Always wanting to stay prepared and be the best at anything he does, the first person Duc wants to tell about his new venture is Jamie. She is the only person he knows currently in a position to advise him on exactly how to manage being a manager. They have a long conversation about what he should expect to encounter, how he has to be an advocate for Riley, and of course how proud she is of her brother and is always available to help. The second person he wants to call is Jairus. He is first to cross his mind because he’s on his way to New York for the summer, where Jaime lives, and because they have the most catching up to do since he left school. He knows it is a longshot to reach Jairus in D.C. that Sunday evening but luckily for him when he calls Jairus’ mother he finds out that Jairus has a cell phone since he is going to be away all summer. Duc figures since he knows he is about to make some money he can afford it now. He is glad this is the case because he always likes to run some of his moves past Jairus. Subconsciously they all tend to use him as the moral compass of the group even though it can lead to him being a bit judgmental at times. They know he’s always trying to look out for everyone’s best interest and that is something Duc definitely appreciates even if he is the most likely of the group to not listen to his advice.
When they finally talk Jairus is excited for Duc and all the opportunities he seems to be getting. Just a few months ago he was worried Duc wasn’t focused and was losing track of his goals. Now it sounds like he is making all the right decisions all along. He does warn Duc that saying he has to be professional with Riley and actually doing it will be easier said than done and that he needs to stay strong. He knows Duc really likes her, even if Duc never acts like he likes anyone. They then go into how things have been going for Jairus. While he is home for those couple of weeks Jairus really tries to make his time with family quality time. Especially with Russell since he graduated high school the week before and is in celebration mode. He also wants to spend time with Tammy’s son Marlon who he feels is growing up without knowing him. And of course, his mother and sister are a priority since he won’t be home with them for the rest of the summer. Everyone is doing well although Russell is struggling with his next decision since he isn’t planning to go to college. At least not a traditional college or university. Although he is going to miss being at home with his family, Jairus is also excited to tell Duc about the set up they have for the internship. More specifically the downtown Manhattan apartments they have for the interns. Not the greatest view or the largest apartment but it is the first place Jairus has ever felt like is his own and it is in a great location in the city not far from some of the famous landmarks he’s heard about. He also brings up the fact that Lisa chose to stay at the free intern housing this year to be closer to him, which is just as important as anything he might see in Times Square. And those are just the perks that come from being in New York. The job experience he is going to gain makes him feel more secure in getting a job after graduation. This is also going to be the highest paying job he has ever had in his life paying him a $23.50 per hour salary.
They continue talking for nearly an hour, filling each other in on what they have missed and discussing what plans they have for the upcoming summer months, if all goes well. Duc speaks of his plans to soak up the promotion knowledge from Malik and music business knowledge from Jamie and make it all work for Riley and him. Jairus talks about all the things he will see in New York, all the time he’ll get to spend with Lisa, and finally having some money. Eventually Jairus asks about Mike since he hasn’t really talked to him either and he knows he is going to be starting his internship that same week. Ovaughn has called them both already and probably is the best of the group at keeping in contact. Duc expects to hear from Mike once he gets settled in Baton Rouge and promises to get his new phone number to Jairus as soon as he has it. ***
Mike has already been in Baton Rouge for a few days at this point as the company he is working for brought their interns in early to let them get acclimated with Baton Rouge. That Saturday they have a social event for the 30 expected interns to help them get comfortable with the area and network with each other. With it being one of the largest oil companies in the world they have a lot of perks that come along with the internship beyond just providing intern housing. The presentation they give the interns at the opening social event outlines the benefits of building a career with the company, all that Baton Rouge has to offer, and all the planned events they have coming for them over the next couple of months. This includes where each of them shall be reporting on Monday to start work. That Sunday Mike wakes up early and finishes unpacking the last of his stuff, goes to the store to pick up some necessities, and then spends the entire afternoon venturing around downtown Baton Rouge so that he can get familiar with the area. This is Mike’s first time staying anywhere but Atlanta for more than a week-long trip and the first time he’d gone anywhere alone. He is a bit anxious about being in a foreign city alone. The thought of it just doesn’t feel safe to him, but it isn’t the fear of the type of dangers he can face in Atlanta that bothers him most. It is the thought of being confronted by racism that sticks in the back of his mind.
That Sunday night after trying to figure out his new surroundings during the day Mike feels lonely and begins to become nervous about starting his job and he just wants to talk to a comforting and familiar voice. So, he calls his mom. Like most great mothers, Brenda has a way of knowing exactly what to say to him to build him up and prepare him for the journey ahead. Her words are encouraging and uplifting as she tries to reassure him. "Baby, the things you have managed at a young age will make any upcoming challenge seem minor in comparison. I always tell you; you are unlike anyone else I’ve ever known. You have always been good at everything you set your mind on doing.” She has no concern with his decision making or his ability to be successful at his new job and there is no reason for him to have any doubts as well. And she laughs at him being weary about Baton Rouge when he was born and raised in the much tougher Atlanta. They talk for so long that by the time they get off the phone it is too late for him to call anyone else and get to bed at a decent hour to have enough sleep before his first day.
That Monday is the first day of the internships for both Jairus and Mike. But their experiences couldn’t be more different. Besides them being in different fields they are in totally different situations even though it seems similar on the surface. First real internships, both in a city away from home, both with pretty big companies, both with high hopes for what they will gain from the work experience, and both making the best salary they’d ever made at any job before. That’s where the similarities end. Jairus has a tour guide for his journey. Lisa has already been with his company for an internship the previous year and has experienced all the new things that he is experiencing during that first week. She is there from the moment he leaves his apartment to guide him through everything and answer any concerns he may have about the job and the city. Jairus also works in a New York environment that is just as diverse as the city is with every race, creed, and color represented within the company. His situation is tailor made for him to find ways to succeed. He hasn’t even concerned himself with the thought of failure. There is no fear of the unknown because he is fully informed thanks to Lisa. They travel together, work together, and basically live together.
On the other hand, Mike is having to figure out everything on his own. Mike wakes up bright and early on his first day. The interns all begin to arrive at the office prior to the recommended start time and just as he noticed at the open networking event there doesn’t seem to be a ton of diversity in the group brought in by the company. And it mirrors what is already present in that office as well. It makes the few other black people stand out amongst the crowd for Mike. It makes him feel like all the non-black people in the company, intern or not, are looking to him to represent black people as a whole and not just himself. He tries to acknowledge the five or six other black interns scattered amongst the crowd by making eye contact and fiving head nods but as they start, they break out into much smaller teams. They all seem to be headed in different directions. About five minutes into the introduction of what they will be doing, a woman comes into the conference room and interrupts asking if Mike Haskins is there, to his surprise. Apparently, Mike’s work assignment has been mixed up and he is with the wrong group. They tell the older white gentleman leading the group where he is really supposed to be, and he does a double take giving Mike a surprised look. This unnerves Mike. He doesn’t want to stand out amongst the crowd, and he has no idea why he is being called out. And what is the look of surprise about. As they are walking to the next group Mike will be reporting to, he is informed that he is lucky to be moving over to the next group and it will be a good opportunity for him, but she doesn’t explain exactly why before they arrive at the new conference room. As they walked in, she says to the younger and more energetic man leading this group, “as you requested, here is Mike Haskins.” He thanks her and welcomes Mike to the alpha group where he belongs. The first thing he notices is the use of alpha to describe the group. He went from wanting to fly under the radar to being in a group with a spotlight on them. The second thing he notices is that there is another black face in the group. He’d live with it if he just has one person to relate to through all this.
As the group lead begins to explain, Mike learns he is now in the group with the top five intern candidates, and this is the group that the company has the highest expectations and highest hopes of growing with the company in the future. This will be the one group that will have the opportunity to try working in all aspects of the business to determine the areas that interest them most and where they will excel. Where the other candidates are placed in work areas based on the leaders who wanted to bring them in, this group will get to see it all and be led by one of the up and comers in the company. They will get to experience how the company’s best and brightest manage tasks in the office and the field, how to conduct market research, the ins and outs of cost account management, conducting client management, and developing partnerships to grow the organization. Mike feels honored to be considered one of the best of the interns but is a bit overwhelmed by everything being placed on him unexpectedly. He keeps looking around the conference table trying to glance at the black female candidate just trying to find a companion to relate with during the meeting, but she is just staring at the lead like a deer in headlights. It let him know he isn’t the only one in shock. Eventually the team lead, Stoney, gets everyone to introduce themselves naturally starting with Mike since he has already been introduced, and he discovers that the black girl’s name is Cecilia James. She is a quiet girl from Houston, Texas, who has a strong Texas accent. Mike automatically wonders if she is shy because she doesn’t seem very talkative but when it’s her turn to do her introduction the way she carries herself says otherwise. Her body language is quite confident as she stands up and says, “Hello everyone. I’m Cecilia. Pronounced Suh-Silly-Uh. I just finished my freshman year of college, and this is my first internship, but I came ready for business.” Mike thinks that her confidence is impressive and notices that she is above average height for a woman standing over 5 foot 6 inches tall. She somehow still looks like a plain jane even though she’s dressed to impress in a loose-fitting women’s power business suit, hair pulled back in a bun, and horn-rimmed glasses that gave her the intelligent librarian look. She’s a slender young woman whose physical features don’t really stand out to him although she is cute. She finishes her introduction, and it is the one time that day she acknowledges him directly with a slight head nod. The rest of the group completes intros, and they begin to go over where they will start working and some of the tasks expected of them in the first business group they will work under. It is a lot of information in a very short time. Mike quickly realizes he will have to process on the fly and rely on those with knowledge as resources if he is going to be successful at such a fast pace.
As the day progresses Mike’s team gets more comfortable with each other and decides to go out to eat dinner together. They are quickly learning about each other and discover some of them have been interns with the company before and know others outside of their group, so word begins to spread with the other interns about the dinner outing and it grows in size. Mike also discovers that Cecilia and him being in this group makes them stand out even more than the other black interns that were brought in by the company that summer.
When they finally meet at the restaurant about an hour after everyone gets off work, there are 19 of the 30 interns in attendance including the other four black interns Mike noticed at the weekend orientation event. With a lot of the interns already being 21, they start at the bar area and end up staying there occupying the open tabletops all around the bar allowing the large group to mingle. Mike and Cecilia end up sitting at the table with a couple of others from their intern group at work and at the start of the night he notices two things. One is that Cecilia is more talkative with him after work than during work. Although she still doesn’t have a ton to say and barely says anything to anyone else, she hasn’t met at work earlier. The second thing is that the four other black interns are not nearly as reserved as Cecilia is and they make their way over to them early in the evening. Eventually all four of them make their way over to the table to meet them but the first thing they start talking about is Mike and Cecilia being in the special group. They are complimentary but also seem a bit too interested, as if it is unbelievable with comments like “both of y'all are in that advanced group?” and “Do you know what the criteria was to get in that group?” Mike tries to ignore this initial line of questioning and asks, “So where is y'all from?” The four other minority interns all go down the line introducing themselves. “I’m Kevin. I’m from the Chi.” he says with a big deep voice and a physical form just as large. “I’m from Norfolk, Virginia. Tomorrow y'all need to see if they are supposed to have James in that group because I have a 4.0 this year. I know I should be in there.” He is very short and clearly feels the need to overcompensate., He’s followed by the only other female who is also Hispanic, “Maria from Pasadena” a part of Texas not far from Houston. And finally, “I’m Anthony from the N.O., baby.” They all notice that he is the oldest of the six of them and the most laid back of the group. They congregate for a while and then make sure to continue to mingle with the other interns they have met that day. A few of which are pretty cool people to them. In such a lopsided environment the six of them relate to each other on a different level than the other interns. Even if they think that isn’t what they are there for.
When Mike gets home that evening it is late for him to have to be up early the next morning and even later on the east coast to try to call his friends. So instead of calling his friends that evening he prepares for work the next day by showering, ironing his clothes, and setting his alarm then shuts it down. He is still trying to make the best impression and feels like he needs to be sharp because there is still a lot to learn on day two. Although he tries to ignore it, the pressure of being a part of the top group of interns is on his mind. He never thought of himself as the best and brightest; he is just a hard worker. He was embarrassed every time someone brought it up that evening because he doesn’t think he is any different than anyone else. And the next day those same comments continue as he begins to run into more familiar faces at work. Especially with Maria and James, who seem to be a bit fixated on it for different reasons. Part of it being impressed and part jealousy. He hopes the attention will be short lived. He doesn’t realize it yet, but it is going to last for a couple of weeks.
Mike gets around to calling his boys by the weekend. He starts by calling Duc even though he is the one he’d seen the most recently. He’s also the one he’s accustomed to talking to the most often. Although Mike was still in Atlanta for most of what happened with Malik coming into Jazzy Belles to start helping with the promotion, he is not aware that Duc is now Riley’s manager. Duc can’t wait to tell him all about how it all unfolded. And he is frustrated to hear Mike immediately advise him to not sleep with her.
“Nigga, you sound like J! I know what to do. I have self-control. Y’all act like I can’t control myself.”
Mike laughs. “Have you told Ovaughn yet? Tell me what he says when you tell him?”
Duc thinks to himself, “Am I really that bad that they have no faith in me?” But he also knows that Ovaughn has a knack for telling the outright truth about things even if it can be inappropriate timing and in the back of his mind already knows what he will say even though he is lying to himself hoping they are wrong. So instead of continuing to entertain the judgement he changes the subject to how Mike’s internship is going. He tells Duc about the first day and how shocked he was to learn about his placement in the advanced group. Duc is surprised at why Mike is surprised and begins to run off a laundry list of reasons why he should be in that group including being one of the most focused students he knows, his ability to multitask things that come his way not letting one thing affect the others, and not to mention his 4.0 GPA amongst other things. Mike is so uncomfortable with all the praise it makes his skin crawl, and he would do anything to get the discussion off it. When Duc asks how Cecilia and Maria look. Mike immediately starts making jokes about him having no chance to stay away from Riley. Duc, already tired of that topic, decides it’s time to get off the phone and Mike laughs hysterically at him but he did make sure to give him the new cell phone number for Jairus before they get off.
Now that Mike has a contact number for Jairus he wastes no time in calling him. He is the one in their friend group that he hasn’t talked to in the longest amount of time. He is also the one that is going through the same new experience in his college career, so they have a lot to catch up on. Happy to hear from Mike, Jairus automatically goes into how things are going with him and his internship, comparing their experiences starting with the intern housing. They see quickly that it is totally different for the two of them. Jairus has an apartment in Manhattan. Mike has what feels like a dorm room in housing with common areas like a hotel. On the other side Jairus doesn’t have all the perks at his job that Mike has like an on-site cafeteria, gym, and things like pool tables and swimming pools at the housing location. The one thing Jairus has that there is no comparison for is Lisa being right there to help him get acclimated to the job and the city. She even comes into the apartment while they are on the phone. When she comes in, Mike can hear her in the background with her strong New York ask, “Is that your mom’s again?” Mike pauses briefly and asks what that is about and Jairus tells him how she has started to joke with him about being a momma’s boy because he has been talking to his mom almost every day since he has been in New York. Jairus and Lisa quickly exchanged keys that first week once they realized they end up together every night at one apartment or the other. They are learning a lot more about each other than they ever truly did living in the dorms across campus from one another. This weekend is going to be another one of those things Jairus will be learning about Lisa because she is showing up that day to take him to meet some of her friends from high school and to hang out in the city. But he still has plenty of time to talk to Mike. They speak about every detail of their new jobs from the types of tasks they had thus far to the types of coworkers they have to deal with. Mike is learning everything on the fly while Jairus has Lisa constantly checking on him and advising him how to navigate things in ways that took her a month to figure out the previous year. Mike’s internship is already starting to challenge him by the end of week one while Jairus still feels like he is only doing busy work up until this point. Jairus also talks about the fact that he is hoping to eventually meet Lisa’s family in the upcoming weeks and get some home cooked food for a change. It may have to be Caribbean food since her mother is Dominican but still home cooked food, nonetheless. Mike is jealous of the benefits Jairus has from having Lisa there with him during this experience. He feels so lonely not having that type of companionship in Baton Rouge. Even in just the first weekend meeting all those new people he still finds himself home sick.
Jairus, on the other hand, has no time to be home sick. Lisa is super excited to be back in her home city and wants to show him everything while he is there. At least that is the excuse she gives for dragging him all over Manhattan, Harlem, and the Bronx. As the weeks progress Lisa finds new restaurants for Jairus to go to or people to hang out with on an almost nightly basis. And the weekends are all about the best parties going on. Jairus, being a homebody, is becoming exhausted with all the running around and hoping that eventually it will slow down once she is used to being back in New York. Once she notices, it becomes another thing Lisa jokes with him about affectionately calling him “my old man” at times but also using those jokes to coerce him to continue going out to party with her and her friends. At times Jairus is amazed at how Lisa can hang out until midnight on a Tuesday and show no signs of fatigue the next day at work while he is now starting to consider getting stock in Mountain Dew. To him it is astonishing but to her it is just how New Yorkers operate when they are in the ‘night life’ and she always assumes it will be the way she operates once she starts her career in New York. As much as Jairus fights it, he enjoys the fast life of running around the Big Apple with Lisa and she is invigorated by being back in New York. As the summer progresses, they basically begin to live together, and they get more comfortable with each other. So much so, that they become less cautious and more careless. That combination along with a few drinks leads them going from a slip up of unprotected sex in a moment of passion one night, to a regular practice of unprotected sex once nothing adverse happens as a result. As far as they see it, they have been together for nearly a year, and they trust each other so there is nothing to worry about as long as they are smart about it.
After they break that barrier, they feel even closer due to the added physical connection. Lisa wants him to meet her family at this point, so they plan for Jairus to finally meet her mother and sisters that 4th of July weekend. Jairus wants to meet Lisa’s family but isn’t sure what to expect so he begins to get nervous the closer they get to the meeting and the more he thinks about it. He really wants to get his thoughts off his chest hoping it will calm him down, so he won’t get around all these women and embarrass himself or Lisa. Mike is normally good at seeing all sides of something but that will only make him more in his head about the situation. Duc tends to have a blind faith approach with his friends to hype them up, but he can be so pessimistic about relationships that it is risky not knowing which version he will get. To calm himself down he makes sure to call Ovaughn, being the only one of his friends who recently met his girlfriend's parents, and most likely to just let him vent while he listens. He knows Ovaughn will relate completely and hopes he will put him at ease when he asks him about his own experience meeting Kennedy’s family.
Ovaughn has been back in North Carolina with Kennedy since mid-May and met her family pretty quickly after they got back home for the summer. Although they haven't broken the threshold Jairus and Lisa have he can understand the comfort of always being around your girlfriend because he too has all the freedom in the world with his parents in New Orleans and his brother, Omar, being very lenient on his restrictions. He and Kennedy have been at it like rabbits for over a month now and you can’t tell either of them they aren’t going to be together forever. Unfortunately, their circumstances are about to separate them. So, as Ovaughn could tell Jairus all about how he handled meeting Kennedy’s family, having to charm her mom and earn her father’s respect, he is preparing to leave Kennedy and her family to head to New Orleans, early that week before the holiday. Ovaughn envies Jairus’ position because he knows he is going to miss Kennedy after so much constant time together. But he can’t wait to hear how it goes.
As Ovaughn flies to New Orleans at the beginning of the week to spend time with his parents for the summer he anticipates that call as much as the big weekend he has ahead of him. A weekend that not only includes his first time in New Orleans, but it includes seeing one of his best friends as well. With Ovaughn coming to New Orleans over a long holiday weekend his parents told him to invite Mike down from Baton Rouge for the weekend since he isn’t going to fly home to Atlanta and has nothing else to do. Mike is more than happy to be around some familiar people who he feels close with for a change. He has been growing closer with some of his coworkers and is cool with Anthony so when he finds out he is heading home to New Orleans for the weekend he asks him if he can ride with him. Anthony is more than willing to give him a ride. Especially since it will mean he won’t be alone for the hour and a half ride after he gets off work that Thursday evening. Mike and Anthony both have similarly calm personalities, so they find it easy to spark a real conversation on the car ride, mostly talking about the similarities and differences between New Orleans and Atlanta and how they grew up. When they finally arrive in the city Anthony drops Mike off at the Stover residence and coordinates the time he will pick him back up to head back to Baton Rouge before heading on to see his own family and friends.
Ovaughn is elated to see his friend and his parents receive Mike with open arms. He puts his stuff away in the guest room and then is welcomed with the first home cooked meal that isn’t something he quickly threw together in a month. Ovaughn’s parents, Oscar Sr. and Omelia, sit with them as he eats and just check on how he has been doing. “Sweetie, how has everything been going so far this summer? Are you doing okay being alone in Baton Rouge. I hope your not lonely.” Omelia says as she touches his arm as a sign of concern and comfort. “Actually, it’s been pretty good. I’ve met some cool folks and we all hang out. That was one of them that dropped me off.” Mike replies. “You’re a responsible, independent young man. We know you will be fine this summer. But always know my wife and I are here for you if you need anything. Consider us the closest family you have out here and don’t hesitate to call us if you need anything.” Oscar says. He responds to Oscar by shaking his head in acknowledgement. He can feel that they truly care. It is the same care and love they know his mother has shown their son in Atlanta every time they go to Mike’s house for Sunday dinners or to get off campus. It is the first time in a month that he feels at home, even though it isn’t his home. He no longer feels as alone in Louisiana as he had before that evening. It means everything to him at the time.
As the weekend progresses one of the things Mike keeps noticing is that Ovaughn’s mother keeps trying to feed him. Ovaughn tells him that she is used to having athletes in the house, so she expects them to always be hungry. Oscar also points out that Mike has started to get his “grown man weight” since the last time he saw him. Ovaughn is embarrassed by his parents, but it makes Mike kinda happy because he has been spending a lot of time after work in the gym working out with Kevin who is trying to get back in shape. Kevin was a high school football player but hasn’t done much to stay in shape since then and is taking advantage of the free time and on-site gym at work. Mike always wanted to be more muscular, so he jumped at the opportunity to work out with Kevin and even Ovaughn admits he noticed he is getting bigger. Mike can’t see it himself, so he is happy to hear it. Ovaughn also notices that Mike seems to be getting better at basketball too as they play over the weekend. Another thing Mike is now doing regularly to occupy his free time in Baton Rouge. Mike tells him all about the people he is hanging out with and how he is trying to spend his time outside of work. Ovaughn decides that since he will be in Louisiana for a while, he is going to make the drive to see Mike when he can, so he can come check out what Baton Rouge has to offer. Beyond that the guys basically tour New Orleans over the weekend with Oscar and even get a chance to see some of the team facilities he works at. But the thing they both now anticipate is the expected phone call from Jairus early on Sunday to let them know how it went meeting Lisa’s family.
That Saturday is the day Lisa’s family will be having their 4th of July get together. Jairus wakes up that day trying to remain calm but can’t help but be anxious about meeting Lisa’s mother, Sandra, who she always talks about being no nonsense and very direct. Not to mention her sisters Lauren and Leslie who she describes as nosey and protective of their older sister. They get up that day like any other weekend day and go have breakfast at a local spot near the apartment that has a few breakfast options that they do excellently. It is their hidden treasure that they frequent as much as possible. When they get back to the apartment they begin to get dressed and ready to spend most of the day at Lisa’s family home. Although Jairus is silent about it, the pressure is mounting but he cannot figure out why it is weighing on him so much.
They arrive just before lunchtime to help cook and set up before everyone else arrives. Jairus is immediately bombarded by her mother and both sisters standing at the front door and just as Lisa mentioned, her mother is direct, pushing away his attempt to extend his hand and saying, “you better act like you wanna meet me, boy” before giving him a big hug. He is pleasantly surprised by the hug and embarrassed he tried to shake her hand. She tells him to come in and make himself at home and introduces both of Lisa’s sisters. Then she brings him in the kitchen to put him to work with her and Lauren, promptly sends Lisa and Leslie to another part of the house to do something else. She is reluctant to go but she can only push back on her mother so much. She quickly tells Lauren to make sure Sandra doesn’t get carried away. Once Lisa is gone and they are in the clear it is Lauren who starts in on Jairus.
“So, are you the one that be fighting on campus over girls or was that the dude before you?” Jairus turns his head wide eyed and in shock in disbelief that not only did Lauren know about that, but she said it in front of their mother.
“Weeeeelllllll,” he starts slowly. “I don’t fight for anyone. Just for Lisa.” He immediately hopes he doesn’t say the wrong thing, but they are far from done.
“So, are you up here shackin’ with my daughter?” This time Jairus is smart enough to keep his shocked look to himself. His answer is no, insistent about the fact that they both have their own apartments even though he omits the part about them rarely using both on any given night. For the next twenty to twenty-five minutes, there is more of the same as they take turns grilling him on everything asking questions like “So are you a momma’s boy? You might be too old to still be that close with your mom.” and “Where do you hope to live when you graduate? I hope you don’t want to take Lisa away from New York again.” He is shocked at how much they already know and realizes that Lisa clearly talks to her family about everything based on the conversation. When Lisa finally does come back with Leslie, she immediately asks Jairus what they have been saying and even came to his defense a couple of times. It only makes her mother start to joke on him saying ”Jairus, I know you don’t need her to protect you from three small women, do you?” They get a kick out of messing with Jairus, even Leslie, who is just about to be a freshman in high school and so young he hoped she would take it easy on him.
Even though he is the butt of the joke he is able to laugh at himself some and reacts positively after Lisa starts becoming awkward about some of the comments. He feels better trying to make her feel fine about it and shows Sandra what he is made of in the process. Fortunately for him it is only a couple of hours before people start showing up and there is even a somewhat familiar face there with Lisa’s cousin Tina showing up. She instantly remembers him from their first encounter. “Well, I never thought I’d see you here!”
The rest of the day goes smoothly with family and friends arriving to eat, talk, and play card games throughout the day. Lisa’s father, Fred, who is separated from Sandra, even shows up to meet Jairus after finding out he will be there. “You don’t look familiar at all. You must be the boy that’s friends with my daughter. What‘s your name boy?”
“Umm...Jairus” he replies anxiously, realizing who he’s now speaking with.
“You nervous about something? Look I’m not gonna grill you. I know all those women have already done that enough today. Don’t worry about them though. Just treat my daughter right and we good. She’s tough though. You may wanna be careful. Now come on over to this card table with me so I can learn something about you.”
Fred doesn’t leave his side most of the time he is there. He just wants to get a feel for the type of guy his daughter is dealing with and apparently nothing gives him a red flag because he seems totally cool with Jairus. As the get-together is winding down Lisa and Jairus decide to head out after cleaning up a few things. All the ladies give Jairus a big hug as they leave but Sandra gives him a homework assignment for the next time she sees him.
“You need to tell me what your five-year plan is for you and my daughter the next time I see you? And I hope it aligns with what my daughter wants in life or we might have another tough discussion.” Sandra gets a kick out of herself, laughing at her own comment. However, Lisa let Jairus know, as they travel back home for the night, that Sandra is completely serious about wanting an answer the next time she sees him.
The next day, just as planned, Jairus makes sure to call Ovaughn to update him on how meeting Lisa’s family went. He is pleasantly surprised to find out Mike is there and quickly updates them both on every detail about the day before. Ovaughn is in shock that her family was so forward with Jairus and says that he would have no idea how to handle that properly if it were him. Mike doesn’t seem surprised at all that Lisa’s family would be just as brash and direct as she is. Just as he isn’t surprised to hear that Kennedy’s family was warm and supportive as they compare their stories about meeting them for the first time. Both families seem to reflect a part of each girl's personality.
The conversation then turns to Mike and if he has been dating anyone for the last month that he’s been in Baton Rouge. A topic that he sees coming but is hoping to avoid. He has spent his time in Baton Rouge doing just the opposite by trying to focus on his internship and getting in better shape. He wants to avoid the women at work at all costs because he doesn’t want anything messy to occur. And although he hangs out with the other interns, he never parties too much because he doesn’t want to mess up at work. This weekend in New Orleans is the most he has let go and really had fun since he has been in Louisiana. But that’s not what he is going to say to his friends. He worries too much about looking sad and alone in comparison. He tells them about the girls that hang out in their group at work. He tells them how attractive Maria is, but she seems just as interested in going out at night as she is in doing good on the internship. He also tells them about Cecilia and how she is probably the person he is coolest with, but he doesn’t really find her attractive. She is way too plain and skinny for him. He downplays them so much that his friends still end up urging him to holla at more women. For them, they don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t have plenty of women wanting to date him. No matter the excuse he gives them for why he isn’t dating they seem to have a rebuttal. Even reminding him that there is a HBCU in Baton Rouge with women in summer school if he is looking for people his own age to meet. At this point he just wants to change the subject. He’s already frustrated enough with his recent love life and doesn’t need any more reminders of how sad it is.
Eventually they move on to catching up on recent events in their lives and then the conversation ends because Jairus has to call Duc and have this same discussion about meeting Lisa’s family. Mike also has to pack up his bag to make sure he will be ready to go when Anthony arrives to pick him up that afternoon. Ovaughn wants to run out and grab food for lunch at a spot they discovered one last time before Mike leaves. They hang out a while longer and make plans for Ovaughn to come to Baton Rouge in a couple of weeks before Anthony shows up at the house to pick Mike up. This time the conversation on the ride back is all about Mike’s time in New Orleans and what he and his friend need to make sure they see before they head back to Atlanta at the end of the summer.
As the summer continues the fellas continue to successfully navigate through their new journeys. Ovaughn is growing more and more comfortable with New Orleans. The fact that he can drive an hour and a half to see one of his best friends also helps. Especially when he is missing Kennedy. So, he starts going to Baton Rouge every other weekend. Meanwhile, Jairus is figuring out how to excel at his internship although he is over going out almost every night of the week. He gets to the point where he is fine with Lisa going out with her friends or coworkers without him. She tries to pressure him with petty comments like “At least I know I don’t have to worry about you being out getting into trouble” or “You just letting me go out alone looking this good?” But even those get old and lose effect on him after a while. He just isn’t as much of a party person as Lisa is, but he is fine with it. Mike is having similar success at his internship, getting very comfortable with having to change work functions every few weeks to experience everything. He finds joy in the journey and he and Cecilia grow into friends, working close together and keeping each other afloat when things get tough. They also have a lot of similar interests with Cecilia really being into sports. She is essentially the best friend Mike has in Baton Rouge to the point that he even calls her by the nickname Silly now because of her constantly having to pronounce her name to people saying “Suh-Silly-Uh”. He picks up on that quickly and runs with it even though she won’t let anyone else call her by that nickname except Maria. She gets a pass because she is from very close to Cecilia’s hometown which helps them bond. Mike finds himself regularly eating meals with just the two ladies when they aren’t trying to go out in large groups. He always seems to relate more with how they operate, always trying to prove themselves against their male counterparts.
Back in Atlanta, Duc has been learning a lot about what it takes to promote the Atlanta nightlife as well as trying to find paying jobs for Riley and the band. After all his friends warned him about how tough it would be to stay away from Riley he really took it to heart and has been successful in not mixing business with pleasure. He still takes the lead on open mic nights at Jazzy Belles but instead of Malik he now works more closely with Samantha on most Jazzy Belles events. Malik also has him out with them regularly on the weekends and is beginning to listen to his opinion more for fresh and new ideas. He now realizes that Samantha was less an assistant and more someone trying to learn the promotion game herself. He feels stupid ever thinking less of her as he gets to see how much she brings to the table. He just never took her as someone who would promote in the environments, they work in based on her looks. She had a very racially ambiguous look to her being multicultural. And he had plenty of misconceptions about her that he realized were wrong the more he worked alongside her.
One night towards the end of July, Duc and Samantha are closing everything at Jazzy Belles with the shift manager that night. And as they typically had done at this point, they are going to deliver the nightly deposit to the bank on the far side of the shopping center where the lounge is located. They always go with two people to be safer and Angie trusts Duc as much as any other employee who would carry out this task at this point. Only tonight is different. Duc and Samantha drove down to the bank parking lot, and both got out of the car to walk up to the bank as typically done. Only they are in deep discussion and do not notice the car sitting at the drive-thru ATM isn’t using it. As they approach the outside drop box of the bank, someone almost seems to pop up out of thin air from the back side of the bank wearing a ski mask in the middle of the summer.
“You know what it is!”
