A Different Kind of Perfect Book 2 in the Seaside Boulevard Series
Available for Amazon Kindle for $4.99 - Paperback $12.99 (Click Here)
BLURB
Available for Amazon Kindle for $4.99 - Paperback $12.99 (Click Here)
BLURB
It is the grand opening of The Perfect Pitch. All the pieces fall into
place until Francine's diagnosis of breast cancer, throwing their lives
upside down. While Amy and Jason deal with the reaction from her family
to their interracial relationship, Toni finds herself in another
overbearing relationship with Pelicans third baseman Gary Thompson.
In the mist of taking care of Francine and working at The Perfect Pitch, Richie gets a call from the owner of the Pelicans. He is offered a job as pitching coach for the team. Richie accepts the job, putting a huge strain on his marriage which affects all of them.
In the mist of taking care of Francine and working at The Perfect Pitch, Richie gets a call from the owner of the Pelicans. He is offered a job as pitching coach for the team. Richie accepts the job, putting a huge strain on his marriage which affects all of them.
EXCERPT
Amy knocked on the door
before walking in. “Mom, Dad, we’re here.”
“I’m in the kitchen. Come on in.” Amy closed and locked the
front door. Taking Jason’s
hand, she led him into the
kitchen.
“Hi, Mom.” She walked over
and gave her a peck on the cheek. “This is Jason.”
Nancy’s mouth dropped open
and the wooden spoon fell out of her hand. After a couple of brief
uncomfortable moments, her mother rolled her eyes. “Nice to meet you, Jake.”
“His name is Jason, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, Jason.” “
Nice to meet you, Mrs.
Mills.”
“Al, where are you?” she
called out in a high-pitched voice.
“I’m coming. You made me go
upstairs and shave or else I’d be sitting in my chair watching TV.”
Silence filled the room.
Amy looked from her mother to Jason. Jason had a blank look on his face and her
mother a look of disappointment. The sound of her father coming down the stairs
made Amy tenser as she shuffled from one foot to the other. Her father meeting
Jason would just finish off the night. He was always the one who talked
negatively about black people, saying he hated them. If things didn’t work out,
she would get Jason out of there quick.
“Amy.”
Amy turned around and
walked over to kiss her father hello. “Dad, this is Jason Maddock.”
“The Jason Maddock?”
he asked, walking over to shake his hand.
“Yes.”
“Oh my God, this is
awesome. My daughter is dating Jason Maddock the football player. Damn, it
can’t get any better than this. I love the Rockets. I’ve been watching them
since I was a kid. I am so happy to meet you. Would you like something to
drink? A beer or wine? There’s a football game on now.” He chuckled. “My wife
made me turn it off, saying that it was inappropriate for me to be watching
football when we have a guest.”
“Albert. Are you blind?”
“No. What are you talking
about, Nancy?”
“Jason is our daughter’s
boyfriend.” “Yes, I know. Isn’t that awesome? He won the game for the Rockets
last weekend to get them into the last game of the playoffs before the Super
Bowl.”
“I don’t know anything
about sports, nor do I want to.” Nancy put her hands on her hips. “Our daughter
is dating a black man.”
“He’s not black, Nancy.
He’s Jason Maddock. I have his team jersey.”
“I can’t believe what is
going on here. How can you be blinded with—”
Al put his arm around
Jason. “Come on, let’s go into the living room and talk sports. You have to
excuse Nancy. She has a one-track mind, still living in the nineteen-forties.”
Jason and her dad went into
the living room. She heard her father talking about the game from the week
before. From what she could hear, it sounded like her father and Jason were
getting along. And to think she was worried that her father would throw him
out.
“Can you give me a hand
here instead of glaring into space?”
“Yes, Mom. What can I do to
help?”
“Can you toss the salad and
place it onto the dining room table?”
“Sure mom.”
“So what’s going on with
this Jason man? He’s black,” she whispered.
“I know, Mom. But when I
look at him, I don’t see color.”
“Then what do you see?
Because I see something different.”
Amy tossed the salad and
tasted a piece of lettuce. “Needs more salt.”
“Add a little. Your father
is supposed to be watching his sodium intake. But from what I see, your father
has lost his mind accepting a black man into our home. What are the neighbors going
to say?”
“Is that what you’re
worried about—the neighbors?”
“Of course I am. This is a
white neighborhood. I don’t want to hear people talking about how desperate you
were for a man that you had to reach out for one from another race.”
“You are out of your mind.
Instead of you being happy that I’m happy and I found someone who loves me as
much as I love him, you are throwing me the race card.”
“Do you realize what kind
of life you are entering? We did the best we could do for you. The last thing I
expect is to find you standing in line trying to get food stamps.”
“You really have lost your
mind. Jason is a football player making a lot of money. But this isn’t about
money.”
“I’m sure it isn’t going to
be enough to take care of you.”
“Mom, he is making over ten
million dollars. He lives in a mansion on Todt Hill. He has all his own things.
He doesn’t need anything of mine to survive. And besides, Dad seems to be
getting along very well with Jason.”
“I am totally surprised at
your father accepting this kind of behavior from you.”
“I’m bringing the salad
inside. Please, do not embarrass him during dinner. Can you promise me that?”
“I’ll do my best, but I can’t make you any
promises.”
KAREN'S SOCIAL MEDIA
What a dilemma for the heroine.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I know people like Nancy, but they're usually polite to a fault in such situations and unleash the bigotry after the "undesirable" person leaves the premises.
ReplyDeleteNo reaction to the ten million dollars? At least their racism is pure and unsullied by materialism.
ReplyDelete