Novel

Claudia Bell walked into her kitchen to fetch a fresh carafe of coffee, but was cornered by her oldest daughter, Melinda.

“How could you mother?”

“How could I what?”

“Don’t play games with me. You know exactly what I’m pissed about.”

“What’s upsetting you more? That I asked Henry over for dinner or the fact that he’s black?”

“If Dad knew you were intending to replace him with some black guy, he’d be turning over in his grave.”

Claudia shook her head. Her long blonde hair shimmered under the fluorescent lighting. The stress Melinda was giving her over her relationship with Henry was undoubtedly the reason for the new sprouts of grey she’d noticed in the mirror lately, contradicting the trim figure that helped Claudia look so youthful and making it hard for people to believe she was the mother of three grown children in their twenties. “I really thought that I’d brought you, Mandy and Mark up better than that.”

“Than what, Mother?” Melinda folded her arms across her chest. “Is it wrong to prefer to be with your own kind? I doubt if Henry’s kids are any happier with the situation.”

“First of all, nobody is going to replace your father—black or white. No man ever could.”

“You know what I’m trying to say,” she answered, her eyes narrowed. “You’ve been hanging around with him for quite a while.”

“So, you’re worried that we could be serious. Is that it?”

“Yes.”

“We enjoy each other’s company and have a great deal in common.”

“Well, we don’t!”

“We? Are you referring to your brother and sister?”

“Yes. And Richard.”

Well, that’s no surprise, Claudia thought. She doubted her daughter’s husband ever had an original thought of his own. Melinda wore the pants in that family and they were quite tight.

“I never expected my children to turn out so narrow-minded. As for Richard, he’s as mean-spirited as they come. He even hates most of his own family.”

“We’re not discussing Richard.”

“You brought him into it. Regardless, my choice of men friends shouldn’t be a topic of discussion, either. Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get back out there with more coffee,” Claudia replied, turning her back to Melinda and poured the freshly brewed coffee into the carafe.