“He falls asleep in the blink of an eye,” Savannah commented as she stood. “I’ll take him.” She reached for him, but my hand covered hers.
I barely managed to ignore the tingle that shot through me at the skin-to-skin contact. I noticed Savannah’s breath hitch. That caused my heartbeat to quicken.
“I’ll take him to his room.” My voice came out low and deep.
She nodded and stepped back.
Slowly, I released her wrist and maneuvered to stand in the way that allowed me to carry Aiden without awakening him. Savannah’s footsteps were soft behind me as she trailed me up the stairs to his bedroom.
Somehow, I had managed to change him into his PJs without disturbing him too much, but as I tried to leave, he caught me by the hand.
“Can you read to me?” Aiden mumbled.
I grabbed the top book on the stand next to his bed. It was a storybook about a boy who had a father who was a pilot in the Air Force.
I stopped and stared at the book. I hated the way my eyes watered. Looking up, I caught Savannah standing at the door. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“He picked that one out when we went to the library last week.” There was a slight shake in her voice as if she were nervous. “I can read to him if you’re too tired.”
I waved her off and opened the book. “No problem, kid.” I read page after page of the story. Every page or so, Aiden would mumble about how cool something was.
When I was satisfied that he had finally fallen asleep, I put the book back where it was and tiptoed out of the room.
Savannah stood in the hallway as I shut the door behind me. I’d thought she’d gone downstairs to finish cleaning up the kitchen.
“Thank you for doing that.”
I shook my head. “No thanks needed.” I peered back at the door. “He’s a good kid.”
She gave me a tight smile.
We stood there silently for an awkwardly long time, but I couldn’t stop looking at her. For years, in my most private thoughts, I’d wished she was standing there, right in front of me. Now that she was, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her.
“I couldn’t have deserved better,” I said out of nowhere.
She frowned, her forehead wrinkling up the way it always did when she had a question.
“Last week,” I explained, “you said I deserved better. That’s a lie.”
She visibly swallowed. “Ace…”
“It never mattered to me,” I continued. “Where you came from. Where I came from. Opposite sides of the bridge, too young, different races, whatever all the bullshit everyone else said why we shouldn’t be. You were it for me.”
I had no idea why I was admitting everything, but it felt like it needed to be said.
Savannah’s eyes watered, and I grinned. With a step forward, I used my thumb to wipe a tear that fell. A small chuckle fell from my lips.
“You’re still a crybaby.”
She laughed and pushed at my shoulder. “Shut up. It’s still your fault I am.” She wiped her tears and cleared her throat.
We fell into silence again. But it was easier this time, less awkward.
“I’m proud of you,” she almost whispered.
“Say that again. Louder this time,” I commanded, needing to hear the words again.
She looked me directly in the eyes. “You’ve accomplished everything you wanted to do.” She gave me a shaky smile. “I never doubted you would, but I wanted to tell you that I’m proud of you.”
