When I get to the garage that is off of the back of the house, something catches my eye. A rather large sign that is cover partially with a tarp is visible. I move closer to see what it is. When my hand lifts high enough for my eyes to read the sign, I gasp at what I see: Welcome to Firefly Resort & Spa. I grab my phone and type in Firefly Resort and Spa and Blackburn Georgia into the search. My eyes bug out when I find articles about the naming ceremony with Grady in the pictures.
34 Henry
The rain finally lets up about thirty minutes into West Virginia. The road continues to be busy, but at least it’s easier to see the cars in front of me. Speeds start to pick up, giving me better moment forward. I think I’ve lost at least five hours all together. I should be back to Blackburn by now.
I’m still now sure how I want to handle the situation with Ivy. I love her, so that is making things easier with forgiving her. I’m still in shock with it all and I can’t figure out if I want to say something to her first when I see her or to just let her talk.
In all my life, I’ve never felt so confused and simultaneously confident of what I want as I do right now. Does that even make sense?
35 Ivy
“Ivy, Sweetpea,” Momma calls. “What are you doing?”
“Cleaning,” I reply.
“Why?” she asks.
“I’ve cleaned the house before,” I remind as I put back a few of the picture frames.
“I know that,” Momma returns. “But, I just cleaned a few days ago.”
“It helps me think and stay calm,” I say. “If I just sit around, I’m going to drive myself crazy.”
“You’re already making us crazy,” Grady jabs.
I stand quickly and turn to find him walking into the living room. I’ve been waiting for him to get home to give him a piece of my mind. We were getting back on to better terms, talking and being better at being siblings that we ever used to be. Now, I’m not so sure since I know he’s been hiding something other than being gay from me and most likely the whole family.
“Zip it,” I demand, hurling a pillow at Grady.
“What the hell?” Grady asks, deflecting the hurling object.
“You know what,” I claim.
“Uh…no, I don’t,” Grady replies.
“When were you going to tell me?” I inquire heatedly.
“Tell you what?” Grady checks nervously.
“Is that why you’ve avoided me while I was here,” I press.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Grady retorts as his eyes inflate.
“You knew I wanted to know who took over Awohali Ridge,” I remind.
“Yeah,” Grady says slowly.
“Seriously?” I bark. “I know it’s Henry.”
I’m not sure why I’m hung up on this fact. I guess waiting for Henry to get back and the lack of sleep I’ve had are starting to get to me.
“Henry what?” Grady denies.
“Who else knows?” I pry.
“Know what, Sweetpea?” Momma checks.
“Grady works for Henry,” I state. “Henry owns it. Do you really think I’m too stupid to have figured it out? Firefly Resort and Spa…really?”
“How did you find out?” Grady inspects. “You would have gone nowhere near the ones that have their signs up.”
“I saw one on the side of Henry’s garage,” I inform.
“Shit…I forgot about that one,” Grady admits, ringing the back of his neck.
“Ha!” I shout, chucking another pillow at him.
“He wouldn’t let me tell you,” Grady claims as he ducks out of the way.
“Wait…what are you talking about?” Momma inquires.
“Why wouldn’t he let you tell me?” I investigate, not believing Grady’s excuse. “Why would it be a secret?”
“I don’t know,” Grady says, clearly lying by the look on his face.
“Right,” I laugh.
“What’s all the fuss?” Papa asks as he arrives home from work.
“Grady’s been hiding shit,” I reveal.
“Sit,” my son repeats from the floor. When he sees my father, he gets up and runs over to him.
I look down and smile. “That’s right, honey. Mama said sit. She told Uncle Grady to sit so he can explain himself.”
“Explain what?” Papa asks.
“The kids are fighting,” Momma shares.
“I can see that,” Papa laughs, sitting down. “It feels like old times. I miss this kind of entertainment.”
“John,” Momma scolds.
“What?” Papa says, shrugging his shoulders as he picks up his grandson. “It’s true. It’s about time there’s a little more life back in this house.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Momma investigates, seeming hurt by Papa’s words.
Papa waves a dismissive hand at Momma along with a grin. “So…what’s up with you two?”
“Grady has failed to mention to me that he works for Henry,” I inform.
“Henry?” Papa repeats, looking down at my son. “Damn…he’s good.”
“No,” I sigh. “Henry…as in his father.”
Papa’s expression lights up. “You work for Henry? That’s my boy!” Papa lifts his hand and high-fives Grady.
“Thanks,” Grady returns proudly.
“Why Firefly for a name?” Papa asks.
“Papa,” I whine. “You’re not helping.”
“It’s his nickname for Ivy,” Grady shares.
“Awww,” Momma and Nana say at the same time.
“The man definitely still loves you,” Papa states. “It’ll take him a little time to adjust and understand about his son, but you’ll both be fine.”
“Wait…all those log cabins and the lodges,” Momma states. “Henry owns all of them?”
“Yep,” Grady confirms. “All of Awohali Ridge.”
“How?” Momma searches.
“Doesn’t matter how,” Papa replies. “The man will be able to take care of his family now.”
“I can take care of my family,” I interject. “It’s the twenty-first-century dad. A woman doesn’t need a man to take care of her.”
“No, but it sure is nice to have someone care enough to do something,” he adds.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” I say, looking back to Grady.
“Like I said, he wouldn’t let me,” Grady claims.
“Why?” I press.
Grady shrugs, but I can tell he knows something.
“Should we reveal other secrets?” I inquire, purposefully putting Grady on the spot.
“What other secrets?” Momma inspects.
“Nothing,” Grady denies.
“Bullsh…” I say, catching myself so my son doesn’t mimic me.
“Grady’s got one,” I push.
“Ivy, don’t,” Grady insists.
“What?” Momma asks, looking back and forth between Grady and me.
A long silence lingers in the house.
“If this is about Grady being gay, we already knew,” Papa blurts. “We’ve known for a while.”
My eyes dart to my parents, yet I can see Grady’s mouth fall in my peripheral vision.
“Oh yeah,” Nana says. “It wasn’t hard to see.”
Pop-Pop snickers at Nana’s choice of words.
“Papa, that’s not funny,” Momma scolds.
“Yeah, it is,” he chuckles.
Grady and I look at each other, unsure of what to say while everyone else is silent.
“You knew?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Oh, yeah,” Nana confirms.
“We’ve known for a long while now,” Papa adds. “Known since the boy entered high school.”
“Was it obvious?” I ask, studying Grady who is still as motionless as a statue.
“Oh, no,” Momma confirms, sitting down on the edge of the couch. “But, we did notice different things…little things.”
“Even with all those girls you dated,” Pop-
Pop adds, we knew. “We figured you didn’t and were still experimenting.”
“John,” Momma calls. “You’re not helping.”
“Well, it’s about time the boy knows we’ve known and don’t care,” Pop-Pop informs.
Grady lowers himself onto a chair. “You’ve…you’ve known?” he mumbles as if the news is still sinking in.
“Of course, honey,” Momma replies. “I wouldn’t have been a good Momma to not know.”
I smile, happy that my brother can finally be himself with our family even though I feel bad at how it has come out. I look around at everyone, wondering if there are any other secrets that are being hidden.
Wanting to get something off my chest, I announce, “There’s a good chance Mrs. Summerlin is or will be spreading gossip about me.”
“What else is new?” Papa states.
“Why?” Nana inquires. “What happened now?”
“She came to Henry’s this morning while we were waiting for him,” I reveal.
“What did she want?” Momma searches.
I shrug. “I don’t know, but I do know that she wasn’t happy to see me there…especially once she saw him in his car seat.”
“What happened?” Grady asks, obviously eager to keep the discussion off of himself.
“She had a few choice words for me,” I share. “So…so, I called her out.”
“On what?” Papa searches.
“For sleeping around,” I reveal.
“I knew it,” Nana exclaims. “Lynnette told Georgina that Sylvie May saw her leaving the Blackburn Restaurant with a different man the other day….you know, one who wasn’t Charles.”
“I don’t know if she’s still doing it,” I state. “But, I know she used to. Julianna told me about it once when we were little.”
“What do you mean?” Momma asks.
“Julianna told me how she came home one day in the summer, earlier than she was expected to be home and she overheard some things when she got upstairs.”
“Oh, my,” Momma gasps. “That poor child.”
“It’s wasn’t the only time,” I add. “Julianna said that there were several times her mother had slipped up with things.”
“That poor family,” Momma sighs.
“That, and Julianna was never his daughter,” I add.
The whole family is silent for several long moments.
“Poor Julianna,” Nana mumbles.
“Poor Charles,” Momma says.
“He’s not innocent either,” Papa reveals. “They deserve each other.”
“John!” Momma scolds.
“What?” Papa replies. “It’s the truth. They’re so quick to point out everyone else’s flaws and think they can hide their own actions in the process? Henry’s lucky to be rid of them.”
“Hi, Dada,” my son blurts, waving toward the door.
I look down at him and then up to the archway when I see movement. My mouth falls open when I see Henry Lee Rein standing before me. My eyes stay on him as I note a little bit of movement off to the side.
“Dada,” my son shouts, colliding into Henry’s legs and wrapping his tiny arms around them. “Hi, Dada.” He looks up. “Come pway.”
Henry doesn’t move as we stare at each other. We’re both completely shocked and I’m thankful that no one in my family is saying anything at the moment. Henry’s head shakes a little and that’s when I see the panic in his face.
“Dada,” he calls after his father when Henry breaks free from his grip. My son chases after his father as Henry backs away. “Dada…come pway.”
My heart breaks a second time as I watch Henry leave without a word. It feels like the room is starting to spin and it’s becoming a challenge to breathe.
“Ivy,” a voice calls as two hands take a hold of my upper arms. “Ivy, go after him.”
“What?” I mumble.
“Go after him,” Grady instructs.
36 Henry
I drive none stop until reaching Blackburn. The car idles as I sit on the road right at the city line. It only takes me a few seconds to know what I want to do and to keep on driving forward.
First, I go to my place, curious to see if anyone would be there for some odd reason. Part of me is hoping that Ivy is waiting but part of me is happy she isn’t. I need to fix this and the best way is to go after her.
I don’t bother dropping off my stuff and head right to her parents’ house, knowing that there’s no other place she’d be—at least I don’t think there would be.
Pulling up to the house, I jump out of the truck and walk around to side where I can climb up to Ivy’s bedroom. When I overhear part of a conversation coming from inside, I head back to front door, knocking on it as I let myself in as I always have since I was eight.
I move slowly, not wanting to disrupt them, but also needing a little more time to figure out what I want to say when I reveal myself. I catch what I think is the tail end of Grady coming out to his parents. I’m not sure if it was because he wanted to come out or not, but I’m not surprised by his parents’ reaction. I’m sure any good parent would know even before their own kid about their preferred sexual orientation.
I get nervous when they fall silent and I start to second guess how I just walked into the house, intruding on the conversation. My feet start to inch back toward the door when I hear her voice.
“There’s a good chance Mrs. Summerlin is or will be spreading gossip about me,” Ivy says.
“What else is new?” Papa states.
“Why?” her Nana inquires. “What happened now?”
“She came to Henry’s this morning while we waited for him,” Ivy reveals.
I wonder who was with her while she waited for me. I hate that she had to. I hate how I still haven’t bothered to do anything with fixing my phone. I’m such an idiot.
“What did she want?” Mrs. Abney searches.
“I don’t know, but I know that she wasn’t happy to see me there…especially once she saw Henry in his car seat,” Ivy mentions.
My body warms at the thought of them waiting for me.
“What happened?” Grady asks.
“She had a few choice words for me,” Ivy shares. “So…so, I called her out.”
Rage beings to boil in my veins at the thought of Mrs. Summerlin speaking to Ivy how she did. That woman has no right to speak to anyone, especially Ivy, like that. How dare she say anything to Ivy after everything that woman has done to her own daughter—to her own family. She’s far from innocent and made Julianna keep things from her own father.
“On what?” Mr. Abney searches.
“For sleeping around,” Ivy states.
“I knew it,” her Nana exclaims. “Lynnette told Georgina that Sylvie May saw her leaving the Blackburn Restaurant with a different man the other day….you know, one who wasn’t Charles. And, that doesn’t count all these years that we’ve seen odd behaviors from her.”
“I don’t know if she’s still doing it,” Ivy mentions. “But, I know she used to. Julianna told me about it once when we were little.”
Julianna told me about it early on in our relationship. That’s part of the reason why we had friction. I kept asking her to confront both of her parents about the bullshit, but she wouldn’t—maybe, she couldn’t.
“What do you mean?” Mrs. Abney asks.
“I think we were thirteen when Julianna told me how she came home one day in the summer, earlier than she was expected to be home and she overheard some things when she got upstairs,” Ivy shares.
My head nods remembering when Julianna told me that story.
“Oh, my,” Mrs. Abney gasps. “That poor child.”
“It’s wasn’t the only time,” Ivy adds. “Julianna said that there were several times her mother had slipped up with things.”
“That poor family,” Mrs. Abney sighs.
“That, and Julianna was never his daughter,” Ivy adds.
Julianna suspected that she wasn’t her father’s daughter, b
ut she could never find out proof. I’m surprised that Ivy knew. It was kind of obvious though. She never really had any physical traits that resembled Mr. Summerlin.
“Poor Julianna,” Ivy’s grandma says.
“Poor Charles,” Mrs. Abney adds.
“He’s not innocent either,” Mr. Abney reveals. “They deserve each other.”
I didn’t know Charles was guilty too. I guess he was smarter with covering his tracks, at least with the town. I can’t imagine Julianna knew from what she’s told me over the years, but Mrs. Summerlin could have known and either started cheating or was already cheating. They’re such an odd couple, to say the least.
“John!” Mrs. Abney scolds.
“What?” Mr. Abney replies. “It’ the truth. They’re so quick to point out everyone else’s challenges and think they can hide their own actions in the process? Henry’s lucky to be rid of them.”
It’s not until it’s too late when I realize that my feet have taken me toward them, wanting to comfort them all and perhaps myself too.
“Hi, Dada,” the little boy greets, rushing toward me.
My eyes stay transfixed on Ivy as he hugs my legs.
“Dada,” he shouts. “Come pway.” He tugs at my hand.
My eyes look down to him before darting around the room. I’m unable to speak and I start to panic. I take a step back and the boy follows.
“Dada,” he calls following me. “Dada…come pway.”
My gut falls to the ground as I leave the house, feeling bad that I just rejected the kid who thinks I’m his father. I let the door slam behind me and I end up turning left toward the porch swing. My hands wipe my face as I try to process everything. Who am I kidding? The kid doesn’t need to think I’m his dad. It’s obvious that he’s mine. He looks just like I did when I was a baby.
With my hands on my hips, I try to get my breathing under control. I need to go back in there. I probably made that kid cry, thinking his dad wants nothing to do with him. Though my actions seem opposite, I honestly do want to be in his life. I want everything to do with him. I want him. I want his mother. How could I have treated him like that? I’m such a bad person. Did I just scar him for the rest of his life? Oh, God!
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