I closed my eyes. “It’s been years, and Carter does his best not to show favorites. Why can’t he see that your daddy still loves him?”
Elle shrugged. “He feels like he lost the most out of the divorce. I got a bonus father while he lost Daddy and his position in the family as the only son. Daddy doesn’t mean to, but he’s easier on Sekani because of his sickle cell, and all E sees is that Daddy loves Sekani more.” Although Sekani and Elle had become close as siblings, Ethyn never truly accepted his brother and treated him more like a distant relative.
My cell rang, flashing Carter’s name. Elle picked it up. “Hey, Daddy. I’ll be outside soon. Ethyn’s not coming. He’s at his new place.”
“What?” His deep voice roared. “Put your mother on the phone.”
“Daddy, calm down. It’s not Mama’s fault, so lower your voice.” She smiled at my reflection as I placed the last bobby pin in her bun. Elle was still the peacemaker in the family, and Carter was still wrapped around her finger.
I took the phone and shooed Elle away. “Meet me outside.”
Once Elle was out of earshot, I inhaled and exhaled, bracing myself for his mouth. “Are you already outside?”
“Be there in two minutes. Where is my son?”
“He moved out last month.” I walked out of the bathroom.
“Why the fuck didn’t you call me? I didn’t think he would go through with it. I would’ve snatched his ass up. He’s seventeenand thinks his shit don’t fucking smell. He knows he couldn’t get away with moving out if he lived with me. I would never give him any money to live in an apartment while he’s in high school. You’ve always been too easy on him.”
Feeling my anger rise, I countered, “And you’ve always been too hard... pushing him so much when he played football and ran track that he doesn’t even care about sports anymore. He has his own money.”
“Not enough to afford an apartment in L.A. My son better not be living in the slums,” he roared.
“If you talked to him and not at him, you would know he makes good money as a sound engineer. You know what, instead of annoying me, why don’t you call him and ask why he doesn’t want to live here with me and why he can’t stand you?” I cursed as soon as the words slipped out. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not. You think this is what I deserve.” He scoffed. “A son who hates his father, just like I hate mine.”
I grabbed my Angora sweater and relented because I knew I had wounded him with my words. He loved Ethyn with his heart and soul despite his earlier harsh words. “He doesn’t hate you. He hates the situation you placed the family in. Correction...the situation your wayward dick put us all in.”
“If it wasn’t for my wayward dick, you wouldn’t be with the man you really wanted now,” he ruefully reminded me. “I would’ve remained faithful if I knew I had your whole heart.”
I shook my head as I walked through the modest cottage home I bought once the divorce was final eight years ago. “We’re not rehashing us because you’re alone again.”
“Elle told you I moved out?” He sounded surprised.
“No. You just did. You know Elle is always Team Carter. She doesn’t tell me anything about what happens in your household. Not that I ever ask.”
“Then how did you know?”
“Because I know how you move. You’ve been texting and calling me more.” I looked out the window next to the door as Carter pulled up. Elle’s round face lit up as always when she saw him. Although Elle had fully accepted and loved Grey as her biological father years ago, knowing that Carter chose to love her when he didn’t have to only made them closer. She waited for him to park and exit his car. He walked around the car to hug her.
Carter looked good at thirty-nine, with grown man weight, though he remained fit, and a sprinkling of gray in his hair and beard. He opened the passenger door for her, and she slid in. Carter never wanted his daughter to touch a doorknob or handle when he was around, hoping she would choose a man who would do the same for her.
I stepped outside to greet him. He looked at me and then back at Elle. “Give me a sec.”
She nodded and started playing with her phone.
Carter asked, “Is he here?”
“Grey?” I asked.
He nodded.
“No. Why?”
Carter opened my front door and held it as I passed him. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. “You always looked the prettiest in the morning. I knew you would only grow more beautiful with age.”
I became aware of the short nightgown I’d hastily covered with my sweater when I walked to the front door. I closed my sweater tightly, though my thighs and legs were bare for his perusal. “You’ll never change. Always searching for the next challenge. You’re looking at me again because it’s been years, and I’m with Grey now. Go back to Joi, Carter. She gets you more than me, remember? You have a son with her, too.”
