5. Emerald #2
It had been a long time since we’d lived like this. My phone went off in my purse, and I reached inside without even looking down to see who it was.
“Hello.”
“Hey girl!” Jordan’s voice immediately brought me back down to reality.
“Hey!” I broke away from Lola as she plopped down on the couch and leaned back with her arms stretched on either side.
Strolling up the stairs, I found myself wandering the halls until I came across a set of double doors.
Pushing them open, I damn near passed out at the excessiveness taking up the room.
I couldn’t stop the tears from nearly blinding me.
First, the velvet, upholstered, wing-backed bed was shaped in a circle, with storage underneath and a king-sized mattress arranged in the middle.
There was a matching table on each side, plus two dressers with mirrors arranged on opposite sides of the room with two separate five-drawer bureaus.
Drifting inside, my feet sank into the plush carpet with each step.
Ivo had all kinds of designer gifts lining the bed and dressers, and on one of the bedside tables was an arrangement of pink and red roses with touches of baby’s breath.
There was a card propped up against the vase that simply read Welcome Home .
“Earth to Emerald!” Jordan bellowed.
“Oh, sorry. What?”
“Girl, are you OK?”
“I’m fine. Just in the middle of something.” I approached the bed to examine one of the gift boxes, swiping my hand over the Givenchy label.
“Oh, well I didn’t want to bother you. I just wanted to know how you were feeling with the hormones and everything?” Jordan pressed.
“I’m hanging in there. It’s got my moods all over the place and Sapphire walking on eggshells around me, but nothing we can’t handle.”
“That’s good to hear. Are you free this week for lunch?”
“Um, I don’t know. I am actually job hunting, and I have to get Sapphire back and forth to school and practice. He’s got two games this week too. Maybe Sunday?”
“Oh, that’s perfect! I was wondering when we should get everyone together.
Since this is all going to be a process, I really want you to get to know Rossi and the rest of the family.
Some of them can be a bit much, but Ivo is very family oriented.
I let him have it because I do adore Rossi.
The rest of them I could take or leave,” she cackled.
Just the thought of having to sit around Mrs. Marek had my stomach doing the fool.
There was no way I was going to be able to be in her presence and fake a damn thing.
I doubt she could either. Rossi was very straightforward, and if she didn’t like or approve of you, it was pretty much written on her face.
If I didn’t dislike her so much, I might respect her, but it was obvious she thought very little of me.
Jordan sounded excited though, and I didn’t want to be the one to let her down.
“Um, OK. Sure,” I agreed reluctantly.
“Really? Okay! Bring Sapphire. I’ll let Rossi know this week so she can add two extra places at the table.”
“Great,” I drawled, not the least bit excited about this gathering.
“Thanks for dinner, Lo.” I belched and chewed the last of my General Tso’s chicken before grabbing a napkin and wiping my hands and mouth.
Me, her, and Sap sat around the island in the kitchen, eating and coming up with all kinds of decor and things we could use to bring a little more personality to the place.
A new text alert drew my attention to my phone, and I saw that I had a notification from Ivo.
Instantly, a smile graced my face, and I picked it up.
“Is that Coach?” Sap wondered, stuffing his face with more lo mein.
“No,” I answered, locking eyes briefly with Lola, who simpered.
“I am glad I was able to help you both get moved in. I demand a movie night in the near future, and it’s looking like all our kickbacks are going to be right here.” Lola winked at Sap and pointed at the ground.
“I’ll walk you out. Sap, can you clean up the leftovers and put them in the fridge?” I instructed, padding behind Lola to the exit.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Em. You are playing with some serious fire.”
“I know, and I do. I appreciate your concern though.”
“You know I’m with you. Right or wrong.” Lola embraced me.
“Text me when you get home!” I called out to her when she stepped out.
Closing the door, I pressed my back against it and smiled while peering around at our new home. I was looking forward to making new memories here. I decided to call Ivo instead of texting back since Sapphire was all the way in the kitchen.
“What’s up, baby?” he answered almost right away. “You get moved in OK? You need some help with anything?”
I loved that most about him. In the past, we were both so used to not expressing ourselves that this second go round had us making sure we both got it right.
“No. We’re good. Just finished eating. I left my bedroom and living room furniture, of course, but I was thinking we could just put it in storage or something.”
“Whatever you want to do, mama.” Ivo sounded like he was exhaling. “I’m about to take care of a few things and then slide over to see you for a little bit. You need anything?”
“No. I’ll just talk to you when you get here.”
“Aight.”
Our call ended, and I traipsed back toward the kitchen where Sapphire wiped the counters down.
He was so tall and lanky, and I couldn’t believe he was about to be sixteen soon.
There was so much I wanted for him in life, and I was determined to make sure he got it.
He peered up as I lingered in the doorway watching him like a creep.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.” I smiled and inched toward the counter.
“I’m just really proud of you. I’m also grateful that you’ve been such a good sport about all this and these changes we’ve made.
You were little when we left Oak Bluffs, so I know you don’t remember much about it, but we lived like this when we were here.
You deserve your own room, a bed to sleep in, and I saved up a few dollars so you can go shopping and decorate it. ”
“Thanks, sis. I appreciate you. You didn’t have to step up like you did for me after Daddy died and Mama left, but you did, and you been there ever since. I don’t take that for granted,” Sapphire assured me, making my eyes tear up. “I’m heading to my room.” He beamed like a big ass kid.
“Oh, shit, I forgot all about the car! Let’s go check out my new ride!” Clapping my hands together, I skipped past him to the door for the garage entry, and we both stopped dead in our tracks.
Not only was there a silver Audi Q8, but beside it was a white S5.
“Oh my God.”
“Yo, these are lit right here! Can I drive one?”
“You have to get your license first. The permit can only get you so far. So we’ll work on that.” I stepped into the garage so I could examine both rides, heart racing like a horse in my chest as my fingertips brushed against the cold metal exterior.
“Yo, Ivo is the goat! I can’t believe he did all this!” Sapphire bit his fist and circled the S5 before pulling the driver’s door open.
That new car smell immediately hit us as he examined the features and toyed with the sound system.
Bobbing his head to Young Boy NBA, he grinned the whole time and dug his phone from his basketball shorts pocket so he could snap a few selfies.
Shaking my head at him, I slid over to the SUV so I could check out the soft leather interior and sit in the driver’s seat.
It’s been a long time since I’d been behind the wheel of a luxury car.
Gripping the steering wheel, I couldn’t contain my own grin as I imagined pulling up to this condo or my next job that I was deserving of.
I was excited about all the things to come.
I couldn’t wait to love on Ivo when he came by.
He didn’t have to do any of this, and I wanted him to know I would fuck with him either way.
It was just nice to know that he was still generous and adoring after all these years.
Getting to relearn him was a privilege I wasn’t going to take lightly.
He hadn’t mentioned his art or any of that since we’d been hanging with each other, but I had the perfect gift idea for him and got ahead of myself by ordering it to be delivered today.
After Sap and I finished living out our fantasies in the new cars, we headed back inside.
He went down the hall to his new very spacious bedroom with a king-sized bedroom set and closed the door behind him.
It was early, but I expected him to probably take a nap before linking up with Blaine so that he could practice later this afternoon.
I decided to unpack myself but ended up falling asleep.
Hours later, Sap told me he was leaving, and I yawned and rolled right back over.
I stirred a little later because I heard voices echoing off the walls, and confusion immediately marred my features as I sat up and looked around.
Picking up my phone beside me on the bed, I saw that it was just a little after five p.m. Stretching, I slipped my feet into my slippers and started down the hall.
“Bro, that’s not even how that shit supposed to go. You putting the wrong screw in there.” An unfamiliar male voice drew my attention.
Looking over the glass-encased railing, I spotted Ivo seated on the floor in the living room and another male figure on the couch with a set of instructions in his hand. I couldn’t tell what the hell they were doing as I shook my head and started down the steps.
“Um, hello,” I greeted them, surprising Ivo as his head popped up from what he was doing.
His younger brother, who I remember as Brick, turned a little to face me. A grin lit up his boyish features as he looked me over from head to toe.
“What’s up, Emerald?”
“Hi, Brick. What are you doing?” I asked, hovering behind the couch where he was seated.