Page 31 of Always There Bayou
“You love them, don’t you?” Auntie asks with a smile, and I nod, more tears falling.
“So fucking much that it hurts to think about disappointing them,” I admit. “I just want them to know that I’m sorry for all the pain that I caused over the years, whether intentional or not. They deserve better, and I’ll do whatever I can to be that better.”
“I know, Corduroy. Now, stop crying,” I hear, and my head snaps up to see Denny standing at the door with a huge smile. My heart skips a beat. How long had they been standing there?
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” Auntie chuckles. She kisses me lightly on the forehead before getting up and patting Denny on the shoulder.
Once she’s back inside, Denny takes her place. They take my hands in theirs and smile brightly at me. “Cory, you and I are gonna be alright,” they say softly. “The past is the past, and I have faith that we are gonna do better from now on. All of our feelings and grievances are out on the table, and now we know whatnotto do and how wedon’twant to make each other feel.” They pause, and I nod. “I love you to the moon and back fifty times over. It’s you and me forever, baby, okay?”
“I like the sound of that,” I reply, and they smile, nodding. “I know I’ve said this before, but I’m sorry about the way I treated you.”
“And I accept your apology, but please, let’s just put that in the past,” they say. “Starting today, everything from before is behind us, and we’re starting with a clean slate. We’re gonna work on our feelings, you're gonna go back to therapy, and so will I. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make this work, love?”
“Whatever it takes,” I nod, pulling them in by the chin to kiss their lips softly. “You are my forever, and that will never change.”
“Good, now come on inside so we can eat.”
I nod and let them take my hand and pull me up. We enter the house, lock the door behind us, and head straight to the bathroom to wash up. We met our families at the table and enjoyed one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. Throughout dinner, Denny and I couldn’t help but make heart eyes at each other. And when bedtime finally rolled around, we did a bit of rolling around the sheets, if you catch my drift.
8
Caressed Bayou.
DennyHouston-December24th, 2024
“Ugh, I’m stuffed,” I say as I fall back onto the couch in the den. Everyone groans in agreement. “I shouldn’t have eaten that extra piece of pie.”
We’d just finished having the most fantastic meal, and I may have gone a bit overboard. All day we’d been out on the slopes, so we were beyond hungry once dinner time came around. I think we all had at least three plates of delicious, itis-inducing soul food as we sat around the table and reminisced about old times. We also opened a gift each as was tradition on Christmas Eve.
Speaking of gifts, yesterday I went with Delilah and Imani into town to do a bit of last-minute Christmas shopping. There was a small outlet mall, and I was happy to see that one of the stores was a toy store. They were confused as to why I wanted to go in, but after I explained my gift idea for Cory, they didn’t hesitate to help me look for a few sets that we knew she’d love.
As the parents handled the cleanup, the rest of us ventured into the den to watch a movie while our food digested. It was some Christmas movie I’d never seen, but I had a hard time paying attention after Cory rested her head on my shoulder.
Her scent invaded my nostrils and fogged up my brain. It was clean and fresh, like waterfalls in spring. Everything about her comforted me, and it was hard to control my heart from wanting to jump out of my chest whenever she was around.
My mind drifted over to the conversation I happened to overhear a couple of days ago between her and my aunt. It made me so frustrated that she felt like she wasn’t good enough for me, mainly because I never thought that. I hated that she still had these insecurities lingering in her mind, thanks to past relationships and everything that happened with her mom.
I wish I could take away all her burdens and pain and show her that she was worthy of good things. I wanted her to know that she was deserving of the love she receives, and doesn’t have to settle for women who only wanted to use her for fame and run through her money. I needed to ease some of those doubts that always surrounded her like a cloud. Even though I’d express that we would have a clean start, I could tell she was still stressed about it.
I knew that I needed to make things abundantly clear.
“Corduroy,” I say softly, shaking her arm gently. She looks up at me as a small yawn escapes. It took everything in me not to spend the next 20 minutes just staring into her eyes. “Can we go somewhere and talk in private?”
“Yeah, is everything okay?” She asks, eyebrows furrowed. I nod.
“Yes, I just wanna get some things off my chest.”
“Okay,” she nods.
She stands and holds her hand out for me to take before we excuse ourselves and head back up to the room we’d been sharing. Once the door is closed and locked behind us, I pull her over to the bed and we have a seat. It’s quiet for a split second before I talk.
“Cory, I know that it’s hard for you to shake that anxiety of you not being good enough for me, but I was serious when I told you that whatever happened in the past should stay in the past,” I start. “Listen, I love you, okay? Flaws and all, and there is nothing that’s ever gonna change that.”
“But…”
“But nothing,” I cut her off. “Hey, look at me.” I softly take her face in my hand and smile at her. “You’re perfect to me, and I promise to always be there for you. Hell, I always have been. Affection between us has always been a two-way street, even if sometimes it seemed like it wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
