” He walked up to her, “So, where I am going?”

She pointed down the center hallway, “It’s the first door on your right.”

“Great. I will see you later tonight.” He winked at her.

He strode towards the office with a smile as he brushed down his jacket. Erik took a deep breath and knocked before he entered.

“Dr. Bishop?”

“Yes, Mr. Stevens. Please come in.”

Erik froze, one hand on the doorknob, at the feminine voice that greeted him. Dark brown eyes hidden behind slim black-rimmed glasses looked expectantly up at him. He closed the door behind him and stepped forward. Erik studied the woman sitting at the large wooden desk. This was gonna be easier than I thought.

She waved her hand to the chair in front of her desk. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Dr. Bishop. The pleasure is all mine.” He replied.

Erik walked over and sat down in the straight-backed chair.

“I have some housekeeping things to go over and then we can start.”

Erik watched her shuffle a few files and a legal pad in front of her. Right down to business. She impressed him.

He moved his chair forward and pulled a pen from his jacket. “Great, let me know where to sign.”

“Excuse me?” Dr. Bishop snapped at him.

Erik continued, “I am so glad you changed your mind. I need to get back out on the road and speak to all my people.”

He reached for one of the files on her desk. She pulled it out of his reach.

“I think you are mistaken, Mr. Stevens.” She gathered the files together and placed them on a file rack.

---

Does this man really assume that I am going to cheat the system for him? Who the fuck does he think he is?

Demi looked over at Erik as he relaxed into the chair. He unbuttoned his jacket and the lining flashed gold before the suit tails settled around him.

No, he didn’t.

He was wearing a gray pinstripe suit with gold cufflinks. She shook her head as he clasped his manicured hands together on his lap.

He really thinks highly of himself.

“Mr. Stevens, I am aware that you spoke with Mr. Davis about my terms.” When Erik nodded, she continued, “What makes you think I have changed my mind?”

“Well, you have the paperwork in front of you. And there is nothing that YOU can teach me about channeling anger and using it for better,” he moved his hands as he spoke, “I do this for a living.”

Demi smiled at Erik, “Ahhhh, no wonder you are dressed so... impressively.” She pointed at his suit, “This must be your ‘I talk in money’ suit. No wait, it’s your ‘Let’s talk business’ suit.”

---

Erik slowly bobbed his head at her. The more she spoke the more he wanted to hear everything she had to say. He was pleased to say the least. She definitely had a nice read on him.

“You must have thought that you could walk in here and negotiate the terms of your court-mandated therapy.”

“That’s correct.” He sat forward in his seat.

Demi tapped her chin, “So, that’s why you came in here peacocking? Beautiful coat, by the way.”

He watched as Demi stood up and walked around her desk. She stopped in front of it and him.

“Let me introduce myself then.” She leaned against the desk and crossed one of her legs in front of the other. “My name is Dr. Demi Bishop and I will be your counselor as you work through your anger management program.”

A sly smile crept across Erik’s face. “You sure about that?”

“Absolutely.” She reached beside her and grabbed one of the folders on the desk. “In fact, here is your first assignment.” She handed it to him, “Go ahead and read that before our next session.”

Demi walked around his seat and went to her office door. She opened it and then turned back towards Erik.  

---

She held the door as Erik stood up.

He took the opportunity to get a better view of her. Her loose curls were in a bun, some tendrils framing her cherubic face. She wore a fitted brown blazer over a black sheath dress. Sensible black heels finished the look. Hmmm, what are you hiding Ms. Bishop?

“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Stevens. I will see you Wednesday. Preferably at your appointed time.”

He brushed up against her as he passed by and heard her deep inhale once he crossed the door’s threshold.

Erik walked to the bank of elevators and hit the down button. While he waited, he looked inside the folder and found an article about healthy ways to deal with anger. This woman is something else. Erik closed the folder and twisted into a tube. He hid his hand in his pants pocket and balled up his fist.

The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside. Erik looked back at Demi standing in her doorway. He waved to her, “Yes, you will see me again, Miss Bishop.”

“It’s ok. I get it man. I have about 4 students preparing to defend their dissertations next month. I am nowhere near ready.” 

“That’s right, Dr. Oubre, preparing our future doctors of science and research. So, what’s up?” 

“Well, I just spoke with Dr. Giacomo and she said someone came around asking about you.”

“Really for what?”

“Yeah, I guess they came across one of your papers and decided to find you.” 

Erik rolled his eyes, “So, why would they go to her and not just reach out to me directly?”

“Look, I don’t know. I am just letting you know what was relayed to me, but I wanted to reach out to you before I gave out your information.”

“Bruh, give them my email and get off my phone.” Erik laughed at how silly Marquis was being. 

“Aye, you can never be too sure. I’m just looking out for you.” Marquis whispered into the phone.

Erik walked over to his desk and leaned against the edge, “Quis, man what is really going on?”

“I don’t want to send you another stalker.” Marquis sighed before laughing.

“HA, man. No one could have seen that shit coming.” Erik began to laugh as well. “I definitely lucked out when she graduated before us. Who knows how bad that could have gotten?”

“True, true.” Marquis cleared his throat, “By the way, Serena asked about you. She wants to know when you are bringing yo black ass back to Louisiana? You know to see us, your friends and extended family?”

“What else? I know she didn’t stop there.” Erik retorted. 

“Oh, the usual. Has he found anyone yet? When is he gonna settle down? Yada, yada, yada.” Marquis shot back. 

“Of course, she did.” Erik sighed out. “I definitely want to take some time off, so I can come and see you both, including my nieces and nephew. I just don’t know when that will be.” 

“Alright man, I understand. Look, I just wanted to give you a heads up about the contact. But I gotta run to class now.” Marquis rushed out.

“Yeah, I’ll hit you up later this week.” Erik said before hanging up. 

Setting his phone down on his desk, he closed his eyes. Arms crossed over his chest, he relaxed into the moment. Alternating between short and long breathes, he felt himself calming down from the morning and the call from his best friend and brother. 

They met in undergrad and were as thick as thieves instantly. You never saw one without the other anywhere on campus. And then, while they were in grad school Marquis met Serena, who would later become his wife. 

Laughing to himself, Erik recalled being jealous of what they had and continued to build together. It reminded him of his parents’ relationship and the love they had for one another. He rolled his eyes as his mind started to wander. Serena wasn’t the only one asking those kinds of questions lately.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, he decided to focus on the reason for Marquis’ call. Someone from Southern University was looking for him, that’s very interesting. He hadn’t thought of his alma mater much since returning home to Oakland, about 10 years ago. Outside of Marquis and his family, who he kept in touch with; he never needed to think about it. He had written plenty of papers due to his current research and his studies while he was working on his doctorate, so it does make sense. Well, whoever it is will be reaching out to him soon enough. 

---

It’s been three days since DeeDee learned that her mystery man was connected to a current faculty member on campus. She walked to his office and knocked on the open door. 

“Hey Dr. O.” DeeDee said to get his attention.

“Come in, DeeDee.” 

DeeDee walked into Dr. Marquis Oubre’s office and took a seat in front of his desk. She pulled out her notebook and set it down on her lap.

“So, how are things going?” Dr. Oubre asked as he walked over to the chair next to her. 

“They are going, but it could be better.” DeeDee answered as she fiddled with her fingers.

Marquis sat down and crossed his leg at the knee. “What’s bothering you, DeeDee?”

“I’m nervous about how all the interviews went. I mean they were all in September and October, and I have not heard anything.”

“What did I tell you when you left for the first one in San Diego?”

DeeDee sighed and rolled her eyes, “I will know if they are a great fit for me and not the other way around.”

“That’s right. Besides, you visited about 6 schools over a 2 month period. Those are on-campus interviews and that number is unheard of DeeDee.” Dr. Oubre looked at her, “I didn’t even get that many.”

“Really?” DeeDee looked at him in disbelief. 

Dr. Oubre discussed his entire experience of applying for a tenure-track position. DeeDee listened as much as she could manage, but in the back of her mind, all she could think about is the fact that her doctoral mentor knew her mystery man. She wanted to blurt it out when she first walked in, but it didn’t seem like the right thing to do. But now, she is reminded that the man can talk and couldn’t wait any longer. 

“Dr. O?” DeeDee interrupted his current train of thought.

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you about a former student?” She picked up the notebook, pulling out a printed out black and white newspaper clipping. DeeDee handed it to him.

He took it from her, looked at the image and laughed. “It’s you?” 

DeeDee looked at him in confusion. 

“You know people talk around here and I am friends with a lot of folks in Computer Science. Dr. Giacomo told me that someone was looking for Erik. I guess I just wasn’t thinking it would be you.” He continued to laugh. 

“Oh. Of course, she would.” DeeDee huffed out as she scooted further back into the chair.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh.” He reached for her notebook, “May I?” 

DeeDee handed him the notebook. Dr. Oubre pulled the ink pen from his dress shirt and wrote on the first blank page he found. He handed it back to her. 

“That’s his email. He said that he is fine with you asking him anything.” 

“Wait. What? He is expecting to hear from me?” DeeDee fumbled with the notebook when Dr. Oubre handed it over.

“Yes, he was surprised that you didn’t just search for him using the information on the article.”

DeeDee silently chastised herself, remembering what she told the other professor the other day. “About that, I didn’t even think of it. I saw Southern University and that was all she wrote.” She nervously laughs. 

“No problem. I’m sure he’ll be able to answer whatever questions you have.” Dr. Oubre stood up. “So, how’s your unnecessary prepwork going?” 

“It’s not unnecessary. I just want to be prepared, Dr. O.”

“DeeDee, you have been studying this stuff for the last 4 years. You know it and your 150 page dissertation shows that.” He moved around behind his desk, “They are only going to ask you about what is in there and what work you want to do with the information from this study.” 

“I understand that, but --” 

“Look, you have nothing to worry about. It is more a presentation then an actual defense. And I wouldn’t stress about the lack of response from those other universities about your interviews because I know you have applied to others. You got this.” 

DeeDee took a deep breath before responding, “You are right, Dr. O. I have applied to about 5 other places, but those were all in my top 2 tiers.”

“And about your upcoming defense?” 

“Right again. I know it like the back of my hand. So, I will try not to stress about it anymore.” DeeDee stood up and grabbed her things.

“Glad to hear it. Oh, by the way, you do know Dr. Bell is retiring at the end of the year?” 

“Yeah, they told all of us last week. Sounds like the annual department Christmas party will be her retirement party.” 

Dr. Oubre handed her a small flyer, “That’s right. Here’s your invitation. Hope to see you there.”

DeeDee looked down at it, “I’m there with bells on.” She laughed at her little joke.

“Nope, you gotta go.” He pointed at the door, while trying not to laugh. “I don’t think we need to meet next week, unless something comes up and you want to talk.”

“I agree.” DeeDee stopped at the door and held up the notebook, “And thanks again for this, Dr. O.” 

“You’re welcome, DeeDee.” He sat down and watched as DeeDee left his office. 

---

Sitting at her home office desk, DeeDee stared at the blank message box on her computer screen. The only thing typed out was Erik’s email address. She picked up her glass of water and took a sip. 

She spent the last hour looking up information on him. Found out that he’s back in Oakland and not even active in the science field anymore. He was the Director for one of the Wakanda Outreach Centers. It was fascinating what she read and found out about the work he was currently doing. 

And just like that, she was afraid to move forward. It should be simple. Send him an email about finding the little note in an old textbook. The end. He could do whatever he wanted with the information. But DeeDee’s mind was playing out possible scenarios like stuff she had seen in her favorite sappy romantic movies. And while the thought excited her, it also freaked her out at the same time. 

Things like that did not happen to women like her. Sure, she was kind of pretty and low maintenance, but most guys did not find her interesting enough to have a relationship with. And because of that she just didn’t try to pursue them, which is much different than what her friends believed about her. There was no message in a bottle type romance or love for her. So, why even bother?

She closed the email and decided to let the matter go. At least, she found out who wrote the note. Curiosity piqued and answered. Now, time to focus on her future and career.

Taglist: @teakturn @ghostfacekill-monger @shaekingshitup @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @woahitslucyylu @ladymac82 @bugngiz @eyeknowmywrites @ajspencer1892 @blackpinup22 @sarcastic-sunshines​

She took her seat again and looked at the note in her hand. It’s folded in half and rough around the edges like someone ripped it out of a spiral notebook. DeeDee opened the page and after turning it right-side up, she saw multiple chemical formulas written in the neatest penmanship she had ever seen. As she glanced at the formula compounds, she noticed a short note in the center. 

LaSTiNLuV - My parents had it, that real deal, until the end of time type shit. The kind that those r&b niggas used to sing about and I want that. Honestly, I hope to find it for myself one day. I know she is out there. And I hope that I will recognize her, but also that I will be deserving of her love. _E.S.

DeeDee tried to decipher the first word of the note. She quietly laughed when she realized the person used chemical elements to write a completely different word. Referring to the periodic table of the book the note came from, she worked to interpret it.

“Lanthanum, Sulfur, Titanium, Nitrogen, Lutetium, and Vanadium equals La S Ti N Lu V.” She looked at the note again, “Lasting Love?”

DeeDee recognized the other ‘formulas’ on the page as other chemical elements put together to form words or phrases but not actual chemical compounds. There are two other such groupings on the page of the note. In the upper right-hand corner, DeeDee saw ‘MgYHeArTaNdSOULa’ and in a much smaller font scrawled at the bottom left of the page was ‘IAmHeRe.’ She deciphered the other two before setting the note and her pad of paper to the side. 

“I Am Here. My Heart And Soul. Lasting Love.” That is what the person who wrote the note wanted to find, a love like their parents have or had. Taking a deep breath, she spoke aloud and laughed, “Shoot, aren’t we all?” DeeDee apologized when she heard various shushes from the bookstacks around her. 

Looking at her watch, it was time to go. She folded up the note and instead of returning it to the chemistry book, she put it in her folder. Grabbing all her items, she left the library to make the drive to her job. 

---

DeeDee needed to tell someone about what she found because it was the only thing she could think about all night. She called up her two best friends, Beverly and Phyllis, to get together for lunch the next day. They are her oldest and dearest friends, so they would understand her excitement about it.

Beverly and Phyllis are seated at the table when DeeDee arrived. They both stood to hug her before everyone took their seats. The waiter took their drink orders before leaving to give them time to decide on their entrees. 

“Ok, so what was so important that you just had to see us?” Phyllis rushed out from across the table. Always straight to the point.

“Right, we thought you would be locked up with your books for the rest of the year before we saw our best friend again.” Beverly leaned forward with both elbows on the table.

“I mean, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And you know I can eat.” DeeDee responds, “You would have seen me before the end of the month.” 

They all laughed at DeeDee’s remark, calming down only when they saw their waiter approach the table. He set down their sweet tea and then took their order. 

“Ok, so I was at the library last night and I found something.”

“Look, if it wasn’t dick then I don’t want to hear about it.” Phyllis rolled her eyes before sipping her drink. 

“Phyll, stop that and let the girl speak.” Beverly bumped Phyllis’ shoulder, “Go on DeeDee, don’t mind her.”

“As I was saying, I found something while I was studying last night.” DeeDee pulled out the note. “This fell out of one of the books and it is very interesting.”

Phyllis took the note while Beverly looked at it from over her shoulder. She squinted her eyes at it before handing it over to Beverly, who just set it down on the table. 

“DeeDee, you know we can’t read that. We are not fluent in the chemical language.” Beverly pushed it back towards DeeDee. 

“Look at the center. I’ll explain the rest.” DeeDee slid the note back over to them. 

Beverly and Phyllis took a second look before looking back at DeeDee. 

“Is this for real?” Phyllis asked. 

“I think so.” 

“Ok, so then what do the hieroglyphics say?” Beverly set the note down in the center of the table.

DeeDee rolled her eyes at her friend’s remark, “The one in front of the note says Lasting Love. The word up here in the corner says My Heart and Soul. And this little thing down at the bottom says I Am Here.” 

“And you think this is real?” Beverly repeated Phyllis’ question.

“Well, it does have some initials after it. So, why wouldn’t it be?” DeeDee took a sip of her tea.

“Note in a chemistry book? Probably some virgin who needs to get laid.” Phyllis nodded at Beverly and the two of them started to laugh. 

“But what if… you know what, nevermind.” DeeDee grabbed the note and folded it back up into her small notebook. 

Just then, the waiter arrived with their food. All conversation stopped until he walked away again.

Beverly looked over at Phyllis before addressing DeeDee, “Hey, what is it?”

“I don’t know, I guess I am just curious about the author of the note.” DeeDee shrugged, “Like who would write something like this, hoping for a lasting love like their parents and then leave it in a book?”

“I already answered that.” Phyllis said before taking a bite of her salad.

“I’m serious, Phyll.” DeeDee spoke as she plucked a fry off her plate. 

“Ok, so what if it is a student here. Then what? What are you going to do?” Phyllis spoke as she waved her fork in the air.

“I don’t know. I guess I would have to find them first and decide for myself.” DeeDee shrugged.

“But what if an ugly guy wrote this?” Beverly cringed at the thought. 

“Bev, you already know it. Someone with his head so far in the books he doesn’t know anything else.” Phyllis shoulder checked Beverly and glanced over at DeeDee, “Just like someone else we know.”

DeeDee blankly stared in their direction. While everyone makes fun of her for always studying and not having any kind of personal life, they have no idea of the closet romantic hidden inside of her. She loves love, but never looked or hoped for it like this guy. No, an ugly person would not write about something as sweet and genuine as this. DeeDee did not believe that for a second.

“He sounds like a great guy. I mean he spoke of knowing that she is out there and hoping to be worthy of her. How sweet is that?” Her eyes sparkled as she recalled the words now embedded in her head.

“Really?” Phyllis shook her head as DeeDee nodded hers, “Well, now you know what you gotta do. You gotta find out who wrote that.”

Beverly claps her hands together in excitement as DeeDee’s face fell.

“What? No. I don’t think --,” DeeDee sputtered. She cleared her throat and started again, “I don’t know if I can.”

“Yes, you can. If anyone can figure out who wrote that note and left it there -- last week, last month, last year; it’s you.” Beverly spoke up. 

“You guys really think that I should do this?”

“Yes!” Both answer together. 

“Ok, then, I guess it’s time to find out who this E.S. is?” DeeDee and her friends shared a smile. 

---

DeeDee slowly walked into the library and headed straight to the circulation desk. She couldn’t believe that she allowed her friends to talk her into doing this. Holding her notebook in a death grip, she reached her favorite librarian, working the front desk.

“Hey DeeDee. What brings you in today?” Ms. Jacobsen asks her. 

“Hi Ms. Jacobsen. I actually have a huge favor to ask.” DeeDee says. “I found some notes in one of the books I had out the other day. Do you think you can tell me who last checked out the book?”

Ms. Jacobsen peeked past DeeDee, slowly turning around in her chair while surveying the first floor of the library, before she looked back at her. She stood up and moved to another computer on her left, signaling for DeeDee to follow her. 

“I know that you only want to return those notes to the rightful owner, so I can do this one favor for you.” Ms. Jacobsen finally answered. “So, what is the name of the book that you checked out?” 

“It was ‘Elements of Molecular and Biomolecular Electrochemistry’ by Saveant and Costentin.” DeeDee responded. 

DeeDee set down the notebook and attentively watched as Ms. Jacobsen started tapping away on the keyboard. She decided that watching Ms. Jacobsen was making her more nervous than kind of fibbing to the woman. No need to get her hopes up, if nothing came from the search for her mystery man. 

‘Her mystery man?’ Where did that even come from? She knew nothing about him except that at some point he felt it necessary to put these very words to paper. The man could be married with children or a complete psycho. DeeDee closed her eyes, trying to relax. If Ms. Jacobsen doesn’t give her a name, then she can drop this whole thing and focus on her next career move.

DeeDee looked up when she heard Ms. Jacobsen sigh loudly. 

“I’m sorry, dear. I don’t think you will find them on campus.” Ms. Jacobsen huffed out and then lifted her glasses to her face. “It has been 10 years since that book was checked out.”

DeeDee rapidly blinked at the information. “10 years?” She screeched at the older woman. 

“Yes, honey.” Ms. Jacobsen nodded and turned the computer screen towards DeeDee. “By one, Erik Stevens.”   

DeeDee tried to hide her smile. The mystery man has a name. 

“Erik Stevens.” DeeDee said his name out loud, then took a deep breath. “Ok. Well, thank you, Ms. Jacobsen. I’ll talk to you later.” DeeDee waved to her before walking past the desk towards her study space in the back. 

DeeDee dropped her things on the table before getting out her laptop. She opened a new browser and pulled up the school’s website. When DeeDee searched Erik Stevens, the first result was an article titled ‘Computer Science and Chemistry Majors share the 2010 Graduate Student of the Year title’. On the front page was a picture of the winners. 

“Computer Science, huh? Then what did he need with that book?” DeeDee mumbled while typing in her next search for the Computer Science department. She wrote down what she needed and put her laptop away. 

---

DeeDee entered the classroom during the meeting and took a seat in the back until it was over. When the room cleared out, she walked over to the faculty advisor standing at the front of the room wiping off the board. 

“Excuse me, I wanted to ask about a former student of this department.” DeeDee asked in a shaky voice.

“It depends on what you want to ask me.” The faculty member replied, setting down the eraser. 

“He won Graduate Student of the Year in --” 

“Oh, you mean Erik Stevens?” The professor laughed while DeeDee looked on in confusion, “Now him, I can talk about. Come with me.” She waved for DeeDee to follow.

They walked into the office next door, and the professor pointed out a chair for DeeDee to sit. 

“My name is Sheila Giacomo. I actually had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring Erik while he was here. So, what do you want to know?” 

“How did you know I was talking about Erik? I never even said his name.” DeeDee finally spoke again. 

“You said he won Grad Student of the Year. Only one student has ever won that honor during my whole tenure in this department.” Sheila answered. 

“I was wondering what you can tell me about him.”

Sheila sat back in her desk chair. “Mr. Stevens was not your typical ‘head in the books’ student, like most would expect from any kind of science major. He was a very inquisitive, reserved and athletic young man, but when you put numbers and tech in front of him, it was almost magical how he came alive.”

“What year did he graduate from Southern?” 

“With his master’s, the same year he won the award. I think that was 2010. After that, I heard he moved back home to California.”

“Do you know what brought him to Southern?”

“Something about his family and legacy, but I never found out what.” Sheila straightened up and looked at DeeDee. “Are you writing a story about him?”

“Ummmm no, I came across a paper he wrote and figured he might still be on campus or something.” DeeDee stood up, “I didn’t mean to bother you, but thank you for sharing.”

“It’s no problem. And if you are still looking for information, you may want to reach out to the other winner from that year.” Sheila stood and walked DeeDee to the door, “They were good friends and collaborated on the project that earned them the honor.” 

“Thanks again for everything, Sheila.” DeeDee waved and left the office. 

As she walked away, DeeDee looked down at the other information on her notepad from her earlier search. Marquis Oubre was the name of the other student who won with Erik Stevens. She continued her walk to her car, prepared to head home. There will be plenty of time to talk to Mr. Oubre.

@teakturn​ @ghostfacekill-monger​ @shaekingshitup​ @nahimjustfeelingit-writes​

Her phone rang and she smiled as she picked it up. “Hey Mama!” 

“Hey Baby. How are you?”

“I’m good. Just thinking.”

“Well, I’m glad everything is alright. Nobody heard from you after you left on Christmas. Wanted to make sure you was good.”

“Yeah, I dealt with Phyllis and Beverly on Saturday.”

“How did that go?”

“Our friendship is over.”

“Beverly, too, huh?”

“I know and it sucks that it had to be that way.” She huffed, “All I wanted was their support. They should have been the first ones cheering me on instead of holding my career against me.”

“Don’t worry about them. It is their issue and not yours.” Miss Carrie went on, “You just love them from afar. It’s all you can do.”

“I know, I know.”

“You heard from Erik?”

“No. Well not exactly.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened. We just haven’t had time to talk to one another.”

“He doesn’t or you don’t?”

“Me. But I mean I have been texting him.”

“Texting? Girl, if you don’t give that man a call.”

“I have. I promise you that I have.” She shrugged, “We just keep missing one another.” 

“Uh huh. Then go to him.”

“Mama. About that.” DeeDee twirled around in her chair, “Do you have a moment?”

“Of course, baby. What’s on your mind?” 

---

Erik spent the morning in his office looking over the final paperwork for the Science Mentorship program. While he was gone two more schools signed up to offer the opportunity to their students. He looked at his phone for the twelfth time in 20 minutes. DeeDee said she would call him today at 3. And he failed to have her tell him what time zone.

It had been three days, three long days. He missed her call when he first got back home. And when he finally called, she wasn’t available to talk. His only contact with her had been their usual good morning text messages. They kept missing each other and he was over it. When he texted her in the morning, he asked her to let him know a good time to talk. She said 3.

Erik just wanted to hear her voice. He didn’t think that he would miss her so much. He was sitting at lunch with T’Challa and just picked at his steak.

“What’s bothering you, Erik?”

“I have found the woman for me, and she may be afraid to move forward with our relationship.” He shrugged.

“And you know this because?”

“She told me.” Erik dropped the fork, “Ok, so she didn’t say it like that but I know she has a lot on her plate as she makes major career decisions.”

“So, she really just needs time.”

“Yeah. And I know that.” He picked up his drink and took a sip. “I just didn’t think I was so eager for this to happen, T.”

T’Challa laughed, “She’s why you keep looking at your phone?”

“Yeah, we were supposed to talk at 3.” He looked at the time, “I guess she meant PST.”

“So, she’s it then. For you?”

“Yeah, my heart and soul. Just like I said I wanted.” 

His phone buzzed on the table. He frowned at it then hit ignore. 

“So you believe it can work?” 

Erik laughed, “She asked me the same thing.” He looked at his cousin, “I know it can, but she has to know it like I do.” He sighed, “I can’t force her to see that. So, I just wait.” 

“Impatiently.”

“Yeah. But at least, I have my work to keep me busy.”

T’Challa nodded at him, “I'm sure it will all work out for the both of you.” 

“From your lips to God’s ears.”

---

DeeDee stood in front of the mirror of her room. She was in her favorite pair of black jeans, a mauve peplum top and matching peep-toe booties. She had her long curls down and around her shoulders. It was just casual enough for the trip she had planned for the day.

She grabbed her bag and made her way downstairs. She jumped onto the elevator, pressing the button for the lobby. She had a few errands to run and then one stop downtown. DeeDee looked at her phone and her early morning conversation with Erik. 

Prince Erik: Good morning Beautiful

DeeDee 💜: Morning E

Prince Erik: Do you have time to talk today?

DeeDee 💜: Yeah. Sure, I can call you around 3 pm.

Prince Erik: Great. I can’t wait to hear your voice.

DeeDee 💜: I know.

Prince Erik: What was that?

DeeDee 💜: I mean, I can’t wait to hear yours too.

Prince Erik: Oh ok. 😏

DeeDee 💜: 🤓 I gotta run but I’ll talk to you later. 

Prince Erik: Until Later 

She realized she never told him if it was his or her time. 

The elevator dinged opening the door, then DeeDee walked through the lobby and out the door into the midday sun. 

---

DeeDee entered the building and stood in the center lobby looking around. The place was huge. She wasn’t even sure what floor the office was on. She walked over to the directory and searched for it. She tapped the plexiglass when she found what she was looking for. 

“Hello.” An accented male voice called out.

She looked beside her and saw a man in a black suit with a midnight purple shirt on. DeeDee pointed at herself.

“Yes, you.” He walked over.

“Can I help you?”

“Oh no. I found what I was looking for. But thank you.”

“Well, at least let me escort you up.”

“Ummm, sure.” DeeDee shrugged. “I guess.”

“Are you here to see someone?”

She smiled as he held the elevator door for her. 

“Yes, I am.”

“He must be one lucky man.”

DeeDee laughed, “I think I’m the lucky one.” 

“Is he expecting you?”

“No, it’s a -- Well, I’m a surprise.”

She leaned over and pressed the executive floor button.

T’Challa looked at her, then coughed, “Erik?”

“Huh?” She questioned.

“Excuse me.” He cleared his throat, “I meant are you here for Erik?”

“Yeah, actually I am. How did you know?”

“Call it a hunch. But I can take you to him.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.” 

“So, what’s your name?”

“I’m DeeDee.”

“Nice to meet you, DeeDee. I’m T’Challa.” He put his hand out. 

DeeDee shook it and then looked up at him. “Did you say T’Challa?”

She dropped his hand when he nodded at her.

“As in King T’Challa?”

He continued to nod.

“You’re his cousin.”

He laughed at her stunned expression, “Yes, I am.”

DeeDee shyly waved at him, “Hi.”

The elevator opened onto the floor. And T’Challa linked DeeDee’s arm through his. 

“T’Challa, there you are. We need to talk.”

“Not right now. I am delivering a gift.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Shuri, not now.” His voice rose.

“T’Challa, who is this?”

“If you follow me and stay quiet, you will find out.”

T’Challa led DeeDee across the floor to a corner office. 

“Here you go.”

“Thank you, King T’Challa.”

“The pleasure was all mine.”

DeeDee walked over to the door and stopped.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Shuri asked. 

T’Challa bumped her, “Shhhh.”

DeeDee looked down at her watch, took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Yeah, come in.” Erik’s voice rang through the door.

DeeDee smiled back at T’Challa and Shuri, then opened the door and walked inside.

“T, can it wait? I told you she was supposed to call me at 3.” His voice was tense.

“Did I really say that?”

Erik looked up from his desk. “DeeDee,” he breathed out.

“Hi Erik.” She waved to him.

His shoulders fell as he visibly relaxed. Erik stood up and greeted her with a big hug and kiss. He pulled her further into the office with him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you. I made some decisions and I wanted to tell you about them.”

Erik leaned back on his desk with DeeDee in his arms. 

“You could have just called me?” 

“I know, but I missed you and I figured we could spend our first New Year’s together.” 

“First, huh?” 

DeeDee twirled his tie around her fingers. 

“Yeah, you’ll be seeing a whole lot more of me.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Uh huh,” she dropped his tie and focused on him. “I accepted a position at Berkeley, starting in the Fall.”

DeeDee squealed as Erik snatched her up and swung her around. DeeDee draped her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around him. He continued to hold her as he slowed down the turning. 

“Are you serious? You’re moving to Cali?” 

She nodded and smiled brightly at him, “I’ll be just up the road.” 

T’Challa and Shuri ran into the office when they heard all the yelling. They watched as Erik put DeeDee down. 

“What’s going on?” 

“She’s coming home,” Erik stood behind her with his arms around her waist, “My heart is coming home…to stay.”

A/N: We have come to the end of Erik and DeeDee’s story. And I just want to thank everyone who has supported this story. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

“Ok, you caught me. I was just noticing how much you look like Miss Carrie.” He set his drink down. “I don’t think I would have ever put that together.”

“Oh yeah, she’s my twin. Or so I’m told.” DeeDee shrugged, “I just see Mama so I don’t pay it much attention.”

“Girl, you gonna stop downplaying what I passed on to you.” Miss Carrie said as she dropped off two more plates. She looked at Erik. “You still like Red Velvet?”

“Yes ma’am- Miss Carrie. You would swear I still come in here every week? How do you do that?” He pulled the plate with the red velvet cake towards him.

“There are just some people and things you remember, baby.” She collected their bowls, “You need anything else?” 

“I think we are good Mama.” DeeDee glanced at Erik who was already shoveling bites of cake into his mouth, “Maybe one to go?”

“Sure thing, suga. I’ll leave it in the kitchen, you can pick it up when you leave.”

Miss Carrie left the table and DeeDee reached for her piece of 7-up pound cake. Her hand met Erik’s as she tugged the plate towards her.

“Excuse me. You have your dessert.” She smacked his hand, “This one is mine.”

“But, I want to try some.” 

“Then you could ask politely.”

“May I have a bite?”

DeeDee eyed him.

“Please.”

“Nah, you good with your cake. You don’t need any more.”

“Come on, Dr. DeeDee. Please.” Erik pouted. 

“Don’t you dare.”

“You gonna deprive me of some cake?”

DeeDee covered her mouth to try and stifle her giggle. Erik noticed her movements.

“Oh, you are nasty, Miss DeeDee.” He brushed her hand away from the plate, “I was only talking about what is on this table.” 

DeeDee grabbed her cup. 

Erik took his fork and cut into her piece of cake. He savored the bite, then moaned as he swallowed. “But if you are as sweet as this, then I mean I want a bite of that as well.”

DeeDee choked on her iced tea. 

“You good?” Erik patted her on the back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

DeeDee held her hand up as she tried to get her breathing under control. It took a few moments and a short coughing fit, but she was ok. She picked up her fork and jabbed him in the hand.

“Ow, what was that for?”

“You know what that was for?” She lowered her voice, “I can’t believe you said that.”

“Oh, you thought I would only make those statements online or over the phone.” He sat back and laughed, “Nah, this is me, sweetheart.”

“I see why you wouldn’t want anyone to call you Doctor anymore.” She pulled the cake back in front of her. “You are awful.” She tried to hide her smile.

“If you don’t like it, just tell me and I’ll stop.” Erik turned his whole body towards her.

DeeDee picked up her fork and cut a piece, “I never said I didn’t like it.” She popped the bite into her mouth and licked the end of the fork. 

Erik’s eyes went wide and he picked up his drink, “You better stop that.” 

“Or what?”

He took a sip and put his glass down. “If we were anywhere else, I would make you pay for that.” 

“Pay me back? I am only giving you a taste of your own medicine.” She waved the fork at him, “You are a walking tease. Do people know this about you?”

“It is only meant for certain people to see or know.” Erik winked at her. 

DeeDee’s cheeks heated up at his comment and she looked away from him. 

“Exactly. So, as long as you know where you stand -- you getting all this attention, girl.”

“I see that.” DeeDee closed her eyes.

Erik grabbed her hand in both of his. “DeeDee, look at me.” 

She turned towards him. 

“If I am coming on too strong, you’ll let me know, right?” He caressed the top of her hand, “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

DeeDee nodded at him, “We wouldn’t be here, if I was. Trust, I kind of knew you were a handful and much more comfortable being so -” she waved her free hand, “open than me. But I do enjoy that part.” She maneuvered her hand so that she could hold his. “I like the simple, too.” 

“I’ll dial it back,” he squeezed her hand, “for now.”

Erik licked his lips at her and DeeDee shook her head at him. 

She reached for his fork and cut another piece of her cake and fed it to him. 

“Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.”

---

Erik watched as DeeDee left the table to go to the kitchen. 

“So, my great-grandbaby, huh?” Miss Carrie’s smiling voice came from beside him. 

“She is wonderful.”

“That she is. But you know what I mean.”

Erik nodded, “She found the note, Miss Carrie.”

“NO. Really?” She slid into the booth beside him.

“It’s actually how we met.”

“I thought you said Quis introduced you two.”

“She went in search of the note writer and it led her to Quis. He told me someone was looking for me for my expertise. Then I get this email from DeeDee telling me she found my note in the textbook.”

“Well, I’ll be. Who would have thought? You finally put into words what you wanted, and she showed up.”

“Yeah, who would have thought.” He wrapped his arm around her, “So, how are you? Are things ok?”

She tapped the hand on her shoulder, “I’m fine baby. Things have picked up again and I have been able to expand a bit.” She sighed, “I never did thank you for helping me out.” 

“It’s not necessary. I couldn’t let anything happen to this place. It’s home.”

“Home. But you never come and visit?”

“I deserve that. Quis got on me for that, too.”

“Had you visited,” she looked straight ahead at DeeDee, “You would have found her a lot sooner.”

Erik laughed, “But I don’t think I would have been ready for her. Not like I am now.”

“Good answer.” Miss Carrie stood up, “Hey baby, you get all that I set aside?”

“Mama, I just said some extra cake.” She held up two bags of food. “You gave the man a whole meal including an entire cake.”

“And he will still be back in here before he leaves. What’s your point?”

“Did I , at least, get some slices of cake?”

“Yup, it’s the container on top of his cake.”

“So, what’s the damage?” Erik pulled out his wallet.

“Boy, if you think,” Miss Carrie pulled out her spoon. “You both are asking for it.”

“You heard the lady. Let’s go before we both get beat.” DeeDee leaned over and gave her great grandmother a kiss. “See you soon, Mama.”

“Alright baby. You two, be safe.” She hugged her, “And congratulations, Dr. Chabert.”

DeeDee smiled, “Thank you, Mama.”

Erik grabbed DeeDee’s purse, stood up, and gave Miss Carrie a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Thank you again, Miss Carrie.”

“You know you are always welcome here. Now, don’t be a stranger and come see me before you go back to California.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

Erik let DeeDee walk ahead of him as they headed towards the front of the restaurant.

Miss Carrie watched as they left and stuck her hands in the pocket of her apron. She shook her head and pulled the cash out, “That damn boy.”

---

They arrived back at DeeDee’s apartment. Erik carried all the bags inside as DeeDee opened the door.

“Do you want me to keep your food? I know that little mini fridge ain’t gonna cut it.”

“Yeah, you right. But that’s not why I want to keep it here.”

He followed DeeDee into the kitchen.

She looked at him as she removed all the containers from the bags.

“You don’t need a reason to come over, if you just ask.” 

Erik stood back as DeeDee laid everything on the counter. “Is that red beans and rice?” He reached for it.

She slapped his hand, “Stop that.” She moved it away from him, “You would eat all this food tonight, if you could.”

“Yeah, I would.” He looked down. “It’s been a long time since I have had some good southern cooking. And your great-grandma’s is the BEST!!!” 

“Oh, you can let that shit go now.” 

“Oooop, did I hit a nerve Little Miss DeeDee?” He walked around the island to stand beside her.

“Shooo,” DeeDee stood in front of the fridge. “Let me put this all away. I don’t trust you not to do something.”

“Wow, really? I was just gonna help you.” 

She pointed to the other side of the island, “You had a perfect view from over there.”

“So, you are gonna shake a lil something for me?”

DeeDee shook her head and picked up some food containers and put them in her fridge. She stood up straight the whole time while reorganizing items inside to make room for the new ones. She turned around and saw Erik posted on the island, just watching her. 

“What, man?”

“You, woman.”

DeeDee stopped moving the food to her fridge. 

“I’m sorry. I can’t help it. You’re finally in front of me.” He used his hands to outline her, “In all your glory. I just can’t believe you have been hiding from me.”

“Excuse you. But I was not hiding from you. You just happened to see me in my normal everyday attire.”

“Hoodies and yoga pants or sweats?” Erik crossed his arms over his chest, “The lies.”

“Nope, that is my normal clothes around the house. We all don’t run around wearing nothing just because we live alone.”

“One time and you won’t let me live.”

“Absolutely not.” She leaned back on the fridge, “I was minding my little business and made the decision to give you a call. Only for you to visually assault me when you answered.”

“Visual assault? That’s cute. Especially when I could see the flush on your face when you came back on screen.” He dropped his arms, “Tell me I’m lying.”

“Listen, I was not expecting to see all of that. Just your face and shoulders max, ya know.” She moved forward and hip checked him, “Excuse me, I need to put this away.”

Erik barely moved from the bump, but he side-stepped out of her way. “Well, can I at least have another piece of cake before you put it away?”

“Yeah, the desserts are still on the counter.” DeeDee reached up for a plate. “Here you go. The utensils are over there.” She pointed to the other side, near the stove.

Erik took the plate and opened the container with some 7-up cake inside. He grabbed a fork and put a piece on his plate. He closed it up and moved behind the counter.

DeeDee finished up putting away the food and took out a small container. She grabbed another plate and a bowl. She went to the sink, dumped the container and rinsed it off. Then she turned back to the counter, and grabbed a slice of cake. 

“Of course, you took some of mine.” DeeDee dumped some raspberries on her plate and set the bowl down. 

“I thought what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine?”

“We aren’t there yet.”

“Yet? So, you see it too?”

DeeDee stuffed her mouth with cake and fruit, then shrugged. 

“Alright, you gonna answer that one of these days.” Erik took his plate to the sink and washed it off. 

He watched her continue to eat, and popped a few raspberries into his mouth. He looked at his watch.

“So, what time am I picking you up to go to the Christmas Festival tomorrow?”

DeeDee swallowed and set her fork down, “Oh, I always meet Dr. O and his family at his place then we carpool from there.”

“Always, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s been a tradition for the last few years since a lot of my cousins thought they were too old to go. I ran into them one year and joined them.”

“That’s sweet.” He walked over to her. “So, then I guess I will see you tomorrow at Marquis’.”

DeeDee inhaled his scent as he moved in close. “Yeah, tomorrow.” She took his hand and walked him to her door. “Thank you for tonight. I had a great time.”

He swung their hands together, “I’m glad to hear that. I’m here until next Saturday, so maybe we can do it again.”

“Just say you want to see my great-grandma again, next time.” She pouted. 

He dragged his thumb against her bottom lip, “What did I tell you about pouting?”

“You don’t like when I do it.”

“No, you don’t have to do that around me.” He lifted her chin so that she looked directly at him. “I can see Miss Carrie at any time. Besides, Dr. Bell’s retirement, I am here for you, DeeDee.” 

She closed her eyes. 

“I know you know that.” He removed his hand from her chin and grabbed her other hand. 

“I do.” 

“So, understand that I am trying to spend as much time as I possibly can with you.” He rubbed the backs of her hands, “Okay?”

DeeDee slowly opened her eyes, “Yeah. I understand.”

“I’ll let you know when I get back to my hotel.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “Good night.”

He released her hands to open the door, and left.

DeeDee walked over to her chair and dropped into it. “Is this what love feels like?”

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