head to get a better look and grin when I see she has an arm and leg thrown over me and one of each thrown over Addy as well. She looks like a starfish and it warms my heart that she is comfortable and content enough to sleep this way. Slipping out from under her leg, I take care of business in the guest bathroom rather than using Addy’s master bath then go to the kitchen to start some coffee.
As quietly as possible, I move around the unfamiliar space and open cupboards until I find what I’m looking for. I pull out two mugs and get my own coffee ready while Addy and Zoey sleep.
Taking my cup into their small living room, I look around the area that looks cozy and comfortable. A blue patterned loveseat sits next to a cream colored sofa which is livened up by bright and cheerful throw pillows of different shapes, sizes, and colors. The walls are painted much the same. A wall of turquoise and one of cobalt blue. It’s not an eye-sore, though. It’s perfectly Addy.
Pictures hang from one wall that shows Zoey at all different stages of her life as well as some of Addy, Chris, and my family. A large picture of Addy’s mom, Suzie, hangs in the center and my heart clenches. She’s wearing a pink and green scarf wrapped around her head, a mask covering her mouth and nose, smiling eyes, and a two-day old Zoey in her arms. We lost her a little over a year after this picture was taken when her battle with breast cancer won.
Shame over the way I reacted when I first found out that Addy was pregnant with Chris’s child washes over me as I continue to look at the pictures. After I found out my high school girlfriend was cheating on me, I turned to Addy. Our friendship was already strong but she was there for me in a time I needed her most. I left for college and nothing changed in our friendship. We talked almost daily and visited each other as often as we could. When I’d come home for breaks, weekends, or holidays, my time was spent with Addy, who stayed in town to work for her mother’s flower shop. She took over ownership right after they found out she was pregnant. The Village Florist is Addy’s second home. I can’t imagine her working anywhere else.
And how did I repay her and show her friendship in return? I never babysat Zoey or fed her a bottle. Without a doubt, I was the worst kind of uncle there is during the nine months of Zoey’s life until Addy’s mom pulled me aside, told me to pull my head out of my ass and get over the fact that my brother had what I wanted. I was shocked that she knew, considering I’d barely admitted it to myself. But Suzie was an all-knowing mama bear.
“You’ve loved her since you were in the eighth grade, Beau. I saw the moment you looked at her differently. You’ve just been too blind to see it. Stupid, stupid man,” she mutters and I flinch but don’t laugh. Even though it is kind of funny, it’s also very, very true. I’m stupid.
“I don’t…”
“Don’t do that, Beau. Just promise me that eventually, you’ll see the truth that’s been before you all these years. I need that promise, Beau. I won’t be here to continue to yell at you until you wisen up so listen to me now. Before it’s too late, you need to let her know how you feel.”
“Suzie…”
“No. Do not throw excuses at me. You know as well as I do that this cancer isn’t going away. I won’t be here for long and I have one request. That you promise me that my daughter will be taken care of. That you’ll love her the way only you can. Promise me, Beau.”
Without hesitation, I answer her. “I promise.”
“Good. You know that she loves you, too.” She’s so matter-of-fact about it that it makes me blink once, twice.
“What?”
She rolls her eyes, driving in the fact that she knows I’m a stupid man. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know this.”
“She slept with my brother,” I remind her through gritted teeth.
“Because she’d just found out I was sick. She was sad. Drunk. And you weren’t here. I have no doubt that if you were…”
I shake my head. What she’s implying isn’t anything I could even fathom. “Don’t say