Chapter 23

23

Evenie

“ A re you okay with spending the night?” my mother asked as I packed my small suitcase.

It was Friday, and true to his word, Tyrion wanted to celebrate me getting my job back. He’d requested that Summer and I stay with him this weekend. I had to admit that I was a little nervous. Things felt different between us. Every day this week, he’d met me at my parents’ house to follow me as I took Summer to school.

It warmed my heart that he wanted to make sure that I was settling in okay. I was beginning to feel better about going back out into the world. I’d been finding things to do to keep me busy while Summer was at school. I’d started by breaking the habit of retreating to my closet.

Instead, when I returned from drop-offs, I studied to get myself caught up on the latest trends in the design world. I wanted to be on top of my game when I started working again. My parents allowed me to transform their bedroom as a practice project, and I’d finished yesterday.

Today, I’d treated myself to getting my nails and feet done. My mother had accompanied me, and it felt so good to get back to a mother daughter day. The only thing that could have made it better was if Summer Rose had been there to enjoy it too.

“I’m good, Ma,” I answered.

“How are things?”

“They’re… different. I’m not so angry with Tyrion anymore. Before you ask, it’s not because he and Iona are no longer together.”

She gave me a look. “Sure.”

“Okay, so maybe that has a little something to do with it. Cut me some slack.”

She giggled. “You can keep it real with me. Isn’t that what you kids say?”

“Well, I don’t know what they say these days, but I’m keeping it real. I can’t lie and say it hasn’t been peaceful without that woman’s lingering presence. She just gave me bad vibes, Ma. I don’t care how good she was to Tyrion and Summer. Something about her spirit just doesn’t sit right with me.” I looked back at her. “You’re a good judge of character. What did you think about her?”

She came in and sat on the edge of my bed. “Honestly, I wasn’t around her if it wasn’t for Summer, like holidays and birthdays. It was… it was too much. I love Tyrion, and I wanted him to be happy, but seeing her in the home that belonged to you, living the life I knew he wanted with you… it hurt. I felt like he’d given up on you.”

She swiped a tear from her eye, and it made me put the shirt in my hands down. I sat next to her and rested my head on her shoulder.

“Thank you for not giving up on me, Mama.”

She kissed my forehead. “I could never give up on you. You’re my baby, my only child. A mother knows her child, and I knew in my heart that you hadn’t perished. I could always feel you. So could your father.”

I smiled. “I got lucky to have you two as parents. I know you wanted more kids, but I’m glad I don’t have to share you. I would have bullied your other kids.”

She giggled. “There isn’t a mean bone in your body.”

“I ain’t no killer, but don’t push me.”

“Mommy!” Summer called, running into the room.

Her being here meant her father was here since he picked her up from school. She dove on me and her grandmother, and we pretended to fall back from the impact. That made her laugh.

“What are y’all doing?”

“I was just telling Nana how I was happy she and Paw Paw didn’t have other kids.”

“You didn’t want to be a big sister?”

“Nope. I like having them all to myself.”

“Well, I wanna be a big sister,” Summer said, matter of factly.

My mother and I looked at each other.

“You heard my grandbaby,” she said. “She wants to be a big sister.”

“I want a little brother first,” Summer clarified.

I laughed. “First? How many siblings do you want?”

“Only three.”

“Three!” I exclaimed. “Tyrion!”

A few seconds later, he stuck his head in the door. “What’s up?”

“Please get your daughter. Talking about she wants three siblings.”

He grinned. “I mean, we said we wanted five kids once upon a time. It’s not too late to make that happen.”

“You’re done.” I rolled from under Summer and tossed the last of my clothes into the duffel, not bothering to fold them. Zipping it up, I motioned for Tyrion to take the bag. “I’m ready.”

“Good. Your weekend is waiting.”

He walked over and grabbed the bag. We filed out of the room and headed to the living room. After saying goodbye to my parents, we left the house, got in the car, and got on the road.

Summer was trying her hardest not to tell me about the weekend plans, but said about five times that I was going to love them. As soon as we turned into the neighborhood, she covered my eyes.

“We have a surprise for you,” she said excitedly.

I sat there patiently until I felt the car come to a stop. Tyrion got out and came to open my door. He, too, covered my eyes as he helped me out of the car.

“No peeking,” he said.

“Yeah, no peeking,” Summer chimed in.

I giggled. “Well, I can’t see anything through y’all’s crusty fingers.”

Tyrion poked me with his free hand. “First of all, I have very nice hands, and so does my baby. Second, just go along with it, woman.”

“Okay, okay!”

They led me up the front steps. I heard the door unlock and open before they guided me inside. Once they counted to three, their hands dropped, and I opened my eyes to see Nina, Jaime, and Jersey standing under a big congratulations sign. Balloons were everywhere. There was a spread of food that smelled delicious. They yelled surprise and started blowing whistles. Out of nowhere, I heard a loud pop before confetti rained down on me. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Y’all really didn’t have to do all this,” I said, looking around.

“Um, yes we did,” Nina said, coming over to hug me. “You deserve to be celebrated, babes.”

“I just wanna point out that this was supposed to be just us,” Tyrion said. “Your bestie Deebo’d me into letting them be here and put up decorations.”

Nina kissed her teeth. “I sure did, ’cause how are you gonna celebrate without decorations and me? Whatchu’ thought this was?”

I laughed. “I love you guys. Thank you. This is amazing.”

Tyrion wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my cheek. “We’re proud of you, love. Come on, let me fix you a plate.”

I happily followed him into the kitchen where he fixed me a little of everything available. We sat, ate, talked, and laughed, just like we used to do so long ago. The only difference was the addition of our children. We had to be mindful of the stories we told and the language we used, but I had a great time, nonetheless. Once we finished eating, we migrated into the living room to watch a movie.

The girls had made themselves comfortable on the floor, while Nina curled up in Jaime’s lap. I sat next to Tyrion, gradually inching closer until my head rested on his shoulder, where I stayed the rest of the movie. The itis kicked in toward the end, and I found myself falling asleep.

Nina put an end to that when she put on some music. The six of us were lit in that living room like we were back in our club days during college. I hadn’t danced that much in so long, but I was having the time of my life.

When the smooth sounds of “You” by Jesse Powell came through the speakers, I smiled. My eyes found Tyrion’s, and he, too, was smiling. This was the song that played as I walked down the aisle to him. He found himself in my space reaching for my hand. I didn’t hesitate to give it to him.

He pulled me into the middle of the living room and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into his chest. Together, we slow danced like there was no one else in the room. Our wedding day was one of my fondest memories. It was one of the memories I used to escape to in my head when things became overwhelming in the basement.

“This brings back memories,” Tyrion said, as though he read my thoughts.

“It does.”

“You were so beautiful that day. Watching you walk down the aisle to me is something I can never forget. I’d been dreaming about that moment since I was sixteen years old.”

“You always told me you were going to marry me. You were so sure of yourself.”

“Loving you is something I could never be unsure of.”

I pulled back and looked up at him, pausing in our dance. His eyes and his tone were sincere. If I’d ever questioned his love, those two things always grounded me. One thing about this man, he couldn’t lie. His eyes always told the truth.

I’d been staring at him so long that I didn’t realize the song had gone off until Nina bumped me with her hip.

“You two have all night to make googly eyes at each other. This is supposed to be a party.”

She grabbed my hand and spun me around. Summer took my place, dancing with her father as Jersey danced with Jaime. Just like that, the party was back in motion. I was thankful that our home was in the country; otherwise, our neighbors would be throwing a fit at the volume of the music.

By the time things died down and they left, I was exhausted. Summer Rose went to get ready for bed, and I followed suit. Tyrion had followed me to the guest bedroom to say good night. We weren’t in a space where I would sleep next to him just yet.

“Thank you for this,” I said, looking up at him. “I really enjoyed myself.”

“You don’t have to thank me, love. The smile on your beautiful face is thanks enough.” He reached out and cupped my chin. “I hope you sleep well.”

Leaning in, he kissed my cheek. As he pulled away, our eyes lingered on each other for a moment. I couldn’t help myself. I missed him, I loved him, and I needed to feel some part of him. Cupping his face, I pressed my lips to his. He didn’t hesitate to kiss me back. Before long, our lips and tongues were intertwined in a heavy battle for dominance. His big hands groped and caressed me in ways that made my body quiver.

It wasn’t until Summer’s room door opened and she stepped out did we break free from each other. She stared at us with a grin on her pretty face.

“I was just going to the bathroom,” she said. “Pretend you don’t see me.”

She covered her face in a fit of giggles and sprinted across the hall to the bathroom. Tyrion and I both laughed.

“Good night, love,” he said.

“Good night.”