ᴍʏ ʙᴜꜱ ʙᴜᴅᴅʏ. [ᴍɪᴄʜᴀᴇʟ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ ꜰꜰ]

Ch.5-Katie.

Ophelia stood, shaking nervously. She was going to enter Darryl's house and meet his mom!

She wanted to make a good impression. Yet, what if she didn't like her? What if his mom thought she wasn't good-looking? Darryl was beautiful, so Ophelia had no doubts the woman

would be stunning herself. She closed her hands into fists as if she was trying to cease the sweat building up on her palms.

"Phelia? Are you ok?" Her head lifted up at his voice, and her eyes met his. "You've had your head down for a while, and your hands are shaking." As the young man spoke, he seemed to grow more concerned.

She sighed and unclosed her fists. "To be frank with you, I'm nervous to meet your mother. I don't think she will like me."

"And why do you think that?" The female scratched awkwardly at her wrists, a bad habit of hers.

"I don't know. I'm not the best looker." Darryl firmly, but gently grabbed both of her forearms.

"Listen, she will like you. I like you, and looks aren't everything. We care more about what's on the inside than the outside."

"Ok," she said slowly. He let go of her. "My mother is a good woman. She would never judge you because of your appearance." He dug in his trench coat pockets. "I do believe that. She raised a

good man, after all." Darryl thanked her and pulled a key out of his coat. He unlocked the door. The man looked back at her. "It's ok to be nervous, but please don't be scared to meet her. I'll be here with you." His words comforted her. Her nerves quelled as she finally felt at ease.

Darryl slowly opened the door. "Mother?" He announced his presence. "I'm home. I have someone I want you to meet." They walked in together, searching for Darryl's mom.

As Ophelia looked around, she noticed how bare the walls seemed. All the decorations seemed to be plants or family pictures. This wasn't a bad thing. It seemed like a clean and well-taken care of home. It was simple and serene.

"What do you think?" Darryl spoke up. "I like it. It's very homely."

Darryl agreed with her. "Yes, it's a lot more peaceful compared to the rest of Chicago." She gave him a small laugh, indicating that she agreed with him. "Yeah. It can be quite troublesome here.

I might have to move to this side of the complex. The last time I tried to sleep, I couldn't due to obnoxious drunks swearing at each other outside my window," She jested. He chuckled at her.

"Darryl?" A soft, feminine voice said. The two turned to see a dark-skinned woman with black hair framing her round face. Her eyes were reminiscent of Darryl's own, and her most gorgeous feature was the gap between her teeth.

"Mother!" Darryl exclaimed joyfully. The two embraced each other, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Mother, this is Ophelia, a dear friend of mine." Ophelia waved at the woman. "Hello, Miss...?"

"Katherine, Katherine Jackson. But you may call me Katie. My son has talked about you, and I've heard a lot of good things." The women were directly in front of each other, though Ophelia stood taller than the older female. "That's nice to hear. And I have only good things to say about your son." She smiled, her lipstick a gentle pink. Not a smudge was present on her teeth.

"Surely. Darryl's a sweet boy. He loves to help people."

"Man, mother," Darryl commented as he stared down at a picture that once stood on a table.

"Hm?" She said, not looking his way. "I'm a man," he corrected her. She laughed. "Oh, yes, a man. Forgive me, dear."

"Of course. I'm not angry." She smiled sheepishly. "I'm just glad my boy's not hanging with the wrong crowd." Ophelia wondered about those words but did not question them. She couldn't say she disagreed with Katie. But to her, it seemed like such an odd thing to say.

Darryl strolled over and stood next to them. "I was thinking we could do something together, like baking." Katie yawned. "Unfortunately, I just took my medicine, and it has made me sleepy. I think I'll take a nap."

"But mother, you love bakin-"

"Yes, I do, especially for you," she playfully rhymed. "But I'm very tired. I think Ophelia and you should bake together. I'll taste test it when I wake up, and we'll see if you guys are good bakers."

"I doubt it. Nobody cooks or bakes better than my mother." He stated, strongly opinionated.

"You're too kind, Darryl. It was nice to meet you, Ophelia." Katie said. "And even lovelier to meet you, Katie!" She giggled and said her goodbyes before retreating to her bedroom. Darryl turned towards her. "What would you like to bake?" She shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I'd like to be a bit adventurous instead of making something as easy as cake or cookies."

"How about pie?" He suggested. "Sure!" She quickly replied. "Is there a specific kind of flavor you enjoy?"

"Anything that's not chocolate." Darryl thought for a second, and Ophelia could've swore she saw a light bulb go off on top of his curly head. "How about sweet potato pie? It is fall, after all, and Thanksgiving is coming up."

"That's perfect! Let's do that!"