One good reason, p.38
One Good Reason, page 38
“You lucky I didn’t swing on you. That’s really why I came down here.” She laughed.
“Had you put your hands on me love, I would’ve bent you over this table and wore your ass out.”
“Gosh, Harvey,” she moaned. “You can’t say shit like that to me. My hormones are raging, and we haven’t connected in over a week.”
“Go home. I’ll come over after I go apologize to my colleagues.”
“Oh my God.” She covered her eyes with her hands. “Now, I’m really embarrassed.”
“You should be. Coming in here like you was about to set some shit off.” I laughed. Pulling her hands down from her face, I pulled her to her feet. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Law. And I’m sorry it took all of this for me to tell you.”
“You said it when you meant it and that’s all I could ask for. You need me to grab anything before I come home?”
“No. I’ve gotten groceries already. I was making eggrolls when Ivana Trump decided to show up on my doorstep.”
“Go home, Talitha.”
“It’s not my fault that she’s tucked and plucked.” She shrugged.
“God, I love you.” I avowed, leaning down to suck her bottom lip into my mouth. Her hand cupped the back of my head as she pulled me into her. When my dick started to get excited, I knew to pull back or I was gone end up bending her over. Pecking her lips a few times, I told her. “I’ll be there as soon as I wrap up for the day.”
“Okay.”
Tracing her top lip with my tongue, I pecked her again as smacked her on the ass. “Leave before I can’t control my hormones.”
“Oh I am. I’ve already embarrassed myself enough,” she tittered. “Oh, before I forget.” Reaching inside of her purse, she pulled out a white envelope. I stopped by your house earlier to bring you this.”
“What’s this?” I asked and tore into the envelope. A wide smile broke out of my face when I pulled the black and white sonogram out. “Is this?”
“Our baby.” She finished my question. “Yes, Law. That’s our creation.”
“Thank you so much for this Talitha. You don’t know how much it means to me.”
“You’re thanking me for something you did intentionally. Go to Hell, Law,” she snorted. “I’ll see you at home.” She called over shoulder before walking out.
Tapping the sonogram across my heart, I smirked and slid it in my pocket. I got me one.
“Did she say when she was coming?”
“Nawl. She didn’t.” Turning up the glass of Bourbon, I downed the rest of the brown liquor and sat the empty glass down on the table.
“I sure hope she hurries up. I’ve got a thing or two to get off my chest.”
“Calm down, lady.” I laughed at my mother.
Before I headed to Talitha’s ,I had one thing I needed to do. When she mentioned Adele showing up at her house, that shit set me off. She had no right to go confront Talitha. When I reached out to her, I did so because I needed a friend. I wasn’t in this space that I was building with my mother just yet and I knew Adele would help me sort through it. Not only had she inserted herself in my relationship, but she’d also outed us to Talitha. If that was her way of getting back at me for telling my mother about us then the shit didn’t go that way she intended.
When I left my office, I called her up and told her to stop by the house cause I needed to see her. It wasn’t my intentions to ambush her but my mother was in fact here and had some things to get off her chest.
Adele was out of line, and I wanted to make sure she knew she’d crossed the line with her move. A line that she couldn’t cross ever again. If she did, I would end all business with her and cut her out of my life completely. I made sure Sincere and his guys had shit going on outside of this drug shit. We would be okay. She needed us way more than we needed her and somewhere I think she’d forgotten that. She would be reminded of it today.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Lawton” she fussed.
“You just remember to keep your hands to yourself. You’re in a damn boot, what can you do?”
“My hands are available,” she popped.
“How does Preme deal with you and that mouth?”
“Your brothers mouth is worse than mine.” She giggled. “I think she’s pulling up.”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
Getting up from the couch, I went to door and unlocked it. “Right this way.” I waved her through the house.
“Val!” she squeaked. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Ummhmm. I bet you weren’t.”
“Have a seat, Adele.” I stepped in and reclaimed my spot beside my mother. Propping my elbows up on my knees, I folded my hands. “Adele, you were out of line and out of respect for our friendship I’m going to give you the opportunity to explain yourself.”
“She hurt you, Harvey. I told her to fix it.”
“That wasn’t your place” I bellowed. “Talitha is mine to deal with. Not yours. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that my friend was hurt, and I needed to step in.”
“I didn’t ask you for that.”
“You came to me Lawton. Not the other way around. You called me in the middle of the night upset because she’d kept the pregnancy a secret. You offered information that I would have been clueless about. What was I supposed to do?”
“Be my fucking friend, Adele. Listen to me vent, offer advice. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“You know I don’t operate that way.” She rubbed her thin lips together before pursing them. “I was trying to help. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“Yeah you did. Overstepped big time. Adele, you can’t cross lines like that. Especially not when it comes to my family.”
“She’s family?” she queried.
“She’s the mother of my unborn child and my lover. Of course she’s family.”
“And I guess I’m not.”
“I never said that. You’re my friend and have been for years. But when it comes to my family, they take precedence over you sweetheart.”
“Is that what it’s come to?”
“That’s how it’s gotta be. Wasn’t it you that taught me to protect the ones I love?”
“That’s not what I meant, Harvey and know it.”
“Regardless Adele, Talitha is my family. Her and my child comes first. That move you pulled could have fucked things up for me. I can’t have you speaking out of turn like that.”
“Then don’t come to me with your problems.”
“Noted. You never have to worry about me doing that shit again. And I mean never. I can be your friend but if you can’t check your feelings and respect my boundaries, we can’t be anything more than associates. And if that puts you at an odd predicament, I’m willing to severe those ties as well.”
“Wow. All for her.”
“You muthafucking right.”
“You’ve got it, Harvey. Business associates and nothing more.”
Adele felt threatened by Talitha and she was setting her boundaries. Had this been any other time I probably would have felt some type of way. However, I meant what I said. Talitha was my family, and she came first. I wouldn’t allow anyone in my life to disrupt her happiness.
Accepting things for what they were I shrugged. “Associates it is.”
“I guess he brought you hear to confront me,” Adele turned to my mother.
“Actually, I’ve been staying here with him. We’re working on our relationship. You know Adele originally I wanted to whoop that ass. But the more I sit here and look at you… I feel sorry for you. I’m not mad at you, Adele. In fact, I forgive you for what you did. I know Salvador was the worst husband in the world and granted you could have found anyone else to fuck on. I can tell you care about Law and a part of me can respect it.
You were there and present at a time when I wasn’t. I wished it would’ve been as an aunt instead of a lover but that was my fault. Had I been a mother to him, he wouldn’t have had to run to you. Adele, I genuinely hope you get the love that you’re seeking. I pray it finds you before you leave this Earth.” My mother wiped the tears from her eyes. “Law, can you help me to my room?”
“Adele, you know your way out. If you need to reach out to me regarding business, my phone is always on. You be careful out there.”
Lifting my mother up from the couch, she grabbed ahold to my elbow. “She loves you,” she mumbled when we walked out of the living room.
“I loved her just as much at one point,” I admitted.
“It would have never worked. The two of you.” Her head shook. “It wouldn’t have.”
“I know that now. My time with Adele served its purpose. Talitha is where I’m supposed to be at. I hate that it took so long for us to find one another.”
“It happened when it was supposed to.”
“Gema said the same thing.”
“Gema was right.” My mother giggled.
“Are you going to be okay here alone? I promised Talitha I would come over tonight.”
“Go.” She patted me on the arm. “I can move around on this boot just fine. Go spend time with your lady. God knows you’ve mopped around long enough.”
“Lady, I have not been mopping.” I chuckled.
“You have.”
“Well in that case, let me get you settled so I can go see my baby.”
The many conversations I’d had with Gema, I’d taken every single one of them to heart. My mother saying things happened when they were supposed to confirmed that Talitha and I were going to be okay. We might experience a few bumps in the road, but I had a feeling Gema was up there making sure we stayed on the right path.
Epilogue
LAWTON
When Talitha reached down and pulled her out, I took one look at her face, and I knew what we would name her.
“Graelyn.” I smiled and looked up at the ceiling thanking Gema for the inspiration.
“Graelyn,” Talitha hummed. “I see I wasn’t the only one she mentioned that to.”
“Apparently not.” I laughed.
“I told you Gema be knowing.”
“Yeah she does.” Rubbing Graelyn’s back lovingly, I fought back tears. “Love, I can’t believe she’s really here. You did it.”
“We did it Harvey,” she crooned. “She’s so beautiful.”
“Yes Love. She is.”
“And this hair. Lord knows I was over buying Tums.”
Talitha’s entire pregnancy she suffered from the worst heartburn. I joked with her that we needed to buy stock in the company since so much of my money was spent towards them.
After our blow up, we decided it would be best if we did therapy to help us navigate through our issues. So twice a week I sat down with a therapist to discuss my relationship and to continue trying to build a relationship with my mother. She was back at home in the Heights but once a week she traveled down with Sincere so we could attend therapy.
Now that the baby had arrived, I expected her to temporarily move into the lake house. She was so happy to be welcoming her first grandchild that she’s had a room at her house decorated for the baby. Both Talitha and I were unsure of what we wanted to name her so when we designed the nursery we selected a neutral theme. My mother on the other hand had the one at her house decked out in everything pink. I told Talitha if she didn’t watch out we would look up and my mother would have my baby enrolled in some type of pageants.
“Dad, you want to hold her?” the nurse asked after they’d finished cleaning her up.
“Yes I do.” Trekking to the sink, I washed my hands and dried them before taking my princess out of the nurses arms. Sitting down in the recliner next to Talitha’s bed, I cradled her to my chest and sung lowly in her ear.
When her mother realized what she was singing she frowned. “Hey,” she frowned. “I thought I was your latest, greatest, inspiration.”
“Love, you are that and so much more,” I flirted.
“We’ve gotta call everybody and let them know she’s arrived.”
“We can do that after you get some rest. You just pushed out a seven-pound baby. Get your rest, Love.”
“At least call your mom, Harvey. I don’t want to hear her mouth.”
“I’ll call Sincere.” I let her know. Kissing the top of Graelyn’s head, I rocked her in my arms and hummed not only her but her mother to sleep. After a while I got up and placed her in the bassinet before tipping out of the room.
“What’s up, Dutch?”
“She’s here man.”
“Aww shit. Congratulations man. I’mma call Mama so I can go scoop her up. We will be down in a minute.”
“Be careful Preme.”
“Always.”
Hanging up the phone, I dialed Mrs. Jessie up and told her she could come to the hospital. She screamed so loud in my ear I had to take the phone down. With Gema not being amongst the living, Mrs. Jessie thought for sure she would be out of a job. The day Talitha and I sat her down and asked her if she wanted to be the nanny she cried. With her kids away, she was lonely and had gotten comfortable being around us.
Once Talitha’s maternity leave was up, she had work to do so it was only right for us to keep Mrs. Jessie around. After all, she had become family to both of us. Talitha’s relationship with her family never bounced back. She moved around like they didn’t exist. That’s the way she preferred things, and I wouldn’t fight her on it. Her peace was the only thing I cared about.
It took some time, but we’d finally opened the doors of Lawton Technical College. The first semester opened we had managed to enroll over five hundred students. Talitha wanted to dedicate herself to the school, so she stepped down from her role at the youth center and had thrown herself into making sure the tech school was the best one around. In the future, we planned to offer more programs but right now we were secure in what we had.
Adele had stuck to her guns and kept things between us strictly business and it worked out for the best. Hendrix and Preme were so good at their jobs, that I never had to step in. In fact, I was handing everything over to them. I had my hands full now that the baby was here. Talitha and I had learned to love each other out loud. We were intentional with everything that we did. I knew for a fact that this woman was going to be my wife. I bought a ring months ago and had been carrying it around with me waiting for the perfect time.
Stepping back into the hospital room with my girls, I pulled the platinum emerald cut five carat diamond ring out of my pocket. “Love.” I whispered into her ear. Talitha stirred but didn’t wake up. “Love.” I sang softly in her ear.
“Harvey, you told me to go to sleep.” she groaned. “Now you want me to wake up.”
“I’m trying to give you a push gift before everybody get here.”
That had her popping her eyes open. Holding her hand out, she flexed her fingers and said, “Give it to me.”
“Before I do I got one question.”
“What Harvey?”
“Do you know how much I love you?”
“Yes I do.”
“And you’re in a space where you can receive and accept my love?”
“Yes I am,” she confirmed.
“Do I make you happy? Happy as in you have no regrets?”
“The only thing I regret is not telling you how I felt sooner. I regret not doing it because had I done it, Gema would have got to experience me at my happiest.”
“She knew. She predicted this before either of us knew it was possible.”
“She did.” Talitha smiled.
Opening my hand, I dropped the ring in her palm. “You’ve given me the greatest gift of all times and the only way I know to repay you is to give you me. Forever.” Grabbing her by the hand, I took the ring from her and held it above her finger. “Talitha Howard, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Yes!” she moaned breathlessly.
“My latest… And my greatest inspiration.” I hummed and slid the ring on her finger.
The End.
Afterthought
If you’ve made it this far, Thank You! Law and Talitha’s story had been on my heart for some time now. When I introduced him in the Winter Crest Christmas book, I knew I had to give him a happy ending. I’m so pleased with the way their story turned out.
Hendrix & Promise’s spin off will be next. Let me also add that Supreme, Dreux, and Trap will also get a story. Dutch & Hendrix’s story are on the softer side. When I roll out the “set” we’re going straight to the hood baby.
Love you guys the most.
Unique, One Good Reason
