“How are Wryn and Paloma doing?”
“They’re doing pretty good. Wryn owns hisown landscaping company, and other than the fact that he’s ending his third marriage, he’s fine. No kids as of yet, and plenty of excuses about his failed marriage and no kids. His old ass won’t be able to produce ’em after a while.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. Paloma refuses to marry or have kids. She’s a child psychologist, and I’m not sure if she’s trying to help the kids or find answers for the little girl within her.”
“And you?”
“I’m not fucked up about my childhood like that. I don’t have any fears that I’ll be an unfit father or that my ass might be crazy. The only craziness in me is getting in that ring and risking getting my brains beat out of me.”
“Yet, you’re undefeated.”
“’Cause I’m not about to let nah nigga beat my brains out of me. You’ve been keeping up?” I was surprised, and I knew she could hear the surprise in my voice.
“A little bit,” she confessed, pinching her thumb and index finger together.
We laughed, and I asked, “What about your fam? How’s everybody doing?”
“My parents are doing well. They’re both retired now, and they’re holding down the store while I’m here. They traveled a lot in the beginning, and now they’re just relaxing and taking each day as it comes. Ivy teaches first grade and has a little boy named Keonte, who is two, and the center of our world. She’s coparenting with her boyfriend while they learn to navigate a relationship with a child.”
“Damn. Little Ivy all grown up and a mama? That’s hard to imagine.”
She giggled. “Yeah, she was a wild one.”
“What about you? I guess you don’t have kids.”
“No, I don’t. Maybe one day with the right man. If he ever comes along.”
I wanted to tell her that he was already here, but I had never shared my feelings with her back then. I damn sure wasn’t about to freak her out now. She had enough on her plate without me adding to it.
We sat in silence for a while before she broke it. “Remember when we used to sit in this exact spot as teens and dream about our future?”
I laughed. “Yeah. Sometimes I wish we could go back to that place in time. Life was so peaceful. There were never any better times than when we were with Mama Alma and Papa Larry.”
“Yeah. We always got excited whenever you guys came to stay with them. It was like having . . . extended family.”
The last thing that I ever felt for Dove was that she was like “family.” Oh, I played it cool as hell, but I wanted her from my teen years onward.
“I remember that you were going to be an automotive engineer designing cars,” she recalled.
“And you were always determined to have your own floral shop because you always loved flowers. You loved how giving them to people made them react, and you loved the beauty of watching them grow and bloom.”
“You paid attention,” she replied in awe.
“I did. You used to take flowers out of the garden back home and create designs, praying your mama wouldn’t notice that you were in her flower garden again.”
Her eyes crinkled at the corners as a soft smile tilted her plump, round lips. “You’re right; I always knew what I was going to do. Just like I always knew that I would be happy living in Cherokee Springs, whereas you always wanted to escape.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. “You weren’t wrong for what you wanted. It’s not like you were in some small town. Traveling and living in a major city like Cherokee Springs gives you the best of both worlds. I just needed to escape the memories—and the pain.”
Dove reached out and touched my hand. “You’re so far from that tall, lanky kid back then, light years away from the scared little boy. What happened to all your hopes and dreams, Reigh?”
I frowned and replied, “Life.”
She shook her head and replied, “No. That’s the answer that you give someone who doesn’t know you. We may have beenseparated for twelve years, but I’m still the same girl you used to confide in, and you?—”
“Not the same guy you used to know. Trust me, Dove. I’ve seen and done too much to still be him.”
