Page 133 of Mommy

“You’re on speaker Ez, there’s no need to yell at us.”

“Oh, whoopsies, my mistake.” I can hear the grin in his words. That little fucker. “Where you at?”

“Just turned around.”

“You got dinner?”

“Yes.” I grind out through my teeth.

“Enough for four?”

Ivory giggles next to me, her body leaning towards me even though the speaker would pick her voice up just fine from the passenger seat.

“Yes! And bring the dogs too!”

The snort that answers her tells me that this wasn’t an option we had, but I’m not mad. Ivory likes Ez’s dogs. I think a lot of that has to do with Popeye looking like Viv. He’s one of her pups after all.

The first time Ivory saw his splotchy white fur I saw the recognition in her eyes, alongside the well of tears.

Chapter sixty seven

Derek

When Rosemary drags Ezekiel out the door a few hours later, I’m about ready to push him out of a window. I love him like a brother, but that man really knows how to overstay his welcome.

As soon as the door falls shut behind them, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Ivory stayed behind in the living room, cleaning up the open kitchen when I returned from the front door.

“Remind me to not invite him here ever again.”

She laughs.

“Next time we’ll go visit them.”

Nodding, I watch her put away the leftovers from dinner.

Her chaos curls fall down her back, hiding part of her face, but I can still glimpse a bit of that content smile on her lips.

“Thank you.” I say, staring at her over the kitchen island.

“For what?” She turns halfway towards me. “Putting this away?”

Shaking my head, I drag my hand through my hair.

“No. For coming back here.”

And?

“And for helping me with Posie.”

The words aren’t doing my thoughts justice. I don’t mean that she helped me care for Posie, I mean that she helped me learn how to love Posie. That she was there and showed me how to actually love anything.

Anyone.

Her.

Maybe I needed to fuck up to understand how much Ivory actually means to me.