Slowly I drifted awake in a sea of warmth, feeling both languid and content. I was thinking of the exquisite feelings from last night when I started as I remembered who I’d spent the night with. That is if I hadn’t been dreaming.
I sat up abruptly and looked around me. ‘Thank God,’ I sighed with relief. It had been a dream. The body keeping me warm was Duke.
I picked up my phone and called Adrienne.
“I had the best dream last night. It involved you and Hannah.”
“I wonder about you sometimes. I still can’t believe you passed up the opportunity to spend some quality time with the two of us. We might need to get you checked.”
“I made a promise to my mom after we found out I have a half brother who’s younger than me. I had a front-row seat to the kind of devastation something like that can cause. If it hadn’t been for that, I would have probably broken one of my cardinal rules of not sleeping with someone who’s in a relationship,” I explained.
“No, I totally get it, but it sounds like your dream was telling you something different,” she teased.
“If it were only half as good as the dream,” I said, and then sighed.
“I take it we all had a good time.”
“You’re talking to a teenage boy. We have fertile imaginations. Maybe the next time we’re in New York, we can get Tyler to play the Hannah part, and I can show you what we missed last night.”
“Don’t you dare tell Tyler,” Adrienne said and then laughed. “You know what, do tell her. I think she has a bigger thing for Hannah than you do.”
“Please, she has you,” I said, not believing a word of it.
“She has me all the time. Hannah is one straight girl we dream of turning,” Adrienne shared.
“As long as you only turn her partway; I’d hate to think she’d never want a man in her life. My plan is to wait a few years and then pounce when her divorce is announced.”
“That’s my boy! I’m glad you have a backup plan.”
I hung up with Adrienne and thought about what I’d passed up. Uncle John was right. Sometimes it sucked to be a man of your word.
◊◊◊
I got dressed quickly, let my buddy Duke out, and we left for a run while my thoughts sorted themselves out.
When I got back, I started to make breakfast, and then Mom came down. I was lucky; she didn’t suspect I’d sinned in my mind. She reminded me of our meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Mass and the other families after church. Her comments finally popped me out of my mental bubble and brought me back to the here and now.
◊◊◊
Mom and I came home from church and found that Jack and Bev Mass had already arrived. Dad and Jack were out back, starting the grill. I decided to join the guys.
“What are we having?” I asked.
“Goat. Your grandmother had one that was causing trouble,” Dad said.
“So, she just offed him?” I asked.
“Never piss your grandmother off,” Dad advised.
“What does goat taste like?” I asked.
“Bald eagle,” Jack offered.
“I find that a little more gamey than goat,” Dad said.
I just rolled my eyes and decided the two comedians had this. Then I heard the gate open; Mom must have let someone in. I walked out and found Wolf and his parents, Jared and Tiana.
“Hey, how was last night?” I asked.
“Sarah was a lot of fun. She said that she planned to spend some time at Harper’s over the summer.”
Tim and Tami pulled up with their parents. I stepped over to the gate and used the keypad on this side to open it for them. Tim’s parents were Conner and Wendy. I had to think for a moment for Tami’s mom’s name; I’d always called her Mrs. Glade. It was Melissa.
“Mom and Bev are inside. Dad and Jack are out back, acting like they’re grilling. I think they’re more interested in the cooler of beer,” I announced.
The women went inside, and the guys and Tami followed me to the patio. Mom opened the kitchen window.
“Put the meat on,” Mom told Dad.
Dad had two gallon-size ziplock bags filled with different marinades and slices of goat meat. One looked like a jerk I’d come to love on our vacation to the Caribbean. The other had a lemon and garlic smell.
“Where’s Duke?” Wolf asked.
Duke was his official helper when he did yard work.
“Peggy and the boys are at her parents’ house. I think she heard what we’re having and bailed. They took Duke with them.”
“What are we having?” Tami asked suspiciously.
“Dad said Grandma Dawson killed one of the goats.”
“Excuse me?” Tim asked.
“I guess it looked at her funny,” I said with a straight face.
Tami smacked me on the back of the head.
◊◊◊
The jerked goat was delicious. It tasted a little like lamb. Mom had made coconut rice with red beans and fried plantains to go with the jerk. She also made mac and cheese, cornbread, and green beans for the goat with lemon and garlic.
Over lunch, we talked about my friends living with Bev and Jack for the summer.
“We live in Lincoln Park about six blocks from the Fullerton
“How safe is it?” Mrs. Glade asked.
