Chapter 11

11

Tyrion

I sat at a picnic table with Jaime, watching my wife with her family. He’d gotten back from his business trip early and pulled up to the party. I was glad he was here because I needed somebody to ease the awkwardness I was feeling.

“Are you just gonna stare at her all night, bruh?” he asked with a chuckle. “Go ask the woman to dance.”

“I’m on her shit list right now, Jay.”

“I mean…” I threw him a look that caused him to laugh and raise his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying. This is quite the pickle you’ve found yourself in. What does Iona have to say about all this?”

“She thinks I blindsided her. I mean, I get it, but I don’t. I found out my wife was alive the same day she did. There really wasn’t much time to give her a full heads up without having to explain everything.”

He nodded. “I guess I can see that. That isn’t a simple text conversation. Something like that needs to happen face-to-face.”

“Right. Our face-to-face just so happened to be with Evenie.”

“Did she take it hard?”

I sighed. “She cried, man. That shit tore me up.”

I looked out at my wife, breaking it down with her mother, Nina, and Nina’s mom on the dance floor. She was radiant. Hiding my obvious attraction to her was something I wasn’t sure I could do. The last thing I wanted was to disrespect my relationship with Iona, but at the same time, I felt like I’d completely disrespected my marriage.

Still, the urge to be in her presence was overwhelming.

So much time had passed, and I was sure she was a different person due to her experience. I had to get to know her all over again. We had to see each other for Summer, that was a given. But she’d always been my best friend. I missed that.

From my position, I noticed that Evenie went in the house. I took that as my opportunity to talk to her alone and away from listening ears.

“I’ll be back,” I said to Jay.

“Go on, playa.”

I waved him off as I stood from my seat and made my way toward the house. As I passed by Nina, she gave me a look.

“Mm hmm.”

I playfully mushed her head before heading in the back door. Inside the house was quiet, a drastic contrast from the party going on outside. The back entrance led into the kitchen, which was void of Evenie’s presence. As I rounded the corner, I found her sitting in the living room with her head in her hands.

“You okay, love?” I asked.

She jumped. “Jesus! Don’t do that!”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “I’m sorry,” I said, sitting next to her.

She scooted away from me. “To answer your question, I’m fine. I just needed a breather. It’s been so long since I’ve been around so many people. I just need a moment to myself.”

She nervously rubbed her hands up and down her exposed thighs. I couldn’t help but let my eyes drop to them. They were so thick and toned—

“Tyrion,” she said, snapping her fingers in my face.

“Huh?”

“My face is up here.”

“I’m sorry.” I looked straight ahead, swallowing hard. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Didn’t I look like I was enjoying myself?”

I chuckled. “I missed that smart mouth of yours.”

She smirked. “Whatever.”

My gaze dropped, and my eyes landed on the photo album beneath the coffee table. My in-laws believed in capturing moments. This album was full of pictures of Evenie at various points in her life. Once we had Summer, they added her to the album, and it got bigger every year. Reaching down, I pulled it out and placed it on the table in front of us. She instantly slid to the edge of the couch.

“I remember this,” she said, tracing her embroidered name.

She flipped the book open. A smile spread across her lips as she turned each of the pages.

“Damn… Summer looks just like me as a kid.”

“It’s the hair.”

“Look at how tiny I was. It was giving lollipop with that big ass head.”

I chuckled. “You were adorable. You’ve seen my kid pictures. I was all ears.”

She giggled and reached out to rub my ear. “You grew into them.”

“I had to. I got sick of niggas telling me I was gonna fly away like Dumbo.”

She continued flipping through the album, bypassing pictures of her in middle and high school. She stopped when she came to the picture of us from our first date.

“We looked so innocent,” she said softly.

“I was innocent.”

“And I wasn’t?”

“Did your Daddy know you were trying to touch me? I distinctly remember me trying to drive and you had your hand on my thigh.”

“I distinctly remember you inching my hand higher. Don’t play me like I was some fast ass little girl.”

I laughed. “Okay, so we were both being fast.”

She rolled her eyes as she flipped through the book. There were pictures of us at prom and high school and college graduation. There was a whole section with us renovating our home.

“We had so much fun,” she said, picking the album up and placing it on her lap. “Your grandfather was so proud of the finished result.”

I smiled. “He was. “He said he couldn’t have done a better job himself.”

“I wished he could have lived to see Summer grow up in it.”

“That man would have spoiled her rotten. His first great grandbaby? She would have gotten anything she wanted out of him. You see the way he was with you. Low-key, I think you were the main reason he gave us the house.”

My pops loved him some Evenie. From the very first time he met her, he said there was something special about her. She reminded him of a younger version of my grandmother, and that man loved her something serious.

“I can’t help it if I was the favorite grandchild,” Evenie teased.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

She kept flipping through the pages until she got to Summer Rose’s section. Tears immediately filled her eyes as she looked through every photo. I gently stroked her back in an attempt to comfort her as they began to fall.

“I really missed my baby’s entire life,” she said, sniffling. “Look at this… crawling, walking, solid foods, her first tooth… I’ve missed everything, Tyrion. I don’t know my child at all.”

She burst into tears, and that shit made me want to cry my damn self. I pulled the album away and placed it on the table before pulling her into my arms and holding her tightly.

“I know it hurts, love,” I said softly. “But you have all the time in the world to get to know her now. You’re here, and she’s here. I know it isn’t fair, but this is what we have right now. We’ll make the most of it. She already loves you so much. That’s what matters the most.”

She pulled away and looked up at me. “This wasn’t supposed to be our life. We were supposed to be three kids in by now with a fat little fur baby chasing them around the house. We were supposed to take family vacations and have big holiday celebrations together… We were supposed to be happy. Now it’s ruined. That man ruined my life, and you ruined me coming home by getting a fucking fiancée!”

She shoved me away and sprinted from the couch.

“Evenie!” I called, following her down the hall.

“Get away from me, Tyrion!”

“Baby—”

She spun around and shoved me again. “I would have waited for you! And I know that’s not fair to ask or expect, but I would have waited because I loved you. I’ve only ever loved you. My heart wouldn’t have let me move on until I knew for certain that I would never see you again. It hurts…” She pointed at her chest with tears streaming down her face. “It hurts so fucking bad, and I know I don’t have the right to be upset, but I am. You promised your heart to another woman, and there is nothing I can do to ease that pain.”

I stood there, staring at her. I didn’t have the words to make her feel better. Anything I said at this point would have made things worse or set expectations that I couldn’t deliver.

“I’m sorry…” was all I could muster.

“Yeah,” she said, nodding. “Me too.”

She backed away from me and went into the bathroom down the hall. I could hear her crying. Everything in me just wanted to hold her until her tears subsided. Instead, I retreated back down the hall and outside. Of course, all eyes were on me as I stepped outside. The music was still going, but most every eye was trained on me.

I felt a heavy sense of embarrassment. With my head hung, I shuffled through the crowd and made my way out the back gate, feeling like shit.