Chapter 42
NIA
“H i! I’m so sorry,” I shout, kicking off my clogs as I rush into the house.
“Mommy!” Katie calls out, running toward me with a wide smile on her face.
Brody’s been picking her up from my parents’ house after work all week, and I’ve been amazed at the difference it’s made. It’s been great for Katie, too. She gets to have fun with Grammy and Keith, and then she comes here and Brody helps her with her homework and gets dinner going for her.
I’m not sure that the offer will still be in place for my next overnight shift, but the help he’s offered has been huge.
As I walk further into the house, the smell of our dinner hits my nose, rich and savory. Conversation fills the air, followed by laughter as Edie swivels on her bar stool, pulling a glass of red wine to her lips.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” I repeat as I step into the kitchen.
Graham offers me a warm smile in greeting as he delicately presses a toothpick into a tray of brownies with what look to be strawberries baked into them.
Reaching for a bottle of white wine, Brody pours a generous amount into a glass and walks toward me with it, wearing a subtly-arched brow that tells me my lateness will be addressed when his family is gone.
One for every minute late , I remind myself.
His finger hooks beneath my chin as he presses his lips to mine, and I warm all over, bringing up a hand to trail my thumb against his facial hair.
“Put on something comfortable,” he tells me. Lowering his volume, he says, “Dinner will be out in six minutes. I expect you back down here before then.”
“Yes, Sir,” I tell him quietly with a smile.
I check my watch as I rush upstairs to his closet to change into a pair of his sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt I left here during my last visit. Never mind the fact that his sister, brother, and niece are all dressed nicely; I was ordered to wear something comfortable, so comfortable it is.
My hands fly through my hair as I run down the stairs, trying to tidy up the messy bun that has fallen apart throughout my day. As I reach the landing, I abandon the task, opting to just comb through the knots with my fingers instead.
I make it back to the kitchen with a whopping fifty-three seconds to spare, according to the analog clock on the wall.
The corner of Brody’s mouth ticks up approvingly as I rejoin them all, and I reach past Edie to take hold of my wine glass.
“Oh wow, that’s a beautiful necklace,” she tells me, reaching toward my neck to trail her fingers over the stones in my collar.
“Thank you,” I say, fighting back a laugh. “Brody gave it to me.”
“You have good taste, little brother,” she says, turning toward him before bringing her attention back to me. “It looks great on you.”
I think so, too; in the way that Edie means and in every way aside from that.
It’s a matter of minutes before the six of us are gathered around the dining table, dishing up rich coq au vin onto fluffy beds of mashed potatoes, everything made from scratch, including the macaroni and cheese that Edie brought.
Unlike the night that I had dinner with the full Montgomery family, Graham’s grace is quiet and kept to himself. I can’t help but to wonder if Brody didn’t say something to them before I got home.
I mean, here.
I have to stop doing that .
Everything about tonight is a contrast to the last time that I dined with Brody’s family. Our conversation is relaxed and pleasant, and the man seated next to me is wearing a smile almost the entire time that we eat. Katie is included in the conversation and Clare seems to be quite fond of her.
This is comfortable, and it’s something that I could see myself being excited to do every week with them, if we had the opportunity. I’m not sure if there will be backlash for their parents not being invited, and I do worry how it would effect Brody if that were the case.
As the adults finish our meals, Graham excuses himself to the kitchen to get the dessert he’d made for us, which I’m not sure that I even have room left to eat.
“I’m really glad you guys came,” I comment. “This has been so nice.”
“It really has,” Edie smiles. Turning to Brody, she tells him, “You should have Mother and Father next time.”
“No,” He answers firmly, reaching forward to get Katie another small scoop of the macaroni and cheese.
“Bam—”
“I don’t want them around my kid, Dee.”
Her eyebrows shoot up, and mine join them as we exchange a quick glance with one another. Turning his gaze toward me, Brody offers an affirmative nod, and my teeth tug on my lower lip as I fight a smile, my hand landing on his thigh to give him am appreciative squeeze.
“This is a new recipe, so I’m not too sure about it yet,” Graham announces as he enters the dining room. “If you don’t like them, I can make something else.”
“Are you kidding? They look incredible,” I laugh, reaching forward to help him lower the tray onto the table.
Katie’s feet swing back and forth beneath her chair while Graham works to slice nearly-perfect cubes of dessert, passing plates to each of us as he doles them out. She pokes at the berry pieces with her fork, twisting up her lips as she looks between the dessert and Brody, then back to her plate again before finally diving in.
When we’ve all finished our treats and our drinks, Brody busies himself with cleaning up and his sister helps herself to a hot cup of tea while Graham and the kids get involved in a conversation with one another.
“You seem happier than you were when we met,” Edie tells me. “I hope he’s being good to you.”
“He is,” I answer with a smile. “And to Katie.”
She looks to her brother with a proud smile before turning back to face me, wrapping an arm tightly around my shoulders as she squeezes my body against hers.
And just like that, I’m an honorary Montgomery.
With Katie tucked into bed in a room that is starting to look a little bit less like a guest room and a whole lot more like a little girl’s bedroom, Brody and I stand next to each other at the dark quartz counter top in his bathroom.
While I use a makeup removing wipe to scrub my face free of the concealer that I’ve now been wearing for more than twelve hours, he peels off his shirt, carefully discarding it into the hamper that sits conveniently next to his shower.
“From now until Sunday evening, it would be in your best interest to be on time, sweet girl,” he tells me as he reaches inside the shower to turn on the flow of water. “You’re already at twelve minutes.”
I shoot a playful glance at him in the mirror, letting my skin tingle at the thought of what he’s promising me.
Standing behind me, he slides his hands underneath the t-shirt that I’m wearing, slowly lifting it off of my body and over my head before he tosses it into the hamper with his own clothing, following with my bra and borrowed sweatpants.
Warm water soaks through my hair to kiss my scalp as Brody pulls off his glasses and we step into the shower together.
This has become an unspoken routine for us on any night that we spend together; I scrub off any makeup that I’m wearing and he cleans the lenses of his glasses – either before or after we shower, depending on his mood. We step into the warm water and help each other to scrub off our days. Sometimes we have sex, other times, we just enjoy each other’s company.
It’s something that I find myself always looking forward to.
Reaching for a bottle of cleanser, I squeeze a dollop of it onto my hand and work to scrub free the tattoos that he let Katie color in with washable marker before she went to bed. My mouth ticks up into a smile at the colorful suds that rise to the surface of his skin as it comes clean.
“You called Katie your kid tonight,” I tell him as the water washes away the foamy bubbles.
“Yes, I did,” he says.
I press my chest against his body, looking up at him as his fingers push my hair back and away from my face. My arms snake around his waist to squeeze him around his middle as he lowers his head to meet me in a kiss.
“Can I tell you something kind of embarrassing?” I ask.
My teeth tug anxiously on my lower lip, but Brody’s thumb reaches to pull it away.
“Of course you can,” he tells me.
My fingers massage into the muscle of his back as his eyes study mine, and I hope that I’m close enough for him to be able to see them clearly.
“When I was leaving work today, I called this home,” I admit. “I meant to say, ‘I’m going to Brody’s,’ but I said, ‘I’m going home’ instead. I’ve been doing it all week.”
“There’s a reason that there are toys in that bedroom and you have space in my closet, Nia,” he chuckles. “I understand that there are external factors to consider, but when you’re both ready, yes, this is your home.”
I stifle a laugh before lifting myself onto my toes to kiss him. “So it isn’t just me that you make exceptions for,” I tease.
“I suppose not,” he answers.
Pumping a dollop of his shampoo into my hand, I rub my palms together before reaching for his chocolate-colored locks, which always seem to take up a slight curl at the ends when they get wet.
My fingers work the shampoo into his scalp as our lips meet again, our tongues moving to explore each other while I work the shampoo into a thick lather. One of Brody’s arms wraps itself around my waist while the other cups the back of my head, and I’m leaned against the shower wall as our kiss deepens.
At some point, suds slip themselves between our lips, bitter and harsh against the tastebuds, but neither of us care. We’re on our invisible plane, where the door between us is no longer just wide open, it has simply ceased to exist.
We both wear scars from the damage left on it, and I’m not sure that we’ll ever be rid of them, but the space between us is shared, now.
I no longer worry about the door being slammed shut, I don’t fear being locked out of his side of it. I’m not scared that I’ll run away and slam it in his face.
I’m sure that his team of zombie snipers will still occasionally take up their posts, and I’m sure that there will still be times that I’ll doubt myself – even if Brody won’t let those moments last longer than a few beats.
I’m sure that Katie will still have moments in which she struggles with the changes in her life, especially when the day comes that we do take the steps necessary for the three of us to live under one roof.
My mind drifts to the childrens’ allergy tablets in Brody’s medicine cabinet, to the hydrangeas now removed from the front of his office building, to the earrings of Katie’s favorite flower that he hadn’t asked for my help in picking out, and warmth floods my body.
Daniel wouldn’t have dreamed of shouting at his parents for making a rude comment aimed at me. I wouldn’t have dreamed of asking or expecting him to.
I may not be one anymore, but maybe I had been a meek little girl. Taking what was handed to me and accepting it instead of demanding something more. Instead of looking at myself in the mirror and telling myself that I was worth more than snide comments and curled lips.
I will never be that girl again.