I got handed guff from Darius when I rolled one of thesuitcases up to the back door, and he sent Liam out for the other one.
He took the one I rolled up to the closet, where I followedhim, in which there were three bags filled with hangers.
I changed into some jeans and a warm sweater that hung offone shoulder and got down to work unpacking, but also taking Darius’s clothesoff the wire hangers and switching them out with the new.
I ran out of hangers, counted how many more I needed andadded a few in my mental calculations for growth purposes, deciding to sandwicha trip to the Container Store (and the mall, Darius needed a new shirt for theRock Chick party, and new jeans, and boots) between the meet at Fortnum’s andthe party.
I then went downstairs to the kitchen to find Dariuscooking.
“I was gonna cook,” I announced.
“You can cook Monday,” he replied.
It was Friday.The party was tomorrow.
So…
“Monday?”I asked.
“We’re having dinner at Mom’s Sunday.”
“Oh boy,” I said.
“It’s gonna be fine.”
I wanted to believe that, and I kinda did.
We weren’t months deep in this situation, far from it, butso far, no hiccups.
So far, it was nothing but clouds of happy goodness.
We’d been through years of strife and strain, and everyoneknew it.
Maybe now, I could believe.
Maybe now—enduring bouts of rocky times, the kind that lifealways eventually threw at you—we could be normal.
We could be free.
I went to the wine Darius had opened and poured myself aglass as he asked me, “You good with that?”
I nodded.
“Danni and Gabs are gonna be there,” he shared.
I’d liked his sisters.They were sweet.We’d been close.Infact, Gabby was in my grade and had been my friend before I’d started going outwith Darius.
I was looking forward to seeing them again.
I took my wine to a stool, reminding him, “They always likedme.”
“Sorry, babe,” he said low, “but so you don’t walk in blind,you gotta know, they weren’t huge fans of you being angry at me and laying itout when I was in a hospital bed.”
Oops.
I caught his gaze over my wineglass while taking a sip.
When I was done with that, I said, “They’re going to have toget over it.”
