| |
“Mama?”
“Upstairs.”
I dropped my keys on the counter and sprinted up the stairs. “I thought I brought my clothes with me to change into, but I must have left them on my bed.” I literally had five minutes to get changed and back in my car so I would make it to work on time. This was why I brought my clothes with me so I wasn’t rushed having to drive ten minutes out of my way back home.
“You should have called me, girl. I could have brought you the bag.” Mom walked into my room and leaned against the doorframe. “Christy’s sister is still in town for one more day so I left them alone for the rest of the day.”
I twirled my finger at mom. “Spin so I can change.”
She slapped her hand over her eyes and turned around. “I brought you into this world naked as a jaybird, girl.”
“I know, I know,” I muttered. Still didn’t mean I wanted anyone watching me while I changed. “Uh, Jay called me.”
“About damn time.”
“Mom, he comes to the house every day. It’s not like he disappeared.”
She scoffed. “From the way you talk, you’re just waiting for that to happen.”
I pulled off my scrub top and tossed it in the laundry basket. “Because I’m scared, Mama.”
“Scared of a man who loves you. I’ve never heard anything more ridiculous,” she muttered.
“You don’t know that, Mama.” I pulled my black, form-fitting polo shirt on then dropped my pale blue pants in a puddle on the floor. “He could be wanting to talk to me to just end this all. I mean, this isn’t really an ideal situation.”
“Losing a baby never is, honey.” That right there is what Mama was doing to help me heal. She wasn’t tiptoeing around the miscarriage. She wasn’t dismissing it either.
“I know.”
“He say what he wanted talk about?” she asked.
I grabbed my black skirt and pulled it on. “He asked what the hell was going on with us. I’m assuming that is what we’re going to talk about.” I smoothed my shirt down. “Done.”
Mama turned back around, and I grabbed a hair tie.
“And are you actually going to talk?” she asked.
That was the million dollar question. I had gotten a better hold on what I was feeling and what I wanted to happen between Jay and me, but what I wanted might not be the same as what Jay wanted. “Yes. I need to.”
“That’s my girl.”
I twisted my hair on top of my head and dropped my arms to my side. “And now, I gotta go.”
“You guys coming here to talk?”
I shook my head and grabbed my flats out of the bag. “No. I figured we would talk somewhere neutral. He’s meeting me at the restaurant after my shift.”
“Well, go get ‘em, honey, and make sure you tell him exactly what you’re feeling.” Mama gave me a quick huge and a peck on the cheek. “I want a full report if you make it home tonight.”
“Mama,” I gasped.
She rolled her eyes and shooed me down the stairs. “The delusion that you’re a virgin is gone, Delaney,” she reminded me.
“Yeah, yeah. But I’ll call you if I’m not coming home.” I jogged down the stairs and turned to look back up at her.
“Be true to your heart, Delaney, even if you might get hurt.”
That was exactly what I was terrified of, but I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.
Jay was going to hear exactly what I was feeling, and I prayed to God he didn’t go running for the hills.
*
