Something Old, Something New by Beverly Jenkins Page A

his large chocolate shake.
    â€œYou got keys and everything, then.”
    Trent said, “We got keys, Lil. Otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get in.”
    â€œThank you, Mr. State the Obvious.”
    â€œWhy are you mad?”
    â€œI’m not mad.”
    â€œCould’ve fooled me.”
    â€œKeep that up, and I will be,” she countered coolly.
    Gary chuckled.
    They both glared.
    He shook his head in amusement. “I feel like I’m in Mr. Peabody’s Way Back machine and we’re seventeen all over again. Think you can take me back to the year before I married Colleen?”
    That broke the tension.
    Lily stuck out her tongue.
    To give Lily something else to think about besides her hair-trigger temper, Trent leaned over and gifted her with a kiss that was so all that, everybody in the diner saw it and began cheering and whistling. When he finally let her up for air, she saw stars.
    Gary’s laughter made his shoulders shake. “And thus ends another fiery episode of the July and Fontaine Show. Stay tuned, boys and girls.”
    Trent raised his soda in reply.
    Lily wanted to smack them both, but the room was still spinning. Holding Trent’s mischief-filled eyes, she smiled and beckoned him closer. When he complied, she whispered in his ear, “You are so going to pay for that.”
    He whispered back, “Counting on it.”
    She chuckled, pushed him away, and looked around for the waitress to place her order.
    As they enjoyed their meals, the three friends talked of old times. Soon the conversation drifted to who they’d run into, who was working where, and the classmates that had passed away. Some of the names were of people Lily hadn’t thought of in years, but with each mention a seventeen-year-old face rose up clearly from her memory. Like Irene Parrish, who was on the Henry Adams girls’ track team with Lily. “We really ought to have a reunion,” she said over her salad.
    â€œYou willing to be the organizer?” Trent asked.
    â€œI’d consider it. It would have to be after the wedding, though.” She looked Gary’s way. “What do you think about a reunion, Gary?”
    â€œMight be fun. We’ve never had one that I can remember.”
    Trent replied, “Neither can I.”
    â€œThen let’s put it away for now and talk about it after the first of the year.”
    Bernadine entered the dinner. She and Lily exchanged a wave over the sizable crowd and the sound of Al Green crying about how tired he was of being alone, blasting on the jukebox. Lily watched Bernadine and Malachi greet each other with a quick kiss before they slid into a booth.
    â€œBernadine’s been good for him,” Trent said.
    Lily hadn’t known he’d been watching them, too. “The only time she seems to relax is when he’s around.”
    â€œShe’s made him grow up. That alone makes her gold in my eyes.”
    Lily understood. When they were in high school, Malachi July had been in his glory days as a wild man. Although Trent never talked about it, Lily knew how much it hurt him to be the son of a man seemingly bent upon self-destruction. She remembered many a Friday and Saturday night riding shotgun in Black Beauty with a worried Trent while they scoured the county’s dives and truck stops, hoping to find his father before he killed someone driving drunk. Mal was a mess back then.
    â€œI’m glad she came to town,” Trent said as he turned and met Lily’s eyes.
    She agreed.
    They spent the next few minutes discussing Gary’s move and his plans for his girls. He explained to Lily, “Leah’s being pretty supportive, but as I was telling Trent yesterday, Tiff is not happy.”
    â€œI know how she feels. Losing your mom doesn’t make for happy times. Even though our circumstances are different, a loss is a loss. Do you want me to talk to her?”
    â€œI’d like that.