Chapter 21
Things had been slowly returning to normal over the last few weeks.
River and I spent time when we could, but she had gone back to work, so it wasn’t as much as I would have liked.
Some days, I went by to help her make the cookies for the day, or I would stop by during my lunch hour just to see her face.
I just wanted to always be with her. If I didn’t think she would say no, I would have asked her to move in, but I knew that was moving too fast.
She’d been handling the death of her father as well as expected. At times, I would catch her crying. Sometimes I would comfort her, and other times I would give her space. I continued to be whatever she needed me to be.
Her mother wanted to have a family dinner, and it would be the first time we would all be together since the funeral. I looked forward to it, because we always had a good time.
“How are you feeling?” I asked River as we drove to her mother’s house.
“Good, but a little nervous. I know dinner won’t be the same without Daddy being there.”
I reached over and softly rubbed her leg. I had the same thought she had, but I didn’t say anything. She had been in a good mood the whole day, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“I understand that. He may not be there physically, but he will always be wherever you are in spirit.”
She smiled when I glanced her way.
“I swear, you always know what to say. Is it the age difference?”
“Don’t act like I’m that much older than you, girl. It’s only four years.”
River’s laughter drowned out the music playing on the radio. I cut my eyes at her, and she laughed even louder.
“It’s still a difference. But you also have had more experience in life than me.”
“Nah, don’t try to clean it up now.” I pinched her leg.
She smacked my arm and laughed again. “That hurt.” She quieted down and shifted her body toward me.
“For real, though, thank you for everything. I probably said it before, but I really appreciate you. You always know what I need without me having to tell you. It goes to show you pay attention to me.” She leaned over the console and kissed my cheek.
“I appreciate you as well, River. Even on the days when you are down, you still make time to check on me.”
River had become a safe space for me, and I would never forget that.
It was one of the biggest qualities I wanted in a woman.
My life was pretty good, and work wasn’t bad, but I liked being able to talk to her to decompress.
Being a successful black man in this country was hard, so having a partner who had your back was special to me.
“You went through the same thing I did with losing my dad, so of course I want to make sure you are good. We have to look out for each other.”
“Always. Have you started back up with your Spanish lessons?”
I noticed that since everything happened with Pops, she hadn’t been doing her lessons. I knew it was important to be there for him, and even harder to lose him, but I didn’t want her to lose herself in the process.
“Slowly but surely.”
“Tell me something then.”
“Eres muy guapo.”
We pulled up to her mom’s house, and I parked on the street since there were already cars in the driveway. From the looks of it, we were the last ones to arrive.
“What that mean?” I asked as I shut off the car.
River undid her seat belt and leaned the top half of her body over the console.
I unclicked my seat belt and faced her. I licked my lips as she stared into my eyes. Her mouth was so close to mine, so I gave her a quick peck.
“It means you are very handsome.” Her round lips curled into a beautiful ass smile.
“Thank you.” I kissed her again. “Me encanta tu sonrisa.”
Her eyes widened at my response. “Hold on, you knew Spanish this whole time? And what does that mean?”
I chuckled at the expression on her face. She squinted her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Un poco.” I held my thumb and ring finger to say a little. “And it means, I love your smile.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised, though, because you are always going to other countries. I’m sure you picked up a few words here and there. Why did you act like you didn’t know what I was saying?”
I opened the car door and walked around to her side of the car. I was sure someone knew we were outside and would have come to look for us if we didn’t go inside. I helped her out of the car.
“Because I like to hear the excitement you get when you tell me.” Even though it was cold outside, I pulled her into my arms. “I think it’s sexy as hell.
If we didn’t have to go in here and eat, I would take you back home.
” I pulled her closer so she could feel me.
“You feel that? I’m hard just from you saying that shit.
” I kissed her nose. “I already spotted your mom peeking out the window, so let’s get in here. ” I released her and grabbed her hand.
“Sir, you can’t just be saying stuff like that. Now I have to go in here with hard nipples and damp panties.”
“Good. I know it ain’t just me.” I winked.
Luckily, we had a few seconds to get ourselves together before opening the front door. The aroma of food hit us as soon as we walked in.
Jordan was the first one up to greet us. He hugged River and slapped hands with me.
“About time y’all got here. I’m hungry as hell, and you know they weren’t trying to eat until baby girl got here,” he said as he pinched River’s cheek.
“Stop.” She giggled and punched his arm.
“Well, we’re here now,” I said as I rubbed my hands together. If my nose served me correctly, someone had made BBQ ribs, and I couldn’t wait to dig in.
I helped River out of her jacket, then hung it on the rack before taking mine off and placing it on top of hers.
The kids ran to us and hugged us both. We spoke to Bianca before going into the kitchen, where our moms were.
“Look at y’all.” Momma Dana gushed as she walked near us. “Y’all look so cute.”
River and I laughed as we took turns hugging her.
“Thanks, but I smell ribs.” I peeked over her to look at the food on the counter.
“Boy, act like you got some home training,” my mother fussed as she came to hug us. “Y’all do look cute though.” She looked between River and me and smiled.
River and I had on olive green sweatsuits and sneakers to match. When I got my sneakers, I got her a pair as well.
Momma Dana told everyone the food would be ready shortly, so we all washed our hands and gathered in the living room.
Five minutes or so passed, and our moms put the food out on the table. We all took turns making our plates, with Bianca making the kids’ plates first.
We had a whole spread of ribs, chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, and string beans. Potato salad, yams, biscuits, and dinner rolls. There was also a lemon meringue pie, and some cookies from the shop, including my favorite lemon and strawberry ones.
As we ate, we caught up on everything that had been going on with us over the last few weeks. Everyone seemed to be in much better spirits, but the energy was a little different without Pops. Jordan was the first one to bring it up.
“Man, I can’t believe he isn’t here.” He shook his head.
Pops usually sat at the end of the table, and it was crazy that his spot was empty.
“I know,” River said and wiped a tear from her eye. “Some days I still pick up my phone to call him but can’t.”
I squeezed her leg under the table.
“He wouldn’t want us to be sad over him all the time,” Momma Dana added.
My mom chimed in. “You ain’t lying about that.”
The rest of us laughed, because it was true. He always reminded us that we wouldn’t be here forever and that he didn’t want us crying over him all day. He made sure to stress the importance of living life to the fullest.
“I will say, he was happy knowing you had Coye, River. He just wanted you to be loved and protected outside of your brother,” Momma Dana said.
“I ain’t gonna front. I was against it at first, but I’m glad you have each other,” Jordan added.
I nodded at Jordan.
We spent the next few hours telling stories about Pops and enjoying each other’s company.
Everyone lived their lives, so it was nice to spend time with each other and not worry about anything else.
It would take some time, but I was sure we all would get through our grief, as long as we were together.