And though she loved the idea of still having the brownstone, Rylee was making a home in Greene Gardens.
She’d taken a few walks with the baby since they arrived, familiarizing herself with the new neighborhood and the main strip of the village.
She even linked up with Ivy Pressman, one of her grief support group members who now called Greene Gardens home.
“It’s cute, right?” Ivy asked, adjusting the stroller her adopted son Levi slept in to make room for café patrons walking by. “This place is like a staple in my day.”
Rylee didn’t waste time reconnecting with Ivy. She’d just moved into the house officially a few days prior but wanted Ivy to show her around.
So she left the kids with Xander—who insisted she go—and met up with Ivy, who had just returned to Greene Gardens from the city after a mommy-and-me meet-up with Levi.
They settled on a quaint coffee shop on the main strip in Greene Gardens. The terrace overlooked the water. It was cold outside, so the terrace had heated lamps in every corner, making it feel warmer than it actually was.
“I like it.” Rylee nodded, her eyes moving around them. “I really like it here.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Ivy winked. “But you know I got you.”
“It’s just so new.” Rylee sighed. “All I know is Brooklyn.”
“Girl,” Ivy said, nodding in agreement. “Same. When I found out I’d have to make this place my new home, I swore I thought I’d die from boredom. When I moved out here, cafés like this weren’t even built yet. But now? I don’t go any further than here. No need to.”
“Yeah.” Rylee smiled. A smile that came so easy. “I think I’m starting to feel the same way.”
At home, Rylee made her way to the side of the bed and lowered herself onto the carpet. On the floor were combs, hair ties, and a spray bottle filled with water.
With the children winding down for bed and Junior asleep in the bassinet she kept in her and Xander’s room—coincidentally in the exact spot where her water had broken—Rylee decided it was time to finally tackle the one thing she’d been putting off.
Taking down her braids.
Her mother was set to arrive tomorrow to wash and style Rylee’s hair.
Though she would’ve loved for her mother to install a new set of braids, Rylee already knew she wouldn’t. Claudia would tell her to let her hair breathe between braided styles.
Claudia had promised to drive out to Greene Gardens once a week once the braids were down, to wash and restyle Rylee’s hair in between. Anything to help her as a new mom of three.
Everyone was pitching in that way. In their own way.
That night, the room was quiet. The house was quiet. Soft light from the street lamp filtered in from outside. The neighborhood was quiet too, a sharp contrast to life in Brooklyn.
A lot of things were different here—something Rylee realized on her second night in Greene Gardens, sitting outside in the backyard.
Her eyes traveled the sparse grass in the yard. It was after ten at night. The children, including the baby, were asleep, giving her time to herself.
Xander had just finished cleaning the kitchen when he stepped out to the backyard to join her.
“You like this part of the house the most, huh?”
Xander’s voice behind her pulled Rylee out of her daze.
“This is your second night escaping out here.”
Rylee snickered.
She’d been caught up in thought, imagining all the things she wanted to set up back there. A swing set. A trampoline.
His voice cutting through her vision pulled her back to now.
She turned toward him.
