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“We almost didn’t.”
“I couldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t.”
“We came for you three. When this was us, you three stuck with us as long as possible.”
He nodded.
Jessa smiled at Bella. “You are hardly the same little girl that used to steal my clothes.” She looked up at me and cupped my face. Her fingers went to my ears, and she giggled. “You grew into these.”
A smile spread across my face. “You grew into that head, Li’l Lollipop.”
Mo snickered, and I turned to him. “What about you, boy? Did those braces fix those buck teeth?”
He flashed me a perfect white smile. “It didn’t, but my surgeon did.”
“Get away from them!” my aunt Sheila snapped as she stormed over.
She pushed her children aside and stepped into my space. My aunt Glenda was right behind her. Both of them glared at me with frowns on their faces. Bella let go of Martin’s hand and stood in front of me, giving them the same look right back. It was William who stepped between the three of us.
“Mama—” he started, but she lifted a hand to stop him.
“What right do you have to show up here? You spoke your piece and made your decision seventeen years ago. How dare you come here?”
“I came because your son asked me to.”
“Well, I’m telling you to leave. James wouldn’t have wanted you here.”
Jessa spoke up. “Now, Mama, you know that’s a lie. Daddy said a long time ago that he missed these two and wished things were different. He talked about it a lot in his final days. That’s why William asked them to come.”
“Your father was delirious in his final days. He could have said anything, and he surely never said anything to me about it.”
Mo shook his head. “Because he knew you wouldn’t listen.”
Glenda scoffed as she looked at me. “As disrespectful as he was to both of your parents, you went behind their backs and invited them. If you wanted to make things right, you should have done it when your father was here to get an apology.”
I chuckled. “I’m not apologizing for anything. I meant every word that I said.”
Bella looked around William. “Listen, Sheila. We came to pay our respects. Nothing more, nothing less. All of this animosity isn’t necessary.”
“I’m not talking to you, Bella.”
“But I’m talking to you. I’m not that thirteen-year-old girl who had to stand back and let my brother argue with you by himself. I’m grown and a mother myself. Nothing is stopping me from whipping your ass right in front of this church if you get out of pocket today.”
“Little girl—”
“Hold on there,” Martin said, pulling Bella away.
Glenda laughed. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
“That’s my wife, and I don’t play about her.”
“I don’t care what you do or don’t play about!”
Bella jumped in front of Martin. “Slow your roll talking to him. That’s my husband. You know, one of those things you couldn’t seem to get?”
Shit. Maybe bringing Bella wasn’t the best idea. She didn’t bite her tongue, and she never could stand Glenda, even when we were kids. I did not doubt that she would put hands on her in front of this church.
“Can we please just get through the funeral?” Jessa begged, tears sliding down her cheeks. “My father is lying in there. He wasn’t perfect, but I loved him, and I just want to give him a proper burial. Please... Let’s go inside.”
