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He turned back to the grill, and I got the distinct feeling our conversation was over. I began salting and peppering the veggies in my foil pouches. Murphy picked up a seasoning container and said, “Son, there is one thing you need to know. When we cook here, we add the flavor.” As he added an ungodly amount of spices to the food, the back door swung open.
Kenner sprinted to the trampoline in the corner of the yard, and Hen’s two sisters-in-law followed behind. They stood by the trampoline, watching as he tried, and failed, to do a front flip.
“Mind if I cut out?” I asked, nodding toward his grandson. “I think I could give him a few pointers.”
He set the foil-wrapped vegetables over the heat. “Not at all, but Kenner’s never done well with strangers. Don’t let him hurt your feelings.”
“I was the same way when I was a kid.” I wiped my hands on a dishrag, then walked across the yard. Laila was cheering on her son while Imani checked something on her phone. I asked Laila if she minded me giving Kenner a few pointers.
“That’s fine with me,” she said, “but Kenner’s pretty shy with strang—”
“Cowboys can do flips?” Kenner asked me, coming to the opening in the safety net.
“Only the good ones,” I replied with a wink. “I used to do flips off the horses every summer.” Not on purpose, but I’d keep that part to myself.
“Off horses?” he cried, putting both of his hands to his head and falling over.
I chuckled. What a character. “But I started on the trampoline like you.”
His eyes went wide. “Prove it.”
“Okay, but only because it’s your birthday.” I kicked off my cowboy boots, set my cowboy hat on the edge of the tramp, and climbed up, hoping I wouldn’t embarrass myself too much in front of the adults outside. But then the back door opened again, and I glanced over to see Henrietta walking her grandma out to the table and her brothers close behind with dishes.
Great. Her whole damn family was going to see.
Oblivious to my nerves, Kenner said, “I’ll sit off to the side like this. That’s what Mama says you have to do when someone else is doing a trick.”
“Your mama’s right,” I said, feeling Henrietta’s eyes on me. “So all there is to flipping is tucking your chin and trusting yourself, okay?”
He nodded.
I gave myself a couple warm-up jumps, wishing I wasn’t so damn rusty, and then flipped through the air like it was just yesterday that my siblings and I were spending hot summer days with a sprinkler under the trampoline. I landed on my feet, bouncing a couple times, and looked back at Kenner.
“Whoa!” he pealed. “Can you teach me how to do that? My daddy said he’s too big to do it.”
I laughed, thinking of Johmarcus, who was built like a lineman to my running back. “Well, we all have different talents.”
“And flipping is yours?” Kenner said.
Henrietta’s voice came. “One of many.”
“I have to keep up with mycoworker,” I teased.
Raven called from the folding table, “Keep it up, you two. That’s how this happened,” she pointed at her belly.
I laughed and got on my knees in front of Kenner. “Can you do a somersault?”
He nodded.
“Show me?” I asked, just like he’d done me.
He bent over and rolled, coming quickly to his feet. I put my hand up for a high five.
“So try jumping before you do that. And put your hands out so they land first.”
He gave me a questioning look, but then his little face set with determination, and he jumped a few times before flipping and landing on his hands. Just as he got scared mid-jump, I reached for his legs and flipped him the rest of the way over.
He came back up grinning. “I did it!”