CH 33 - #hallelujah
Riley
“WHAT DO YOU think about Noah?” I asked Rhys.
It was Saturday night, and we were lying in his bed after going to the fireworks show in town with his family, mine, Macie, and Noah.
“He’s a cool guy. He’s crazy about Macie, too, like she is him.”
“But do you like him? As a man?”
“Yeah, I do. I can tell he’s stable and responsible, unlike Steven.”
“I believe this is karma making things right for Macie. She’s getting what she never did with Steven, multiplied by ten.”
“I believe you’re right.”
I looked over Rhys’s smiling face. “This whole day was so much fun. It felt like old times again.”
“I know.”
“But are you happy?”
Rhys frowned. “Of course I am. Why would you ask that?”
“Just making sure.”
“Are you happy?”
“I’m so very happy. I just hate that I ended us last year because so much time was wasted—time that we could’ve and should’ve been together.”
“Riley, stop. Don’t regret our journey and the lessons that we both learned. The main one being that we can’t live without each other.”
“Do you really not regret what happened?”
“No. You and I had to be apart to realize what we had.”
“You mean for me to realize what we had.”
“I was trying to be gentle. I always knew what we had, but you had to spread those big, beautiful wings of yours, fly away for a little while, taste the world beyond Cypress Hills, and then come back home after realizing it was all you ever needed—and me.”
I sighed. “I don’t know how it is that you’re so understanding of all of this after how badly I hurt you.”
“Like I’ve told you before, I understand you, Riley, better than anyone else, just like you do me. I don’t fault you for following your dreams. I wouldn’t want you to fault me for wanting to stay here for the rest of my life, although I would’ve gone anywhere with you if you’d asked me.”
“And that’s my biggest regret because if I’d asked, the past year of us being apart wouldn’t have happened.”
“But we both grew, didn’t we?”
“I know I did.”
“I grew too, mia bella. So, from this point on, let’s not have any regrets about the past year. Okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“You’re wearing your Sunday best again,” I said, looking Rhys over.
“Yep.”
“And your cowboy hat this time.”
“Too much?”
“Never.”
“Just making sure. I stopped wearing it after…”
“After we were over.”
Rhys nodded. “Because you always liked it whenever I wore it.”
“Because you rocked my world whenever you did.”
“Do I now?”
“Damn straight, you do. We’ve got plenty of time before church starts, so take me back to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rhys took off his clothes, and I took off mine. Then we laid down in his bed and made slow, tender love. The same as when we had sex at my momma and daddy’s house, Rhys and I got choked up. Neither of us had to explain why. We were both so grateful to have each other again and to be this close.
Sitting with our families at church before the service began, I leaned across Rhys toward his parents.
“How are those broken toes feeling today?” I asked Rob.
“A little better, I suppose, but I’ll be alright. After a couple more days, I won’t be hobbling around like an old man.”
“You might not be hobbling, but you’ll still be old,” Janice teased.
Rob placed his hand on his chest, acting offended. “Need I remind you that we’re in the house of the Lord where there’s no judgment?”
Janice giggled and gave Rob a quick kiss. The way they picked on each other and the mutual affection they openly displayed reminded me of how my momma and daddy were. Both couples were wonderful examples, regularly showing Rhys, Jackson, Rachel, and me that a man and a woman can be married for years and still be in love and have fun.
I nestled back into Rhys’s side, and he tightened his arm around my shoulders. A moment later, Reagan and Destinee Smith walked up to the pew in front of us, smiling and asking us how we were doing before they sat down. They were classmates of Rhys’s and mine, graduated the same year as us, and married that June.
As the service began, Destinee whispered something to Reagan. I noticed the strained look on her face, and then she covered her mouth and hurried out of the sanctuary. I knew she was pregnant with her first child, and I could tell that she was experiencing morning sickness.
My grandpa had been preaching for about ten minutes, and Destinee hadn’t returned. I was concerned about her, and so was Reagan. He kept looking over his shoulder in the direction of the restrooms.
“Hey, I’m going to go check on your sweet little wife,” I whispered to him.
“I was about to.”
“That’s okay. Let me do it.”
“Thanks, Riley.”
I smiled and then looked at Rhys. He nodded, and I stood up and went to find Destinee. I could hear her throwing up before I entered the women’s restroom.
“It’s Riley,” I said, tapping on her stall door. “Let me help you.”
She unlatched the door and opened it. “This is for the birds,” she said, sweat covering her face.
I stuck out my bottom lip and grabbed some paper towels. “Here, let’s get your face dried off.”
“You didn’t have to come in here.”
“I wanted to. You don’t need to be going through this alone.”
“Thanks, Riley.”
“Of course.”
“I have never been this sick in my life.”
“How far along are you?”
“Almost nine weeks.”
“From what I’ve read, you’ve got about another month of this.”
“I read that, too, and hope it’s right. I’m concerned this will last throughout the rest of my pregnancy. It was that way for my mom when she was pregnant with me.”
I held up my hand. “I’m crossing my fingers that it isn’t that way for you. Are you taking anything to help with your nausea?”
“No, I don’t want to take any medicine. I sip on Sprite and nibble on Saltines. It helps a little.”
“Good.”
“Oh, God, I feel another wave coming on.”
Destinee turned around and leaned over the toilet. I pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail while she threw up what sounded like her toes this time. After that wave passed, I dried her pretty face again and walked her over to the cushioned bench in the restroom so she could sit down. Then I heard a light knock on the door. When I opened it, Reagan and Rhys were standing in front of me.
“Give this to Destinee,” Reagan said, handing me a bottle of Sprite and a sleeve of crackers.
“Where’d you get these?”
“They were in an insulated bag in my truck. I’ve learned to take them with us whenever we’re out and about.”
“What an attentive husband you are.”
“I do my best,” he chuckled.
“You guys go back to the service. I’ve got Destinee.”
Reagan thanked me, gave me a hug, and walked off. Rhys didn’t, though. He kept looking at me with his sparkling blue eyes.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“You better.”