Chapter 37 #2
Nanette and the other woman drift away. There aren’t really places to hide, and Penelope and I agreed having people jump out and yell “Surprise!” at our aging grandparents may not be the best idea. We want their hearts to be touched by emotions, not a defibrillator.
An arm wraps around my waist, and Tai pulls me to his side.
The yard is quiet except for the hum of a lawn mower in the far background and the faint sounds of a passing car.
There’s the unmistakable click of the front door shutting.
A few moments later, the curtains move, then the French doors open.
Granny steps out with her eyes wide, both hands raised to cover her mouth.
Grampie is a step behind her. He’s grinning, but there’s a telltale sheen to his eyes.
“I can’t believe you did this.” Granny pulls Penelope into a hug.
“You should be up there too,” Tai whispers into my ear.
I wipe away a tear with the pad of my thumb. “I will be,” I assure him. Right now, I’m enjoying the front-row seat to their joy.
Granny looks over the backyard slowly, taking everything and everyone in. “Nanette, dear, I haven’t seen you in ages. And Phyllis. Ron, can you believe this?”
Grampie wraps his arms around Granny. “We’re talking about our girls, here, Carol. Of course I can believe it.”
Granny leans her head on Grampie’s shoulder. “Speaking of our girls, where’s Evangeline?”
Every head turns my direction. I’m faintly aware of the four other people who’ve joined Granny and Grampie on the small patio, but my focus is trained on the two who have loved me so well my entire life.
I know the moment they spot me. Their reaction to the surprise party was what Penelope and I had hoped for, but I never could have pictured the looks on their faces when they see me.
Whatever trepidation I felt about how they’d react to my tattoo quickly blows away.
They’re looking at me exactly how Tai said they would—like I’m the best gift they could’ve been given.
They move in tandem down the two plank steps and rush toward me. Tai steps aside so Granny can wrap her arms around me on the left, Grampie on the right. I faintly hear Penelope issuing instructions and see movement of activity from the corner of my eye.
“Oh, my sweet girl. I have prayed for this.” Granny wipes a tear away from her cheek.
“You’ve prayed I’d get a tattoo?” I tease her, trying to replace her tears with a smile.
She swats my shoulder.
“I think your grandmother means,” Grampie says, “that we prayed you’d let that brilliant light within you shine again and not let anyone dull it. That you’d stop running away from love long enough to see that love will never stop pursuing you.”
“Speaking of love . . .” I motion Tai over and introduce him to my grandparents.
They inspect my tattoo closer, oohing and ahhing over the intricate details and design.
Granny admits she’s always been fascinated with body art, even when it had been taboo and frowned upon in society.
Tai offers to give her her first. We talk of everything and nothing, and my heart has never been happier.
Granny and Grampie drift away to mingle with their guests, and I watch them go.
Tai tugs on my hand. “Come on. Let’s get something to drink.”
Penelope’s directing the caterers with the food, but a table has already been set up with a trio of large glass beverage dispensers—ice water, lemonade, and sweet tea. I lift a clear cup from the top of the stack then hold it under the spigot to fill with tartly sweet lemonade.
“I really don’t know what she was thinking.”
Every muscle in my body freezes. I’d know that voice anywhere. I let go of the nozzle just as my cup is about to overflow.
“Why would she want to draw attention to the fact that she’s bald?”
Tai stiffens beside me. I place a hand on his forearm, his tendons pulsing under my touch. It’s sweet that he wants to defend me, but it’s also not necessary. Brett no longer has the power to hurt me.
“It’s such a shame, really. She used to be so pretty, but then . . .”
I don’t have to see his face to envision the disgust there. The look used to haunt me. Used to eat away at my confidence like a virus.
“It really is a shame.” I raise my voice, done letting his be the one that I hear.
He pivots, an expression of surprise mixed with just a hint of shame. His small audience looks everywhere but in my direction, clearly uncomfortable.
“It really is a shame,” I state again. “You used to be such a kind man, but then . . .” My voice trails off like his had, letting each individual fill in the blank.
“Evangeline.” He chokes on my name. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“No, I suppose you didn’t, though that in no way excuses your behavior—now or in the past.”
“I don’t—”
I hold up a palm, cutting him off. “You said you didn’t know what I was thinking, well, let me enlighten you.
I was thinking that I’m done letting your opinion or anyone else’s define me.
I was thinking that if being who I am and living my life out loud could help someone else, then the snide remarks and judgmental glances from little people like you would be worth it.
I was thinking it’s about time I embrace my beauty.
Because I am bald and I am beautiful, so deal with it, Brett. ”
I turn on my heel and am greeted with the sight of Tai’s adoring face. He hands me my drink without breaking eye contact. “You’re so unbelievably amazing, you know that?”
We move over to give room for others to access the drink table.
“Don’t look now, but it appears your grandfather is no longer happy with the guest list,” Tai says over the rim of his cup.
I glance over my shoulder and watch as Grampie escorts Brett to the back door.
“Come here.” Tai sets both our drinks down, then takes my elbow and guides me to the secluded spot in the backyard protected by the large rhododendron bush.
As soon as we’re out of view, he steps between my feet, brackets my head in his hands, and captures my mouth with his own.
My fingers come up and grip his wrists, hanging on for dear life, grounding myself in this moment while his kiss attempts to send me into other dimensions of euphoria.
I lose all track of time. A minute could have passed or an hour. I don’t know, and I don’t care. There’s no place I’d rather be than here with Tai.
He pulls back but barely, just enough to look into my eyes. “I want this to be us in fifty years, Angel.”
“Making out behind a bush in my grandparents’ backyard?” I reply.
His thumb strokes my cheek. “Celebrating our love. One that has only grown stronger, dug deeper, bloomed wider with the years. What do you say?”
I smile into Tai’s eyes, feeling his love written on every page of my story as Stacey’s words ring in my ears. “I say yes. I love you. I didn’t think it was possible, but this librarian has finally met her overdue match.”