“That’sthe one. You want to give it to Ellie? That’s her gift from Santa,” Loyal said.
Zion’s little legs carried him over to her, and he handed her the box.“What is it? What is inside of there, Ellie?” The way he said her name was too cute not to laugh.
“We working on them Ls,” Loyal snickered.
Ellie laughed and reluctantly accepted the box.“I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts, Loyal. I’m not prepared for this.”
Loyal rubbed his lips.“I only want one thing; youain’t even got to wrap it,” he flirted.
She blushed, and her body reacted to him. The power of a man when a woman actually liked him was miraculous. All it took was one word, a simple look, hell, sometimes just a thought, and her body turned on. It was something she had struggled with in her relationship with Cairo. He never took the time to heat her oven. He just wanted to put the dish in with the touch of one button. He was a lazy and unprepared cook. Loyal was a sous chef.
“Do you want to help me open it?” Ellie asked.
“Yes, please,” Zion answered. She pulled him into her lap and allowed Zion to snatch the intricately wrapped paper and bow off.
She opened the box and frowned at the key that sat on top of a QR code.
“What is this?” she asked.
“It’sa key, silly,” Zion answered. She rubbed the top of his head and then reached inside her purse to retrieve her cell phone. When she scanned the code, a home listing popped up, only it was marked: SOLD. Her eyes fluttered up at him in disbelief.
“It’s a five-bedroom. I got it in Bloomfield because I figured you’d want a suburban feel. If I’m wrong, you can sell it, and you can choose a different area. It should be enough space for you and the girls,” he said.“Everything’s updated. It’s not a new build because I’m acontractor who loves the quality of homes built before the year 2000, but it’s been completely redone inside. Old bones, new guts.”
Ellie was washed in a sense of overwhelm. This was too much for her. He was too good for her. He was so sure, and she was everything but certain.
“There’s one more thing,” he informed. He stood and walked over to the mantle to retrieve a manila envelope. He handed it to her. Tears were imminent, but she was fighting them off tooth and nail.
“It’s ten percent of the partnership that Cass and I are starting. I’m gifting you ten of my shares,” he stated.
“I can’t accept this,” Ellie whispered, eyes brimming with disbelief, but most of all with sorrow.“Loyal!”
“E, weain’t got to do this dance. Let me give you what you deserve,” Loyal said.“Ain’tno strings. Your name is on everything.”
Ellie shook her head, moving Zion from her lap gently, and then standing to her feet.“I can’t…” She felt wetness hit her cheeks and saw Loyal’s confusion all over his face.
“Elliot, talk to me,” Loyal said, following her to the kitchen, out of earshot from his son, but within eyesight. He was calm. Every time she was a different version of her neurotic self, he was patient. She appreciated his ability to stay levelheaded even when she was being insane. Cairo had never done that. Their arguments would escalate every time because Cairo matched her energy instead of allaying it.“Whatever you’re telling yourself we can’t have, I promise you, we can. It don’t matter what I got to do to make it happen. You don’t like the house? The location? What?”
“The house is beautiful,”Ellie sighed.“It’s perfect. You’re…you showed up in my life too early, Loyal. I’m not ready for you. I’mdamaged, and you aren’t the one who broke me. I’ve got to deal with the person who broke me before I can go into something like this with you. It’s not fair to you.”
“Fuck we talking about here, E?” Loyal asked, brow bent.“What you mean you got to deal with that nigga?” Loyal didn’t mince words. He wanted to be clear, and she couldn’t lie to him. He didn’t deserve anything less than the truth.
Ellie held onto the edge of the counter and bowed her head. Her chin quivered.I just met this man. This can’t be this hard,she thought. Only it was this hard. It was impossible. She was about to throw her life off course. She felt it. The possibility of what life could look like with Loyal was beautiful. It sat just on the horizon; all she had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other. She had to grow. She had to move forward. But her past was calling her. She had time invested with Cairo, and what if…What if they could really repair and make things work? It was too much invested to not try. Right?
“Cairo came by the house last night. He wants to work things out,” Ellie could barely choke out the words. She saw them land viciously, and his entire body stiffened. He went from caring to indifferent in seconds.
He looked down at his son and then up at her. This was hurting him. She could tell. He was too stubborn to show it, but his eyes gave him away.
“What do you want?” Loyal demanded. Patience gone. He was angry, and she couldn’t even blame him.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.“But I do know that my girls need their father. They deserve parents who fight to make it work for them. If I can give that to them...” She couldn’t even finish the sentence because it hurt.
Loyal nodded.“I can’t have this conversation in front of my son,” Loyal stated.
He wanted to yell. He wanted to escalate the shit. Ellie wished he could feel her heart right now. This wasn’t easy for her. It was breaking her inside.
“I’m sorry.” If her sorrow was a measure of her regret, then it was infinite. Her heart shattered more and more as every second passed. His silence was punishment. She hated it. Finally, he said,
“Yeah, me too.” He turned his back to her and went back to Zion.“You should get back to your family.”
