Page 31 of Promised Summer
“You and me. We make sense. Whether it’s here or out there.” He gestured toward the window. “There might have been bumps in the road getting here, but you and me? We’ve always made sense, don’t you agree?”
His dark eyes twinkled, even in the dim room bathed only in moonlight, but they were the brightest things I’d ever seen.
I smiled, finally understanding why he was bringing this up. I scooted up his body and kissed him again, because how could I not?
“You’re absolutely right,” I said.
“I always am,” he teased with a smirk. “That’s why you should stop worrying and listen to me more.”
I laughed and agreed again. I pressed my ear against his chest and let the sound of his strong, beating heart calm me. I could understand why Karla loved listening to my heartbeat now. It was a declaration that we were both living in this moment.
And that’s what I tried to do. Just live in the moment and not worry about the upcoming get together. Except Saturday came faster than my nerves could settle.
Mom fixed Karla’s hair up in a proper crown braid, not like the poor attempt of one I’d tried on her last week. She wove a yellow ribbon through it for Karla, while Mom used a purple ribbon for herself.
Karla loved having matching braids with her nana, and I was so grateful Mom always took the time to give her this little joy. Today was extra special because even her gigi had joined in on the fun with a green ribbon woven through her crown braid.
The three ladies looked absolutely stunning, posing for the dozens of photos I took of them. Karla tried fixing a pink ribbon into my hair and having me join them for the photos, but she was disappointed to realize I didn’t have enough hair to keep the ribbon in place.
“Sorry I can’t wear the ribbon, baby. Maybe we can match when my hair grows out?” I offered after seeing her shoulders droop.
She nodded seriously, which only made me more determined to grow my hair out. It didn’t matter if I’d kept my locks short all my life. Dealing with long hair was a small price to pay for my baby’s smiles.
After another quick photoshoot, Karla and I left for her therapy session. My mom and grandma would meet us at the Denn family cookout later.
The first couple of weeks with the new therapist were mostly spent playing with toys. Karla’s therapist would occasionally ask easy yes or no questions that didn’t require Karla to speak, while also allowing them to get to know each other.
This week, her therapist managed to get a couple of words out of Karla. They were one-word replies, but it was progress, and I was so proud of my girl.
Karla was laughing and humming to herself on thedrive back to Kither Springs. She’d randomly call out ‘Lily’ or ‘Papa,’ and I’d laugh, telling her we were going to see them soon, which earned me more laughter from her.
Jones and I had explained to her that this was going to be a large get-together where she could meet some new friends. She seemed excited by the prospect at first, but when we arrived at Jones’ childhood home and she heard the sheer volume of noise from the people gathered, she hid her face in my chest.
I patted her back and whispered comforting words to her, but that didn’t seem to help. Jones came out front to greet us with Lily on his heel.
“Is the noise too loud for my baby girl?” Jones moved Karla from my arms to his. She giggled and immediately grabbed onto his beard. It was a habit she’d recently developed, no matter how hard I tried to get her to stop.
Jones merely laughed and plopped a loud kiss on her cheek. “There’s a little girl who’sveryexcited to meet you. She’s waiting inside. Do you want to meet her?”
Karla glanced at me, and I smiled in encouragement. I wasn’t going to force her to do anything she didn’t want. She looked back at Jones, then finally nodded.
He let Karla slide down to her feet to greet Lily. Meanwhile, he turned to me and plopped a quick kiss on my cheeks. “Hey you,” he murmured when he pulled back with a mischievous smile on his face. “I hope you’re ready to face the entire town in there.”
“I thought you were joking about that,” I squeaked, now worried about just how many people were here.
“Oh, Mama never jokes about cookouts. You remember how big they were when we were kids? They’ve only grown since,” Jones stated seriously. He then pulled me to him around the waist and whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the worst of the gossips.”
I laughed and pushed him away before anyone could see. “You’re going to protect me from my mother?”
“Oh, you might have to fight that battle on your own. I need to make a good impression, after all,” he said with a wink, then turned to Karla and took her hand. He twisted his head back toward me with a raised eyebrow that asked if I was coming.
There was no point in delaying the inevitable, so I took Karla’s other hand. With her between us, we walked slowly to match her pace.
It was a lot quieter inside the house, with mostly the older and younger generations sitting around the living room, chatting or playing. I spotted my mom and grandma with a circle of ladies I’d seen around town. They were probably gossiping while watching the younger kids play.
A woman I recognized as one of Jones’ cousins stood when she saw us and brought over a little girl who looked around Karla’s age. The girl was bold as she walked forward, holding her doll. She looked Karla up and down, and Karla stared back with clear hesitation.
“I like your braids,” the girl told my daughter. Karla smiled and giggled, but when she didn’t say anything, I was worried the other girl would get angry or think she was being ignored.
