Page 44 of The Dating Prohibition

For launch week, Kendra’s parents arrived from Savannah and Logan and Shonda took their first break away from the restaurant

to drive down. Their new assistant manager was running the bistro so that the family and friends could come and support Kendra

with any final preparations. In a surprise move, Lani had been elevated to general manager upon her return to DC, and Shonda

and Logan had been thrilled with her performance.

Lani and Stanley were en route, and Kendra was so excited to see so much of the family together again so soon. Everyone was

staying at Auntie Mack’s house. Kendra had offered for some of them to stay with her, but they didn’t want her to feel pressure,

because she hadn’t finished furnishing her apartment and Auntie Mack had more than enough space.

Kendra’s heart pounded as she stood outside the restaurant, waiting for everyone to join her. Porter Prohibition stood on

the corner of a busy waterfront street with overhanging trees providing a shaded canopy. The surrounding business owners had

been supportive and excited for her launch.

The next closest bar was a few blocks away, and she shared the block with a coffee shop, a candle store and a family-owned Italian restaurant that made some of the best raviolo Kendra had ever tasted.

Across the street were a couple of office buildings, and Kendra imagined people coming over to have a drink after work and blow off some steam just in time for happy hour.

The balmy air caressed her face as a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees above her. She’d already gone inside

to wipe down the counters one more time and turn on the lights. The neon sign above the awning read Porter Prohibition in

a bright purple with the same style and font she’d used for the logo on all of her communications.

Since her arrival, she’d been sending announcements and promotional materials to local businesses and all of Auntie Mack’s

friends. As she’d met with people from the Department of Commerce, she provided them with flyers inviting them to the grand

opening. Her plan was to do a soft launch with friends and family and owners of some of the most supportive local businesses.

The grand opening would follow two days later, on Saturday.

Two cars pulled up, parking along the side street. The carriage house was luckily situated catty-corner from a public parking

lot that was free after six o’clock and on Sundays. Even on the busiest nights, patrons would have somewhere that they could

safely park their cars.

As doors to the vehicles began to open, she smiled at the chatter she heard.

“There’s my baby girl.” Kendra’s dad grinned, wrapping his arms around his daughter.

“Hi, Daddy,” she replied. “I’m so glad y’all could be here.”

“We wouldn’t be anywhere else, sweetheart.” Her mom stepped forward, embracing her daughter before pressing her hands to Kendra’s cheeks as their foreheads touched. “We are so proud of you,” she sniffled as she stepped back.

“Hey, sis,” Logan pulled Kendra into a bear hug. “I have no idea how this has all come together so quickly, but the outside

looks great!” He kept an arm around her shoulder as they turned to face the building.

The heavy double doors had bronze pulls. A solid black awning overhead offered shade and cover in case of rain. Iron benches

lined the hallway just inside the entrance for people awaiting access to the Speakeasy Supper Club.

A couple of large windows with black frames shone in the sunlight, but the glass was mirrored so that people could only see

out from inside.

“I love that you make it so we can’t see through the windows,” Shonda said admiringly as she squeezed Kendra. “It just makes

things feel even more mysterious on the inside.”

“That was the plan.” Kendra beamed.

“Cousin!” Lani yelled, launching herself at her best friend.

“I mean, you’re the one that I saw most recently. Are you okay?” Kendra laughed.

“I’m just so proud of you! Even in the short time I’ve been gone, you’ve done so much. This looks beautiful.”

The outside brick had been power washed and painted a deep black.

“Hey, Stanley.” Kendra nodded in his direction.

“Hey, Kendra, this looks awesome. I can’t wait to see what’s inside.”

“Well, then, y’all better come on in.” She pulled open one of the doors.

Logan admired the woodwork. “I love how heavy these are.”

She nodded. “I wanted it to feel like you walk in and you’re immediately transported to a different place.”

They stepped inside and several gasped.

“It really feels like we’re stepping into the Harlem Renaissance.” Shonda’s eyes took in the room.

The gold fixtures, the cream and brown accents, the exposed brick contrasting against the polished floors. The shelving on

the bar with backlit warm light and the Edison fixtures above glowed.

“This is... wow.” Logan’s eyes went wide. “You really did it.” He squeezed Kendra’s shoulder.

“I had a lot of help.” Her eyes grew misty as she watched her family take it all in. “Is anyone else coming?” she asked quietly.

Her brother shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“Okay.” Her head bobbed slowly, her face downturned. Of course he’s not coming. It felt hard to breathe, as if someone held her lungs in a vise grip, but Kendra tried to smile through it. She’d tried to

keep herself busy––to remind herself that he had important work he was trying to complete too. But all roads led her thoughts

back to Ben.

“Hey, do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head, willing herself out of her feelings. “Maybe later. Let me show you around,” she announced to the group,

stepping away from her brother. She pointed to the bathroom area, where individual water closets shared a common long vanity

for people to wash their hands with a large mirror above it.

The curving booths and pub tables surrounded the communal table in the main room. “On Saturday, we’ll move this big table

so that one of the local jazz ensembles can come and play live music.”

Toward the back was a second hostess stand guarding a heavy barn door that rolled open to reveal a U-shaped dining table so that all present could experience and see the others in the room.

The open part of the U allowed servers to place plates in front of their owners and explain the components and themes of the dishes being served.

In the kitchen, the setup was very similar to that of Logan’s restaurant, though she’d added a convection oven meant for pastries.

Pantry-style shelving against one wall and cooking stations lined both sides of the room so that she and another cook could

have full access without stepping on each other’s toes, ensuring that dishes for each course would come out piping hot and

in the right sequence.

Lani gawked. “Cousin, this is even better than what you were posting on Instagram.”

“Well, I didn’t want to give it all away. The dining table in here was made by one of Auntie Mack’s friends. By the way, Auntie

Al and Uncle Ronnie are coming down for the soft launch tomorrow.”

Lani nodded. “Yeah, and Mom will be here tomorrow too. She’s already seen the place so she wasn’t super worried about being

here today—she’s got some business to attend to.”

Kendra’s parents nodded.

“Well—” Logan moved farther into the private room and sat at the dining table, and the others followed “—walk us through how

we can help tomorrow.”

Kendra’s eyes brightened.

Soft launch was upon them in a flash and Kendra stood at the open front doors greeting people as they walked in. Her family

arrived first to help show people around and to pass out some small plates. Logan was proudly behind the bar, having learned

all of Kendra’s specialty cocktails.

Though they expected many people would focus on the collection of whiskeys and bourbons, Lani was especially excited to see the references to bathtub gin in their signature martini and the Harlem 25––their special take on a French 75––and vowed to sample the different types of infused moonshine.

Kendra tried to smile, remembering the suggestions she’d received from BJ as they talked through her plans.

Open spaces on the walls had been filled with portraits of some of the greats from the Harlem Renaissance—Kendra had purchased

them from a local artist who painted murals in the neighborhood. She intended eventually to commission him to paint the side

of her building.

The owner of a neighboring business arrived with her husband in tow. Alice owned a dance studio two blocks over, but she’d

been so excited at the prospect of Kendra’s business that she ran over with sweet treats the first day that she heard the

new business owner was in town. Alice gave her a quick hug before introducing her husband, Bob.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kendra said, shaking his hand.

“And you—Alice has been raving about your plans! Tell me, what is it about Prohibition that has you so fascinated?”

“That’s a great question. Prohibition overlapped with the Harlem Renaissance and rumrunners supplied the speakeasies. It was

an important period for culture and music and art and literature and creative expression. It’s an important part of Black

history—American history—and I’ve been very lucky to learn so much about it through people that I know.” Her thoughts went

back to BJ.

Bob smiled. “You’ve done an amazing job.” He pointed to a portrait on the wall. “I’m a big Dizzy Gillespie fan. This feels

like we’re stepping back in time, but a modern version of what existed back then.”

Kendra smiled brightly. “That’s exactly what I was aiming for.”

He nodded, and they proceeded inside.

Auntie Mack came to stand next to her. “How are you doing, my love?” She slung an arm around Kendra, squeezing her tight.

“I’m okay. A little nervous,” Kendra whispered.

“A little sad too,” Auntie Mack observed, scrutinizing her niece.

“A little sad,” she admitted. “But grateful. To you—to everyone for the support that I’ve received. This is so much better

than anything I could have imagined and the ways that you’ve helped me are just so beyond.”

“Listen, I had earmarked that for you long ago. Whether that was going to be for a wedding gift or an inheritance hadn’t been

defined, and this was the right time to do it.”

“Well, it helped more than you know. I was so scared as things were tallying up that I wasn’t going to be able to handle it

all. And you made that so much easier for me.”

“We have had too many times where we see in the community that we don’t invest in our own. And in this family, we absolutely

do. Never mind your Uncle Ronnie.”

Kendra laughed. “Come on, Uncle Ronnie means well.”

Auntie Mack gave her the eye. “He’s too frugal for his own good. But that’s beside the point. I can see that something is

plaguing your thoughts, and tonight should be about you.”

Kendra sighed. “I know you’re right. I just... I can’t help but think about BJ. He was a big part of this happening, and

his knowledge added to the ideas that I had for this place.”

Auntie Mack grabbed her hand. “I noticed he wasn’t here, but I know what I saw between the two of you. There was genuine care

there. However fleeting, I dare say there was love.”

Kendra’s eyes rose to the rafters as she fought to stop moisture from building.

“Yeah, I think there was,” she whispered. “But he didn’t respond to the invite and Logan doesn’t expect him. I just have to be okay with this.”

“You don’t have to be,” Auntie Mack replied sternly. “It’s okay to feel your feelings, and if you’re not okay with the status

quo, you can do something about it.”

“But what? I can’t force someone to want to be with me. I don’t believe in ultimatums. I think that they make everything worse.

If it’s really about me and him, then I feel like I just have to be patient and respect where he is right now.”

Auntie Mack nodded. “I’m proud of you. It’s not easy to be patient and wait for the right one.” She smiled sadly. Lani’s dad

had passed away when the girls were in high school and it took over a decade before Auntie Mack tried to date again. She never

had tried to settle down again even though she’d had the chance. She just never felt ready.

“I’m sure he’ll let you know when he’s ready. Ah...” She smiled. “I forgot to mention that I was bringing a date.” She

winked at Kendra.

“A date?” Kendra grinned. “Oh my gosh, let me meet him.”

“Jackson, this is my niece, Kendra.”

Jackson was tall with salt-and-pepper hair, his close-shaved beard framing a mouth with smile lines, crow’s-feet crinkling

at the corners of his eyes. “Kendra, I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Well, I am at a loss, but I look forward to getting to know you.” She smiled.

“I will say that this special lady—” he reached for Auntie Mack’s hand as she blushed “—she has captured a great deal of my

attention, and I have been endeavoring to know every little thing about her.”

“Well, she is one of the greatest treasures in my life,” Kendra admitted. “So, I appreciate the care you are taking to get

to know my aunt.”

Jackson dipped his head.

“Please, come in and have some refreshments. Take the tour.” She gestured inside.

Auntie Mack winked at her and mouthed, I love you .

Kendra mouthed it back. She stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. The night air had turned cool, but not cold. Kendra

looked up at a crescent moon and wondered whether BJ was doing the same.