Chapter 14 Grai
Grai
Now that Poppa was home, my muscles finally began to uncoil under the stream of hot water, but there was still a little tension because we still weren’t talking.
Well, . . . I wasn’t talking to him. He’d been trying ever since I blew up on him Monday, but I was embarrassed about the way I behaved when he came home.
My emotions got the best of me, and I revealed my truth.
Today was Wednesday, and I missed him like crazy.
Since we lived in the same home, and he was currently on house arrest, I saw him, could smell his intoxicating amber scent lingering in every room I entered, almost like it sat there, waiting for the opportunity to overwhelm me.
I’d rush out of one room, just to walk into another and be confronted by the same drug.
At this point, it was becoming impossible to ignore him.
My anger had subsided sometime after he came home.
Now, I was mostly worried about what would happen next.
He was only allowed to go to limited places right now and had a curfew for being in the house.
Since he ran his own business, he was okay to miss work, but I hated that his life was on pause because of who I decided to have children with.
I mean, I understood why Poppa did what he did.
I knew the kind of man he was. When it came to the people he loved, he would swing first and ask questions never.
If he even got a whiff that something wasn’t right with me, he would have that Raptor in the wind.
I know he’d left plenty of tire marks around the city to come see about me.
Thinking about it really got me in my feelings.
If Poppa had to serve time, we would be devastated without him.
He was our anchor, the beacon of light we could flee to when the world grew too dark.
The thought of him being away from us made my heart race.
That was what had me so worked up. Our lives were so entangled that his absence would be felt.
My boys couldn’t afford to lose the only positive male role model they had.
I finished up my shower with heavy thoughts.
Stepping out, I slipped into my plush robe and walked over to the sink.
I paused when I saw the cream linen paper folded nicely on the counter.
It sat inside a box on top of a bed of pressed lavender springs.
I bypassed the letter to reach for the lavender.
Inhaling the scent, I allowed my eyes to close, instantly sending a wave of serenity through my body.
After I’d had my fill of peace, my curiosity urged me to open the letter. The parchment was very thick and textured. I placed the lavender down to open the letter. I tucked my bottom lip, allowing my eyes to peruse the fancy and inky script.
To My Lady Grai,
Let me make things right. Saturday night when the sun kisses the skyline goodnight meet me in the meadow. Wear something silk and you won’t need shoes because I’m going to bring you back down to earth where you belong with me.
Yours Always,
Lyrix
I must’ve read the letter ten times before pressing it into my chest. I began to feel this tickle of sunshine at the back of my brain. The letter was so cute and Bridgerton coded that I was so giddy I raced out of the bathroom to grab my phone.
I called my sisters on a group FaceTime and propped the phone up. Toni answered first, surrounded by darkness, even though it was midday.
“Hey, sis,” she whispered seconds before coughing uncontrollably.
I frowned. “Um, are you okay?”
Before she could respond, Kemani popped up on the call.
She had the phone propped up where we had the most perfect view of our little niece, who was nearly finished baking in there.
My sister looked completely over it, and I couldn’t blame her.
I remembered how tiresome those last few weeks were for me with both boys.
After Toni cleared her airways, she spoke softly. “Yeah, I’m good. Wassup?”
The biggest smile appeared on my face as I lifted the letter into the camera. “I’m pretty sure Poppa asked me out on a date.”
Mani shrieked as she sat up excitedly. “What? Tell me more.”
“Us,” Toni corrected her in a whisper. “Tell us more.”
I gave them a quick rundown about how we were beefing. Then I got out of the shower to a random letter waiting for me. I couldn’t remember hearing anyone come in the bathroom and had a feeling it was my little ninja that’d gotten the job done undetected.
Mani had tears in her eyes. “Aww, that is so sweet. You know he hates when you’re upset with him,” she noted.
I rolled my eyes and sucked my teeth. Toni decided to chime in. “Okay, ain’t that the truth, and he don’t play about you or the boys, so we know why he put hands on Drey. He deserved that shit because he was wrong, and my nephews could’ve been seriously hurt.”
I paused with a frown after listening to her silent rant. “Girl, why the hell are you whispering?”
She even laughed silently. “Because I’m literally hiding in the closet, hitting my weed pen. Yo’ mama and daddy is about to make a bitch pull her hair out. I gotta get the fuck on through, man. I’m too old for this shit. Be happy you did not have to move back into this prison.”
Mani and I could not stop laughing at her. Toni was a damn nutcase with a death wish. My mama was going to have a heart attack if she found out what she was hiding in the closet, doing. When we finally calmed down, I focused back on the conversation at hand.
“But listen. I don’t know if I should entertain this. Poppa is my best friend; I can’t risk that.”
I began nibbling on my lip as I got caught up in my head. “I can understand that,” Mani said.
“Girl, fuck what you talking about. Go and let the man make things right. You don’t have to get all in your head, because at the end of the day, like you said, that’s your best friend.
That man got your back, so just trust him and have fun.
” A flurry of knocks on the closet door had Toni cursing under her breath.
“Fuck. These kids done found me. I gotta go. Let me know how the date goes, sis. Have fun. Love you.”
Before I could respond, she hung up. Mani encouraged me to relax and enjoy myself before we began to talk about the birth of my niece. She would be here in less than a month, and I was excited about that. Babies were a blessing, and she was going to be spoiled like all the others in our family.
Tapping the letter against my hand, I walked out of the house and glanced toward the sea of trees in the distance.
It was Saturday, and the sun would be setting in a couple of hours.
I stood there, wearing a white, silk dress with lace trimmings.
Unable to walk through the woods barefoot, I wore a pair of silver sandals.
After nervously twisting in place for a minute longer, I began my journey to the meadow on the other side of the forest. I took breaths with every step that drew me closer to the trail of amber lingering in the air as if it wanted to guide me right to Lyrix.
And it did. A few minutes later, I entered the meadow and paused to take in the scenery.
In the distance, you could see Mt. Jasper, along with rolling hills leading up to its base. The warmth of the sun hit me from the left and shone gorgeous rays over the field of flowers. I smiled at the cherry blossom trees swaying in the wind like poetry.
Walking deeper into the meadow, I noticed Poppa waiting for me beneath a white balloon arch.
There were soft pink and purple hydrangeas, garden roses, and peonies everywhere behind him, creating the most beautiful landscape.
Even a trail of them led the way to him.
My stride slowed as the melodic sound of string instruments playing “Best Part” by Daniel Ceaser and H.E.R.
enveloped me. When I glanced to the right, I saw a small quartet tucked beneath one of the cherry blossoms. I gasped in shock as my hand covered my mouth.
The closer I walked to Poppa, the more details I noticed.
There was a huge, deep sapphire velvet blanket lying in the center of the flower statues.
It had gold tasseled edges that were so vibey.
In the center of the blanket was a picnic set up with a gold-trimmed tea set, vintage napkins, and porcelain plates with gold trimmings to match the tea set.
I couldn’t wipe my smile from my face if I tried as I stopped in front of Poppa.
He was wearing a crisp, white button-up with the sleeves rolled up.
A pair of black suspenders was hooked to his tailored slacks that looked great on him.
He was barefoot in the grass, making me giggle.
He gave me a boyish grin. I looked around again in awe of what he’d put together just for me. “Lyrix, what is all of this?”
He took my hand in his. “I told you I wanted to make things right. You love Bridgerton, so I thought I’d bring it to life while I begged you to let me back in. I miss you,” he admitted in a tender voice that lovingly stroked the surface of my brain.
“I miss you too,” I admitted softly.
He sighed in relief, walking me over to the picnic setup.
Now that I was closer, I could see the variations of food he had laid out in a delicious-looking spread.
I couldn’t tell what everything was, but I noticed heart-shaped finger sandwiches, some type of shortbread cookies and tarts, chocolate-covered strawberries with gold flecks, and a fresh fruit board of blackberries, grapes, figs, pomegranate seeds, and sliced peaches.
I nearly drooled when I saw the honeycomb container and fresh mint leaves beside it.
“Everything looks amazing,” I complimented.