RENAE

1 | the r e u n i o n

one | the R E U N I O N.

| R E N A E |

EXITING THE CLASSROOM, the only thing on Renae Johnson's mind was sleep.

She could envision her queen sized bed — covered by a soft, teal-colored comforter and coaxing her to spend what hours left in the day by being lost in a dreamless slumber.

Unfortunately for her, that wouldn't be happening until the next few hours. Currently, she needed to make way to work. Renae maneuvered her petite frame through the horde of college students until she found her mother's parked car. Settling herself in the driver's seat, she dialed her mother then drove off.

"Yes, Renae?" came Gwinnet's tired voice.

"Mommy, how are you?" Renae asked.

Gwinnet's sigh traveled through the line. She had fallen ill yesterday, leaving Renae to take her place in the small house keeping agency she owned. "I'm okay. Did you leave class?"

"Yes. Which house is it today?"

"The Nugents."

Renae's heart skipped a beat at the mention of that name. She'd known the family for a few summers and shared a secret history with Mr. Nugent's son.

"Okay," Renae replied then ended the call.

Before long, she was parked in front of the Nugent's two-storey house. One thing she admired about the Nugents was that regardless of their socioeconomic status, they were humble beings. Exiting the car, she walked the pathway to the mahogany door, knocked then waited. After a moment, the door opened.

"You're here early, Renae," stated Mr. Nugent.

"There wasn't any traffic," said Renae with a nod while kicking her shoes off.

Mr. Lloyd Nugent was a germaphobe and would've hated for Renae to enter the house wearing her 'outside shoes'. Lloyd wore a smile of gratitude at Renae's actions before telling her what he needed to be done.

Obeying his instructions, Renae got busy for the next hour. A knock on the door soon pulled her from her tasks. Sluggishly, she got off her knees, wiped her hands on her shorts then answered the door.

Dark brown eyes met Renae's and her breath hitched. Salutations got caught in her throat and she could feel herself growing hot.

Jemari?, Renae wondered. She almost pinched herself, she thought she was dreaming.

Seeing the corner of his lips quirk into a small smirk made her realize that she definitely did pinch herself. Embarrassed, Renae felt timid under his hot gaze.

Not wanting to be rude any further, her mouth went agape to ask him how he'd been doing. Instead, no words escaped. She was too engrossed by him. She hadn't seen Jemari in years and he looked even more handsome. He'd grown much taller, his dark-brown complexion was being kissed by the sun's warm rays and his sculpted face beckoned her to trail a manicured finger along its sharp jawline.

Renae dragged her eyes back up to his, saw amusement in his stare. Knowing he was registering how much she'd changed over the years, Renae felt more reserved. She wanted to run and hide, reappear when she looked more appealing.

Thankfully, Mr. Nugent came to her rescue.

"Renae?" came the voice of the older man. "Who is it—" he paused when he saw his son. Gasping from shock, Lloyd must have momentarily forgotten his phobia when he tugged his only child into a bear hug.

Renae smiled at the sight. She'd always admired their father-son relationship. Her own father had died when she was a baby so she never experienced these pleasures.