Page 29 of Reaching His Heart (The Sartoris 3)

“Dad, you’re going to lose as usual.”

Joe Sr. frowned. “I let you win all those other times. Tonight you’re going down. Most definitely.”

Solette sat in silence, pushing her food around her plate until it was time to go. Joe Sr. was so absorbed in joking with their son and whatever illusion he told himself about her, he didn’t notice she neither finished her food nor took a to-go box.

They left the restaurant soon after, and she kissed Joseph good night and waved at Joe Sr. before he could get to her to hug him. After she was in her car and headed down the highway, the reality of what just happened hit her. Joe Sr. asked her to marry him. He never wanted to before. They had lived together for three years when her son was little. Then after that it was on again off again with her leaving every time things got too much for her to handle, or she feared he would turn his rages to Joseph. He never did, thank goodness.

Solette drove back to her apartment and tossed her keys on a table and flopped onto the couch. She pulled the ring out from her purse and set it next to the keys. Instead of excitement brewing in her belly at the proposal, all she felt was confusion and nerves.

The phone rang, and she answered. A friend of hers, who she wasn’t that close with but talked to anyway just to have someone to share with was on the line.

“Hey, Qui Qui,” Solette said, trying not to sound so deflated. An attempt at excitement brought on nothing, and she let it go.

“So did you decide?” Qui Qui demanded. “Did he ask you to get back together, and did you say yes?”

Solette gritted her teeth. “You sound more enthusiastic than I do.”

Qui Qui laughed. “Trust me, honey, I wanted to bang him in his face plenty of times, but I know that’s how men are. You have to train them to do right.”

Solette was silent. This was one of the reasons she wasn’t close to Qui Qui. Her friend thought a woman whose man hit her hadn’t trained him yet. Not that she should leave. Solette couldn’t understand the reasoning, even if she did go along with it for years.

“So no matter what, you think I should get back with him?”

Qui Qui sighed. “Well he is a good dad. You have to give him that, Solette. Joe Sr. hasn’t once let your little boy down.”

“That’s true.”

“We were talking about how much a boy needs a strong man’s influence in his life. Plus, Joe Sr. never acted too crazy in front of Joseph over the years.”

“Are you trying to convince me?”

“No, I’m just giving you all sides. What I really want to know is did you say yes to another date.” She giggled like a schoolgirl.

“He asked me to marry him.”

“Say what?” Qui Qui’s voice rose, and Solette heard someone in the background at her job shushing her. Solette was pretty sure her friend shouldn’t be on her cell phone while she was supposed to be working.

“He asked me to marry him.” Solette threw caution to the wind and confessed her heart. “I’ve been so stupid over him for the longest time, Qui Qui. Part of me wishes we weren’t connected because of Joseph. But it’s more than that. I can’t use my son as an excuse. I

…”

She chewed her lip, not wanting to admit her own weaknesses.

“Look, Solette. At the end of the day, nobody can tell you what you should and shouldn’t put up with. Nobody is in your shoes. They don’t know what your needs are. You do. You said yourself the last year or so Joe Sr. has been different, that he’s not as quick to get angry. He told you he’s been working on his attitude.”

“True.” She had seen a big change in Joe Sr. although a lot still seemed to be the same. He didn’t fly off the handle in the way he used to, but his anger caused the same sense of panic in her. He might be pretending, but she had never seen him control himself for so long. Maybe her reaction was left over from before.

“The question is, do you love him and forgive him? Do you think it’s worth trying to see if there’s any pieces you guys can pick up and put back together?”

“For Joseph?”

“For you too.”

It was the first time Qui Qui said something that sounded like she was truly thinking of Solette’s well-being.

“I have to think about it.”

“Well, you’ve got time. Make him wait. I always make mine wait.” She chuckled. “Look, girl, let me know. I have to get off here. Talk to you later.”

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