“Hey, Grandma!” Janessa exclaimed, immediately giving the man in the burgundy polyester slacks and black leisure jacket the once-over.
“Hello, Mrs. Porter,” Tempest said once they got within a few feet of them. She also looked the man over and decided he was attractive for his age. He looked to be considerably younger than Mrs. Porter. She had at least twenty years on him. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Why’s that?” Mrs. Porter asked. “Senior citizens have to eat, too.” Everyone laughed except the man on her arm. She realized she was being rude and started the introductions. “This is Mr. Roscoe Munroe,” she said, caressing his forearm seductively. “Roscoe is one of my neighbors.”
Tempest and Janessa both gazed at him with pasted-on smiles.
Mrs. Porter pointed at Janessa. “Roscoe, this here is one of my grandbabies, Janessa, and her best friend, Tempest.”
Roscoe flashed his dentures. “Nice to make the acquaintance of you lovely young ladies.”
There was a bunch of nervous energy while everyone just stared at each other and the customers walking in and out of the store.
Janessa broke the silence. “Grandma, I was just telling Tempest I plan to go back to school in the fall.”
Mrs. Porter let go of Roscoe’s arm and flung her own arms around Janessa. “You’re going to college?” she asked proudly. “That’s wonderful, baby!”
Tempest noticed Mr. Munroe continuously glancing down at his watch. “Claudine, we better get on in here and get the whipped cream,” he insisted, giving Janessa and Tempest a little more information than they cared to know. They both almost freaked when he added, “We can still make it to the video store before all the special movies get checked out.” Mrs. Porter blushed and giggled, and Janessa had to fight the urge to go upside the man’s head. “You know most of the good ones go fast on the weekends.”
Mrs. Porter noticed the killer look on Janessa’s face and Tempest’s agape mouth and decided it was time to part ways. She held her hand out. “Roscoe, give me a quarter for a buggy.”
Tempest pushed her cart toward them. “Mrs. Porter, you can have this one. Save your quarter.”
“Thanks, baby,” Mrs. Porter said, still blushing as she took ahold of the cart.
“Nice meeting you,” Mr. Munroe proclaimed, walking off through the automatic doors of the store.
“Same here,” Tempest uttered, her mouth immediately falling back open the second the words left her lips.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Janessa lit into her grandmother. “Grandma, is that your boyfriend?”
Mrs. Porter threw her humongous purse in the upper part of the basket and snickered. “Let’s just say that dildo you gave me awakened feelings in me I thought were long dead.”
“Oh, my!” Tempest whispered, trying not to let images of Mrs. Porter fucking herself with a dildo flash through her head.
Mrs. Porter laughed. Janessa leaned up against one of the columns and took in air like she was sucking it through a straw. “Like I said before, it’s just like riding a bike.” She winked at them and reiterated. “Just like riding a bike.”
They watched her saunter off, switching with a pep in her step they didn’t recognize.
“Damn, your grandmother’s been getting her freak on!” Tempest exclaimed.
“Big-time,” Janessa agreed, walking off to Tempest’s car.
Tempest squinted into the store and spotted the two of them walking down one of the aisles. She shook her head when she saw Mr. Munroe slap Mrs. Porter on the ass. “That’s too deep for me!”
CHAPTER 19
the baby’s here
tempest slammed on her brakes, barely missing the trash truck in front of them. She adjusted her rearview mirror so she could peek into the backseat.
“You okay back there, Kensington?”
Kensington reached over the seat and yanked on Tempest’s hair. “No, I’m not okay!” she screamed out, another contraction kicking in.
“Damn,” Tempest stated to no one in particular. She made a quick assessment of their situation. Traffic was at a complete standstill. There was road construction about a mile ahead, and two lanes were closed, forcing everyone to merge into one.
Kensington yelled out again. “Please hurry, Tempest! I’m not sure how much longer I can keep it in!”