AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ugh. He was gone again.
The crazy thing was, even though Millicent James and I were not blood related, the resemblance was uncanny. I’d seen pictures of her in her early twenties where we could’ve passed as twins, except for her blond hair and my red locks. Who would have thought my doppelgänger would be the woman who adopted me as a baby.
“I’ll ask them to keep it down.”
My voice broke on the last two words. I may have accepted the path fate had in store for us, but my heart broke all over again after every seemingly normal encounter. It wasn’t fair. He was a good man, a good husband, and an even better father, yet every day, he slipped further away from us. We were running out of time.
Rising from my place on the floor, I kissed his cheek then slipped quietly up the stairs to my room for a much-needed break from reality. As soon as the door clicked shut behind me, I crossed the room and plopped face down on my bed. Only then did I allow the overwhelming sadness I was feeling to leak from my eyes. I cried for the baby in my belly, who could have easily been taken away from me all because of greed. I cried for my father, who’d never experience the thrill of holding his first grandchild. Lastly, I cried for my mom. She was not only losing the love of her life, but her best friend as well. Where was the justice in any of it?
I must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I knew, the mattress dipped next to me as Alec lowered himself to the bed. Rolling over onto my back, I saw the concern written on his face when I lifted my eyes to his.
“I saw you come up here after talking to your dad and figured you needed a few minutes, but that was over an hour ago, baby.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Talk to me, Quin.” He lay on his side facing me, his head propped up in the palm of one hand, the other splayed across my stomach, drawing circles over the place where our baby was growing.
“It’s hard. Seeing him like this,” I started.
“Have you and your mom ever discussed alternate care?”
It was a sore subject, one Mom and I argued about on numerous occasions, which was why I immediately went on the defensive.
“That man downstairs may not know who I am most days, but he’s my daddy. He helped raise me; taught me how to ride a bike and coached my little league softball team. When I graduated high school, he cheered so loud my cheeks were bright red, I was so embarrassed. There’s no way in hell I’m going to ship him off to some stranger to take care of. That’s my privilege. How fucking dare you suggest otherwise?”
I tried and failed to knock his hand away, to create a little separation between us. If I hadn’t been so damn tired, I would have shoved off the bed, leaving him to wallow in his self-righteousness. Since my body was on the verge of collapse, I settled for shooting him the most menacing glare I was capable of. In hindsight, it probably looked more like indigestion than anger, but whatever. He understood my meaning.
“Firefly, that’s not what I was suggesting at all.” My glower turned into confusion. “What I meant was, have you thought about some sort of day program which specializes in Alzheimer’s? Somewhere he could go during the day where it’s supervised and safe, so your mom could get a few hours to herself?”
“There are places like that around here?” I curled onto my side, bringing us closer.
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” He reached out, trailing a finger down my cheek. “I knew of a few when we lived in Georgia, but it’d be worth the effort to do some research.”
“He called me Millie. It always seems to put me in a funk, so I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”
“It’s okay, baby.”
The room was mostly dark, though a small amount of light filtered in from the hallway. We lay in comfortable silence for several minutes until the sounds of muffled voices coming from downstairs reminded me there was a whole host of people in the house.
“We should probably get back down there.”
“Let’s stay here a little longer.”
Alec shifted to lie on his back. Curling one arm underneath me, he pulled me into his side, closing what little distance remained between our bodies. With my head against his chest, I closed my eyes, letting the steady up and down movements from each breath he took lull me into a state of utter relaxation.
_______________
MY EYES WEREgritty as they fluttered open the next morning. Between my crying jag and the emotional toll of yesterday, I was shocked to find they weren’t swollen shut. Another surprise was the fact I was alone in bed. It had only been a few days, but I’d become accustomed to waking up surrounded by Alec’s capable arms. The mattress next to me was warm, I noticed as I traced the slight impression left behind from where he’d lain. Wherever he was, he hadn’t been gone long. I caught his scent on the sheets and smiled as I breathed him in.
My cell phone dinged on the table next to the bed. I remember leaving it on the counter last night, so I’d have to thank Alec for bringing it up and plugging it in to charge. Stretching over, I picked it up to respond, knowing the text would be from River or Emory.
River: To A Tea is closed and Emory called out sick from summer school duty. We’ll be over in an hour to get you.
Me: Good morning to you too.
River: Yeah, yeah. Get your preggo self out of bed and get dressed.
Me: How do you know I’m still in bed?
