Chapter 24
Tiana stood hidden in an area not visible to the entry at The Cove restaurant, where she was meeting Brock’s family for dinner.
She checked her phone for the tenth time.
Niko had messaged her earlier saying that he was going to be late for dinner and would meet her there, so she’d taken a Lyft since it was one of the few places that was not in walking distance.
The restaurant was upscale and in the Hope Falls hills.
She was debating whether or not she should just go in by herself.
Did she want to? No. But to be honest, she didn’t want to be at the dinner at all.
She agreed to it because for the decade she was with Brock, his family had been good to her.
His Aunt Corrine, whom she’d grown close to, had even left her money in her will.
It wasn’t the people themselves she was anxious to see, it was who they represented, the time in her life they represented.
For the tenth time, she checked her phone for an update. Still nothing.
Why? Why would he be late? she wondered.
Standing up straighter, she told herself it didn’t matter that Niko wasn’t with her. She hadn’t wanted him to come in the first place.
So why did she feel so disappointed, so let down, so abandoned? It wasn’t even a big deal, so the fact that she was blinking back emotion, her stomach was in knots, and her chest was tight was absolutely ridiculous.
Her anxiety was getting the better of her.
All she wanted to do was go home, crawl into bed, and cry.
Her body ached, and she felt exhausted. She actually felt like she’d been hit by a truck.
Sure, she hadn’t been getting a ton of sleep lately because she’d been engaging in extracurricular nocturnal activities, but she felt a level of exhaustion that was beyond sleepy.
This was extreme fatigue that she only ever experienced when having heightened levels of panic. It made her feel physically ill.
She only felt this way because she hadn’t prepared herself to face this dinner alone. She’d dropped her guard. She’d allowed herself the luxury of being vulnerable to another person.
This was exactly the feeling she’d wanted to avoid. This was why she never relied on people. They always let her down. If there was one thing she could count on, it was that.
Tears began to fill her eyes, but she sniffed them back. She refused to feel sorry for herself. It was better this way. It was better for her to get the rug pulled out from under her at this point rather than when she was actually depending on him.
One more check to her phone, and she decided she needed to just get this over with. She quickly shot off a text to Niko.
Tiana: Don’t worry about coming. No need. It’s all good.
She didn’t want to be watching the door all night and spending the next three hours in a perpetual state of disappointment.
With that, she took a deep breath. As she stepped out of her hidden vantage point, a car pulled up to the valet. She recognized it as the same Lyft vehicle that dropped her off fifteen minutes earlier. Instead of remaining in the car, the driver got out and opened the back door.
When she saw the person who exited, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Pops! What are you doing here?” She rushed to the car to help him out.
When the driver saw that Tiana was helping Pops, he went to the trunk and removed his walking cane, then handed it to them.
“Thank you.” She smiled.
Once Pops was out, standing and steady, she asked again, “What are you doing here?”
“A little birdie called me and said he was running late and asked if I was feelin’ up to standing in for him until he got here, then he sent me a car.”
“Are you sure you feel up to this?” She saw he was wearing his portable oxygen, which she was happy he had but was still concerned.
“Stop fussin’ over me, Tiny. Let me go see my Debbie B.”
Pops did love Brock’s mom, Debbie, or Deborah. Pops was the only one who called her Debbie. There were a lot of good people in his family. She wasn’t sure where things had gone so wrong with Brock.
“You look very handsome,” Tiana enthused. Pops was wearing dark gray slacks with a plum sweater that complemented his olive skin tone perfectly.
“You don’t look too shabby yourself, Tiny.” Pops winked.
It had been so difficult to figure out what to wear. She’d ended up going with high-waisted black slacks, a white lace-overlay corset top beneath a semi-sheer long-sleeved button-down top, and gold jewelry.
Tiana and Pops took their time walking up the steps.
Pops hated to be assisted in any way, so she just stood beside him and went at his pace, not trying to speed the process along.
They entered the restaurant and saw that the Bartletts were waiting in the bar area for the room they’d reserved to be ready.
They made their way over to join them, and as they approached, two tiny voices sounded.
“Auntie Tiana!”
“Auntie Tiana!”
Tiana looked down just in time to see Brock’s nieces, Abigail and Millie, rushing towards her.
She hadn’t seen the girls in two years, and they’d grown so much.
They were five and three the last time she’d laid eyes on the duo, so they had to be seven and five now.
On the day Tiana was packing to leave while Brock was in Buffalo playing the Bills, they’d stopped by with their mom, Brock’s sister Belinda.
She wasn’t sure if Belinda was there to say goodbye or to spy, maybe a little of both.
Either way, she’d been relieved she’d gotten to say her goodbyes to the girls, who she’d been very close to.
“Oh my gosh, you both got so tall!”
“I’m five now!” Millie held up her hand.
“Wow!” Tiana enthused.
“Can you sit by me?" Abigail tugged on her hand.
“Give the girl some breathin’ room.” A deep voice boomed.
Tiana took a breath as she lifted her head and saw Mr. Bartlett, Brock’s father.
She’d always gotten along with her father-in-law, but they hadn’t spoken since the divorce, and she had no clue what the man thought of her.
There’d been so much printed about her, ninety-nine percent of it false, not to mention whatever his son had said, which she knew did not paint her in a good light.
“How’s my favorite bonus daughter doing?” He held out his arms.
Hearing him call her the same term of endearment he’d used when she and Brock were married instantly soothed her nerves. Mr. Bartlett was not a fake person, if he had an issue with her, he wouldn’t smile to her face and then speak poorly behind her back.
“I’m…okay.”
He pulled her into a bear hug, and when he leaned back, his chin dipped, and he glanced at her above his glasses. “Does us showing up out of the blue have to do with you being just…okay?”
“I’m happy to see you guys. I’ve missed you,” she said sincerely.
“We’ve missed you, too, Blueberry.” The second term of endearment he used was the one Mr. Bartlett’s mother, Grandma Bartlett, gave her.
She gave each of her children and grandchildren fruit nicknames, and Tiana was Blueberry.
When she asked why she’d chosen that particular fruit, she told her it was because they are universally loved, they can be sweet or tart, and they are nutritious, delicious, and good for you. She took it as a compliment.
Brock’s nickname was Pineapple. She said he’d been given that nickname because even as a young boy, he had a strong personality that was somewhat of an acquired taste—you either loved or hated.
Eating too much pineapple, because of its acidity, was not good for you, which could be the case with spending time with Brock, and both were prickly on the outside and could hurt you if you didn’t handle them with care.
That was the first red flag Tiana ignored. The thing about red flags is, when you wear rose-colored glasses, those suckers look pink.
“And how are you, Stanley?” Mr. Bartlett patted Pops on the back.
“How much are you willing to pay me if I tell you?” Pops responded.
Mr. Bartlett laughed. “I know Deborah is going to be thrilled to see you. She’s missed you.”
“Where is my Debbie B?”
Mr. Bartlett glanced around. “She couldn’t have gone far, I’ll go find her.”
“Pops!” Martin, Belinda’s husband, called out as he walked from across the room. “Long time no see. How are you doing?”
“At minding my own business? Apparently much better than most people.” When Pops didn’t like people, his responses skewed snarky. Pops never liked Martin.
Martin cracked up as he pointed at Pops with gun fingers.
“There she is!” Pops looked past Martin. “My beauty, Debbie B!”
Mrs. Bartlett blushed as she wrapped her arms around Pops. “Oh Stanley, you have always been such a charmer.”
Has he? Tiana didn’t think that was how most people would describe Pops.
When Mrs. Bartlett finished greeting Pops, her attention turned to Tiana, she wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “And my girl! So beautiful!”
Tiana felt herself getting emotional when Mrs. Bartlett used that particular term of endearment.
My girl. She’d always wanted a mom. It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted a dad as well, but she sort of had a paternal figure filled with Pops.
But Mrs. Bartlett was the first and only maternal figure Tiana had ever had.
That was the biggest loss she felt in the entire marriage.
Tiana hugged her back then dropped her arms after a couple seconds, not wanting to allow herself to feel too much.
“And where is that handsome new fella of yours?” Mrs. Bartlett looked over Tiana’s shoulder, her eyes lit with genuine excitement for her former daughter-in-law.
Tiana felt horrible lying to Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett. They’d welcomed her with open arms into their family. “He, um, he’s not going to be able to make it…”
“He’s running late,” Pops said at the same time.