Author: La Toya Hankins

Publisher: JMS Books LLC

Published: 2024-01-06

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1685506445

Like iced tea, love is a perfect blending of the bitter and sweet to have something worth savoring. The women in these six stories ignore religious and racial difference to find someone who serves as the perfect balance. They know and prove flavors that are perfect on their own can come together to create something that requires celebrating. From mixed up place settings at a wedding reception to forgoing an elaborate ceremony for exchanging vows in front of a magistrate after a night of civil disobedience, the women in these stories pursue their passions on their way to wedded bliss, joining in the joy at those crossing that threshold and on the other side of the broom where the savory and the sweet can be so satisfying. Contains the stories: Challah and Callaloo: Leah had no way of knowing the informational interview she had with shapely marketing manager Patricia would lead to their planning a same-sex Southern wedding complete with a rabbi and rum cake seven years later. They come from different faiths but their love knows no bounds and, with the permission of the United States Supreme Court, they plan to make their love legal. Ghosted: Kathleen planned to spend her Halloween doling out candy and reminiscing about an ex-lover. But when a slinky character from her black and white TV-watching past shimmies down her driveway, she realizes the trick of living life after death can be the treat she has been missing. This year’s Halloween proves to be the right occasion to bring Kathleen’s love life back to life. Heat Wave Southport: An encounter at a Fourth of July food truck brings together two elementary school classmates for an afternoon delight that takes eating cotton candy in a totally different direction. Zora and Sarah spent twenty years on opposite side of the state but reconnecting during the Fourth of July inspires them use their town library in a totally different way that doesn’t require a library card. Icing on the Cake: Octavia Banfield has a lot on her plate. Still, she is willing to shed all the hats she wears to put on her baker cap to make her lady lover Audra her favorite cake. The sweetest revenge is to enjoy each other and some sweet adult time together. Red velvet cake may be just a mixture of eggs, butter, and milk, but the icing on the cake is the love two Southern women have for each other. Married to the Struggle: Sedalia and Charlotte meet standing up for what they believe is right. But is their love enough to sustain when Charlotte is arrested for protesting in the early morning hours of their wedding day? Sedalia believes in social justice but will she allow it to prevent her from enjoying her special day? Sometimes She Gets Lucky: Nona Essex had no idea she'd find the woman to ignite the embers of her heart after a break-up at her sorority sister’s wedding reception. But a chance encounter with a lawyer named after a jazz singer and a late night dinner featuring a Southern staple on whole wheat bread inspires her to reconsider opening herself up to the possibilities.