Queens Court

Chapter 3

Keira drove slowly through her neighborhood. There were a lot of young children that lived on his street, and the last thing she ever wanted to do was hit one of them. When she'd picked out her home, it didn't go unnoticed by Keira that the neighborhood was more family oriented, not the typical area where a young, cute bachelorette would want to drop anchor. Deep inside, Keira must have known that eventually she would fit right in with her neighbors. First came love, next came marriage. If she had her way, in a couple of years, she would be pushing a baby carriage. Maybe two.

She was finally where she wanted to be in life. She had the man of her dreams, a career that paid very well, and a dream home. Keira's real estate agent, Kendra Michelle, had actually been a patient she had helped through a rocky period in her marriage. With Keira's help, she eventually ended up saving and revitalizing it. So, as a thank you to her, she worked some real estate magic and got her into this million-dollar home, in a very nice neighborhood, for 600K. How she did that was beyond her, but she was grateful. She knew doctor jargon, but real estate language was foreign to her. All she recalled was something about some points here, some points there, a discount for this, and a discount for that, then voila! She had the keys to the most beautiful home she'd ever seen. Not to mention that she was one of only three African American homeowners on the street. The other two homes were owned by a lawyer and a CEO of some huge corporation.

As she pulled up, the sun was setting right behind the roof of her enormous five-bedroom, five-bathroom, two-story house, complete with a three-car garage, swimming pool, and hot tub in the back. Who wouldn't want to live in a luxurious and enormous place like this? She had opted for extra bedrooms because eventually, even though settling down wasn't something the average successful woman in her thirties who could have any man she wanted had on her mind, Keira always knew that one day she wanted to get married and have some kids to fill those rooms. She had grown up with no siblings and wanted at least two or three little ones of her own.

The idea of this made her light up every time the thought crossed her mind. Even though she definitely still had to discuss her and Alonzo's final living arrangements once they were man and wife, she couldn't imagine he'd want them to live in his condo versus her big ol' home. Besides, it wasn't like he didn't spend the majority of the time there anyway, and whenever they referred to "home," it was clear they meant the house . . . her house . . . soon to be their home.

Keira grabbed her things, got out of her car, and just stood there looking around. The same way she'd taken a minute to stare at her parents' home and think about her childhood, she thought about what it was going to be like for her children to grow up in this house; to play tag in this yard. The sound of the neighbor's lawn mower brought her back to the moment. Keira checked the mailbox. She flipped through the couple pieces of junk mail and then went inside.

She closed the door behind her and disarmed the alarm system, set her briefcase by the door like she always did, then laid her jacket on the armrest of the sofa. The house felt cold to her, but she paid it no mind. Believe it or not, she'd turned on her fireplace quite a few times throughout the year. Those who never lived in Atlanta thought that it was always sunny and hot. There was quite the evening chill.

Keira took the flowers into the kitchen and cut a half inch off of each stem, then grabbed a vase and filled it halfway with water. She put them inside and adjusted the flowers so they looked more presentable. She placed them on the table in the center of the living room. Mission accomplished. Alonzo was going to love them.

She had the number to Philippe Chow saved in her iPhone, because it was a favorite dining spot for both of them. She called and made reservations for 9 p.m. Surely Alonzo would want to celebrate their engagement over dinner.

Nine o'clock might have seemed late to have dinner, but she planned on handling him as soon as he walked in the door. After that, they both would need a little time to shower and get dressed, as well as being in need of nourishment. A late reservation should allow them plenty of time.