Page 19 of Coming Home for Love

Big O sat on the side of his bed, watching him for a bit, so I left the room to give him some privacy.

I wasn’t sure if he planned on leaving or not, so I went to the living room to wait for him.

A few minutes later, I was sitting on the couch, looking up recipes, when Osiris came downstairs.

“He is out like a light,” he said as he sat on the couch across from me.

“It’s been a long day. Do you want some water or anything?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

He sat back against the couch and rubbed his face. I was sure his emotions had been high.

For a while, neither of us said anything.

“I just want to apologize again for not doing better with telling you,” I said, breaking the silence.

Osiris sat up in the seat. “I appreciate that, but let’s talk and get things out in the open.”

I grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch because I was always cold.

“I’m mad that I missed out on the first couple of years of his life, but I can’t stay mad. I don’t want to waste time being angryand miss even more time with him. I appreciate you at least telling him who I was.”

“I didn’t want him to grow up to think you were this bad person, and it wasn’t your fault you weren’t there. Where did you go?”

That one question had been on my mind for the last three years because it was weird to me how he just disappeared.

“I got the opportunity to go to school in Paris, and I couldn’t blow my chance. I do regret not telling you, especially knowing what I know now.”

“Why didn’t you call me or come to my dorm? Send an email or something?”

He scrubbed a hand down his face.

“Everything happened so fast, I didn’t even get the chance. I broke my phone, so I couldn’t call. Shit was just crazy.” He shook his head. “Damn. I missed his birth and a few birthdays already.” He dropped his head to his chest.

My heart squeezed in my chest when he looked back up at me with tears in his eyes. I threw the blanket off me and went over to him. Kneeling in front of him, I gripped the sides of his face.

“Look at me. None of this is on you. It’s my fault, but we don’t have to dwell on the past. You are here now, and we will work something out so you don’t miss out on any more time with him.”

“Wynter, I live in Paris. I don’t know how this is going to work.”

I sat back on my heels, stunned. I never would have imagined he lived in a completely different country. This situation was going to be harder than I thought. He dropped his head in his hands.

“How long are you here for?”

When he looked back up at me, a tear fell from his eye, and I swiped it with my thumb. “It was only supposed to be a week, but I don’t know.”

It turned me on that he wasn’t afraid to show his emotions.

“You can spend as much time as you can with him until you leave, then we’ll figure something out. I won’t deny you seeing him. Who knows? Maybe we’ll come to Paris. I mean, that’s if you aren’t married or something.” I giggled, trying to lighten the mood.

“Nah, I’m not married.”

He didn’t say he was single, though, but it wasn’t my business. We just needed to figure out how to co-parent living so far apart.

“What about you? You got a man or something?”

I was still on the floor in front of him, and talking was the last thing on my mind. I hadn’t had sex since the last time I was with Osiris.

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