Blessings From the Father Read Free Page B

was loud and bubbly, and obnoxious at times. She spoke sometimes without a care of another person’s feelings. She was a party girl. Still, Mariah and Sonyell knew that Raquel had their backs. Raquel was the oldest of the trio of friends, by four months.
    â€œI assumed Granny would fix your favorite Friday dinner to celebrate your good fortune. And you know, I love me some Granny catfish,” Sonyell chimed in. She was petite sized and her figure was pencil thin. She had a café au lait complexion with dark brown eyes, and reddish brown hair she wore styled in a bob. Sonyell possessed a bright, dazzling smile.
    The young women followed Mariah into the kitchen. They walked over to Rosemary and greeted her with a warm hug.
    â€œYou got enough food for these two interlopers?” Mariah asked her grandmother mockingly.
    â€œInter-what?” Rosemary squinted at Mariah. “If you’re asking if I have enough for these two”—she pointed a fork at Raquel and Sonyell—“of course I do. What would our Friday fish fry be without my honorary granddaughters?”
    â€œThank you, Granny.” Raquel sniffed and rubbed her stomach. “I can hardly wait to chow down. It smells good up in here.” She placed a plastic bag on the table and opened it. “I bought a strawberry cheesecake for dessert.” She took the box out of the bag and placed it inside the refrigerator.
    â€œAnd I bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate Mariah’s good fortune,” Sonyell added. “It isn’t every day that we have an heiress in our midst.”
    â€œOh, stop already,” Mariah added playfully, “I’m still the same Mariah that I was a month ago.”
    â€œYeah, right,” Sonni said after she placed a bottle of bubbly inside the freezer.
    â€œThe food is ready,” Rosemary announced after she took a loaf of browned Italian bread out of the oven. “Fix your plates.”
    A few minutes later, the women sat at the table with bowed heads. Rosemary blessed the food. “Father, above, thank you for allowing us to wake this morning to see another day clothed in our right minds. Thank you for bringing us safely to and from work today. We thank you for providing food for the nourishment of our bodies. Amen.”
    â€œAmen,” the young women echoed.
    â€œMake sure you get as much as you want,” Rosemary told the women. “I made plenty of food. Sonni, there’s enough for you to take a plate home with you for Sasha.” She took napkins from the holder sitting in the middle of the table and passed them around the table.
    â€œWe forgot the hot sauce.” Raquel popped up from her chair and removed the bottle from the cabinet.
    Soon everyone had prepared their plates, and partook in the meal. The only sounds in the room were the clink of forks upon the plates, and the slurping of Pepsi-Cola.
    Sonyell was the first one to finish eating. She pushed her chair away from the table and burped loudly. She covered her mouth and said, “I swear you put your foot in that, Granny. The food was great as always.”
    â€œYes, it was,” Raquel echoed as she got up, walked to the stove, and put another piece of fish on her plate. She ladled a few spoonfuls of spaghetti onto the dish and sat back down.
    Sonyell passed her friend the hot sauce. She looked across the table at Mariah. “So, Mari, when do we get to see the house?”
    â€œI suggested earlier we go to Hammond in the morning and check it out,” Raquel added after she ingested a forkful of pasta. “What do you have planned tomorrow, Sonni? We could do breakfast and then go to Indiana?”
    â€œI don’t have anything planned,” Sonyell answered. “So you can count me in. This is so exciting.” She rubbed her hands together.
    â€œGreat,” Mariah said. She glanced at her grandmother. “Granny, I’d love for you to join us tomorrow. I want you