Her mind drifted from her past to the women’s group she had recently joined at the insistence of Kalilah. Her sister saw through her efforts in trying to hide that she was fine. The loss of her son was so prominent in her life, even though it happened years ago. The people in the group were people who lost children and they met once a week to discuss their varying feelings and emotions. Kaiya felt she was on the road to permanent recovery, but with the return of her ex-boyfriend, painful memories kept flooding her.
Shaking off the vestiges of her terrible past as she heard children laughing, she went to prepare for the lessons.
***
Tyler slid into his jet-black Grand Cherokee jeep and just sat there, staring ahead. Although he was running ragged by the demands of being a single father, he was more than grateful for the opportunity.
He just left the café where he hung out with two of his friends from his group home. He wasn’t shocked that they and others that he contacted never made it to college. Coming out of the group home with no family to turn to wasn’t ideal. Most of his past group home housemates did odd jobs to make a living. He thanked God for blessing him with his baby girl since she probably saved his life.
Tyler figured that had he remained in Montreal, he wouldn’t have been any different from the men he just left at the café.
However, moving back to the place where he grew up and where he had been hurt the most still brought about painful memories. First, he was abandoned by his alcoholic mom, who came back into his life at about the same time his daughter did and then Kaiya. It would be difficult, but he knew he would cope. He just had to, for the sake of his daughter.
Tyler pulled his car into the driveway of his three-family unit in Lexington, Westmount. He couldn’t say why of all the houses in Montreal, he had chosen this large family house when it was only just him, Lili and his mom to live in it.
Perhaps it was the homey feeling it provided or perhaps his vanity that he could now afford such a house when he used to live in a group home. It could also just be the architect in him.
The three-storied terraced building boasted of a grand foyer, a sunroom, a library with built-in shelves, six bedrooms, an attic, a basement, and a garage. The structure was done in shades of sky blue, white, and light gray. The house was still bare of furniture and finishing because he had been so busy since recently moving back to Montreal he hadn’t had time to do that, and he wanted his mother and daughter to come along when shopping. Nevertheless, the building had the convenience of air-conditioning, a sound security system, and high-tech bathrooms. His mother had chosen to live in the basement for her own privacy, even though he had protested.
“Hey Mom,” he called as he strode into the kitchen where she was baking cookies.
“Hey, Son,” she replied as she removed a batch from the oven.
Tyler climbed on the stool by the counter and reached for one, but his mother tapped his hand with her spatula.
“Ouch!”
“It’s hot,” she warned, giving him the stern eye look she used to bestow on him when he was much younger.
“I know,” he grumbled good-naturedly and reached for it again. It was indeed very hot, so he dropped it on the tray, causing his mother to laugh.
Her laughter, however, sounded strained, so he gave her a queer look. He noted the wrinkles on her forehead and frowned.
“Mom, are you alright?” he questioned with worry lacing his voice.
She raised her brows at him. “Of course, I’m alright? Why wouldn’t I be?”
She turned away so hastily it belied her words. Tyler fixed his intense gaze on the slim, petite woman. She pushed back a strand of coffee brown hair from her pixie haircut and kept her honey-brown eyes from his.
Even though it was after the birth of Lili that he and his mother got to be reacquainted, he was attuned to her moods. Something was troubling her. Although she had been sober for over ten years now, he still worried about her.
“Mom, please tell me what’s wrong,” he urged when she still refused to look at him.
“Nothing,” she answered, but he caught a sob in her throat.
He rose from his stool, strolled around the kitchen island to place comforting hands on her shoulders. He gently whirled her around and wasn’t surprised to see the tears glazing her eyes.
The worried man dropped his hands. “Mom, please talk to me.”
She sniffed and waved a nonchalant hand. “Don’t mind me. I’m just being silly.”
“Whatever has upset you this much isn’t silly to me. Please tell me what’s wrong.”
Lowering her head, the woman sighed heavily. Then she lifted eyes filled with despair at him.
“I know that you really need the contract and the change is good for Lili, but I must confess that coming back here where my life was a total mess is…is proving very difficult for me.”
Tyler nodded. He completely understood what she was talking about. They both had good but terrible memories about Montreal.
