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I had learned recently that it would take me a while to work through these flare-ups. The rash, muscle aches, and fatigue didn’t just go away overnight.
As for my man, well Alley and I had to threaten him to get him to leave my side for an hour so that he could run home to shower and change. The look on his face when Alley asked if she needed to use her special bat on him too was hilarious. Gyth was no dummy and took her words seriously, but he also didn’t look happy with the reminder of what had happened. For me, it kinda helped to joke, just like at the hospital.
Then I didn’t get swallowed up in the grief of it all.
“We are here,” I heard Jurnee’s sweet voice say, as she opened the front door. Turning toward the sound, I saw Embry carrying her baby brother’s diaper bag proudly on her shoulder, holding on to the carrier with one hand, even though her mama had a tight grip on it herself. Tears came to my eyes because the stars were aligned when Jurnee got Embry, twinkling brightly when Braxton and she got married, and then she’d been blessed again with Hudson.
“Hey Auntie Summer!” Embry squealed, dropping her hand from the carrier and plopping the bag in the middle of the floor as she rushed toward me.
“Angel, be careful and don’t jump on her,” Jurnee yelled out, worriedly.
“I won’t, Mama, I will be gentle with her.”
Oh my God, this girl was so damn cute.
I want a little girl or boy so bad. With Gyth,I thought, as I waited for my special hugs from Embry. She loved to dish them out and I was taking all I could get.
And just like she told her mother, Embry slowed down as she got to me, and I sat up, then scooted to the edge of the sofa to sit. Slowly, she gently wrapped her little arms around me, as I did the same to her. Next, she gave Ash some sugar too. My dog was as sweet on Embry as the girl was on the dog—they adored one another.
“We got you something, but it was a surprise, so it is on the porch. Want to see?” Just then Alley walked out from the kitchen, taking in the scene.
“Honey, Auntie Summer may want to wait until she feels better to get up and go look,” Jurnee told her daughter. The cutest pout graced Embry’s face, but she nodded and told her okay.
“Hell, she has been sitting on her bum all day, so it will do her some good to take in the fresh air and see what you brought her,” Alley chimed in.
Giggling, Embry raced over to Alley, holding out her hand. “You said a bad word,” she told her, and everyone started laughing.
“I tell you, everyone is going to go broke around this one,” Alley said, shuffling her hand through the girl’s hair. “I will pay up once I grab my purse, let’s go see what you got for Summer first, okay?”
“Deal,” Embry said, running back over to me to grab my hand, to help me up. I looked at Embry and then over at Jurnee, whose face was soft with love for her daughter.
“You did real good, Mama,” I told her, giving my friend a special smile. I put my hand in Embry’s and let her guide me to the front door. Just as we reached Jurnee and Hudson, I looked down at the sleeping baby and then back up at my friend. “Real good, times two,” I told her with a grin.
“Thanks, I am one lucky girl. For all my family,” she replied, leaning in and hugging me. I soaked up the amazing feeling of my best friend's arms around me, bringing a bit of peace that I needed.
“Okay, okay, let’s see the surprise and stop with the sappy stuff,” Alley teased.
Letting go of Jurnee, she picked Hudson up out of his seat, and with my hand still in Embry’s, we walked out front. Alley and Ash right behind us.
“Look, Auntie Summer, it is two new pots with pretty flowers!” Embry yelled excitedly as she dropped my hand and hopped down the steps where the coolest ceramic pots were sitting in the grass. One had sunflowers growing out of them and the other had white lilies. Two of my favorites.
And I loved flowerpots. A house couldn’t have enough of them, blossoming with life and wafting their sweet scent in the air, always made a house feel like home.
Just as I started to take a step to head down the porch steps, I felt a hand grab my arm in support. “Let me help,” Alley said.
Looking up at her, I smiled. “Now who’s being mushy?” I teased.
She just stuck her tongue out, as we all liked to do to one another, and helped me proceed toward where Embry was waiting, bouncing on the balls of her feet, anxious for us to get to her.
“Me and Mommy picked them out, do you like them?” the little one asked.
“They are so pretty,” I told her. And they were. One was a mix of vibrant green tones and the other blues. The flowers were perfect and brightened my day.
“Thank you,” I said to Embry, and then as Alley let my arm go, I turned to Jurnee standing just behind me. “That was sweet, they are amazing.”
“You are welcome, I am just glad you are o-okay,” she sputtered out, getting choked up. Tears formed in her big brown eyes and that always got everyone, but her daughter, she didn’t like when mama got sad.
Running over to Jurnee, Embry hugged her mom tight around her legs. “Don’t be sad, Auntie Summer is okay. See,” she said, letting one drop and pointing it at me. Jurnee smiled, trying to push the tears back, clearly not wanting to make her daughter worried.
