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But the hand over mine had known many hardships.
I should have known dating a man with softer hands than my own wasn’t a good idea.
Looking down, I raised that big male hand to my face, then used it to cup and hold my cheek.
When he brushed my face with his free hand, I realized I was crying again, or had been continuously crying.
“Come here, baby.” He turned me around so I could hug him back. “Let it all out. I’ve got you.”
“But the kids, the cand…cand—” My voice echoed weirdly in the bathroom as I gave a choked cry.
“Their neighbor called their grandparents, and they came and got them not too long after you arrived. The girls said to tell you goodbye and thank you. The lady came for candelabra, and it’s safely on its way to the wedding venue.”
I took in a hitching breath that hurt. “How are Mindy and Juan?”
“Good. Mindy is staying overnight to have surgery on her finger, and Juan had his arm set already. One of his brothers is waiting for him.” He kissed my forehead. “You did so good, baby girl. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking such good care of my family. I don’t know what I would have done without you tonight. I’m so proud of you.”
This only made me cry harder, and he held and rocked me as I let go and made a mess of his t-shirt. By the time I’d wrung myself dry, I was giving little hiccups that made my breathing jagged, but at least I was no longer gasping. Tyler continued to rub my back in slow circles, whispering soothing nonsense that I nonetheless loved hearing.
“Better?” he asked as he leaned back to study my face.
“Yeah,” my voice came out rough, and I turned to the sinks, running the cold water before splashing my face a few times.
Tyler handed me some paper towels without a word as I took a deep breath, or at least tried to.
Rubbing his hands up and down my arms, Tyler said, “Ready to go home?”
The night had been a total disaster, so I nodded in defeat, the deep scrape on my neck and jaw throbbing.
Holding my hand, he led me out of the bathroom and past some curious onlookers before we were once again outside. I took in a deep breath as the warm evening air hit me, bathing my body in welcome heat after the artificial cold of the hospital. The sky was dark, and I had no idea what time it was.
I froze, then turned back to the hospital. “Shoot, I left my purse inside.”
“I got it for you,” Tyler waved his hand, which indeed held my cute blue purse. “And I called Shyla to let her know what happened. I think she might have peed herself laughing. She said, and I quote, ‘best first date ever.’”
He looked so cranky when he said that last part, it helped break the lingering pieces of darkness off my mood, leaving me tired, but no longer heavy. Holding his hand, I felt like I was somehow feeding off his strength, gaining energy and waking up as we walked through the parking lot. A thousand questions spun through my mind, but my good cry had left me feeling a spacy and disconnected.
Tyler helped me into his car, and once again my gaze tried to focus on my stained shirt, but it was really too dark to see.
The engine of his SUV rumbled to life and he buckled me in himself, the gesture both breaking and healing my heart.
Low music played on the radio, and once we were in slow moving traffic, he reached out and took my hand in his own. There were still lots of people out walking the streets, and I enjoyed some mindless crowd watching as we passed bars and taverns filled with people having a good time. Some kind of soothing guitar music played through the speakers, and I rested my head against the cool window as I held tight to Tyler.
“What set you off in there?” he asked in a soft voice. “Other than, you know—everything.”
That got a soft laugh out of me, and I watched my reflection on the tinted glass as we passed beneath streetlights, feeling oddly hypnotized by the passing glow. “This is going to sound stupid, but it was my blood on the shirt.”
There was nothing but mournful guitar music and the sound of my own heartbeat for far too long. Finally, Tyler said, “Why does the sight of blood on your shirt bother you so much you’d spend twenty minutes trying to clean it out?”
I gave a harsh laugh and tried to pull my hand away, but he wouldn’t let me. “I don’t know, okay?”
“Okay,” was his reply, but he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “Thank you, again, for being there for my family today.”
