Laila POV

She loved her family, but heading back to St. Louis for a few days did not appeal to her. She decided to stay in Bloomington-Normal, like her sister as well. Marketta was staying at the MAX House while she was spending the holiday with Alonzo.

But here lay the problem.

"I don't know if your mother will want to have me around for Thanksgiving dinner with you guys." After that tragic dinner with his mother, she avoided asking more questions about why the woman did not like her. "I can go to the MAX house and have dinner with my sister."

"No babe, it'll be fine," Alonzo assured her by wrapping his arms around her. "She may not like you, but she doesn't hate you. And besides, it doesn't matter what she feels, I'm with you and that's all that matters."

It felt good to hear Alonzo say that, but still, it would bother her that the mother of the guy she was with disliked her. She racked her brain over what it could be that she disliked about her. She barely said much to her that one day.

Was it her hair? Was it how she was dressed? Was it her country grammar St. Louis twang in her speech? There simply was no way of knowing and she knew she needed to stop stressing about it. Easier said than done.

Getting ready for dinner at his mother's she took care of the clothes she selected and how she styled her hair. Just a touch of makeup, and simple earrings. Nothing too flashy about herself, she felt she was plain enough and not an attention seeker.

"Babe, you look great, I know you are overthinking everything. Just relax babe, I'm telling you it doesn't matter what my mother thinks. Try and enjoy yourself today and I got you."

"Anyone else will be there for dinner?" Though Alonzo was an only child, she could not image dinner with just him and his mother. At her house, there was her mother, stepfather, Marketta, and other three siblings. And then other family members would come by for the holidays, and even neighbors. The place was always packed.

Maybe she would get to meet his aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and many more.

"Nope, just us."

"Huh?"

"Just you, me, and my mom."

Meaning there would be no buffer for her to hide behind. She would have to talk to the woman. The entire drive there she ran a dozen scenarios through her head.

What if she threw her out of the house?

What if she screamed and yelled at her, made her cry so much that she ran out of the house?

What if she never spoke another word to her and simply ignored her throughout dinner?

What if Alonzo realized if his mother hated her, he hated her and dumped her right then and there?

Or maybe his mother would try to poison her food to get rid of her.

What if she said something dumb and embarrassed herself and the woman hated her more?

Why was she like this? What was wrong with her? As Alonzo said many times, she was with him, not his mother. The only one she needed to impress was Alonzo. If he was happy with her, the rest did not matter.

She was shaking those thoughts from her head just as Alonzo pulled up in front of his mother's house. She let out a deep breath and let Alonso help her out of the truck. Stepping out, he held her hand and pulled her a bit close.

"Babe," he said to her. "If my mother for even a second makes you feel uncomfortable, let me know, and we leave."

"No, I can handle it." No, she could not but she could ignore her pretty well.

"You don't have to handle it. I'll handle it. I love my mom but...you mean a lot to me."

She almost felt as if he was going to admit he was in love with her at that moment. But it was too soon for that. Right? Either way, she was falling for him. If only she could get past his mother.

Soon as they walked into the house, again, the good smell of food was in the air. This woman must live and breathe in the kitchen. Judging by the first meal she tasted of hers, she knew this would be delicious as well.

"Hey ma!' Alonzo yelled out.

"Come on in the kitchen," his mother called out.

"I'll just stay in here."

"Nonsense," Alonzo took her hand and pulled her into the kitchen with him.

There was food all over the place in the kitchen. Much too much if they were going to be the only three eating. At home, she was used to so much food it was ridiculous, but she expected a smaller meal here.

"Hello Kay," she greeted his mother.

"Hey there," was her reply back.

At least she was talking to her. At least she could scratch that from her paranoia.

"Ma." Alonzo went to her side, hugged her, and kissed her cheek. "Now you know this is too much food, but I will gladly take it all for my crib. I can eat a lot, but this is too much."

"You never know if someone else may show up."

Who? She looked to Alonzo and then back to Kay. She would gladly have someone else over. Did Kay have a sister or a brother, were they going to be cousins? She would even accept friends or neighbors wanting to come over for dinner.

"Can I...help with anything?"

"Sure, there is lots to do. You two go wash your hands and dig right into it."

After they washed up, she helped with the finishing touches of the food and setting it all out on the table. There were green beans, collard greens with smoked turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, mac n cheese, pineapple glazed ham, dressing, a nice-sized turkey, and homemade buttery rolls. Dessert included two different kinds of cake, a German chocolate one, and a caramel cake that looked off the charts good. And two sweet potato pies.

Alonzo helped just a bit before Kay shooed him off to watch whatever sports were on television. That left her alone in the kitchen with Kay.

"I feel like I should have cooked something," she said while she set the table.

"Honey no, I love cooking and you're a guest."

She smiled at that. Well, at least she was being nice and friendly to her.

"You're such a pretty girl."

Wow! She did not expect that.

"Thank you. And I care for your son so I want us to get along."

"Honey, you don't have to impress me, all I care about is that you have nothing but the best intentions with my son. He's been hurt enough."

"I know." All the things with his ex/baby mother. The fight for custody of his children. Maybe that was why she did not like her. His mother feared she would hurt him the same way. "Alonzo has been through enough already. I've been through things...maybe not the same type of things, but it's hard out here...dating."

"Oh honey, I know!" Kay added a chuckle. "And I know my son is a good man. I raised him well. He will always treat any woman he's with right because that's how I raised him to be."

This was nice to hear from his mother. In her mind that meant he would not be a cheater because his mother raised him better. Well, at least that is what she hoped.

"He's been the perfect guy so far, so thank you very much for that."

Kay looked up at her, a smile on her face. "I like you."

That was unexpected.

"I thought you hated me."

"Hate's a strong word," she stated. "I don't know you, but something about you. I feel your aura. And I can see that you're serious about my son and not just looking for a good time."

She wanted to say something but had no clue what to say after that. But it made her day that she at least said she liked her. Now they were getting somewhere.

The table was all set with plates and silverware, most of the food was on the table so they could dig in, but they were interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Ma, who'd you invite over," Alonzo shouted out from the living room as she heard him get up to open the door. "What?" Alonzo screamed out once he opened the door.

"Daddy!"

She could not see anything from the dining room, but she could hear little kids' voices. It was his sons. She was going to meet his sons today?

Just as she had gotten over the stress of his mother liking her, now she had to meet the two little boys who meant the world to him.

This was more nerve-wracking than meeting his mother.

"Oh, my grandbabies!" Kay rushed out of the dining room and she slowly followed behind.

Alonzo was stooped down on their level and had his arms wrapped around them both. From all the pictures of his sons she'd seen, the oldest, AJ, looked just like Alonzo, except light-skinned because they were half white. He had his whole face. Such a cute boy with a low haircut like his father. Josiah must look like his mother who she had not seen pictures of. He was lighter-skinned with sandy brown, long hair.

Their grandmother stood at the door with them.

"I figured you wanted to spend some time with them," the lady said. "Let's not fight about them anymore and come to an agreement about custody."

She knew that was going to be a relief for Alonzo. But where did that leave her?

A/N: This is a big deal, meeting Alonzo's kids. Hopefully, the mother is good, now she has to see what the kids do to the relationship.