by Tina Martin
“I know how to cook chicken. Everybody raved over my chicken last week, didn’t they?” Candice took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. “So what’s on your mind?”
“Nothing. I’m good, Candy.”
“Alright. Suit yourself, but when you get slammed with twenty-one questions at dinner, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
* * *
Nobody questioned him at dinner. As a matter of fact, this was one of the smoothest, most relaxing dinners the family had ever had. It was also an eye-opening dinner for Bryson, watching his brothers and their wives interact. There was Garrison who was the happiest he’d ever been, rubbing Vivienne’s belly – anticipating the arrival of their first child who would be the first grandchild of the Blackstone family. Everson and June were still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage and Barringer and Calista, though they were going through some things, still loved each other.
Bryson was the only single brother. The divorced brother. In the presence of family, he liked to pretend it didn’t bother him, but it did, especially now that he was in love. But the woman he wanted was unavailable and now, he was left crushed. Again.
But what was a man supposed to do? Sit in solitude and allow depression to take over? Men didn’t do that. Men sucked it up, shoved all of their feelings aside and moved on the best way they knew how. That’s what he was doing. Well, that’s what he was trying to do until he realized he couldn’t.
A few days ago, he’d been out buying groceries when he walked pass a vintage shop he must’ve passed a million times before. In the display window, he saw a porcelain jewelry box, one he remembered Kalina had described to him – one like Madeline had given her. He remembered how upset Kalina was that she’d broken it so he turned around, went back to the store and bought it. He kept it in the passenger seat of his car – a small piece of her. A memory of her. One day, he hoped to be able to give it to her one day.
While the women were busy in the kitchen getting plates and spoons ready for dessert – French vanilla ice cream and apple pie – Bryson stepped outside for a moment, standing in his drive way, leaned up against the body of his Mercedes with his hands in his pockets, legs crossed at the ankles, staring up into the night sky. He enjoyed the time he spent with his family, but tonight, as was the case with many other nights, he was here, but his heart was someplace else.
He watched his father come out of the front door and descend the stairs. At sixty-two years of age, his father was efficiently mobile, highly intelligent and still worked from time-to-time at the company he started – Blackstone Financial Services Group. When he retired, Barringer was named as the C.E.O., Garrison was the Director of Finance and Candice took on the role as Customer Relations Manager.
Bryson started his own company. He admired his father for doing that very thing and so he followed in his footsteps, building his own legacy to have something to pass down to his children.
Children…
“How ya doing, son?” Theodore asked.
Bryson cracked a half smile. “I’m okay…thought I’d come out here and get some air.”
“Too bad there’s not much air stirring tonight, huh.”
Bryson inhaled a deep breath and said, “Yeah.”
“Listen, son…um…I know when something is wrong with my boys, especially you. You know why?”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you’re the most like me. When I’m bothered by something, I’m usually quiet, not much for company. I just want to be to myself. Sound familiar?”
“I’m fine, dad.”
“Okay, but let me say this. I know the divorce put a strain on you, son. I couldn’t imagine what I would’ve done had your mother done something like that to me. But at some point, you have to let go of things and move on with life.”
“Trust me, I let that go a long time ago.”
“You have?” Theodore asked, frowning.
“Yes. I have no ill feelings towards Felicia. It wasn’t meant to be, so it’s over.”
“And are you still trying to sell this beautiful house?” Theodore asked, turning to look at Bryson’s home.
Bryson looked at it too. “No, pops. I changed my mind about that. This is my home…I won’t let a failed marriage run me away from it.”
Theodore patted Bryson on the shoulder and said, “That’s my boy.” He turned to go back inside and said, “Come on, Bryson. Candice has been bragging about her apple pies and I want to make sure I get a slice.”
“Hey, pops, I do have a question before you go back inside.”
Theodore turned around and said, “Okay.”
“You always used to tell us that you knew mom was the one.”
“Oh yes, she was and she still is,” Theodore said.
“Well, let’s say, when you met mom, she brushed you off and told you she wasn’t ready for a relationship. What would you have done? Would you have given her space, or—?”
Theodore chuckled. “It’s funny you mention that because something like that happened when I met your mother. She told me she’d just gotten out of a relationship and didn’t want to jump into anything else. I was crushed.”
“So what did you do?”
“I made her see things my way. I bought her flowers, I went out of my way to see her…I made sure she knew I wouldn’t stop until she was mine. And I didn’t stop, and I still love her to this very day, as much as I did on the first day I laid eyes on her.”
Bryson nodded. He knew how much his parents loved each other. They’d made it a practice to show that love in front of the children so they could see what real love looked like, especially in this day in age when lust was more common than love.
Theodore pat Bryson on the shoulder again and said, “Come on, son. Let’s go get some of that dessert.”
“I’ll get some later. Right now, I have some place I need to be.”
CHAPTER 45
Some days proved to be more difficult than others, but with a lot of prayer, exercise and a healthier diet, Kalina managed to get through the hard times. She took care of herself and as a dear friend had suggested a while ago, she switched from regular to decaf and eventually, she’d stopped drinking coffee altogether. Now, she preferred green tea instead.
Sitting at her table in Edith’s Café, she reflected on how, just a week ago, she was furious with Edith for deceiving her. Now, they were at a good place. Things between them wasn’t quite normal yet, but at least they had started somewhere. Besides, they had to be each other’s support for the loss of one of the sweetest women to ever walk the earth – Madeline Cooper.
Kalina took a sip of tea and clicked on an email, reading it. Her inbox wasn’t stuffed to capacity with hundreds of emails, especially since she’d hired a blog designer to completely revamp and overhaul her blog. Now, she was limiting the amount of emails from readers to fifty per week and, since noticing that a lot of the questions were redundant, she started a question and answer section of her blog. That way, readers could have their questions answered without having to email her, thus cutting out the stress of the job.
When the door chimed, signaling someone was entering, she did something she barely had time to do before – she looked up. When she did, she caught the gaze of Bryson Blackstone. She hadn’t seen him in over a week and she doubted she would ever see him again, especially here at the café, but here he was, on a Monday, holding a small black bag. Wasn’t he supposed to be at a family dinner? What was he doing here?
Kalina returned her focus back to her computer and began typing when she felt him getting closer and closer until he pulled out a chair and sat down. At her table. In front of her.
She instantly felt herself become woozy by his scent – a scent she missed so much. She took long, savoring breaths of him, enjoying the way her body relaxed with his presence alone. She looked up, held his gaze and saw something familiar in his eyes. Care. Concern. Love. Deciding to break the silence, she said, “Hi, Bryson.”
“Hi, Ka
lina.” His eyes swept every inch of her face – the dark berry lipstick on her lips, the hint of color on her cheeks, the long eyelashes that curved up and those big, innocent eyes that could convince a person of anything. He looked at her hair, hanging around her shoulders, framing her face. She had on a V-neck, black blouse and around her neck, she wore a gold necklace with the name ‘Madeline’ engraved on a small pendant.
“What are you doing here, Bryson?”
Instead of answering her, he stared into her eyes, trying to read her, looking for indication of how she’d been for the last week. He’d been worrying about her. Even after she told him she could never love him, he was still worrying about her. Still thinking about her.
Finally, he asked, “How have you been holding up after everything?”
“It’s a struggle, but I’m surviving.”
“And what about Edith? How are things with her?”
“We have a long way to go, but we’re trying. It’s hard to think about at times.”
“That’s understandable. I see she’s not working tonight?”
“Edith takes Mondays off now.”
“Oh. That must be nice.”
“Yeah…she enjoys it.”
After a few moments of passing silence, Bryson asked, “Did you get the flowers I sent you for the service?”
Kalina nodded. Even though there wasn’t an official funeral for Madeline, Bryson had still sent flowers to the funeral home on the day Kalina and Edith said their final goodbyes. “Yes, I did. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, watching her type something now. “Still busy sending emails, I see.”
“Yes,” she said, glancing up at him. “My eyes are not glued to my computer screen anymore, though.”
She watched him smile, then said, “I’m actually enjoying my work again.”
“Good,” Bryson said, “Because I have a question…a relationship question I need an expert opinion on.”
Kalina smirked. “What’s your question?”
He gave her a long, piercing, heated stare. “I’ve been seeing this woman…this beautiful, breathtaking, sophisticated woman, and I told her that I love her and she didn’t say it back to me. So my question is, do you think that, since she didn’t say it, she doesn’t love me, or do you think she’s afraid I would hurt her if she admitted she really did love me?”
Kalina froze, not knowing how to respond. She knew he was speaking of her and she thought about how much she missed him – his comforting hugs and kind words. He seemed to know all the right things to say to help fix her moods and for a little over a week, she didn’t have that. Didn’t have him. So, being real with herself, she held his gaze and answered truthfully, “I think she’s afraid you would hurt her.”
“I wonder why she would be afraid I would hurt her, though, because I don’t have a history of hurting her. All I’ve ever done was love her. Now granted, my relationship with her started off a little rocky, but once I got to know her, I fell in love with her.”
“How do you know you love this woman?” she asked him.
Bryson’s lips curve to a smile. “This is the part where you’re supposed to tell me to dig deeper.”
She smiled, her eyes brimming with tears.
Bryson continued, “I know I love her because I think about her all the time. I worry about her. When I don’t see her or talk to her, I feel a loss…like something is missing in my life. And when I finally do see her again and get to talk to her, my heart smiles. My mood instantly improves and I know that whatever problems I have, whatever is going on in my life, it’ll all be okay because of her.”
Kalina swallowed the lump in her throat and opened her mouth to ask him another question but before she could say a word, Bryson said, “I thought I never wanted to remarry but I do want to marry again. I want her. I thought I didn’t want children, but I do want children. I want her to have my babies. I want a life with her. I want everything with her but only if she wants everything with me and it all begins with an I love you. Only thing is, she won’t say it.”
A small tear crawled down Kalina’s face. Bryson wasn’t giving up on her and she recognized that he loved her a long time ago. If he was willing to be vulnerable and put his feelings out on the table, she could do the same. So, folding her laptop closed, she held his vision and said, “I love you, Bryson. And I miss you. I do.”
He smiled wide. He’d waited to hear these words and now that he finally did, he closed his eyes and felt the highest feeling of satisfaction he’d ever experienced. “I have something for you,” he said, handing her the small gift bag.
“What’s this, Bryson?”
“Open it, baby.”
Kalina opened the bag, removing the jewelry box. More tears fell from her eyes. The jewelry box looked almost identical to the one Madeline had given her.
“It’s…it’s beautiful, Bryson,” she said, her hands trembling. Lips quivering. “I can’t believe…you…you remembered this.”
“I remember everything where you are concerned, future Mrs. Kalina Blackstone,” Bryson said, standing tall, before lowering himself to his knees in front of her, turning her chair, while she was still in it, to face him.
“Open it, Kalina.”
Kalina looked at him, not fully comprehending what he was asking of her. Apparently, this was a lot for her to take in.
“Open the jewelry box, sweetheart.”
She nervously opened the box and saw a ring, resting at the bottom of it. She took it out, looked at it through her tears and, looking at Bryson again, she said, “Is this—”
Bryson took the jewelry box from her and placed it on the table. Then, taking the ring in his hand, he looked at it for a moment, looked back at her and said, “I never thought I wanted to do this again and I told myself I never would, but I didn’t count on meeting a woman as special as you.” He paused to take a breath. “I love spending time with you and I know you never wanted this, but I’m asking you to make an exception for me because I’m convinced I can’t be without you.” Bryson took her left hand into his hand, kissed the backside of it, before sliding the white gold, princess-cut diamond onto her finger. “Kalina, will you marry me?”
Like the sunshine bursting through gray clouds, a smile came to her teary face. “Yes, I will marry you, Bryson.”
Bryson stood up, taking her hands so she could stand, then kissed her, sealing their engagement and wrapping his arms tight around her.
“I love you so much, Bryson.”
“I love you too, Kalina. Now pack up your things, because I need to take you somewhere and do something I should’ve done a long time ago.”
“And what’s that?”
“I need you to meet the rest of my family…of our family.”
CHAPTER 46
Bryson was elated when Kalina pulled into the driveway behind him. “Welcome home, baby,” he told her before taking a kiss from her lips again. He gripped her hand, and interlocked their fingers while they walked up the stairs to join the family.
All eyes were on them when they stepped into the dining room. A second ago, the room was noisy, filled with laughter and conversation. Now, there was complete silence.
“Hi, everyone,” Bryson said. “Most of you know Kalina, and if you don’t know her, you’ll get to know her over the years because we’re engaged.”
“Yes!” June said, standing up and throwing both of her arms in the air. She ran to give Kalina a hug. “You two are so perfect for each other. I’m soo happy for you!”
Barringer, Garrison and Everson looked like they were in shock, especially since knowing that Bryson didn’t want to marry again.
Candice smiled then ran over to Bryson and wrapped her arms around him. “Congratulations, Bryson. I knew you could do it.” Candice looked at Kalina and said, “You don’t know me but I’m Candice.” She threw her arms around Kalina. “Welcome to the family, sis.”
Calista was happy for Bryson and his new beginning, but she felt like
she needed one of her own. She contemplated telling Kalina that she had written to The Cooper Files about three months ago, asking for advice since Barringer seemed to be changing his mind about wanting to have children. She definitely wouldn’t tell her tonight, but when they got to know each other better, she would, and maybe Kalina could give her even more advice.
His parents were elated. They didn’t know Kalina either, but what they did know was the smile on Bryson’s face was authentic – one they hadn’t seen in a while. Their son was happy for the first time in a long time. Elowyn, a romantic at heart, was afraid her oldest son had given up on love, but here he was, starting over.
While the women all gathered around Kalina, introducing themselves and gawking at her ring, the brothers pulled Bryson off to the side.
“I knew this was coming,” Everson said. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Happy for you, bro.”
“Whatever, Everson,” Barringer said. “There’s no way you knew.”
“I did,” Everson responded. “I knew it the day when Bryce and I had lunch together and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.”
“Oh, and remember when Kalina came over one day when we were playing cards?” Garrison said. “Bryson kissed her hand…talking about they work together. Yeah, you were working alright…”
Bryson grinned. “We were working together, Gary, and now—” Bryson turned to look at Kalina, thinking about all she’d been through over the last couple of months. About how the independent, thirty-year-old, beautiful entrepreneur had managed to avoid relationships for her entire life, but how she was willing to take a chance with him. He swallowed hard and said, “Now, she’s going to be my wife.”
Bryson smiled when Kalina looked up at him, watching her return a smile his way. It had been a difficult journey for him to take as well, having been heartbroken in the past, betrayed by infidelity, but he would give marriage another chance, not because he was lonely. Not because his brothers were married and he wanted to fit in. He would do it because he wanted to give Kalina a life she deserved. He wanted her to finally have something her heart desired more than anything – true love and a family. And as her man, her lover, her confidant, her husband, he would forever take any pain she felt in her heart and absorb it in his. He now had that power, and he would use it to make her happy for the rest of their days.