Reason. Reason. Reason had me on somemy man, my man, my mantype shit. Something I used to ignore whenever I heard women say it. Now I wanted to shout it out for the world to hear. All the things he said he was going to do when we were teenagers had come to fruition, and he had the kids and me basking in all the fruits of his labor.
A hard choice I made years ago turned out to be the right one. All along, God had already written our story.
Married, wealthy, the mother of two lovely kids and one on the way with a man I’d never stopped loving was the epitome of adream come true. We were the embodiment of a real West Coast love story.
Out of nowhere, all the pieces that I believed were missing in my life started to fall into place. My prayers were being answered, and my wishes were coming true. Reason was back in my life. My cousins moved back to Los Angeles for good, and they played a huge role in our lives. We’d even started a new tradition, which was to have a family get-together on Aunt Patty’s birthday to celebrate her life.
I couldn’t ignore the one part of my journey I wished was different, but I’d come to terms with the reality of it, my relationship with my mother. She was stuck in her ways, and there was no changing her. I was the least of her worries, and I was finally okay with never speaking to her again. She’d given me enough time to know what it felt like not to have her in my life, so life wasn’t difficult without her anymore.
Our family dynamic was so messed up. I had no idea my father had passed until the day I showed up on my mother’s doorstep. If I hadn’t shown up, I probably would have never known ’til this day. I grieved in my own way, and despite everything, I hoped my father was resting in peace. And I hoped one day my mother would learn to forgive herself before it was too late, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Especially since word on the street was that her husband, Dillan, had left her for good. Sometimes you have to leave people where they’re at, relatives or not.
I gained a new family, and I was more than grateful.
Mama T. I loved that woman. She was more of a mother figure than my own mother. Even as a teenager, she welcomed and treated me like I was blood family. Mama T always wanted the best for Reason and me, and she was the same way with her grandchildren. She was the reason I never felt like I was missing a parental figure in my life, because she filled any voidI might have felt. Then there was Doc, Mama T’s husband. Although he wasn’t Mr. St. Pierre, we all loved him dearly. He never overstepped his boundaries, and there was always love and respect between us.
The sudden urge to pee snapped me back to reality.
I glanced over at Cassie, who was in the driver’s seat, as I crossed my legs. She was looking right back at me while we waited at the red light.
“Cassie, girl, why are you staring at me like that?”
She merged to the side of the road and found a parking spot, then gave me her undivided attention. “Because, friend, look how far you’ve come. This whole time, God was setting you up to be the Missus of South Central. My girl, you a bad Mama Jama.”
I couldn’t help but smile and feel my heart fill with warmth because I still hadn’t processed my new life myself.
She continued. “Reason is so perfect for you, Ember. If you would’ve told me about him before, girl, we could’ve turned into investigators and found his ass. I’m sure he would’ve still left that trash-ass ex-wife of his when he saw you, even if none of those horrible things had occurred.”
I made up my face. “Don’t remind me about that woman. I can’t believe she was the person…the soap actress who was occupying my man’s time all these years.”
“She was only getting him warmed up while he waited for his true love to return. That’s all that was.”
“I guess you’re right,” I agreed, smiling. “Enough about that. I’m not trying to get all riled up over his ex-bitch. But I will say one last thing. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would’ve flown back to Miami to find and beat her ass.”
Cassie nodded. “I meannn… I ain’t pregnant, so I could find out where she’s at and pull up on her.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Put me on Reason’s private jet, and I’ll go whoop some ass for you.”
We both burst out laughing because I knew Cassie was serious. She had proven time and time again that she would do anything for me. And now that she looked at Reason as her brother-in-law, she would do the same for him.
“As much as I would love that, we’re going to take the high road. Life is too good right now for us to even think about stooping so low, Cass. I’m sure karma will get her ass good.”
“You’re right about that.”
“Cassie Phelps,” I uttered, using her government name. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Friend, you have all the time in the world to decide what you gon’ do with me because I ain’t going anywhere.”
“Of course you aren’t. Even if you tried going somewhere, I wouldn’t let that happen.”
I leaned over and hugged Cassie, catching her off guard, but I felt a sense of peace knowing I had a genuine friend.
“Ember girl, I love you.”
“I love you too,” I responded. “Sorry to cut this short, but I need to pee, and if I don’t find a restroom right now, it’s going to get pissy in here.”
“Oh, hell nah.” Cassie chuckled, looking around. “Well, I’ll be…” She stopped talking abruptly.
“Cass, what is it?”
“Do you see where we are?” she replied.
