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Michael and Robinwere playing a game of chess, so I went into my room and closed the door. It had been a while since I had talked to Tammie, so I decided to give her a call.
"Hey, girl,"Tammie said cheerfully. "How was your first day off in a million years?"
"Busy,"I told her. "Michael took us shopping."
"And?"she prodded.
"He boughtme tons of new clothes," I told her, my insides squirming with discomfort.
"And?"she asked, as though she couldn't understand why that was a problem.
"I madeit clear when I moved in with him that I would not be a kept woman. I would keep my independence," I explained, twisting a lock of hair around my finger. "It made me very uncomfortable to accept them from him. But he said he was entitled to care for his family."
"I'msure you argued with him and made your point," Tammie said.
"It'slike you know me or something," I answered sarcastically. "For all the good it did me. I think I found someone more stubborn than I am for the first time in my life."
Tammie was quiet for a second,as though she was mulling the situation over in her head.
"I think you should accept the clothes and enjoy the situation," she advised. "You have worked hard your entire life. You raised Sage. You sacrificed so many things that you needed to take care of, first Sage and then Robin. You never asked for a handout and only took help when needed."
I hadto admit that she was right.
"You deserveto be spoiled and enjoy the clothes," Tammie insisted. "Do you remember when we had Mrs. Bennett for all the different literature classes in high school?" Tammie asked.
"Yes,"I said, reflecting on our high school days.
"One of herfavorite character flaws was hubris. The heroes who failed in Shakespeare, world mythology, and all other literature lost what was most important to them because of pride. Your hubris is that you are proud and independent and look at any gift or help as a threat to that. Accepting the clothes – either as a gift, as Michael's way of taking care of his family, or simply that Michael wants to make you happy – is the right thing to do."
"Mrs. Bennett would be so proud,"I laughed. "I feel like I just got a lecture."
"You did,"Tammie giggled, sounding very pleased.
I could feelthe tension leaving my shoulders, and I realized that Tammie was right. I hadn't wanted to accept the clothes because of my pride.
"You know,you should show off some fancy new duds next Saturday night. Let Michael and Robin have a movie night with pizza and whatever movies Robin is into these days. You, me, and Sage head out to the club."
That sounded like a great idea."You are brilliant," I told my best friend.
"I know,"she replied smugly.
We made plans,and then I headed to the living room, where I found that Robin had just put Michael's king into checkmate in two out of three games.
I watched them together, and I hoped that I had finally found a family with Michael and Robin -- something that I had secretly dreamed of since Robin was born.
26
Michael
Jade emerged from her bedroom after getting ready for her girls' night with Tammie. Her emerald green dress fit her body perfectly, as though it had been made just for her. She pulled her hair back into a braided bun, the red highlighted by the deep green of her dress, and applied her makeup perfectly. It highlighted her high cheekbones and beautiful green eyes.
I could only stareat the vision that was standing in front of me. She took my breath away.
A knock on the door shook me out of my reverie.
Robin ranto the door and flung it open before his mother or I could stop him.
"Aunt Tammie,"he yelled.
