“You’re welcome. Have a seat at the bar. I’ll join you in a moment. Soon as I have caffeine.”
She made herself busy, and I watched her, forgetting her mother was even in the room. Today she wouldn’t get dressed and go to school. No senior-year memories for her. She’d take care of her grandmother and daughter, then do all her schoolwork on a computer. I wanted her to have more than that.
Yet she seemed happy with this.
“Hey, Mommy.” Bryony’s voice broke into my thoughts and Riley spun around to see her daughter standing there with blond curls sticking up all over the place and a pair of purple pajamas with what looked like a pink pig in a red dress and yellow rain boots all over them.
“Good morning, sunshine. Biscuits are in the oven,” she said, bending down to scoop her daughter up and hug her tightly.
She didn’t seem sad or like she was missing out on anything. She seemed complete. Happy. No hate or bitterness. She’d been through hell and she’d come out okay. Settled and balanced. That gave me hope. Not only for me but my mom and Maggie.
Riley had been strong. I wanted her strength.
“I want uney,” she said, slapping her small hands on each side of Riley’s face.
Riley laughed. “I know you want honey.”
“Give me kisses, little princess. I have to go to work. Your biscuits will be ready soon,” Riley’s mother said to Bryony.
Bryony kissed her cheek and patted the other.
“Have a good day, girls. You too, Brady,” she called out, then left the kitchen.
Riley put Bryony in her high chair and placed some raisins on the tray. “I need some coffee. You eat these while we wait on the biscuits,” she told her.
Bryony smiled over at me and handed me a raisin in her little hand.
“Thank you,” I replied, taking it from her. “I like your pajamas.”
She looked down at her clothes. “Peppa,” she informed me.
I wasn’t sure if Peppa was how she said pig or something else, so I just nodded like I understood.
“I wuv muddy pubbles,” she added and grinned at me before smashing some raisins in her mouth.
“The translation to that is Peppa Pig is who is on her pajamas and Peppa says I love muddy puddles often.”
“Geowge,” Bryony blurted out.
“She also says ‘George’ a lot. George is Peppa’s little brother.”
I wasn’t up to date on kids’ television. “I guess Dora the Explorer and Bear in the Big Blue House have retired, then.” Those were the shows I remembered being popular when I was a kid.
“Oh no, Dora is still going strong. Bear has left us, though.”
The oven dinged and Riley went over and took the biscuits out. “Breakfast is ready.”
I enjoyed watching her and Bryony together. Even when Riley’s grandmother came in the room asking about Thomas, the welcoming, happy feeling of this place was one I didn’t want to leave. Or was it that I just didn’t want to leave Riley? Could it be that wherever she was would feel like home?
Go, Lions!
CHAPTER 41
RILEY
A Lawton Lions football game. Not something I ever planned on attending when I moved back here. All day I had been nervous. It wasn’t like I could back out, either. This was for Brady, not me.
If it were for me, I’d be staying here with Bryony watching it on television. Both my parents were so happy I was going, though, it was almost embarrassing. Mom actually offered to take me shopping for something to wear. I assumed jeans and a sweatshirt were just fine. I declined her offer. You would think I was going to prom.
Last night Brady had gone home to sleep. He’d texted me after dinner at his house and said his dad hadn’t come home for it. Which made him even angrier, although it had been a meal he could enjoy with his mom and Maggie.
Maggie had also asked him questions after dinner about what was wrong with him. He’d avoided them and locked himself upstairs after helping his mother clean the kitchen. Tonight wasn’t going to be easy on him.
Bryony was sitting in my mother’s lap watching the six-o’clock news when I walked into the living room.
“You look pretty,” Mom said with a pleased smile.
I had changed shirts three times and decided on a thermal dark blue shirt with my brown leather jacket. I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight, but my leather jacket gave me some sort of odd comfort. Like a shield or something.
“Mommy cuwls,” Bryony said, pointing at my hair.
I had rolled my hair a little with the curling iron. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard, but I liked it when my hair had some curls in it. I touched them, wrapping a strand around my finger.
“Yes, Mommy has curls tonight. Just like Bryony,” I told her, then walked over to kiss her sweet head.
“Thanks for watching her again tonight,” I told my mom.
“We are happy to. She’s not a problem. Besides, seeing you get out like this does me good.”
I had great parents. When life turned on me, they were there holding me up. They were my support system, and without them I wasn’t sure where I’d be.
“I love you,” I told her.
“And I love you. No matter how old you get, you’re always going to be my little girl. You’ll see that one day when this one is a teenager.”
I didn’t want to think about my baby being all grown-up. I loved having her small hand tucked in mine and her body curled up against me at night. I hadn’t thought about how my mother must feel. I did now, though.
“I just hope I’m half as good a mother as you are.”
My mom chuckled. “Oh honey, you are already more than that. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
Bryony held her little arms up to me. “I wuv you,” she said, wanting to join the affection.
I took her from Mom and held her against me. “I love you too.”
She squeezed me tightly with her little arms, then I gave her back to my mother. “You two have fun. I’ll see you later.”
“Go, Lions,” Mom cheered.
I just hoped the Lions could pull this off. Brady was carrying the weight of a secret none of them understood. They were all counting on him to pull them through. The fear that he might fail them wasn’t even in their thoughts. They all trusted he’d be their star quarterback.
I wasn’t worried about the game. I wasn’t worried about the championship. I was worried about Brady. This could be asking too much of him.
*
Parking and walking into the game alone wasn’t as intimidating as I had feared it would be. I’d gotten over a lot since the last time I’d walked on this ground. Brady had changed me, helped me. And I hoped I had done the same for him.
I saw people I recognized, and they saw me. Many took a double take like they couldn’t believe I had the nerve to be here. I saw more than one jaw drop as I paid my ticket and walked inside the gates.