“Harlem world! So we’re doing that today?” Kerry’s best friend, partner in crime, homegirl and all that came with it, Valencia Gibson, said as Kerry walked into the arts and crafts room.
“Oh stop, she tries,” Kerry said.
“You stop. It’s not as if you were not thinking the same thing,” Val responded. “That Lil Miss Sweet act can fool some of the girls, but not this one.”
Kerry smiled, but her eyes rolled to the ceiling, betraying her true thoughts. “You got me. Yeah, Harlem world by way of Stamford. I so cannot.”
“But Ms. CIT did have a point with asking what you’re doing here today. What’s the deal? I would have covered for you. Even if I had to deal with her. You didn’t have to come in.”
“I told you I’d try and come in today. I knew it would be busy and the kids would be riled up after returning from swimming. I didn’t want to leave you shorthanded,” Kerry said, storing her bag in the drawer on the side of the desk.
Val frowned, the small furrow barely wrinkling her smooth mocha-toned skin. Still she continued with what she was doing, sorting construction paper by color to prepare for the next project before the kids came in. “Sure, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it. With today being the day after the funeral and all. I know how close you were with Mama Joy. Plus, I thought you’d be helping out over there, getting them straight.”
There was a pause, and Kerry could practically feel Val’s wheels turning. Kerry knew her friend would have plenty to say when she found out about Kerry staying on at the shop, and honestly, she didn’t know what side of the fence Val would be on. Either way she’d be sure to give Kerry an earful.
Val continued. “She sure will be missed. The kids are so disappointed they won’t have the occasional trips to her shop anymore or their knitting sessions with the two of you.”
“I was already over there this morning doing what I could,” Kerry said. “And the children shouldn’t give up hope just yet.” She moved to help sort and lay out colored pencils.
Val’s brows went impossibly higher, arching even more suggestively as her full lips twisted up with a smirk. “Oh, were you now? Over there this mor-ning.” She was busy accentuating her words, then suddenly stopped when she caught on to the rest of what Kerry had said. “What do you mean not give up hope?”
Kerry shook her head but couldn’t help the quirk in her lip. She was used to getting teased by Val about her work in the shop. It was mildly annoying, but right now she’d take mildly annoying over hugs and sympathy. She’d had enough of that over the past week and plenty of it heaped on her yesterday. She’d seen enough tears and shed more than she thought possible herself over the death of Mama Joy, so right now, even teasing from Val was a welcome distraction. But still, maybe she should have kept the hope comment to herself until she’d squared it all in her mind and double-confirmed with Jesse that the shop would remain open. “No need to get all twisty,” she said, trying to keep her voice matter of fact. “You know it’s nothing like that.”
“Nothing like what?” Val asked, doing her quick-witted loose-thread-finding thing and giving it a tug. “If it was nothing like that, then you wouldn’t know what that I was talking about. But since you know what that I am talking about, then I’m going to assume that that must have clearly crossed your mind.” Valencia gave her body a little shake. Today that body was clad in stretch jeans rolled at the ankle and a flowing blouse that did little to hide her shapely figure, but Kerry was sure Val thought it was demure enough to be considered downright churchy for a teacher.
“I’m talking about the that that you’re talking about. And that that has not crossed my mind,” Kerry said, then frowned at her outright lie as the image of Jesse in his underwear flashed in her mind. She waved her hand in front of her face. “What are we talking about anyway? This is getting silly.”
Val laughed. “Well, it’s good to see you smile either way.” Her friend’s expression got serious as she looked Kerry in the eye. “I know how hard this has been for you, and I know it’s going to be a long road, but I hope to see you smile more in the future. It will take time, but you will get through this.” Val got a wistful look as her eyes went slightly skyward. “Lord knows I’m still overdue to take my time with my grandmother.”
Kerry stepped forward and gave her friend a hug. Val had lost her grandmother two years before, and though for the most part she continued to soldier on with a smile and a wink, Kerry knew how hard the loss was on her. “I know, hon, I know.”
But in true Val form, her friend quickly shimmied out of her embrace and looked up at her. “So, tell me, were all the brothers in attendance today? Over there being just as wickedly fine as they ought not to be?”
Kerry cocked her head to the side, then continued walking around the classroom as she placed colored pencils down. “They were and they are,” she gritted out.
“Woman, you say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Well—” Kerry paused, looking at Val cautiously. “I’m not sure it’s a good thing. Not the ‘fine’ part. That’s neither here nor there.”
“Well, they can put it over here. Any of them and all of it. Especially that Lucas—or is it Noah, or maybe it’s Damian? Oh, what do I care? Either, any or all of them will do—” Val interrupted herself. “But are you talking about the fact that they’ve made decisions on the shop? Sorry, hon, but you knew that was coming. Without Ms. Joy—well, even with her—how long did you expect the shop to go on?”
Kerry twisted her lip as she heard the sound of their kids coming up the hall. She knew that in a matter of moments they’d be inundated with the clamor of thirty-four children bearing down on them, ready to take part in the creative assignment of the day. She looked at Val and decided to blurt it out. “That’s just it. They are not closing the shop. At least not yet. They decided to try to keep it going for a while. Jesse convinced them of it.”
Val paused in her work and looked up at Kerry with a shocked expression. “Jesse? Lazy Jesse?”
“Hey, that’s not fair.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean ‘lazy.’ How’s this: ‘fine as hell but chronically without gainful employment’ Jesse?”
“He keeps a job!”
“Not a steady one. How did he convince them to keep the shop open? Now, I know you’ve been pining for him since you’ve been old enough to get your pine on, but come on. Let’s get real. Doesn’t he seem like the most unlikely candidate? He is the one who’s always fluttering from this project to that, not to mention from this woman to that. He doesn’t seem the type to want to settle down with the running of a knitting shop. How did he convince his brothers?” Val asked.