25. Lennon
Chapter twenty-five
Lennon
Once Tessa and I are in the kitchen, I start to get nervous. There’s nothing worse than someone barging into your life, and I definitely don’t want to seem like I’m doing that. But I agree with Hayes. Something is off with my friend, and I’m worried. It’s obvious that she is skipping meals and not sleeping enough. I start rinsing off the plates, while she loads the dishwasher, and I decide to rip the band aid off. “Tess…are you okay? Seriously?” She sets the plate in the dishwasher and when she turns to face me, there are tears streaming down her face. I quickly turn the water off, dry off my hands, and wrap my arms around her. After a moment, I lead her to the couch, force her to sit down, and run back into the kitchen to get a bottle of wine and two glasses.
When I get back to the living room, I pour us each a glass, and sit down next to her. She picks up her glass and takes a big gulp. “Tess, you can tell me anything. Whatever you say stays between us. But I will tell you that Hayes is concerned. And so am I.” After she takes another sip of wine, she sets her glass down and takes a deep breath.
“Most of it is getting this collection done and staying on top of everything else. When I opened it, I never imagined how busy I would get. I hoped for it but didn’t expect it. Ya know? There was no way that my little Pine Creek clothing boutique would get this popular. But I had a pretty big Instagram influencer stop in and after she tagged the store and showcased the outfits that she bought; my online orders skyrocketed.”
Taking a sip on my wine, I quickly think of how I want to word this. I know she has a part-time employee, but that isn’t enough help when she is the one making all the clothes and working when her employee can’t. But I don’t want to come off like I know how to run her business better than she does, because I don’t. “Have you thought about hiring a few more people? Maybe a manager and another full-timer, on top of your part-time person? ”
Tess is nodding her head even before I finish my question, which makes me feel good. “Yes. And that is the first thing I’m doing after the festival. There’s no way I have time to conduct interviews and train while getting ready for it. I have the ads already written up, and plan to have them start running on the last day of the festival. That way, if someone does respond, I can give that my full attention.”
I’m starting to feel better about the situation the longer we talk. She knows what to do, and she has a plan. She just needs to get through a couple more weeks of craziness. “That seems like a good plan, Tess.” I can tell that there is more that she wants to get off her chest, so I give her a minute. When it’s obvious that she needs a push, I speak, “What else is bothering you? I’m not trying to be pushy. If you don’t want to talk about it, tell me to butt out and I will. Promise.”
We sit in silence for a few moments before she softly starts to cry. “I was dating someone. Sort of. Dating in private. Basically, we both got off behind closed doors, but he didn’t want to be seen out with me, romantically. So, I gave him an ultimatum a couple weeks ago; date me in public, if not, then this situation ends. And it ended.”
“Good for you! I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself. I don’t need to know who you are talking about, but it is his loss. You are an amazing person. Kind to everyone. You love fiercely. And if he can’t see it, then screw him!” Tess lets out a watery laugh, so I reach over and grab her hand, squeezing it.
“One part of my brain agrees with you. It’s the other part that’s tearing me up. Why wasn’t I good enough? Why was he ashamed of me? He only came over in the middle of the night, got what he wanted and left. And I was dumb enough to keep this going for almost a year until I finally had enough.”
My heart hurts for my friend. I hate that someone treated her like a dirty little secret, when she deserves so much more. I have a feeling I know who she is talking about, and I hope for his sake, Hayes never finds out. I would hate to be that person , on the day that he finds out that someone used his baby sister like that. “Oh, Tessa. Nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong with you. I can tell you have real feelings for this person, but it sounds like it was a good idea to take a step back. Focus on you and your business for now. The person that you are meant to be with will appear out of nowhere and knock you on your ass. I know it will happen, because it happened to me.”
We talk for a little while more and she shows me some pictures of the recent pieces she made. For someone who has had zero formal training, Tess can sew anything that she dreams up in her mind. It’s impressive. After another yawn, she stands up stating that she better get home and go to bed so she can wake up early tomorrow. I walk her to the door, and after a hug, she leaves. I find my phone in the kitchen and with my friend’s well-being on my mind, start texting.
I need a pretty big favor.
Shelby
Yes, to whatever you are about to ask.
You don’t even know what it is yet.
Shelby
Doesn’t matter.
Tess was over tonight and I’m worried. She is doing too much, not eating enough.
Can you make up some freezer meals or something quick she can just heat up?
Shelby
That girl…and yes. I’ll make some stuff at the diner tomorrow and run it over to her.
Thanks, I owe you one.
Shelby
No. Absolutely not. This is what we do for our family. And Tess is family.
And that is one of the reasons I love my best friend as fiercely as I do. Since we were kids, she would do anything for the people she considers family.
Thanks, love you. Give my niece and nephew a hug for me.
Shelby
Love you right back. I will.
I set my phone done and finish loading the dishwasher. I’m so lost in my thoughts about Tess, I don’t hear Dale stepping into the kitchen. Since I’ve been home and started dating his son, I haven’t had too many conversations with him. I know he and Hayes had some issues when Hayes was younger, but I think that was your typical teenager parent relationship. And both men pent up a lot of emotions after Hayes’ mom left town.
“Hey, darlin’. Got a minute?” I turn to face the man, which bares such a striking resemblance to the man I’m in love with, I can’t help but think what Hayes will look like in twenty years. “Of course. Everything okay?” I follow him to the dining room and sit down next to him. “I just wanted to thank you. My son…is a good man. Hardworking. A great father…better than I was when my kids were growing up. He knew exactly what to do when he found out about Rosie. But there was something missing from his eyes.” I go to interrupt, but he slightly raises his hand, stopping me. “And then you came home, and a light was lit in both his and Rosie’s eyes. I can’t thank you enough for how happy you make my son and granddaughter. For stepping up and loving them, loving her like a mother should.”
There is a tightness in my chest at his kind words. I will not cry . “Thank you for saying that, Dale. They make it so easy. I have never met a better man than your son, and I’ve known some pretty great men. And you say that you weren’t a good dad, but Dale, you raised two pretty amazing people. And Hayes learned to be an amazing dad from someone.” I go to give the man a hug as Hayes and Rosie come in the back door. Hayes looks back and forth between us, his eyebrows furrowed, I’m sure trying to figure out what is going on in here. “Everything okay?” Hayes steps to the other side of the table, in front of us, as Rosie climbs into my lap and lays her head on my shoulder. A glance at the clock tells me that is past her bedtime. Dale stands up after giving his granddaughter a kiss. “Just having a chat with your Lennon, son. She’s a good one, don’t let her get away.” With that, he says goodbye and heads out the front door.
With Rosie almost fully asleep in my arms, Hayes and I both agree that her bath can wait until morning. I carry her upstairs to her room, while Hayes locks up downstairs. Once I have her brush her teeth and change into her pajamas, Hayes meets us in her room so we can read her a story. It only takes two pages, and she is sound asleep, so we quietly exit her room and head down the hall.
“What did my dad want? And did the talk go okay with Tess?” Hayes wastes no time trying to find out what was talked about, but I need to wash the day off of me. I take my shirt off, followed by my jeans, leaving me in my lacy black bra and matching thong. I watch as his eyes take me in, and I know that he is no longer thinking about his family. “Let’s go shower off this day, babe. ”
Hayes follows me into the bathroom, and he turns on the shower, testing the water. I take my showers scalding, where he likes it somewhere in the middle. I can tell by the dial, he has it warmer than he usually likes. “C’mon, sunshine.” He quickly strips out of his clothes, steps under the spray, and reaches out for me. I drink him in, what woman wouldn’t, and feel like I need to pinch myself. How is this beautiful man mine? Not only is he gorgeous, but he also treats me like I am the most important person in his life…other than Rosie. “See something you like?” He is smirking at catching me checking him out. I quickly nod my head, remove my remaining clothes, and join him in the shower.
“Oh, God!” Our shower stayed PG for all of one minute, but I’m not complaining. I am currently pressed against the tile, legs wrapped around Hayes, as he thrusts into me. Never in my life did I know that sex could be like this. “Look at me, Lennon.” I know when he uses my name, he is serious. I open my eyes and meet his serious gaze. “I. Fucking. Love. You.” He hits my G-spot, and I fall over the edge. “Hayes!” With one more thrust, Hayes is calling out my name, neither one of us looking away from the other. Once he sets me back down, and makes sure I am stable on my feet, we quickly wash off, and get out of the shower .
Once we climb into bed, and my head is on his chest, I am content. This is the life that I will cherish for the rest of my days. “So. You want to tell me what’s going on?” I was going to try to figure out how I wanted to explain things, and keep some things private, but I got sidetracked in the shower. That is the effect this man has on me; with just one look, he turns my brain to mush. “She has a plan. After the festival, she is going to do interviews for a manager and at least one full-time person. I guess on top of getting the new collection ready, her online orders have been insane.” Hayes nods his head, and when I look up at him, I find a smile on his face. I know he is insanely proud of her. As he should be. “What else?” I feel bad for not telling him the whole truth, but I can’t bring myself to say that it appears someone was using his sister. He would immediately know who I was talking about, even though she never gave me a name. “She was kind of seeing someone, and it ended. She is upset about it, but after our talk, I think she is a little better.”
He is quiet for a moment while he digests what I told him. “Thank you for talking to her. I know that you went about it better than I would have. She’ll find her person someday. And he will love her as much as I love you. Or I’ll kill him. ”
I drift off to sleep…happy. There were too many years that I fell asleep afraid. Unsure of how I was going to continue living the life that I was. It’s all because of Hayes that I feel this way. His love healed me. And showed me what real love feels like.