Sloan rang the bell, and James pulled open the door.
“Hey, James, is Court here? She’s supposed to come to the Christmas Tree Farm with us, but sheisn’t answering the phone,” Sloan greeted.
“Yeah, she’s here,” James answered unenthusiastically. He pushed open the screen door and stepped back as Sloan and Cassidy walked inside.
“What up,bruh, you a’ight?” Cassidy asked.
“Trying to make it, man,” James said.“My bad about last night. It was late, and you caught me by surprise.”
“It’s all good as long as shit’s good, you feel me,” Cassidy responded.
“Court, your friend here!” James shouted.
Sloan looked around the house. It was a mess.
“Sorry for the chaos, man. The new baby got me pulling doubles, and Courtain’t had a chance to clean up. The baby kicking both our asses, dawg,” James said. Sloan could hear the heaviness in his tone.
Courtney emerged from the back room, holding her son, and Sloan looked her over.
“Are you okay? Youaren’t answering your phone,” Sloan said, worried. Courtney was dressed, but she looked tired, like she had been up, crying all night.
“Oh, yeah, I’m good. The baby didn’t sleep well last night so I was up all night with him. I must have forgotten to put my phone on the charger,” Courtney said.
“Did you forget about theFriendsmas plans today?” Sloan asked.
Courtney looked at James.
“It’s a lot to do around here, Sloan. I really need to get my house together, and it’s too cold to have Christian outside like this, plus it’s James’first day off in months. We kind of need the time together,” Courtney stated. Sloan knew her friend. Courtney was giving her every excuse in the book, and they wereviable reasons, but Sloan just didn’t feel right leaving her behind. She searched for signs of distress, but there was no evidence of the conflict that lived in this home. The slap had hurt, but it hadn’t left a bruise, and there was nothing to show for the emptiness Courtney felt inside.
A knock at the door announced Ellie’s presence.
“Hey, Court,” Ellie stated as she steered Tessa inside.“Hey, James. Can we use your bathroom?”
Tessa squirmed uncomfortably. Courtney reached out one hand.“Come on. I’lltake you.”
Ellie noticed the messy house instantly as she followed behind her friend and daughter.
“I might as well go too before we hit the road,” Sloan insisted.“I’llbe right back.”
James sighed and motioned for Cassidy to follow him to the kitchen.
“You want a beer or something, man?” he asked.
“Yeah, he’lltake one! We might be a minute!” Sloan shouted.
Courtney led them to the guest bedroom, and Ellie waited until Tessa was in the bathroom to turn to her friends.
“What the fuck is going on, Court?”Ellie grilled.
“Nothing, y’all. It’s just not a good time. I’m going through something,” Courtney’s eyes watered. Sloan could read the signs of postpartum depression. She saw it every day in her line of work.
“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do,” Sloan said.“We’re going to reschedule the Christmas tree thing and stay here and help you out. We’llget this house together, get all this laundry caught up, and cook some meals for you to freeze, so you’llhave a jump-start on your week.”
“Y’all don’t have to do that. I’ve got it under control,” Courtney said.
“No, you don’t, babe,” Ellie whispered.“And we’re not leaving you off Bad andBoujee.”
Courtney laughed to keep from crying as her friends hugged her, forming a small circle.
