Page 10

Planning a Surprise

Today brought another morning that I was able to wake up to Alexis. I could get used to her beautiful face every morning. We seemed to fall into a routine of taking care of our hygiene and having breakfast together. This morning was no different, but I had a surprise for her this evening.

Last night when she went upstairs, I asked my mother to come back today to cook for me again. While I needed her to cook, the truth was, I intended to surprise Alexis. I wanted to have an intimate dinner out in the backyard. In addition to cooking, I asked my mother to pick up some items to decorate the sitting area in the backyard.

Alexis had gone upstairs for a nap a little while ago. My doorbell rang, alerting me to the arrival of my mother and Gavin. Under current circumstances, I didn’t want my mother traveling out this way by herself. Since Gavin and I had business to tend to I figured I could get the business out of the way while my mother got dinner together. I got up from the couch to let them in. My mother was the first one I greeted.

“Hey, pretty lady,” I said with a smile.

“Hey, baby boy. You want to tell me what all of this is for?” she asked.

“You are helping me with a surprise. Let’s get this stuff in the kitchen. I’ll fill you in.”

She gave me a puzzled expression but continued to the kitchen. Gavin and I greeted each other with a dap.

“What’s good, bro? Do you have that information on your people like we discussed?” I asked.

“Yup, I have everything for you. I know which guys I want to guard Alexis. I’ll let you have the final say,” he explained.

“Cool. Let me get Mom squared away then we can handle that. You can take a seat on the couch,” I told him as I closed the door behind them. I left Gavin in the living room and headed into the kitchen to chop it up with my mother.

My mother was putting some items she brought into the refrigerator.

“Thanks again for coming out. I wanted to do something nice for Alexis. With everything going on I can’t do my usual wine and dine out on the town. I thought making her a nice dinner and decorating a little bit would work,” I explained.

“Oh, are you doing something nice because she gave up her daily routine to be here? Or are you finally ready to admit your feelings for Alexis?” she questioned.

My mother and her questions. While I was ready to admit my feelings to Alexis with the whole Abel thing, I wasn’t sure if I was at the point of letting everyone in. My mother, however, wasn’t everyone, so I could keep it real with my number one girl.

“I guess you could say both. I feel bad she had to uproot her life temporarily. It has given us an opportunity to stop running from each other,” I said.

“I’m proud of you, son. I know your father and I didn’t provide a picture of what a healthy relationship looks like. Alexis also didn’t have the opportunity to see one. I think since you both saw what two people that do not belong together look like, you can appreciate each other a lot more. I know this wasn’t easy for you to go against Abel’s wishes, but I have a feeling this will all work out for you,” she assured me.

My mother always knew just what to say to me. Her assurance that everything would work out was comforting. The acknowledgement that she and my father weren’t a good representation of a loving couple stung a little. I planned to ensure Alexis and I shifted that narrative as we built our relationship. As my mother shifted around the kitchen, I stood to give her a hug.

“You have always shown me what unconditional love should be. Don’t ever feel bad about what happened between you and my father. I love you always,” I whispered to her. We held on to each other for a little longer. She let go first and wiped the tears from her eyes. Once she was finished, my mother shooed me out of the kitchen. If she was kicking me out of the kitchen, she would be fine. I did as I was told and left her alone.

I walked into the living room to join Gavin on the couch. He pulled up some profiles of some of the members of his security team for me to review. I lulled over a few of the profiles before I settled on two guys. They were both ex-military and had been with Gavin’s firm the longest.

“I think Dobbs and Curry will do. Once we finalize our plans you can bring them over. And who do you have sitting with my mother?”

“Lucas and Adams are currently assigned to your mother. They will be with her until all of this blows over. Do you want Dobbs and Curry with Alexis for that one day or continuously after that?”

“Just while I’m out that day. We are fine here otherwise. Good looking on getting this together so quickly.”

“Anything for the club, bro,” he replied.

With the business out of the way, Gavin and I watched television. We sat around to kill some time while my mother cooked. A couple of hours later, Alexis made her way down the stairs.

“Something smells delicious,” she complimented.

“There’s a surprise for you in the kitchen,” I said.

“Let me hurry up so I can see what it is. Hey, Gavin.” She greeted him quickly right before she entered the kitchen. The moment she entered the kitchen all we heard were cheerful squeals as Alexis and my mother greeted each other. I didn’t move from the couch because they would be in there forever if I let them. The sound of laughter that emitted from both of my favorite ladies made my heart swell and brought a smile to my face. Alexis came out of the kitchen very giddy.

“Your mother told me you had a surprise for me. Is that true?” she asked.

“Maybe or maybe not. Why don’t you get dressed and meet me in the backyard in an hour? I might have something planned for us,” I said jokingly.

“In that case, I’ll be back down in an hour,” she said nervously then proceeded upstairs.

Once she was upstairs Gavin turned to me. “Bro, you know how Abel is about his sister. Is getting involved with her a good idea?” he asked.

“Thanks for your concern but I’ll handle Abel. I would appreciate if you kept this to yourself until I get a chance to speak with him,” I insisted.

“You got it, bro. Just be careful. I would hate to see years of friendship lost over your relationship with this sister,” he expressed.

Gavin and his concern were putting a damper on my mood. I decided to head into the kitchen to check on my mother. Gavin and his opinion wouldn’t stop anything that was taking place in my home. I would continue to pursue Alexis.

“It’s smelling good in here, Mom.”

“Thanks, baby. Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes. I’m just going to head in the back and set up the table for you,” she said.

“Let me come give you a hand.”

My mother handed me a few bags to take out to the backyard. While she worked on decorating the table, I went to the shed to grab some items. When I initially moved into this house, I intended to plant some flowers. The seeds have been in the garage since I moved here. Last night as I thought of things Alexis and I could do together, this came to mind.

The idea was if we planted the seeds together, we could watch them grow together. I hoped the gesture wasn’t too basic for her.

When I usually wanted to impress a woman a fancy dinner at a nice restaurant and some flowers would do the trick. With Alexis, I didn’t think those things would work. Our current predicament forced me to think outside the box.

I took the items we would need and placed them beside the table. My mother did a great job of using the few items she brought over to transform the sitting area. A simple tablecloth and tea tree lights along with matching plate settings changed my simple table. The large plant in the center of the table brought everything together. I couldn’t wait to see Alexis’s face when she came out here. When my mother was done decorating, she went into the kitchen to check on the food.

“Okay, Wolf, everything is done. You can let the food cool while you go get ready,” she said as she covered the food then prepared to leave.

I followed my mother to the living room. Gavin stood up from the couch as we entered.

“You ready to head out, Ms. Gale?” he asked.

“Yes, my job is done here for the night. Wolf, tell Lexxy to call me so we can plan a girls’ day. I’m sure she is going stir crazy sitting in this house all day,” she said.

“I will, Mom, thank you. I’m sure Alexis would love to hang out with you.” We hugged, then she made her way out of my home. Gavin and I dapped each other as he exited the house after her.

“Keep your eyes open, bro,” I insisted.

“Always, brother,” he assured me.

My mother knew our routine was for her to call or text me when she got home no matter what. She hated it when I reminded her, so I didn’t mention it. If I didn’t hear from her for in an hour, I wouldn’t hesitate to blow up her phone. I stood in the doorway until they exited the gate. There was no way I could have pulled any of this off without my mother. I made a mental note to send her some flowers as a thank you.

Now that they were gone, I headed to my room to quickly shower and change so Alexis and I could have our first official date.