Page 20 of Roxy's Independence
I roll my eyes as they continue to banter about Selah’s over-achiever attitude and walk out of the room to avoid catching cat scratch fever. They’re both passionate about their work, and buttheads more often than not but it’s not in a less than friendly way, it makes me think of how Hannah and Laney are with each other—sisters to the core.
As I walk through the courtyard, determined to get as far away from the impending argument, I notice Python sitting on a bench with Easton in his arms. It’s not the fact that he’s outdoors that has me concerned, it’s the scowl on his face that has me stopping and sitting next to him.
“Easton okay, brother?” I ask, turning sideways so I can watch his facial expression as he answers.
“Easton’s fine. I just needed a breather from the house and Kinsley’s going through some shit so I decided to give her some space,” he tells me.
“Wanna talk about it?” I ask him, knowing that if he holds this shit in, whatever it is, he’ll blow.
“Everything’s messed up, Saber. You know when we hooked up she had recently broken up with her longtime boyfriend, right?”
“I remember something like that,” I mumble. “They were taking a break since he was stationed overseas and it was causing tension in their relationship. They’d been together a long time if my memories are right.”
“They were. They’d been together since they were fifteen from what she tells me. He was going through some shit and her nagging about not seeing him for a year was too much for him so he told her he needed some time to think things through. She was lonely, I was lonely, and we commiserated together. It was never meant to go beyond that.”
“Then this little guy happened,” I say, reaching out and wrapping my fingers around Easton’s little foot. “Is Kinsley regretting things?”
“Her ex is home and called last night. He wants to see her and she doesn’t know what to do or how to handle it,” he informs me.
“She’s torn,” I speculate.
“We’re not together like that, Saber, we only stay in the same house because of Easton. We didn’t want him traveling from one house to the other, we decided to co-parent, neither one of us wanted to be a part time mom and dad. Since we’re friends, we thought we could make it work, but now, I’m worried that with him at home, things will change. I don’t want to be an every other weekend dad, and if they work things out, she may want to go wherever he’s stationed so I won’t even have that.”
“And if they do get back together and she travels with him and where the service sends him, then what?” I ask, wanting to know where his heads at.
“I’ll have to go nomad, Saber. Seeing Easton only once or twice a year doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I’d do the same thing if I were in your shoes, brother, and so would every man in the club,” I convey. “Whatever happens, know we’ve got your back and will do whatever is necessary to make sure you are a present part of your boy’s life.”
He sighs again, then tells me, “I don’t want to borrow trouble yet, just thinking things through. Thanks for hearing me out.”
“Of course, that’s what brothers are for,” I state, carefully slapping his back so I don’t disturb Easton. “Why don’t we putEaston in his stroller and take a walk, I have a feeling there’s more on your mind.”
“You’re right about that,” he mumbles as we tuck Easton into his wheels and walk around the property, talking and discussing things that I wasn’t aware were issues for him.
“Easton did what? Is that even possible, Weston? He’s only six months old for heaven’s sake,” Roxy babbles.
“Gifts present themselves at any age, Roxy. There’s not a certain age they awaken,” I inform her.
“There should be,” she snarks. “Kids are too young to understand and grasp what that means for them.”
“Hannah and Faith say he has to learn while he’s still little,” I say, tugging her into my arms. “I agree, it’s not fair, but if he’s as powerful as the girls claim he is, then I agree with them that if he grows up with his specialty, then he’ll have control over it instead of it controlling him.”
“How did Kinsley deal with the discovery?” Roxy asks.
I mull over my answer before talking. “Not well. According to Python, she’s scared of her own kid.”
“That’s not good, Weston. If she’s scared of her own child she’ll never bond with him.”
“And that’s the crux of the issue for Python. It’s one of the reasons he won’t sit back and let her cart him away if she and her ex work things out.”
“At least one of his parents isn’t selfish,” Roxy mumbles.
“You’re angry, I get that, but let’s not label her as selfish, babe. She doesn’t have abilities so she doesn’t have the knowledge of the good they’re meant to be used for. But be fair to her, give her a break, and maybe you ladies could rally around her and help her see why she shouldn’t fear him.”
“That’s a given, Weston. Of course, we will. It’s what we do and who we are. Hopefully, one of us can help her see reason. Easton needs to be surrounded by other gifted people who can help him figure out how to maintain the power residing within him.”
“I agree, but if she decides that her ex is what’s best for her, we don’t really have a choice in it. All we can do is surround her with a support system, Foxy.”
