Brooklyn hadn’t been too keen on hugging Ellie lately, so Ellie was shocked when Brooklyn wrapped her arms around her tightly.
“I’m glad I’m back too, Mommy,” Brooklyn said.“I’m sorry.” Brooklyn broke down on her apology, and Ellie’s eyes watered. She held her daughter, her own eyes misting as she looked over Brooklyn’s shoulders at Sloan.
“Thank you,” Ellie mouthed. She was unsure of what had occurred, but she recognized Sloan’s magic when she saw it. She felt it all in Brooklyn’s hug.
Papa was in the kitchen, and he stepped out to greet Sloan.“Hey,beautiful,” Papa greeted.
“Hey, Papa,” Sloan said, moving around Ellie to hug the old man.
“Are you okay?” Ellie asked Brooklyn. Brooklyn nodded.
Ellie looked to Sloan, who nodded in confirmation.
“She’s fine,” Sloan said.“We’lltalk later.”
Ellie nodded and released Brooklyn.
“Okay, get settled in, I guess,” Ellie said, grabbing her belt loops with her thumbs and then shrugging.
Brooklyn headed for the stairs, and Ellie called her name.
“Brook?”
“Yeah, Ma?” Brooklyn turned back.
“I love you,” Ellie said.
“I love you, too, Ma,” Brooklyn stated.
“Come on, Brook! Let me tell you about OG! You missed the Christmas Tree Farm!” Tessa exclaimed as she pulled her big sister up the stairs. Papa hugged Brooklyn and then made his exit.
“I’ma be in the back with Cass; give this boy a hand. There are homemade catfish Po Boys in the oven for everybody when y’all ready to eat,” Papa said.“There’s more than enough for you, daughter,” he said, talking to Sloan.“You know I always cook more than enough.”
“Thanks, Papa,” Sloan smiled, kissing his cheek. Sloan was relieved that Cassidy was too tied up to notice her presence.
Ellie turned back to Sloan.“Am I going to need a drink for this conversation?” Ellie asked.
“Probably,” Sloan said.“You want to step out for a minute to grab one? I’llfill you in.” Sloan was looking for an excuse to duck out of there before she ran into Cassidy.
“Nah, you know it’s some liquor here, and Papa just cooked. Come on. Take that coat off,” Ellie led her to the kitchen table, and Sloan pulled off her coat, revealing her doctor’s jacket and work outfit underneath.
“Are you coming from work? I thought you were off for the week?” Ellie asked.
“I went in to catch up. Brook called me while I was at the office. Said she wanted to come home. That nigga took her phone, Ellie. Had her sleeping on the couch, and his girlfriend’s brother is living there,” Sloan informed.
“Wait, girl, what?” Ellie’s heart sank.“I will kill him.” An instant panic filled her as the worst-case scenarios played through her mind.
“Brooklyn!” Ellie shouted.
“Ellie, she’s fine. I asked all the right questions, nothing happened. I went and got her immediately,” Sloan said, calming her friend’snerves.
“Why the fuck would he put my child on the couch? Why would he even take her there with another grown-ass man she’s not related to living under that fucking roof?!” Ellie hissed in a whisper.“I am going to murder that nigga.”
“Honestly, Ellie, I think you need to force that divorce. It’s time. Get some structure in the girls’lives. Get a formal visitation schedule set up with some rules in place. Nothing happened, thank God, but it could have,” Sloan stated.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Ellie said.
“I’llget the names of some attorneys and set up some meetings for you after the holidays,” Sloan stated.
