Free Admission of Love by Niobia Bryant

grandmother would hate for him to argue with her. Honestly, he didn’t know if he could stomach Ms. High and Mighty forcing herself to eat their common food. Just because he was building her house didn’t mean he had to eat with her. Right? Right.
    Chloe stood to set the plates on the table and silently wondered what his problem was. He was beginning to pluck her nerves with his assumptions. Yes, he was fine, but he was also turning out to be a pain.
    He turned to face her, his handsome face expressionless and blank. “Ms. Bolton, I guess we will have to reschedule our meeting after all. I’ve made prior plans. Is that a problem for you?”
    “If you’ve got plans, bro, go ahead. I’m sure I can . . . handle Ms. Bolton.” Deshawn stepped into the kitchen, obviously overhearing the conversation.
    He winked at Chloe, and she instantly smiled in return. “Yes, Mr. Jamison. Don’t let me keep you from your plans. I’m more than confident that your brother can fill me in on all the details.”
    Chloe pretended to dismiss him and took a platter of hot buttered biscuits out of Lil’s hands to set on the already crowded table. Deshawn took a seat and began to fill his plate. Lil stood over the sink, a glass of water in her hand, as she took her medicine. Each effectively ignored Devon.
    He eyed the golden fried chicken longingly. His empty stomach yelled, Sit down fool, you’re hungry. Instead he left the kitchen through the back door.
    Chloe watched him go and felt suddenly at ease enough to pick up the juicy piece of fried chicken with her fingers, instead of the knife and fork she had been using.
     
    ∞
    Devon entered the restaurant with its dark green and maroon decor. He spoke to the patrons inside as he took a seat at a booth near the entrance. Donnie’s Diner had been around for twenty-five years and was a landmark in Holtsville. But if one were to pay attention to the dim interior, the grease-stained walls and ancient, chipped wood furnishings, one would think it was more than a century old. The little diner needed renovations ... badly, and Devon decided to try and persuade the owner/chef to allow Jamison’s to do the job, at a fair price. He was sure that if Donnie ever washed the walls, the building would fall apart because dirt and grease were truly its glue.
    He looked around after he placed his order with the waitress, the voluptuous Poochie. The town’s portly white sheriff and one of his deputies were leaving with two take-out containers in a white plastic bag. To think, when Donnie first wanted to open the diner all those years ago, he had to get a petition with enough signatures before the all-white town council would allow the diner to open within town limits. It was the large black population that had supported him with signatures and patronage.
    Cyrus, the town gossip, was holding court and talking animatedly with his usual crew listening intently. He was telling somebody’s business, Devon knew. Unfortunately his voice carried over to where Devon sat.
    “She is in town. I saw her for myself and Lawd, was she pretty. Y’all remember how cute Tessa was as a young woman, when we all sniffed around her skirts before Odis won her heart?”
    The other older men all agreed. “Well her grandbaby is just as easy on the eyes.”
    Devon’s food arrived, with an inviting smile from Poochie, which he ignored as he forced himself to tune out Cyrus and his friends’ conversation. The last thing he needed was to hear them fawn over Chloe Bolton. His whole intention for being there was to get away from the woman. With a sigh, he started to eat his meal.
    Unfortunately, the food’s quality mirrored the interior. Everything was edible but not any comparison to his Nana Lil’s cooking. Donnie’s baked macaroni and cheese had way more macaroni than cheese. The collard greens were mostly stems and he could distinctively taste the burnt skin under the gravy of his smothered chicken. The diner catered mostly