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“Uh oh.” She smiled nervously. “What’s wrong?”
“Promise me you won’t say anything about this. I wasn’t supposed to hear this, and if she knows I did, she might stop talking to AJ about it.”
Her brows wrinkled as she nodded. “Promise. What’s going on?”
I kept my voice low as I told her, “Lis thinks you work too much. She’s sad because of the bullying and not having her dad. She knows you love her and want to give her whatever you can, but she wishes you didn’t work as much so she could spend more time with you.”
Her eyes watered as she tried to pull her hand out of mine and stand, but I held it and kept her seated.
“Why hasn’t she said any of this to me?”
“I don’t think she wants to hurt your feelings and make you feel bad. In my words, not hers, she knows you have a lot on your plate and you’re doing the best you can. I believe she is craving you more now because she’s missing her father more than usual. But she doesn’t want to make you feel bad about that, so she’s talking to him about it instead.”
Amelia licked the corner of her mouth and nodded. “Okay. Well, I guess it’s a good thing that we’ve already started talking about enrolling them into a new school.”
“Right. These are supposed to be the best years of their lives. No stress and real responsibilities. They need to be in a school where they feel they belong.”
She didn’t respond right away, and I held the space so she could process her thoughts and feelings.
“She has been asking for her dad a lot lately, so I can understand why that would make her want more of my time. I wish she would have said these things to me so I could talk to her about it.”
“You don’t have to, sweetheart. Just find a way to give her what she needs. Can you possibly work from home more?”
Nodding, Amelia wiped a free-falling tear. “Yeah, I can, but I might take some time off. At least until we have them settled in a new school and I can get her emotional state to a healthier place. I have more than enough money saved to not have to work. Plus, Mama’s house is paid off anyway.”
“Money will never be an issue, you know that. I’ll always take care of y’all. Just do what you have to do for her and for you.”
“Thank you, babe,” she whispered, opening her arms for an embrace.
I wasted no time pulling her into my arms and consoling her. I couldn’t imagine how this made her feel. Amelia was a damn good mother. Even with her hectic schedule, she was a present mom. Alisia was going through a lot, though, and she may not have been able to actively voice it to Milli, but her mother was all she needed to make things better.
Once she was composed, we called the kids in to talk to them about transferring to a school in Collierville, and they both excitedly agreed. Amelia also mentioned taking the rest of the year off from work and only working during the hours Alisia was at school when she went back, and Alisia lit up like a Christmas tree. She gave her a hug and thanked her, and the sight brought tears to my eyes. But the sadness that covered my son’s face as he watched them embrace crushed me. Veronica would be here in two days, and knowing she would probably only see him one more time before letting years go by before she saw him again, had my eyes watering for a different reason.
Twenty-Four
Amelia
It was the day before Thanksgiving, and I’d spent it with Amaru’s mom, my mom, and Lis. Amanda didn’t want to do anything for Thanksgiving. Holidays were big for his family, but now that her husband was gone, she wasn’t in the holiday spirit. She was so excited about spending the day with us, and that made me happy. We did a little shopping, got mani-pedis, and had a nice dinner. By the time I was dropping her off, she was ready to shower and go to sleep.
“Baby…” Her head shook as she chuckled softly. “Today has been perfect. Thank you so much for getting me out of the house.”
“Any time, Mama Amanda. You can always call me, and I’ll come. And I know you said you didn’t want to do anything tomorrow, but you’re more than welcome to join us for dinner tomorrow.”
“Absolutely,” Mama agreed. “We’d love to have you, Amanda.”
Her smile wavered slightly and her eyes watered. “I wouldn’t be good company but thank you for the invitation.”
I would accept that for now, but I planned on bringing her a plate and sitting with her for a while anyway. Now that Veronica was in town, AJ was with her and her family, so Ru was going to be with us. He expressed his appreciation for me including his mom in our plans for the day, though I told him he didn’t have to. Even before we started dating, his mom was like a second mom to me. Now, she held an even more special place in my life because I believed she’d one day be my mother-in-law.
After watching her safely go inside her home, I headed out. Alisia was fighting her sleep in the backseat while Mama hummed an unknown tune in the front.
By the time I made it onto the interstate, I was getting a call from Amaru. Since I wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about, I popped an AirPod in my ear instead of letting the call transfer to my Bluetooth. I ended up having to call him back because he hung up, but the second I heard his voice on the other line, I smiled.
“Hey, sweetheart. What y’all up to?”
“Hey, baby. I just dropped your mom off. We’re headed home now.”
“Thank you again for spending time with her. That made me love you even more.”
