My spine straightened. “What?”
“He says you’re trustworthy.” Her smile grew even more. “He said ‘If I had a brother, I wish it were Johnny’.”
Jaw hanging, I was speechless. I didn’t know Seb that well. What did he see in me that I didn’t? “Wow… I didn’t know he felt that way.”
She sighed, long and hard, as if she had been holding her breath for years. “Thank you, Johnny. I feel so much better.”
Now I exhaled with relief. I’d helped someone. Damn, that felt good. “That’s great. I guess it helps to talk.” I shrugged. “Feel free to chat with me whenever you need.”
“Are you good with secrets?”
That came faster than expected.
She added, “One you could never tell?”
This pivotal moment is one that I would pay for, but there was no chance I wasn’t going to be who she or Seb needed me to be. My loyalty was now theirs.
Nodding, I vowed, “I promise.”
I learned a lot about Blue that night. Indeed, a certain church had become a big part of her life when her young mother turned to drugs. Because of her mother’s addiction, the County Social Services Agency got involved and had Blue stay with a grandmother she had never met. With no knowledge of the falling out between her mother and grandmother, Blue was soon whisked off to the same church her mother had been forced to attend. One she had run from. That is how Blue met the pastor and learned of her ‘heathen’ ways. That is how she met the man who beat her, causing her to be placed at the Weathers’ house.
The secret I was to keep forever? One only a select few knew?
The pastor was Blue’s father.
Deep inhale…
Sensing Blue and I needed a break from her revealed past, I decided to help her ‘bones’ grow. “I would like to share something special with you.”
Blue’s face lit up. “Really?”
“Yup!” I eagerly stood, as my heart began to ache with the thought of eating Noma’s food for the first time since her death.
Blue stood, too. “What is it?”
“Something that can never be replaced. My Noma’s homemade lasagna. It’s my favorite,” I admitted with a wistful smile. “She loved to cook.”
Blue’s face beamed, stretching with a big O forming on her lips. “I love to cook, too!”
“You should tell Harmony. I bet she’d enjoy cooking with you.”
“You think?” Her shy question made me realize this poor girl never had anyone encourage anything she found enjoyable.
“I do.” Gesturing to the garage, I asked her to join me. “Let’s grab some of that lasagna.”
“Okay.”
It ended up that we sat across from one another in the dining room, the sleeping house providing a quiet backdrop to the solemn moment. I didn’t have trouble heating up the food or splitting it in half to share with Blue. I knew she needed something special, as desperately as I wanted to stay connected and grounded to my Noma.
I never meant to get emotional. The tears that fiercely sprang to my eyes were sudden and came without warning, burning my eyelids as I tried to hold them back.
“Johnny?”
I couldn’t look at her, for fear I would blink and send those tears streaming down my cheeks. “Yeah?”
Blue picked up her plate and walked to my side of the table. She sat beside me and settled into the seat, picking up her fork. “Why don’t we take a bite at the same time?”
I nearly clutched my chest with her kind offer. I could only nod in response. I was that torn up.
