The door opened soon after he rang the bell, but the look on Reese’s face and her question to him made him think she was expecting someone else. Was I lost? What was that about?
“Is something wrong?” Norris asked. “I’m not early, am I?”
“No, you’re not early, Mom just neglected to tell me something.” Reese fixed unhappy eyes on Gail. “Isn’t that right, Mom?”
Gail flashed a tight smile as she walked over to the door and welcomed Norris inside. “Let’s sit down so we can talk.”
Reese moved wordlessly around her mother and sat on the couch, her eyes trained on her lap.
“If you have any questions you can ask away,” Norris said, settling into the end chair nearest Reese, watching her ignore him. “I’m anxious for us to get to know each other.”
Intense quiet engulfed the room. Norris turned to Gail for some assistance.
“The albums,” Gail said, walking over to a large, wine-colored bookshelf built into the wall. “I have lots of pictures of Reese growing up.”
“Great. I bet you were a beautiful baby, Reese.”
“You’d win that bet,” Reese said.
“Reese!” Gail chastised.
“It’s all right, Gail. She’s just being honest.”
“Here we go.” Gail returned with three large albums and placed them on the brown leather ottoman that served as a coffee table and complemented the modern style wine-colored sofa and end chairs. “I think these would be a great starting off point in the journey of you two getting to know each other,” she said. “In the meantime, I’ll be in the kitchen preparing brunch.”
“Wait!” Reese stood abruptly, taking her mother’s arm. “You’re leaving?”
“I’ll only be a few feet away. I’m not needed here.”
“Of course you are,” Reese said, wrapping a finger around a lock of curly, long hair.
“No, I am not. You and your father need some time alone.” Gail turned her attention to Norris. “Do you want anything to drink? Water, coffee, juice?”
“No thanks, I’m fine,” he said.
“All right. Brunch should be ready in about an hour or so.” Gail pressed her hand to Reese’s cheek. “It’ll be okay, baby.”
Reese ambled back to the couch and sat, sighing. Norris cleared his throat. “I understand how you feel.”
“I don’t think so,” Reese said, still avoiding his eyes.
“Well, I suspect you’re feeling ill at ease and a bit uncomfortable about being alone with a close family member you were formally introduced to only five minutes ago.”
She looked at him and nodded. “I guess you do know.”
Norris moved over to the couch. He thought to take Reese’s hand, but decided that might be taking things a little too far too fast. At least she was looking at him now.
“Reese, when I found out about you I was surprised. Stunned, in fact. But after the shock wore off, it made me happy. Now, I don’t have any preconceived notions for us and how our relationship will evolve, but I do know I want to be a part of your life, and I’m willing to take things at whatever speed you want.”
“Real accommodating kind of guy, huh?”
“I like to think so.”
If only he’d been that way with Dahlia last night. She still might have run, but at least they wouldn’t have had a fight. He shouldn’t have been so pushy, so insistent of her feelings for him. Somehow he would make this right. She hadn’t answered his phone calls, but if he leaned on her doorbell, she would have to let him in. He loved her, and he couldn’t give up without a fight. But first he had to make headway with Reese.
Norris tried to read her expression, but it remained noncommittal. “Are you willing to give me a chance?” he asked.
“I guess,” Reese said. “I don’t know what to call you.”
“Norris is fine.”
“May I ask you a question?”
“Of course. You can ask me whatever you want.”
“How old are you? My mother is fifty-two. I don’t think she looks it, but she’s fifty-two. I find it suspect you both could defy time.”
“How old do I look?” he asked, a bit surprised by her question, but hopeful her response to his wouldn’t hurt his feelings.
“About thirty-five. I truly hope that’s not right.”
“It’s not, but it sounded good.” He laughed. “I turned thirty-seven a few months ago.”
She gasped. “Thirty-seven? How did you meet my mother?”
“Gail didn’t tell you?”
“My mother hasn’t told me much about you, although I have asked more than once over the years.”
“I got hurt playing baseball, and she was the doctor on call. I thought she was the most stunning woman I’d ever seen, and we ended up spending some time together. Time that brought me a beautiful daughter.” Norris reached for an album. “Would you like to narrate the pictorial of your life to me?”
A dubious smirk curled her lips. “Is that your attempt at changing the subject?”
Norris laughed. Just sitting with Reese provided some insight into her. She was playful, just like him, and a little bit vain. “Yes and no,” he answered honestly. “I don’t have a problem telling you more about that time, but I think it would be better coming from your mother. I’m sure Gail will be more forthcoming with you now.”
Reese nodded. “I guess you’re right.” She pulled the album onto her lap. “This is me from day one to age five.”
* * *
“Reverend,” Dahlia said with a smile as she reached her pastor, who was waiting at the church door.
“Dahlia, I was so glad to see you at services today. It’s been a while,” said Reverend Myles Leonard, pastor of Sweet Zion Baptist Church for the past forty years.
She hadn’t stepped through the doors of the sanctuary in months—since Christmas service, to be exact. But after things imploded with Norris last night, she’d deemed the Lord’s house the best place to be. It also provided an opportunity to escape the urge to return the numerous phone messages Norris left, insisting they talk.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long, Reverend,” Dahlia said.
He closed his hands around hers. “The tithes you send in every month are welcome, but we much prefer your presence.”
“I know, Reverend. I’ve been . . .” What? Busy? Fornicating like nobody’s business with a man I didn’t plan to fall in love with, and ending things immediately when he admitted he loved me? That definitely wouldn’t go over too well. “I’ve been caught up in a lot of things,” she finally said. “But I realized when things get crazy in life, there’s no place better than church.”
“Amen, sister. Your parents and grandma should be coming in for the second service. They’ll hate they missed you.”
Dahlia nodded. She knew for sure her grandmother would hate she missed her, but her parents would just use the opportunity to get on her about Leslie. And she didn’t want to have those hostile feelings in church. She would contact her grandmother later, but being ‘talked to’ by her parents didn’t give her any thrill.
“I’ll be sure to see them later.”
“Will I be seeing you again soon, or should I just expect you the next quarter?” he asked.
Duly chastised, Dahlia managed a little smile. “I’ll be better, I promise.”
“Very good. May the Lord be with you, child.”
Dahlia nodded and proceeded down the brick steps to her car, a black Jaguar she’d brought as a present to herself after she lost the weight. If she hurried, she could make it out of the parking lot before her parents pulled in.
“Dahlia!”
Oh, no! Dahlia turned in the direction of her approaching mother. With her bright yellow suit and feathered yellow hat, the small-framed Nona Sinclair looked more like a giant canary than vice president of the local community bank.
“This is a surprise.” Nona kissed Dahlia’s cheek. “You can sit with us. Your daddy is helping Mama out of the car.”
“Actually, Mama, I was in early services, and was on my way home.”
“Nonsense,” Nona said, fanning her hand at Dahlia’s words. “You’ll join us for services and we’ll have dinner together. It’s been so long since we’ve shared Sunday dinner.”
“Mama, I don’t . . .”
“Dee, baby,” said seventy-eight-year-old Flora Best, strutting down the blacktop parking lot with open arms and a black pillbox hat topping her snow white hair. “Come give me some sugar.”
Dahlia moved around Nona to give Flora the requested hug and kiss. Her father, Wilson, approached from Flora’s rear. “Hi, Daddy,” she said, as she released her grandmother.
“Dahlia,” said Wilson, his baritone voice, like rolling thunder, somewhat out of place in his average-size body, but perfect for the principal of the middle school. “Considering you’re at church, I guess you must know.”
“Know what?” she asked, looking from her father to her mother. “Okay, what’s going on? Grandma?”
“I don’t think she knows, Wilson,” said Nona.
“Know what?”
“It’s your sister,” Flora said, taking Dahlia’s hand into her wrinkled ones. “She’s having some problems.”
Dahlia laughed, loud and overly obnoxious laughter. “Are you surprised?” she said. “She hooked up with Jonah. What did she expect?”
“What she’s expecting is a baby,” her father said. “She’s in her fifth month and she’s having some medical problems.”
Dahlia’s head swam and her knees buckled, but somehow she managed to keep herself from kissing the pavement. She backed up to her car, leaning on it for support.
Children had been a dream of hers for a long time, and when things ended with Jonah, she’d convinced herself not having them had been for the best. But learning her sister was having the family she wanted with the husband she’d lost . . . It hurt more than she cared to admit.
“How long have you known?” Dahlia asked.
“A few weeks,” Wilson said. “Leslie wanted to tell you on her own. In her own way.”
Tears burned the backs of Dahlia’s eyes, but she willed herself not to cry. Now she knew why Leslie had called. “So, uh, what’s wrong?”
“Stress,” her father said. “Her blood pressure has been erratic and she’s been placed on bed rest.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but what do you want me to do?”
“Be her sister.”
“Dahlia, I know you and Leslie have your problems,” Nona added, “but . . . ”
“Problems? Problems, Mama? I caught her in bed with my husband, in my house. The house I invited her to live in while she went to school. A house, I suspect, she’s still living in. Now she’s pregnant with said husband’s baby and having problems. How is that my business? If you ask me, I think her chickens have come home to roost.”
“Dahlia!” her mother shrieked.
“No, it’s the truth. I could come up with dozens of clichés that would fit this situation, but I’m not going to be ugly. I have somehow found a way to move past this, and I’m not going to get sucked back into it. Leslie has made her choices, now she has to live with them.”
Certain she’d recovered her balance, Dahlia walked over to Flora and kissed her cheek. “It’s good to see you, Grandma. I’ll be sure to visit more often.”
“I look forward to seeing you.” Flora pressed her hand to Dahlia’s cheek, forcing their eyes to meet. “I understand, baby,” Flora whispered, the intensity in her gaze reaching straight into Dahlia’s soul, reading and feeling all the hurt and anger she tried so desperately to keep to herself. “I understand.”
The emotions Dahlia thought she’d bottled up threatened to explode. Grandma Flora could break through her defenses like no one else, a big reason she’d opted for phone calls and not face-to-face visits since hooking up with Norris. Her grandma would call her on her emotions and dare her to lie. She didn’t have to say a word, and her grandma knew how she felt. And she didn’t judge or have expectations. She just cared.
“Thank you, Grandma,” Dahlia choked out, before racing to her car and speeding out of the parking lot.
Chapter 10
“So, am I an only child?”
Norris almost choked on the coconut cake Gail had served for dessert. After a drink of water, he looked over at Reese, who stared unflinchingly at him. “I’m sorry?” he said.
“Do I have any siblings?” Reese clarified. “A little brother or sister?”
“As far as I know, you don’t.”
“You’re not married?”
“No.”
“Divorced?”
“I’ve never been married,” he answered, suddenly wondering if he could rescind his ‘ask anything’ offer. He’d learned Reese had an interest in business, but with her ability to ask the tough questions, journalism seemed more appropriate. He’d also learned they both liked sports, specifically basketball and baseball, and shared a dislike of liver.
“Thirty-seven and never married. Do you have a fear of commitment? Hmm?”
Norris scratched his neck. “Actually, . . . .”
Gail held up her hand, halting his words. “Norris, please.” She turned to Reese. “Honey, give it a rest.”
“Mom, he said I could ask him whatever,” Reese explained.
“Perhaps, but I don’t think he expected you’d ask everything in one day.”
“Am I being intrusive, Norris?” Reese asked, her bright eyes as sincere now as they were intense moments before.
“No. I don’t want you to have any questions about me. It’s just a little strange being asked so many in rapid succession.”
“The lights getting a little hot, huh?” Reese laughed. “Don’t worry, this can be a stopping point. I actually have other plans for today.”
Though happy to be freed from the hot seat, Norris couldn’t deny his disappointment at the thought of her leaving. They had made some progress, if that was the right word, and he wanted to spend more time with her. “You’re going somewhere?” he said.
“Yeah. . . . .”
The doorbell rang in the middle of her words. “That’s my ride now.”
Gail stood. “You didn’t tell me you had plans, Reese.”
“When I got home yesterday, we got into some deep stuff, and I just forgot to mention it. Diana and I are going to catch a matinee.” Reese opened the door. “Come on in, Diana. I just have to run to my room to get my purse.”
“Okay,” said Diana, entering the living room. She smiled at Gail. “Hello, Dr. Elders. I noticed the car outside and wondered . . .” She looked to the side. “Mr. Converse. Hi. I knew that car was familiar.”
Norris waved. “Hello, Diana.”
The oldest of the Monroe children, the pretty seventeen-year-old had her mother’s tall, slim frame, her father’s honey brown complexion, and their shared love for the practice of law. Norris couldn’t be happier his daughter had such a good friend in Diana.
Reese halted her trek to her room, and turned around, wide-eyed. “You two know each other?” she asked, wagging a finger between Norris and Diana.
“Yeah,” Diana said, smiling. “Mr. Converse is a family friend. He’s Ryan’s best friend, and practically an adopted cousin.” She laughed.
“Ryan?” said Reese. “Mr. Andrews?”
“Yeah.” Diana moved to the couch and sat next to Norris. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see Reese,” he answered, clasping his hands and turning his attention to Reese, waiting for her to say more.
“Norris, uh, he’s my father,” Reese explained.
“What?” Diana shrieked, gazing from Reese to Norris and back again. “Mr. Converse is your long-lost father?” She turned back to Norris. “You?”
Norris smiled. “Surprise,” he said.
“Reese, when you told me your father was in Denburg, I never thought for a second he was someone I knew.”
“It gave you a leg up on me. A
t least you knew him. I only met him today,” Reese said, shooting a stinging glare at her mother. “I’m going to get my purse, and then we can go.” Without another word, she disappeared down the hall.
The room grew instantly quiet. Norris looked over at Gail. She tried to put on a stoic face, but her shiny eyes and quivering lip gave her hurt away. His heart went out to her. He understood Reese’s anger, as he had some of his own, but . . .
He moved over to Gail and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “She’s upset.”
Gail nodded. “I know. Upset and angry. I’ve been with her for sixteen years. I know her temperament. She gets things off her chest, feels bad for lacking tact when she’s doing it, and then apologizes. Reese is the most passionate and emotional person I know. She’s also quick to apologize when she’s wrong.”
“Reminds me of myself.”
“You two are a lot alike. And when it comes to this situation, I suspect you’re both feeling a lot of the same things. I know you’re still angry.”
“I am, but I’m working through it. I know, and I know Reese knows, you did what you thought was best. It’s hard to deal with, but being angry won’t help.”
“You are so grown up, Norris. But our daughter is sixteen, and as mature as she is, she’s still young, and she has to work through her issues her way. Are my feelings hurt? Sure. But I think I hurt more because I know I deserve it, and in two weeks, I won’t be here to take this anger she needs to get off her chest. I’ll be in Africa with my new husband.” Gail clicked her tongue. “I told you this wouldn’t be easy.”
He nodded. “Yes, you did.”
Reese returned to the living room and walked over to Gail and Norris. Regret filled her sad gray eyes. “Mom, I’m . . .”
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Gail said.
“No, it’s not. I was out of line, and I’m sorry. This is all so much to take in at once, but I’m trying, I really am.” She turned to Norris. “It was good meeting you. Maybe we could catch up again soon. Finish our Q&A.” She smiled.
Norris returned her smile. “I would really like that. I enjoyed our time today.”
“Me, too.” Reese took her mother’s hand. “I should be home around six or so.”
Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) Page 9