Prologue II
Talia
Dominik Davis.
The very epitome of smexy.
(Yes, I heard that word and knew what it meant.)
It was amazing what little ears could hear.
From his amber-flecked, colored eyes to his black hair.
From his six-foot-four height to his eight-pack of abs to his tattoos.
Standing in front of me, my very own prince charming.
When Mrs. Davis had called my mama and told her that Dominik was coming home, I had asked if I could make him a welcome-home cake.
They had all been exasperated.
Because I was a terror in a kitchen.
I didn’t get it.
I followed the recipes with an eagle eye.
Dominik smirked down at me at his mother’s words.
I growled, “You're ruining it. Now, get out.”
Yes, I was only eight years old, but when you had four older brothers, you had to be tough.
He chuckled, then shook his head and headed to the living room, then out the front door.
I whirled and then smiled.
Then I smirked as I tossed the burnt-on-purpose cake into the trash and opened the bottom cabinet where I had stored his actual welcome home cake.
Chocolate with cherry pie filling mixed in and homemade frosting.
Sadly, the other eleven I had made hadn’t looked this good.
It even looked better than the twelfth one I made.
See, on the twelfth one I made, I had tasted that one, and then proceeded to do a happy dance.
Dang, but it was good.
Then I made this one the same way I made the twelfth one.
I waited until everyone helped Dom unload, and then, the moment they had all gathered in the dining room, I grabbed the cake, a knife, and paper plates, tucking them underneath my elbow, and carried everything.
I had just set the cake down in front of Dom and smiled, “Welcome Home, Dom.”
He eyed it suspiciously, then he looked at me and asked, “Did you have someone buy this from the bakery?”
I growled, “No, Dom. I didn’t.”
He shook his head, “Not Dom. Dominik to you.”
I narrowed my eyes, “And why is that?”
“Because you’re a pain in my ass.” He said with a smirk.
And when no one corrected him, or got onto him about his language, my pride took a hit.
Then I stared at the cake I had taken special classes thanks to Ms. Henrietta, to learn how to make, then at the smug smile on his face, and mentally said, fudge it.
I smiled sweetly, nodded, then tagged the cake.
And then I slammed it in his face.
Then I said, “That just teaches me a lesson. Don’t try to do something nice for someone. Thanks for that.”
Then I stormed out of the house, ignoring them shouting my name and my brothers laughing, got on my bike, and rode down the three blocks to Henrietta Alcott’s house.
She was rocking on her front porch when she saw me and then took a pull from her cigarette.
Henrietta Alcott was a widow and one of the best bakers in three counties.
She was also a crotchety old woman.
And I loved her.
Dearly.
“So, how’d he like the cake?” she asked as I made my way up her front porch and sat down in her other rocker.
Then I brought my knees to my chest and asked, “What’s the point?”
She nodded.
Ten minutes later, I watched as my family walked out of Mrs. Davis’s house and to Henrietta’s.
Dom... no... Dominik still had icing in his hair.
I felt Henrietta’s gaze and looked at her.
She lifted a brow in silent question, and I nodded.
She threw her head back and laughed.
Dominik stopped at the base of the steps with the rest of my family, then he asked, “You really made that for me?”
I shrugged. Then I looked away.
“Talia Vienne Griggs,” My mother said.
I looked at her and growled, “What? I wasn’t the rude one. He was.”
She shook her head, “He was just teasing you.”
And when a light color of pink hit Dominik’s cheeks, I knew that he wasn’t.
But did she get onto him? No.
She didn’t.
She got onto me.
Bless Henrietta’s heart, she had stopped laughing at this point, and then said, “I bet she spent near on to all her birthday money on the stuff to make all those cakes.”
Everyone looked at her, but it was Mrs. Davis who asked, “What do you mean?”
Henrietta looked at Mrs. Davis and said, “Yeah. She tried to make that cake, his favorite cake, eleven times. She bought the ingredients with her birthday money each time. Then on the twelfth, she finally got it right. And the little dance she did when she tasted that one. It was funny. Then she made it one more time.”
They were all silent at that news.
I shrugged, then I said, “Guess it was worth it. I’m sure a lot of people want to slam his face into stuff.”
“Talia!” My mom snapped.
And that was when I got mad.
“What? It’s true! I thought lying was a sin.” I said.
“You're grounded for a week. No phone. No TV. No spending time with Harlee.”
I gaped at her, then shook my head.
I stood up, bent, and pressed a kiss on Henrietta’s cheek and whispered, “Thank you for being awesome.”
She chuckled, “You’re the only one who knows me that would ever say that about me.”
I smiled at her and then made my way down the steps, pulled my phone out, bypassed the meanie, and then handed her my phone.
She took it with a disappointed look on her face.
When I caught Mrs. Davis’ eyes, she winked, then opened her arms for me. I went to her and hugged her back.
At the top of my head, she whispered, “You are a treasure, Talia Griggs. Don’t you ever change.”
I looked up at her and nodded.
Then the next morning, there was a hundred-dollar bill slipped underneath my bedroom door.
***
I knew why Mrs. Davis had asked Dom to come home.
I had been there when she had gotten the call.
And my little heart had broken for her.
And four months later, as I stood there while her dark blue casket was lowered into the ground, tears slid down my cheeks.
She was taken too soon from this world.
Despite everyone’s pleas for her to fight the cancer that had infected her organs, she didn’t.
She had simply shaken her head and said that she missed her Ryan.
He was the love of her life.
Even though I was still upset about Dom, I looked to where he was sitting with my brothers and my mom, and dad.
Harlee, my best friend in the whole wide world, reached over, and squeezed my hand.
Her parents were there too.
Henrietta reached over and placed her hand on my shoulder.
She was probably the only one in the whole world who knew what Mrs. Zada Davis had meant to me.
Finally, the service was over.
And the next day, Mr. Roger’s the attorney in town, had shown up at our door.
I was sitting at the coffee table doing my homework when Dad let him in.
He had smiled at my mom and dad, then looked at me, and I caught it, a soft smile on his face.
“Mrs. Davis thought the world of you, Talia.” He said.
I smiled.
Then he looked at Mom and Dad, “Tomorrow morning, I need Talia at my office.”
My mom was the first to ask, “Why?”
He chuckled, “She left something for Talia.”
They both looked at me, and then back at Mr. Rogers and nodded.
It was the very next day, as I walked into Mr. Rogers’ office, Dominik looked up.
He frowned, then stood when Mr. Rogers said it was time.
We were all led to a little room off to the side, and we took chairs.
Mr. Rogers opened a few sheets of paper.
“Misty, Frank, the two of you are here because Talia is a minor, and Zada Davis asked that the two of you be here.”
Then he looked at Dom, “Once I read this part, I will ask them to leave, and then I will tell you what she left in her will. Okay?”
Dominik nodded.
His eyes were bloodshot, and I hated that for him.
Then Mr. Rogers began.
“My name is Zada Henley Davis; I am of sound mind.” He kept reading, but I wasn’t listening.
Not until I heard my name.
“To Talia, the light of this old woman’s heart.
The little girl who tries to see wonder in everything around her, and that wonder gets snuffed out because people don’t appreciate her.
You will never know how much it meant to me when you spent your afternoons with this old biddy.
You saw that I was lonely and tried to fill the void.
” My mom and dad’s heads snapped in my direction, as did Dominik’s, but I ignored them.
“To you, the little girl who stole this old woman’s heart, had I ever been blessed to have another child, I would have wanted her to be just like you.
Therefore, I leave to you the strand of pearls my mother had given me on my eighteenth birthday.
I wish that I were still around to give them to you.
But alas, God had other plans for me. Treasure them, sweet girl.
And know that I will always be with you. ”
Then he smiled at me, took a yellow-looking envelope, opened it, pulled out the blue velvet box I knew contained the pearls, and then handed me another letter.
“She asked that you read this aloud. Okay?”
I nodded then took the box, and then the envelope, opened it, and started reading.
“My Little Wildflower,
To the little girl who told her parents she was going over to Harlee’s and instead came to visit me.
To the little girl who saw how hard it was for me to do certain things and stepped up to do them for me.
Don’t ever try to hold that light in. Let it out, show the world how bright you can shine. I love you.
Yours Evermore,
Zada Davis.
P.S. Keep right on giving my son a hard time. He needs it.”
We had left shortly after I had signed my name, and my parents had signed theirs as well.
Then once we were outside, my mom knelt in front of me and asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“About what?” I asked.
“About you not going to Harlee’s? And instead, over to Mrs. Davis’ house?”
I shrugged.
My dad knelt too, “Talk to us, honeybun. Why?”
Then I asked, “What good would it have done?”
“Talia,” Mom said.
I looked at Dad, “I’m the baby. A lot of the time, I’m forgotten about. Y’all were busy with their activities. And it just felt right.”
Mom gasped, “We have never forgotten about you.”
I didn’t want to do it, make her feel bad, but I’d been holding onto this for a while now.
So, I let it out, “My birthday. The boys wanted to go on that trip. And the day they had planned to leave, you were running around trying to make sure they had everything. And when they pulled away, I didn’t bother reminding you.”
My mom listened and then tears hit her eyes, “No... that’s not tr....”
She stopped. Because I knew that she just realized it was true.
My dad sighed, “What else, Honeybun?”
“You got them all new shoes for school and didn’t bother getting me any. So, when my toes were cramping, I went to Mrs. Davis. She took me.”
My dad sighed, “What else?”
This part, I didn’t want to say it.
My dad got a caring but stern tone and asked, “What else, Talia?”
I sighed, “You left me at Gushers. More than once. And a few other places.”
That night, as I curled up in my bed, looking at the string of pearls, I could hear my parents.
Mom was crying, and Dad was talking to her.
My brothers had come in then and walked over to my bed, then they moved so they were all sitting at the end of it, and they apologized.
They hadn’t realized any of it.
And I knew they felt bad about the trip. None of them had remembered my birthday either.
Dominik
I stared at the rings she had left me.
“Give them to the woman who is able to heal your soul and mend your heart. I know that she will adore them and treasure them.”
I wouldn’t know what she had meant until years later.
Almost eighteen of them, to be exact.