They walked into the house and again it seemed different as the two people who were watching them through the window tried to act nonchalant as Brittney and Druex walked into the house. Druex smiled at Theresa, who looked a little like Brittney except older, she was more like Jayson. Her smile was sweet but nothing like Brittney's, and she was a light honey color, with smoke colored eyes. And then he turned to the man who looked like just look like Brittney, the complexion, the eyes, except for the height and build, he saw Brittney make a face at him, and he smiled that's where she got the smile from.
Brittney looked at Theresa and Steve, "Mama, daddy, this is Druex Fredricks, my boyfriend."
Steve shook his head when the last part came out, he knew it was directed at him. His wife gave him a hug saying, "It's nice to meet you Druex, I'm Theresa Parker, no wonder she waited to introduce us, you are very handsome young man."
Druex smiled as the voice the sounded so much like Brittney's complimented him, "Thank you Mrs. Parker."
Theresa was making her way back to the stove when she turned her southern accent slipping out, "Oh just call me Mrs. Theresa like Jarrell does. Do you know Jarrell?"
"Yes, ma'am we are good friends." Druex smiled as Brittney let go of his hand as he father stood.
Steve stood in front of Druex trying to shake the eyes that were pleading with him to not be rude. He didn't like this punk, not at all, he looked to thuggish and his baby was not going to get involved with no thug off of 3rd street. He turned his nose up ready to blow up when he heard his wife whisper 'Steve', and Brittney touched his arm. He looked over at her and he couldn't do it to her, maybe to Isabelle, but not to his angel. He stuck out his hand and Druex gave him a nice solid handshake, nervously he could tell, "Nice to meet you, I'm Steve, sit down son, sit down angel."
They sat at the bar Druex next to Brittney and Steve in front of Brittney, Steve exhaled loudly as Brittney smiled over at Druex, he had seen look before but not from her, it was the way her mother had looked at him the day he met her parents. And he could vividly remember how rude her father was to him, so he decided to be a little nicer, "So you are a Fredricks?"
"Yes, sir." He answered trying to keep from kissing Brittney, but she made it easier by going to her mother whispering something to her.
Steve shook his head thinking a minute, "Ah yes you are the youngest son of Patricia aren't you?"
"Yes, sir that's my mother." Druex replied as his heart began to slow down a bit.
Steve grinned as he spoke, "Now I'm surprised you don't know me, your dad, me, and Jarrell's dad skip church every Sunday and go fishing up at Reel Foot Lake. Michael works for a law firm, and your mother is a teacher at the school Theresa works at."
Druex thought a moment, his dad always talked about the guys he fished with, "Oh, yea, I do remember you! We met the day dad took me and Chez to Lake when I was 6 or 7, and you brought Jayson."
Steve laughed with that memory, now comfortable with the boy his daughter had brought home, "Boy you have grown up! Still wanting to be the next Michael Jordan?"
"No sir, I've grown out of that, now I'm thinking of going to college for a degree in engineering like my father and Chez." Druex replied matter-of-factly, no longer nervous with the situation he was thrown into.
Theresa laughed at the way she said it, "I can see that, and I see you make him feel things, Bug you look at him like I look at your dad, like Carolyn looks at Darrell. You may just very well fall in love with him."
Theresa looked at her daughter who was smiling back her new boyfriend as he spoke with his father, "Bug, baby you know his Mom used to keep you and Belle, Jarrell and Nia."
"Really?" Brittney asked not looking away from Druex as he laughed at something her father said.
"Oh yea, but ya'll were no older than 3 or 4, but anyway I see you really like this boy." Theresa replied turning the last pieces of chicken, she had tried to make a conversation out of the one time favor that Druex's mother had done for her and Carolyn.
Brittney finally looked at her mother blushing, "Yea, I do, he makes me feel things."
Theresa laughed at the way she said it, "I can see that, and I see you make him feel things, Bug you look at him like I look at your dad, like Carolyn looks at Darrell. You may just very well fall in love with him."
