“Momma, what are you doing on the walker? You look cute.”
“Thank you. I felt like walking today. While my legs are strong, I might as well use them. I haven’t been up a lot, but I did sit on the back porch for a while today. It was nice.”
She was having a good day. I was happy to see it.
“Momma, this is Tiberius Vesey. Tiberius, this is my mother, Shima Stevenson.”
Momma smiled and looked from Ty to me and back to Ty. Then looked at me again.
“Yes, Momma. This is that Tiberius. He knows I don’t like him.”
“Yeah, we don’t like each other. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Stevenson.”
“You can call me Shima,” Momma sweetly returned.
“Ty is going to cook something that we hope is edible. He said something about his Momma said he was good at cooking.”
“Oh, you cook?” Momma asked.
“I’m single and live by myself, so I have to feed myself,” Ty answered. “Which way is the restroom? I want to wash my hands and get this started for you ladies.”
“It’s down the hall. First door on your left,” I answered.
Ty headed down the hall while I went into the kitchen to unload the grocery bags.
“So?” Momma said.
She sat down on the seat part of her walker and smiled.
“What are you smiling about?”
“You didn’t tell me how handsome and single he was.”
“He’s cool or whatever,” I waved her off.
“Madalee Rose Ann Stevenson, you don’t invite anyone over here. He must be more than cool. He’s been your sworn enemy for three years now. All of a sudden, he’s cooking us dinner?”
“Shhh…”
I looked down the hall and saw the bathroom door was still closed.
“He’s grown on me. I sorta like him. He asked if we could have dinner, but I had to make sure you ate, so he volunteered to cook.”
“I would’ve been fine,” Momma whisper-yelled back.
“No, Momma. It’s fine. Let’s just see what he can do.”
We both jumped a little when we heard the bathroom door open.
“Do you need any help, Tiberius? I can chop some vegetables or something,” Momma said.
“No, ma’am. You ladies can relax. This won’t take too long.”
“It looks like you’re making a pasta dish?” Momma asked.
“Yes, Ma’am. A baked ziti. Have you ever had it?”
“No, but I’m looking forward to it.”