Redemption Song by Bertice Berry

Author:Bertice Berry
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9780307490063
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-12-10T05:00:00+00:00

16. Biscuits and Honey

When Fina rose, she felt as if she hadn’t slept at all. Something was different about her apartment. As soon as she tried to see the difference, she knew the difference wasn’t in something she could see. It was something she smelled. Something was baking, and the aroma was making her hungry. Thinking that the smell must be coming from her next-door neighbor, Fina closed her window. But the smell was coming from her own kitchen. She hurriedly bathed and dressed and went out to find Ross pulling a batch of biscuits out of the oven.

“Hope you’re a biscuit eater,” he said, smiling.

“Good morning to you, too, brotherman,” Fina said. “I must have died and gone to heaven.”

“I just wanted to thank you for the coffee, the conversation, and the covers,” Ross told her.

Fina felt like a schoolgirl and tried not to show it.

“Just a little something I do for all of the strangers I meet in bookstores,” she said sarcastically.

“Yeah, this was kind of forward of us, wasn’t it?” Ross added.

“My daddy woulda tore me up,” Fina said. “It was late. My daddy used to say if me or my brothers came home late: ‘After eleven o’clock, ain’t nothing open but your legs.’”

Ross laughed and said that their parents must have gone to the same school.

“So I guess there’s nobody serious in your life,” Ross said, changing the subject.

“Just my gunrunning husband with the black belt, who’s off on a wild game safari,” Fina said.

Ross laughed and said, “I guess it is kind of stupid to ask now.”

Fina smiled and went to the cabinet to get honey for the biscuits.

“You’ve got a real good kitchen,” Ross said as she turned her back. Fina knew that Ross was talking about more than just her physical kitchen, but didn’t let on.

“Thanks” was all she could manage.

They had biscuits and tea, and broke the rules of first dates by talking about old relationships. They discovered they had a lot in common and had made many of the same mistakes. Both of them had stayed in relationships that weren’t working, hoping they could make things better. Fina had to laugh when Ross told her about the woman who’d called every hour on the hour and played “Thin Line Between Love and Hate.” Fina had also had a few nuts in her past. Talking about old relationships had always been taboo for her. Fina didn’t like to compare or be compared. She felt that each relationship should stand on its own and should have a chance devoid of past hurts. But sitting here with Ross, she didn’t feel like she was comparing notes with a potential love interest, she felt like she was talking to an old friend.

After eating biscuits with everything from jelly to honey to cheese, Ross and Fina prepared themselves to spend the day together.

While Ross showered, Fina thought about trying on his shirt. She picked it up and felt the soft white linen. She took in his scent, and had a feeling that it would fit just fine.

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