Oh, sweet Jesus.
I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and tugged her into me for a long hug. Angie returned my hug and I narrowed my eyes on Lily. “You set that up, didn’t you?”
Lily laughed. “I swear I didn’t!”
In Nox’s arms was a tiny girl with red cheeks, sucking her thumb in the sweetest little dress I had ever seen. She was the spitting image of Lily. Thick ginger hair and green eyes. She also looked like she did not want to leave the safety of her daddy’s arms, and looking at Nox, I could see why. He was a tank of a man.
Nox kissed the little angel’s head. “This is Mia.” He sighed. “She missed her nap and now we’re all paying for it.”
Lily rolled her eyes at her husband’s dramatics. “I give her ten minutes before she passes out.”
My expression sympathetic, I rubbed the little girl’s back, and spoke softly, “Maybe we can put on a movie for little Mia. We have pillows and blankets. My son A.J. can make you a fort. Does that sound good?” Mia thought about that before sucking her thumb into her mouth, moping dismally. Finally, she nodded, and I smiled widely at the tired angel. “Okay, sweetheart.”
When A.J. ran into the house from the backyard, he screeched to a stop at the realization that we had company. As he did often these days, he took his time observing the people around him. It took a few seconds, but when he deemed it safe, he stepped forward.
I stepped around him and put my hands to his shoulders, proudly introducing my son. “This is A.J. He just turned six.” Lily and Nox said their hellos, but A.J. seemed to be stuck on his words. “Say hi, honey.”
“Hello,” he forced out, looking away.
The poor thing. He sounded as awkward as he felt. Unfortunately, it took A.J. some time to open up to people these days. He, understandably, didn’t trust easily. He didn’t talk as freely. He was somewhat reclusive amongst company. My son was in therapy, but the therapist warned that she couldn’t help if A.J. wouldn’t speak to her.
I prayed that he would find the strength to push past the fear and angst, and regain the part of himself he’d lost. In the meantime, all I could do was love him and support him wholeheartedly as he found his way out of the hole Ling had thrown him in.
“Well...” I gently squeezed A.J.’s shoulders. “I hope you guys are hungry. Twitch is firing up the grill as we speak and we have enough food to feed an army.”
Nox’s eyes lit up in interest. “I am hungry.”
Lily peered over at her husband slowly. “You’re always hungry.”
Nox grinned at his wife tenderly, and I loved that so much my chest ached.
A.J. gathered all the pillows out from around the place. The kids worked on building a fort suitable for Mia as Lily and Nox followed me out back. Twitch did a double take, and when his eyes landed on our guests, his eyes crinkled in the corners. “My man.”
Stepping forward, he and Nox clasped hands before bumping shoulders and slapping each other on the back hard enough to bruise. Nox gripped Twitch by the shoulders. “It’s been a while.”
“No shit,” muttered Twitch. They stared at each other a long time, surveying the changes in each other before I saw the emotions get the better of my husband and he pulled back, swallowing hard, then uttering, “You need a beer.”
But Nox seemed to know Twitch better than I assumed, and as my man walked away from the group and into the house, Nox turned to me, grinning roguishly. “Some things never change.”
“No,” I agreed quietly, fighting a smile.
The evening went on without a hitch. Everyone had eaten. The kids finally warmed to each other and played inside all night as little Mia slept through the noise. The conversation was a fountain, flowing and never ending, full of joy and laughter, and as the night slowed, I didn’t want our friends to leave.
Lily joined me in the kitchen as the guys continued catching up outside, and as we loaded the dishwasher, somebody tugged my shirt.
Startled, I looked down at my son. His eyes were stuck on the little girl wearing a tutu and combat boots. He didn’t address either of us as he spoke gently. “She didn’t tell me her name.” His voice was far away. “What’s her name?”
He was acting strange. I was momentarily dumbstruck.
Lily’s eyes darted between us until she uttered, “Her name is Angela. We call her Angie.”
A small smile stretched his lips. “Angie,” he murmured dreamily. And when he peered up at me and said what he said, my heart stopped. He spoke quietly, sincerely, and he held such determination in his tone that I found myself believing him. “I’m going to marry that girl.”
My mouth gaped. So did Lily’s.
But A.J. didn’t notice. He only had eyes for the dark-haired, green-eyed girl who had apparently stolen his heart. Before either of us could speak, A.J. floated away, back to the group of kids playing by the sofa, leaving both Lily and me dumbstruck.
When I found my voice, it was weak. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
Lily jumped on that. “Right. He’s just a little boy.”
“Exactly,” I forced out on an awkward laugh. “Oh my, kids definitely do say the darndest things.” I licked my lips and faltered. “But still. Maybe we should...”
Lily added gently, “...not tell the guys about this?”
I was so glad we were on the same page. “Yes,” I rushed out.
And she nodded, swallowing hard. “Agreed.”
“Great.”
“Cool.”
And as we conversed politely, I couldn’t help but notice that neither of us could take our eyes off of the peculiar way Angie and A.J. sat together on the sofa. Angie held her handheld gaming console in her hands, talking non-stop, explaining the aim of the game, and as she yammered on, A.J. watched her closely, his eyes searching her face, smiling softly to himself. And my chest ached.
Oh, shit.
My son was in love.
The house was quiet. That was a rare event in itself. Sure, it was early, but silence was not as calming as it had once been. Especially not when I had to endure the time without my son as I had. Silence was daunting, and as I crept into his bedroom and found him fast asleep, my heart uncoiled and I allowed myself to breathe again.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, I looked down into the angelic face of the boy who almost never came home. My hand moved without prompting, and as I touched his hair, I reminded myself that we were good.
We were good.
Being as quiet as I could, I let him sleep a while longer because he wasn’t broken in his dreams.
Barefoot and pregnant, I made my way to the fridge and poured myself a glass of orange juice, then went in search of the man missing in action. It wasn’t often we woke separately, but when we did, I became restless.
It didn’t take long, and when I pushed open the sliding door and stood in the open doorway dressed in only my nightie, he peered up at me a moment before continuing what he was doing. And with every second that passed, the mirth crept up my throat, dangerously wishing to escape. But I kept it on lock.
Instead, I leaned against the doorframe, and uttered, “Once upon a time, I thought you were a god.” I sipped my juice. “And now look at you, doing laundry, hanging up my panties and bras.”
I held the laughter down as much as I could, but when his eyes crinkled in laughter, he pointed at me in warning, and five of my bras hung from his forearm. I lost the battle, tipping my head back and let my light laughter free.
He shook his head, but I didn’t miss the way his lip twitched. When he muttered, “Fuck you, baby,” it sounded more like, “I love you, baby,” and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
With my heart full and my baby kicking, I made to leave, and as I did, he called out, “You could help, you know.”
I paused in the doorway, gazing over at him, and my brows rose.
This guy.
“I’ve done laundry for six long years, honey.” I started to close the sliding door between us, and as I did, I sassily stated, “It’s officially your turn.”
He mock-glared at me through the glass.