Rylee blinked in response.
“That brownstone can go tomorrow. It can be reduced to rubble and ash, but the memories and what you’ve created there won’t. The physical stuff, yes. But the feeling? That’s all you. You can take thatanywhere… even to this house in Greene Gardens.”
Rylee looked off, digesting Liz’s words. As always, her words always sounded doable until Rylee had to actually do them.
“Have you seen the house in Greene Gardens?”
Rylee nodded. “Yeah, in pictures.”
“No,” Liz said with a shake of her head. “Have you actually seen the house? Gone to Greene Gardens to step foot inside to see what Xander sees?”
“Well…no.”
Liz sat silently, waiting for Rylee to continue.
“To be real, Liz,” Rylee continued. “We haven’t spoken about the house since he brought it up. My reaction was so sudden and unyielding, which is probably why he hasn’t brought it up again…thatand because I said that was our first and last conversation about it.”
Liz’s eyes were on her book again when she advised, “You should at least see the house, Rylee. In person.”
Rylee twisted her lips to one side, listening.
“Not because you’re going to say yes to moving there. Because you have every right to say no,” Liz added, lifting her gaze to Rylee. “But you should see it after the baby is born. You’llhave a new beginning you can’t deny in your arms when you go to see the house. And going will be a courageous step forward.”
Rylee’s eyes darted between Liz’s.
“Because as much as you may not want it, change is going to happen.” She smiled. “And it’s better to be an ally to change instead of being an enemy of it. That’s where the struggle happens. Opposition where one need not exist. And with something so beautiful and a gesture from Xander so pure and forward-thinking, the least you can do is go and see whathesees.”
Rylee nodded thoughtfully, her hand back to rubbing her stomach, her son back to rolling around in response to her touch.
“You’re right. And I hate it when you’re right sometimes.”
Liz giggled.
Rylee lowered her attention to her left hand on her stomach. Her diamond winked at the lights above, making her smile. But it wasn’t the ring that drew the smile. It was Xander’s words before he put the ring there. They were stuck in her memory. Not in an annoying way, but stuck like a gentle reminder she wanted to remain pinned in place. His asking her to let him show her he could love her the way she needed to be loved. That mattered.
The least she could do was allow that. And one way would be to see the house. At least.
“Okay,” Rylee voiced, refocused her eyes on Liz again. “I’ll go. After the baby is born. One step at a time, right?”
“Exactly.” Liz grinned. “And Rylee, remember, you’re healing… and you will continue to do so. Everything you do should be to facilitate that, even when it’s scary.”
Rylee nodded.
“Healing doesn’t mean forgetting,” Liz reminded, leaning forward to press a hand to Rylee’s knee. “It means making space for more life.”
“Right,” Rylee said low. “You’re so right.”
“Aight.” Xander held the door open for Rylee to walk through. “I think we’ve bought enough of the store for the day.”
Rylee chuckled as she waddled past him, one hand holding a bag, the other pressing to her back.
A Braxton Hicks contraction held her stomach in a firm grip, releasing its hold as quickly as it arrived.
Her due date was officially in one week, and she was starting to feel the weight of it all. Rylee’s mother was convinced the baby would be here before the due date, because according to her, Rylee’s stomach had dropped.
But Rylee insisted her mother was wrong yet again.
“You said that for both of your grandchildren,” Rylee argued as she sat in her mother’s chair while her mother installed a new set of braids in Rylee’s hair. “You said that with Nova, and she came after her due date. Said the same thing about LJ, and he did the same. My stomach dropping really means nothing, Mama.”
