Chapter 26
A few days later
“Hey, move that chest of drawers over there. And push that couch against that wall. Thank you, babe.”
Nicole observed the new bedroom with supreme satisfaction. The renovation work on the house felt good and looked picturesque. Since Rashad accepted her invitation to move in, he had stepped up to the plate. He ordered furniture for the room that they turned into a nursery. He came home every night at a decent hour. He allowed his work crew to do the late evening and weekend projects.
According to Nicole Greene, things were looking up and couldn’t be better.
“I am about to put a load of clothes in the wash, so if you need something cleaned you should add your stuff to it. I’m starting with colors.”
“All right,” he said.
Being at Nicole’s house in this capacity felt a bit odd. Her ceilings were much lower and looked nothing like the ones at Rashad’s former house in Fresno. And she didn’t have an oversize garden bathtub; at the other house, he’d had two of them. But for now, this was home.
She came and gave her man a tight hug from behind. After all this time, and well over two months of pregnancy, she still knew how to get him going. She pressed her lips against his neck and kissed him like he was the best she ever had.
“Now that’s dope. Keep going.”
Pretty soon they were making love from the bedroom to the bathroom. Rashad knew Nicole would give him everything he needed during those life-changing days. She was his little ride or die and she was exactly what he needed to face what life had presented to him.
Alexis beamed with happiness. The tour boat cruised at a relaxing pace. She couldn’t believe she and Varnell and Hayley were sitting together on a bench as they drifted along the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Her arms hung over the railing as she took in the sights of the outdoor restaurants and listened to the tour guide provide the rich history of this beautiful place.
Her child was smiling, her man was grinning, and she was elated to finally get her simple wish. Alexis finally felt like the woman she knew she was: a main chick. And she loved it.
Rashad and Nicole were adjusting to their relationship. She treated him like a king. He liked the attentiveness she gave him, but he still wondered about Kiara. What was she doing? Did she miss him like he missed her? He couldn’t believe that she stuck to her rule of not letting him back into their house. Her shutting him down felt unreal, unfair, and it made him quite angry. Kiara Eason was his first love and he couldn’t imagine any other man ever replacing him. Somehow, he’d have to get rid of her new corny dude and convince her that he alone was Kiara’s true king. Somehow, he would try to get things back to the way they used to be.
It was a late October evening. Kiara, Myles, and Eddison were on foot, traveling in the dark from house to house on Eddison’s quiet street. The wind was swirling and screaming but otherwise it was a pleasant night. Wearing a Spider-Man costume, Myles bounded up the walkway to the decorated doorway of a family that was handing out candy and treats.
“Thank you. Happy Halloween,” he said.
Kiara, clothed in a Super Woman outfit, smiled and snapped a photo of her son. All she cared about was him being happy and stable. At this point, stability and happiness were what she wanted, too.
“Thank God, the weather cooperated,” she told Eddison, who wore a red Superman cape.
He squeezed her hand. They walked together deep in their thoughts.
“So what about the next holiday?” Myles asked. “What are we doing for Thanksgiving?”
“I ask myself the same thing,” Eddison said. “It’s been a heck of a year.”
“We’re going to be thankful. And then we’re going to get ready for the next holiday, and the one after that,” Kiara said firmly.
She sounded confident but she had no idea what life had in store for her. So she looked cheerful but she felt nervous. Maybe it was because Kiara didn’t know that in the shadows of the darkness, her husband, Rashad, had his eyes on her and Eddison. He slowly followed them in his rented car, circling the block, like a shark waiting to draw blood.