Work Hard, Love Harder

Chapter 9

The whole situation was complicated. Zoe didn’t want her mother around, not because she was a crack addict borderline wh*re. No, it was more the overt greed and the likelihood that she’d be embarrassing. But Femi’s mother was dead set on meeting her. Zoe even thought about hiring a woman to pretend to be her mother, but Femi had already met the real thing and she wasn’t sure he would go along with her plan.

If her mother knew exactly how rich the Dangotes were, things could get really really complicated. Zack was due to be discharged from the hospital in two weeks and she was hoping to be back in Boston by then. Under the laws of Tennessee, guardianship law allowed for relatives with physical custody of the child to apply to become permanent guardians in the event the parents are found unsuitable. These guardians would make decisions on parenting, medical care, and schooling as well as other major decisions a parent would typically be tasked with. Since the state was rendering Clare unsuitable and Zoe was Zack’s nearest kin, her chances were good that they’d give him to her. But she needed to prove that she had somewhere to take him, otherwise he would disappear into the system. In the meanwhile however, she had to keep up with Hajia Dangote and her wedding planning.

*****

“What about the flowers?”

“What about them?”

“Have you chosen what types you’d like for the centerpieces and the bouquet?”

“Since our colors are pink and teal, I think it would be great to go with muted colors for the centerpieces, and then for the bouquet, I was checking online, and I fell in love with this arrangement that has pink roses, pink ranunculus, lavender larkspur, lavender phalaenopsis orchids, Lily of the Valley, variegated ivy, and lily grass blades. I showed it to Zoe the other day and she was all for it.”

“Wonderful! Then that’s settled! Now, what about invitations?”

“I found this girl based out of Chicago. She does these fantastic box invitations that I think would be perfect.”

“Have you chosen a design yet?”

“No, but we’ve got time for those. Right now, I think we’re more focused on finding the right venue and the dress.”

“Oh, yes, the venue is especially important. That has to be booked in advance. But the dress! Oh, my goodness! I can’t wait to see the dress! I’m so excited! My little girl is getting married!”

Upon hearing her mother’s squeals of excitement, Zoe picked up her glass and gulped down the remainder of what was inside. The waiter swooped in with another, just as she’d requested, because lunch with Femi and Clare, especially now that she was engaged to him, always consisted of wedding talk that could go on for hours. And it was starting to give Zoe a headache. She thought Hajia was bad, but Femi’s mother had always asked her for her input, unlike her mother, who seemed to gravitate toward Femi when it came to the finer details.

It seemed like he had it all figured out from who would make the wedding invitations to their florist. Quite frankly, Zoe was getting sick of it. Wasn’t it the bride’s responsibility to do most of this stuff? Then again, she was occupied with trying to get custody of her brother. That gave her little time to think about anything wedding related, except when Hajia stopped by with swatches and books full of pretty pictures of wedding dresses. That was really the only thing her future mother-in-law had delegated to herself.

Every week there would be a new set of designs to look at, new fabrics to touch, new details to go over. The maternal Dangote was doing a great job designing it for her, something she kept secret from Femi, but still, Zoe felt a bit left out with the rest of the planning. She couldn’t understand why it was so irritating listening to her fiancé and her mother discuss the wedding. Maybe it was because she wanted it to be something special between her and her mother. Something they could finally do together now that her mother was being surprisingly mother-like and not acting like the greedy bi*ch Zoe had been expecting. Whatever the case, sitting in the restaurant today listening to the two of them talk was really getting to her.

“Oh, did I mention we have a cake tasting this weekend after we check out the ballroom at the Marriott Grand Hotel?”

“No! I’d better be invited…”

“You’re always invited, Clarisse.”

Zoe slammed her hand down on the table. Both Clarisse and Femi turned to stare at her, the expressions on their faces a mix of shock and confusion.

“That’s enough,” she snapped as their jaws dropped and several people from the tables around them turned to stare. There was even one with a cell phone out recording the entire exchange, but she couldn’t focus on her.

“Zoe… What’s wrong?” Femi asked, reaching out to place his hand on her forearm, but she pulled away almost violently.

“I am so goddamn sick of listening to you and my mother talk about our wedding!” Zoe angrily replied. “I just wanted to have a quiet meal with my fiancé! Is that too much to ask? Well, apparently it is because he can’t seem to go anywhere without you attached to his hip!” she ranted, pointing to Clare.

“Zoe!” her mother admonished, her startled gaze turning into an angry glare.

“You know what? Why don’t the two of you finish lunch by yourselves?” Zoe tore the napkin off her lap and threw it onto the table next to her half eaten plate of chicken marsala. “I’ve gotta get back to the library anyway. Those tax forms won’t fill themselves and we’ll need them if we’re gonna make sure your son doesn’t end up in the system.” She glared at her mother.

Femi tried to grab her arm, but she pushed his hand away as her chair scraped across the marble floor of the restaurant. Angry, and embarrassed because she was angry, she stood up and grabbed her purse before stomping away from the table.

For the rest of the day, Zoe ignored the phone calls and text messages her fiancé and her mother had sent her. Instead, she buried herself in paperwork and emailing back and forth with DHS until well after the sun had set and everyone had gone home. It wasn’t until she felt a hand on her shoulder did she realize just how deeply engrossed she’d been in her work. Nearly jumping out of her seat, her chair rolled back, but it was stopped by the person standing behind her.

“Whoa! Hey! Hey! It’s just me.” The familiar voice had her swiveling around, the anger that had been present during lunch returning.

“I really do not want to talk to you right now, Femi,” Zoe hissed as she got up and started to walk to the cloakroom to take her coat and go home. The library was empty at this time, and the librarian was somewhere at the back. They had the place to themselves.

“Zoe, please…”

When his voice went all soft and cracked at the end like that, Zoe knew she couldn’t keep ignoring him. It made her knees weak and her heart ache. There was just something so open and vulnerable about Femi when he spoke like that. Turning around, she found him still standing by her chair, his arms down at his sides as he gazed down at the floor while his eyes flicked up from behind feathered lashes.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have brought your mother to lunch with me. I didn’t think it would be such a problem for you, but obviously I was wrong.”

“That’s not why I’m mad at you,” Zoe replied, her voice calm and even. She leaned against one of the other tables, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Then tell me why, please,” Femi begged as he crossed the twenty foot distance between them in a few short strides so they now stood inches apart.