Southern Saturday Nights ✔️

14 | Good News

I pushed a few of my biscuits to the edge of the wax paper. "It was my grandmother. She loved to cook. Every morning she would make my grandpa breakfast before he left for the fields. She also put together a cook book for her church with all her famous recipes."

"Did she teach you all her recipes?" Alexis asked as she played with the extra pieces of dough.

"She tried to teach me most of them, but she passed away when I was twelve to cancer." I gave a weak smile.

Jasmine picked up the biscuits and placed them into a greased baking sheet. "I'm sorry for your loss. Cancer is such a deadly disease."

Alexis nodded as she spread the dough back out on the wax paper. "What about your mom? Did she teach you recipes?"

"She taught me a couple. Blueberry pie, pecan pie, and homemade gravy are her favorite things to cook." I pushed the mason jar into the dough before removing my fingers to let Alexis take over.

"When do we get to meet her?" Alexis tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows.

My throat tightened. I couldn't tell her the truth— the fact she'd never meet my mother because her skin was the wrong color. Nervously, I tucked my hair behind my ears and picked at my nails. Come on, you're good at pretending. You did it for half your life.

"I hope you get to meet her soon. Your brother and I are exploring our relationship a little more every day. I got lucky enough to meet you guys first." I smiled when Alexis' eyes sparkled like Caleb's always did when I told him good news.

Jasmine slid the pan of biscuits into the oven and tossed the potholders onto the counter. "Well, I'm sure she's a wonderful woman. She raised an intelligent, well-mannered child." She smiled as she patted the top of Alexis' head.

Alexis nodded with a wide smile on her face. "She actually raised two, Momma. Don't forget about Caleb." She pushed away from the table and hurried over to the counter to grab a stack of papers.

Jasmine and I watched her as she skipped back over to the table and handed me the papers. "This is for your brother. I think he has a really good chance of getting accepted."

At the top of the paper in thick, bold letters read 'MIT Summer Camp Application.' I stared at it as my fingers curled along the edges of the papers. Caleb wouldn't be able to contain his excitement if I brought this home to him. He'd have a chance to live his dream. To travel to Massachusetts. To study among the elite despite his age and disability. It'd be a struggle to convince my mother to let him go, though.

"He has until December seventh to send the application in. Alexis was determined to give that to you," Jasmine said as she leaned against the table.

I glanced up at her. "Thanks. I'll make sure to give it to him when I go home for the Thanksgiving this week. He's going to lose his mind."

"If he needs help on his project, you can give him my number." Alexis wrote it on a sticky note and held it out to me.

I laughed as I took it from her and stuck it to the front page of the application. "I'll be sure to let him know." I opened my arms to offer Alexis a hug, but she had already lunged forward to throw her arms around my neck.

She squeezed me tight. "Can I show you some of my inventions while we wait on the biscuits to cook?"

"Oh, of course. I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind." I released Alexis and glanced up at Jasmine, who stood with a beautiful white smile on her face.