48. Rei
“Rei!” a warm voice called.
I looked up from the tile I was scrubbing to see Coretta waving at me from near the entry doors. People all around looked to see who was yelling, because while the room usually had a steady buzz of sound, it never saw this level of excitement.
I pressed up from the floor, rubbing my palms on my worn jumpsuit. “Coretta, what are you doing here? Quentin’s on his retreat!”
She came over and gave me a hug, then stepped back, looking around. “I know, but I wanted to see my daughter-in-love. This is the start of it all, huh, your love story?”
My heart warmed. “Let me show you something.” I waved my hand for her to follow me, and we walked toward the wall of sticky notes.
The display was getting bigger and fluffier all the time, but I walked to the sparser part near the doors to the janitorial supply room, where only one person left notes.
There was a note there in the handwriting I now recognized as Quentin’s.
I miss you.
I hadn’t had the heart to remove it since seeing it this morning because I knew he’d be gone for a couple more days. I pointed at it, and Coretta’s dark eyes tracked the words. “Quentin wrote that?”
I nodded. “This is where I always knew to look for his notes.”
She put her hand over her chest, giving me a view of her red, glittery nails. Her matching red lips pressed together, like she was seeing a cute puppy. Or maybe just the actions of her sweet-hearted son. “I love that,” she said.
The corners of my lips rose in a genuine smile. “Me too.”
Her gaze lingered on the note a moment longer, and then she turned to me. “Let me take you out for dinner and some shopping. We haven’t had a bridal shower yet, and I’d love to get you some things for moving into Quentin’s place. It’s not exactly set up for a female’s comfort.”
My heart squeezed with a mix of guilt and longing. This type of relationship with my mother-in-law was what I’d always wanted, and yet how would she feel if she discovered my past or that I’d kept it from Quentin?
She frowned. “You are moving in, right? I just assumed, but–”
“I’m moving in,” I said quickly, if only to spare her from her guilt. This saint of a woman didn’t deserve that feeling.
“So please tell me you’re free tonight.”
I’d kept so many secrets lately, and I just didn’t have it in me to keep any more. I couldn’t lie to Coretta. Especially not when she was being so kind to me and supportive of my relationship with her son. “I’m free. We can go now if you want?”
She pursed her lips, looking over my faded jumpsuit. “Is that what you’re wearing, or do we need to hit the department store first?”
A surprised laugh barked past my lips. “God, no. Let me get changed. But first...” Taking her hand, I led her to the coffee counter, where Dominic lounged, long hair falling over his face as he scribbled something in a notebook.
“New lyrics?” I asked him.
He looked up, a spark in his eyes as he said, “Hey, mama. Yeah, a little something new.” He looked to Coretta and lifted his chin in question.
“Can you take good care of my mother-in-law?” I asked.
“Mother-in-love,” she corrected me. “I don’t like this in-law nonsense.”
Dominic’s mouth was gaping throughout the exchange. “You’re—you’re—married?”
I held out my hand to show him the fancy ring glittering on my finger, and he stared at it.
“Damn it, it’s the truth that all the good ones are gone.
” His eyes sparked. “Hold on!” He wrote something down in his notebook.
When he was done scribbling, he gave his focus to Coretta.
“Do you have a name, or should I call you gorgeous?”
She chuckled. “I think I like you.”
As they talked about her coffee order, I rushed to the supply room, getting an outfit from my locker. This time it was a pair of fleece-lined leggings, camel leather booties, and a berry-red sweater tunic with a tan-and-white scarf.
Once I was done changing, I went back and found Coretta sitting in the café area, sipping from a paper mug, the lid stained with her red lipstick. Getting closer, I said, “Did he give you a little tasting flight?”
“This is for you,” she passed me the cup, and I noted Dominic’s scribbled words. For the one who got away.
Smiling, I looked over my shoulder toward the guy at the coffee counter. He put his hands over his heart like he’d been wounded and pretended to stumble around. All this time, I thought his flirting had been for fun, but his actions made me wonder if he’d really liked me.
“You’ll find the one,” I assured him regardless.
That must have sparked an idea because he mumbled something incoherent and instantly started scribbling in his notebook again.
Coretta said, “Better get while the getting’s good.”
I followed her to the front door, seeing her car waiting in street-side parking.
Conversation flowed easily between us all the way to the department store where we went down all the aisles.
We joked about phrases printed on pillows, shared good deals on the tags (even though neither of us really needed to shop on sale, thanks to Quentin), and stashed things into the cart to help “womanize” Quentin’s home.
I internally giggled every time she used the word.
We’d been having a good time when her nails dug into my hands and she yanked me around an aisle, hissing, “DUCK!”
I stared at her wildly as we crouched. “What’s going on?” My mind instantly went to an active shooter situation or a robbery. “Do I need to call the cops?”
“It’s Claire.” She held on to a shelf, trying to catch her breath with her eyes closed. “I don’t want to spend a second of my time looking at that woman.”
“The Claire?” I asked. “Quentin’s ex?”
She nodded, lips pursed tight.
Curiosity got the best of me, and I whispered, “Let me make sure she’s not coming this way.”
“Okay,” Coretta exhaled.
Carefully, I looked around the corner of the aisle. But I didn’t see Claire.
I saw Courtneigh.