“What can you smell?” he asked.
“The house. It smells like…cyclamen and neroli. A hint of vanilla. And you, I can smell you,” she replied, not letting her eyes drift off of him. “Faint whisky and amber from the lotion.”
Erys reached out and gently stroked the side of her face. “I felt you shake under me. I thought I was dreaming. You know I didn’t dream before you…now, every dream is about you. How my body has been conditioned to feeling the rhythm of yours. Heart rate, resting ranges from seventy to eighty beats per minute when you hit REM. When you’re trying to wrestle with your sleep and your mind is going, ninety to one hundred. I felt you at one hundred and twenty.”
Remedy drew in a deep breath and shakingly pushed it out. “What if I’m not good enough? Like what if I get there and do the things and I’m not good enough?”
Erys hummed sweetly. “The day you see yourself as big as everyone else does, is going to be a beautiful day. Until then, I’ll paint you the canvas in all the vibrance you house. You big enough, strong enough, worthy enough, and better than good. You were called for a time such as this and you’ll be great at it because everything you were given has made room for you. All you have to do, Strawberry, is walk into the room.”
Remedy sniffled.
“You’re scared?”
She nodded. “Out of my mind.”
Erys wiped her tears. “How many times in your life have you been this scared?”
“More than I want to count,” she mumbled back.
“You made it through all of them, though,” Erys said with such a soft gaze. Dare she call it love. “Heart rate spiked. What was that?”
She shook her head. “Nothing… I made it through everything. Somehow.”
“You’re not in survival mode anymore, baby,” he assured with a kiss to the back of her hand. “You’re walking into the chapter of your life where you get to live and beam as bright as you’re supposed to. You won’t shrink yourself and you damn sure won’t fail. Hear me?”
“I do,” she replied with a nod.
“Now tell me what you hear,” he urged, moving closer to her.
Remedy closed her eyes and nestled her face into his chest. “Us.”
“What you smell?” Erys quizzed, rubbing her spine.
“Us.”
“What do you feel?”
“Us.”
He kissed the top of her wrapped hair, forehead, then tilted her chin up to kiss her lips. “I got you.”
“Thank you,” Remedy buzzed between kisses, holding on to his forearm.
“Want to lie here a little while longer?”
“Please?”
He nodded, nuzzling his nose against hers and kissing her lips before inhaling the sweetness of her scent. “Whatever you need. Whatever you want. Whatever is necessary. I got you.”
24
“Damn, you look good,” Erys grunted, as Remedy walked past him to give Ernie a kiss.
“She looks good but she’s kissing me,” Ernie teased, kissing her cheek, hugging her tightly, and shaking her. To add insult to injury he winked at his son. “You getting thicker than a than a nigga with a good cookin’ hoe. That thang shakes just like May’s.”
“Get off me, Ernie,” Remedy spoke with laughter, playfully slapping his chest. “You actin’ up before ten o’clock?”
“Aight, old man. Don’t come up missing,” Erys grumbled, welcoming Remedy into his arms.
