Page 118 of Sweet Little Thing

“Why are you here, Hilda? What is it you want?”

She studied me for a moment. Truths and lies flashed in her eyes as she decided what she wanted to tell me.

“Tell me the fucking truth, damn you!” I roared in frustration.

She didn’t back away. She didn’t appear scared, nor did sheplay the victim. Instead, she took a step toward me. “I came for you. I want you. You want Wills, and I can help you get him. But I want you,” she said the words as she ran a hand over her left breast. “We were good together, Winston. You know we were.”

I stood there. Not much surprised me anymore. But the moment she chose to pull this ruse, it was like slapping me in the face. More proof she cared nothing for our son. I’d created a child with a heartless woman. He had a mother like mine, and I’d done this. It was my fault.

“I will fight for my son with or without your help, Hilda. I have the power I need now. This idea you have that we can go back to what we had when I was a kid is stupid. Pathetic. It’s also a waste of my time. I don’t need you here. If you cared about Wills, then I would respect your presence. But this…offer you’ve made? I don’t want it. I can’t even stomach remembering it.”

She threw her shoulders back as if she were born into money rather than married into it. “Because of that girl?” her words sounded bitter.

“That girl is the woman I have waited my whole life to love. She saved me.”

Hilda rolled her eyes and sighed. “I thought you were smarter than that. Jesus, Winston. That’s what is pathetic. No vagina is that good. You’ve had a lot of them. Don’t tell me hers is magical.”

This wasn’t a conversation I was going to have with anyone, especially not Hilda.

“If you want to help with Wills, stay. But you better remember your reason for staying here and your place. If you want nothing more than to try and fuck me, leave now. You’re wasting my time.”

A large part of me wanted her to walk out the door. I feared her presence could hurt things with Beulah and I. I didn’t trust Hilda, but she was Wills’ mother. Even if she was a carelessbitch, she was his mother. He needed to see her fight for him.

“He’s my son. I’m staying.”

Chapter

Seventy-Two

Beulah

When I arrived this morning, Geraldine had asked to visit Heidi. When I walked in the door, she’d already made the cake batter and started making cream cheese icing. The thought of seeing my sister made things seem brighter.

Leaving Stone’s this morning, I felt as if a wall was slowly being erected between us. I didn’t have a reason to feel that way. And I was aware my insecurities were heightened after learning he was a father. It also didn’t help that Hilda was staying in his apartment. Not to mention, it was possible that I was carrying his child. My emotions were all over the place.

Geraldine’s idea was better. Focusing on Heidi was safe.

Lucky for me, Geraldine also had me make cookies because they were her grandmother’s recipe, and she knew Heidi and May would love them. That gave me even more to occupy my thoughts. It was almost lunch when we finished baking, and Geraldine had put her final touches on everything.

I’d thought Stone might stop by, or I had hoped he would. Being apart was difficult right now. Things seemed so rocky, and I had suddenly became needy. I didn’t like that feeling at all.

“I have this beautiful pink dress with ruffles. You can twirl, and the ruffles dance all around you. It’s perfection. Do you think Heidi would like that? It’s hanging in my closet. Every time I see it, I wish someone could enjoy it like I once did. We both know I’ll end up prancing down here in it eventually when I’m in a crazy spell. Might as well give it to someone who can use it.”

I didn’t think Heidi could use a dress like that. Would she enjoy it, though? Absolutely. She’d think she was a princess, and I doubted she’d ever take it off, which meant it would get dingy and stained. There is no telling how much Geraldine paid for the dress. Giving it to Heidi to play in made me nervous.

“I know she would love the dress, but I’m afraid she won’t appreciate it. She’d want to play outside in it. There would be dirt stains and icing smears,” I explained with a smile. The offer was incredibly generous. I didn’t think Geraldine understood Heidi that well, even after our visits.

Geraldine laughed and waved a hand. “Who cares about that! I want her to have fun in it. That dress was meant for fun. Excitement. Adventure. Not to collect dust in an old woman’s closet,” she said, then clapped her hands together. “I’m going to get it now. We’re taking it with us. She can even wear it while she eats these cupcakes and cookies. It’ll be the most excitement that dress has seen in decades.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Geraldine was gone. She was fast for her age, especially when she wanted to be. I watched as she ran up the stairs—or rather, walked swiftly. Going to visit Heidi always put her in a good mood. I was thankful for that because it did the same for me. I needed to see Heidi today. Her smile would ease the ache in my chest. The foreboding one, warning me the inevitable was coming.

This afternoon, I would see my doctor. Geraldine already knew I was leaving early for an appointment. The closer it got to my time to go for my appointment, the more nervous I became. I’d be there alone. Stone thought it was for a routine visit and to get me on birth control. I couldn’t tell him I was taking a pregnancy test instead. He had too much to deal with.

As hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about him and Hilda alone. Together. I wondered what they were doing and what they were talking about. Was he still attracted to her? Did he remember what it was like to have sex with her, and did he want to again? I sounded ridiculous, but my insecurity was eating away at me.

“What shoe size does Heidi wear?” Geraldine asked as she came back down the staircase, holding a pair of pink satin slippers. If they had been heels, I would have been against it, but the slippers were like ballet flats, and Heidi would be fine in those. Her balance wasn’t the best. Heels had always been hard for her. She’d twisted her ankle trying mine on before my graduation.

“Seven,” I told her, knowing the shoes she was carrying would fit perfectly.

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