“Follow the street until it ends, turn right, go down to the next intersection and turn right again. Go one block then stop on the side of the road.”
She laughed. “That’s three rights. One more and I’ll be driving around in circles.”
“You know to yield at this T-intersection, right?”
“I believe I got that question right on my written test.”
“Are you checking that none of these intersections are uncontrolled?”
Nyxie quickly pivoted her head checking for stop signs. “We’re good.”
Within a few minutes, Nyxie pulled the car over and put it in park. To the right was the backside of houses in a cul-de-sac, and to the left a large collection of buildings with driveways. They didn’t look like houses or apartments, but in the middle of the complex was a playground.
“I thought we’d have our dessert first,” he said reaching into the bag for the two clear plastic to-go boxes containing their cake and forks. “Eat half and then we’ll switch.”
“Are you serious? You had me drive miles from your house to eat cake in the middle of a neighborhood? Is this one of those things where the calories don’t count if no one sees you eat them?”
He laughed. “I thought solitary calories counted double,” he said before pointing across the street. “That’s the foster home where Lotus and Reina are staying. This is about the time they usually call. I thought we might get a glimpse of them if they come outside to play.”
She looked at him wide-eyed. “How do you know they’re here?”
He picked up his phone and wagged it at her.
She laughed. “You and your family stalker app. Can we go say hello to them?”
“No, baby. I’m sure Junior would pitch a royal fit if he knew we were here.”
“Give me your phone.”
Declan quickly paired the phone with the car’s hands-free feature. When they looked up, some teenage boys had come out of one of the houses and were dribbling toward a black top court.
“Should I call them, lure them outside?”
“No, don’t do anything different. Wait for them to call. Eat your cake and keep your eyes open.”
Nyxie tore open the plastic package and pulled out the fork. “This feels so naughty.”
“Eating cake before supper or stalking your daughters?”
She grinned widely and sighed. Daughters not nieces. The thought warmed her heart. “Both,” she said and put a fork full of carrot cake in her mouth. She closed her eyes as the cream cheese frosting melted over her tongue.
As she continued to eat, more and more children spilled out of various buildings with no sign of Lotus or Reina. She closed up the half eaten cake and handed it to him, but refused the rest of his chocolate cake.
Nyxie had begun to despair when her phone rang. The caller ID flashed Lotus’s name across the display. “Lotus! Is Reina with you?”
“We’re both here.”
Declan touched her hand. “Remember they’re on speaker, anyone can overhear,” he whispered.
She nodded. “I miss y’all. It’s good to hear from you. I have so much exciting news; I don’t know where to start. Do you want to hear about Cody? Or me? Or what the lawyer said about the guardianship hearing tomorrow?”
The girls began squabbling over what they wanted to hear first.
“Dr. Stryker is going to hold up some fingers. Reina pick a number between one and ten.” Declan held up one finger.
“Five,” Reina shouted into the phone.
“Six,” Lotus said knowing the drill.
“He’s holding up one finger.”
“Dang it.”
“Lotus…,” Nyxie admonished her for her language. “So, Reina what do you want to hear first?”
“When does the lawyer say we can come home?” Her little voice had a plaintive whine.
“Not yet, but we located your mother. She said when I get you back, I can adopt both of you. Would y’all like that?”
The girls began screaming excitedly on the other end of the phone and if they said any actual words, they were indistinguishable.
“Reina, Lotus!” a voice shouted from a distance. “If you want to make that much noise, go outside.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Nyxie stayed quiet on her end of the phone. She held her breath hoping she could see them. The rustling sound of the girls moving, and the whispers of, “Hide the phone behind Bear-Bear,” was followed by silence.
“We’re back,” Lotus said a minute later. “How was Mama?”
Nyxie’s eyes scanned the buildings for the girls, but Declan spotted them first. They were a good hundred yards away and she couldn’t see them very well.
“Lotus, I don’t want you to get upset, but your mama is in jail. This may be the best thing for her. She can’t get drugs in there, so she’s sober. And even though it makes us sad that she’s in jail, we have to be glad she can’t get high.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Nyxie could hear the sad resignation in her voice and she wondered if she should have kept the news from them.
“She was mad at me that I didn’t bring y’all. Now that she’s off the drugs, she misses you bunches.”
The conversation lagged and she wished she could hug them while they digested the news about Melinda.
“Lotus, what did you want to hear about next?”
“Cody.”
“He woke up from his coma today. He still very sick, but we think he could understand us.”
It felt strange to use the us pronoun, but she liked it. She smiled at Declan and felt guilty for being happy and in love when her family was torn apart.
“Did he want to know where we were?” Reina asked.
“He’s still on the breathing machine so he can’t talk because the tube goes in his mouth,” Onyx said trying to use language they could understand.
“Oh.”
“But I know he’d want me to tell you he loves you and he misses you. Hopefully, he can tell you himself tomorrow when you call. But don’t be too disappointed if he can’t. Guess what?”
“What?” they said in unison.
“Dr. Stryker moved all of our stuff out of our house and is going to help me find a new place for us to live.”
“Actually,” Declan stepped in. “I’ve already founded great place for y’all to live. I own a duplex and no one lives next door. Would you like to live next door? It’s a lot bigger than where you were living, but you don’t mind, do you?”
Nyxie stared at him as he continued.
“It has four bedrooms. You can either have your own rooms or you two can share.”
“We want to share,” Lotus said immediately.
Declan laughed. “I had an inkling you’d say that. Do you want two twin beds, bunk beds or a big princess bed with a canopy?”
The girls spoke quietly together in consultation. “We don’t need a bed. We’ll just sleep with Aunt Nyxie and Uncle Cody like always.”
“Girls, I know you love Nyxie and Cody, and when you all sleep together it feels safe, but Cody’s in middle school now. Boys his age, dream about football and sometimes they thrash around in their sleep. With all of his injuries, he could hurt himself if he accidentally head-butted you.”
“We could still sleep with Aunt Nyxie,” Reina said, hopefully.
“I will come lay with you in your room until you fall asleep, but Declan is my boyfriend and he and I will sleep together when he’s not working.”
“But….”
“Stop being a baby, Reina,” Lotus said to her sister. “Aunt Nyxie isn’t like Mama; she’s not going to dump us off with someone we don’t know because she’s got a boyfriend.”
“No,” Nyxie said quickly now realizing why Reina didn’t want Declan to take her out. The little girl thought Melinda abandoned them because of her boyfriend. She looked at Declan in the eye and took a firm tone of voice. “I’m never letting you go after I get you back. If Declan wanted me to ship you
off, I’d find another place to live and get rid of him.”
Declan reached across and touched her face. “I will never, ever ask you to do that. I know what it’s like to be ripped from your family.”
She covered his hand with her own, turned her face and kissed his palm.
“Why can’t we just get one big bed?” Reina whined.
“Because they want to have sex, dummy.”
“Lotus, I don’t ever want to hear you call Reina that name again. She’s not dumb, she’s just younger than you are and doesn’t know about some things. Tell Reina you’re sorry.”
“Sor-ry.”
“It’s okay,” Reina said in a tone that reflected Lotus’s insincere apology. “Aunt Nyxie, what’s sex?”
“Uh,” Nyxie said eyeing Declan as she tried to figure out how to answer the awkward question. “It’s how grown-ups show they love each other. It’s very private and very special.” She shrugged and smiled shyly at him as she spoke.
“Oh,” the eight-year-old said. “Is it kind a like fucking?”
“Oh, my God!” Nyxie exclaimed as Declan burst out into laughter he tried desperately to contain by putting his hand over his mouth and turning his head away.
“Reina, that’s a bad word and you know it. I don’t want to hear you use that word again. Did Lotus put you up to asking that question?”
“Hey, why do I always get the blame?” Lotus huffed.
“I don’t want to discuss this over the phone so answer Dr. Stryker’s question about the bed and then were going to change the conversation.”
Declan continued to fight his laughter as the girls conferred. On the other end of the phone the discussion became heated. Reina wanted one big bed to share, but Lotus didn’t like waking up in a puddle of urine when Reina wet the bed. Nyxie looked across the courtyard feeling upset that Reina had started wetting the bed again. Suddenly, Reina reared back and punched Lotus when the conversation wasn’t going her way.
“Reina, we don’t hit!” Nyxie clapped her hand over her mouth as she realized she had reacted to something she saw not heard.
“How did you know Reina just hit me?”
“She loves you,” Declan chimed in. “She felt your pain. Reina, when you hit Lotus, it’s like hitting Nyxie. Would you ever hit Nyxie?”
“No, sir.”
“Then don’t hit your sister. Since you can’t decide, I’ll buy you two twin size princess beds and you can push them together to make it seem like one bed. Will that work?”
Reina began crying.
“Wait,” Lotus said. “Get one big bed. Mostly, she just pees on herself.”
“Lotus, I’m proud of you,” Nyxie said. “Reina, don’t you have something to say to your sister and don’t you both have something to say to Dr. Stryker?”
“Thank you, Lolo,” Reina said. “Thank you for the princess bed, Dr. Stryker.”
“Thank you, Dr. Stryker.”
“You’re welcome. Have you ever seen any old westerns? At the end of the movie the good guys ride off into the sunset. It means they live happily ever after. Maybe if you walk towards the sunset, we’ll all live happily ever after. Do you want to try?”
Nyxie’s brow showed her confusion until the red sky behind him caught her attention. He was trying to lure the girls closer without letting them know they were there.
“Don’t go too far, don’t leave the property.”
The girls began moving closer, holding hands and Nyxie glued her eyes on them.
“I love you, Nyxie.”
“Me, too.”
Declan tapped her on the arm and pointed at himself and held up two fingers as if to say, ‘Me, too.’
“I love you, too,” she said. “Are you two okay? Are you getting enough to eat? Are your house parents good people?”
“Are you going to ask us that every time we talk?” Lotus asked with a sigh. They were close enough now, Nyxie could see her roll her eyes and shake her head.
“Yes,” Onyx laughed. “I’m worried about you. Every time I eat, I just think how much better it would taste if I were sharing it with my kids.”
Before they got to the street, the girls turned around in unison. “They’re calling us in now.”
“Okay, have sweet dreams tonight. Dream about when we’re back together in our big house and you’re sleeping in your princess bed with Cody in the next room and me just upstairs. We are going to be so happy.”
37
Declan and Nyxie drove home in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The only time they spoke was when he gave her directions or driving instructions.
As they approached, Declan pressed the button on the garage door opener. When she pulled around to the back, she noticed his Z4 was gone.
“Your car!”
He laughed. “It’s in your garage. I just thought you’d stay with me until we get your kids back. Do you want to see your new place before or after our fajitas?”
“Before,” she said. “Oh, shit, was all that furniture I saw getting moved in for us?”
“Of course. It’s my job to take care of you,” he said opening the door and climbing out with the food in one hand and his cup in the other. He closed the door with his hip and walked around behind the car to check to make sure she had pulled far enough forward to close the door. He set his cup on top of the car, opened the door and reached in to help her out. She had already gathered up her purse and cup and took his proffered hand.
“I keep thinking I should pinch myself. But if you are just a dream, I don’t want to wake up. I wish I weren’t going through all this horrible stuff with the kids so I could truly and fully enjoy everything you are doing for me. And if I forget to thank you….”
“I know you’ve got a lot on your mind, baby,” he interrupted.
She looked at him with shy smile. “I was going to say if I forget, you can spank me.”
He chuckled. “Remind me never to cut you off again,” he said, his expression becoming sultry. “If I kiss you right now, we may end up having sex on the hood of your new car. Come on.”
“Darn.”
They dropped off the food in his kitchen before heading to the attached townhome by way of the garages.
He showed her the entry pad and told her the code and walked her through using it her first time.
“Got it.”
The door lifted revealing his BMW and the contents of her apartment. On top sat the stuffed animal he found behind the corner of the headboard leg.
“Oh, you found Sugar.” Her voice sounded a little wistful.
She plucked it off the top, patted its head and set it back down.
“Was it yours?”
“Once upon a time but I gave it to Cody. God, we searched and searched for this thing. He’s probably too big for it now, but I bet he’d be happy to see it. I won’t tell him about it until we see if it lives through a cycle in the washing machine.”
“Good plan,” he said opening the door for her. “It would suck to lose it twice.”
The layout of her townhome mirrored his exactly. The appliances in the kitchen were stainless instead of cabinet fronted and the countertop had not been upgraded to granite.
“It doesn’t look like anyone’s ever lived here.”
“No one has. I bought the whole building brand new to keep anyone from moving in.”
She ran her fingers along the cool countertop. “You don’t want anyone to live here, but you’re going to let us move in?”
He shrugged. “You know how paranoid I am about anyone finding out. I thought about bricking the wall that separates them or doing something to sound proof it, but since no one was going to be moving in, I thought I’d have more time. The last thing I want is to have someone call the cops over something they heard. One of the reasons I bought this place is because I like the bedroom being on the third floor. No one can see in. I’ve always toyed with the idea of making this place my dungeon or my playroom—letting my sub live here—having my p
icket fence next door—keeping everything compartmentalized. It would’ve been a real kick to invite my parents over for dinner and have my sub come borrow some sugar—with no panties on under her skirt. I might have even fucked her in the pantry.”
Nyxie strolled into the living room and admired the comfy looking sectional. A large coffee table had been placed an equal distance between the three-sided room-group and a huge TV mounted on the far wall. The setting would easily seat ten people.
“I saw all the puzzles at your place. It looked like something you enjoyed, so I wanted to make sure you had a place where you could puzzle or play games comfortably.”
“It’s wonderful.”
“I tried to stick to neutrals so you could decorate however you wanted. It was hard to get a feel for your taste from your little apartment.”
She twirled around and intentionally spun into the sofa and fell over the back onto the thick cushions made of a textured camel colored material.
She looked up at him and laughed. “Our place was decorated in early impoverished dump with just a hint of drunken violence distressing the walls.”
He extended his arms to her. “Yeah, I thought you might like to go with something a little more civilized this time.”
“I’ll have to think about it,” she said as he lifted her over the back of the couch.
She marveled again at his strength as she put her hand on the round muscles of his shoulders. “What’s this muscle called?”
“Deltoid.”
“I think it’s one of my favorites.”
He kissed her. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I like your gluteus maximus, too.”
“It’s funny you know the name of my ass muscles.”
“It’s a very nice ass.”
He canted his head to one side as he set her down. “And I thought my abs were my best feature.”
She tugged his shirt tail up until his six pack appeared. Nyxie ran her hand over the rippling muscles. “They’re all my favorite except the little muscle between your eyebrows. I’m not very fond of it. Show me the rest.”
Grabbing her hand, he headed for the stairs. “I didn’t get you a dining room table. I thought if you were a breakfast bar/coffee table kind of family, the space might be better served as something else.”
The Love She Craves: Selling Her Soul to Declan Page 31