“Yeah, it does.” Max looked wary.
“I thought maybe… You know, you mentioned you would trust me more if I was serious about Jenelle. That you’d be sure I wasn’t going to go against the code of ethics with any other clients. I’m not asking to be hired back, but maybe…” I bit my lip. “It’d help a lot if you’d be a reference for me.”
His jaw tightened. “What would I say?”
“Just the truth,” I quickly said. “I’d never ask you to lie, obviously. I just want to be clear with any future employers that I did fuck up, but only because I found the love of my life.”
His eyes softened again. “You really feel that way about her?”
I didn’t hesitate for a second. “I do.”
“She is a nice girl. Beautiful, too. If you had to fall in love with a client, I understand why it was her.” He tried not to smile. “And I guess I might’ve brought this on a bit by making that bet with you. I’d be okay with being your reference – as long as you’re okay with me telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
“Of course. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.” I wanted to hug him, but I knew he’d never let me do that. “How are you doing, by the way?” I wanted to tell him that I missed him.
“Not bad. Pretty good, actually. I’ve been seeing someone new, myself.” For a split second, he grinned, and then he went back to his serious expression.
“You finally found Prince Charming!” I shrieked. “Tell me about him! What’s his name? What’s he like?”
“I’ll tell you another time,” he said. “Maybe… over happy hour?”
A huge smile split my face. “That sounds perfect.”
Epilogue – Jenelle
“Mommy, my dress won’t zip up.” Mercy tugged on my sleeve, a serious expression on her face.
“That’s okay, baby, I’ll do it for you. Some dresses, you have to ask somebody to help with.”
She frowned. “What if I want to zip it myself?”
“You can’t always do everything yourself.” I ran the zipper up her back and spun her around to take a good look at her.
She’d turned eight a few months ago, and she seemed to get more grown-up every day. Her childhood was passing before my eyes – but I did my best to savor every moment of it. After having her torn away from me for six months, I’d never take her for granted again.
She did a spin in her dress, holding the pink tulle skirt up with both hands. I clapped and clapped, my heart swelling with pride.
The bathroom door swung open, and Sylvia stepped into the hotel room. “Who is this?” she asked, covering her mouth in a fake gasp. “This couldn’t be Mercy. She looks way too grown up.”
Mercy giggled wildly. “It’s me, Sylvia. I’m just wearing a pretty dress.” She scanned Sylvia up and down. “And you are, too!”
It was true. Sylvia had on an ankle-length navy cocktail dress embellished with subtle sequins. She’d styled her hair in an elaborate updo, and her normally pink lips were a dramatic shade of red. She looked so beautiful, I thought I might fall in love with her all over again.
“Don’t forget your mom, honey,” Sylvia said. “Doesn’t she look amazing?”
Mercy shrugged. “She looks like she always does.”
Sylvia and I traded a glance. “You mean she always looks amazing?” Sylvia asked.
Mercy nodded emphatically. “Exactly.”
I would’ve said I looked a little better than usual today. I’d opted for a pale purple pantsuit with low heels and a white handkerchief. I’d gotten my hair done in long braids that swung around my shoulders, and I’d applied subtle make-up to enhance my features.
“I want to wear lipstick,” Mercy said. “And eyeshadow, and blush. Can I, Mommy? Please?”
“You do realize you’re eight years old?” I started to say.
Sylvia interrupted me. “That wouldn’t be smart, Mercy. You know why?”
Mercy didn’t.
“You’d look like you were twenty!” she said. “No one would recognize you.”
“What if I want to look like I’m twenty?”
I held my hands over my ears. “I don’t want to hear it. You’re never getting that old. You’re going to stay my baby forever.”
“See?” Sylvia said. “Your mom couldn’t deal with it. And how about your aunt Chandra? You don’t want her to be asking who this random person is on her big day.”
Mercy giggled again. “Auntie Chandra would recognize me.”
“Not with make-up on. That stuff is dangerous.” Sylvia gave her a wink.
I grabbed my handbag. “We should get going. We’re going to be late.”
“And we can’t have the flower girl get there late.” Sylvia placed her hand in mine as Mercy dashed ahead of us. “Not to mention the bridesmaid,” she added in a whisper.
A soft smile came across my face. I’d been shocked when Chandra asked me to be one of her bridesmaids so soon after we made up. It was so close to her wedding, and I threw off the ratio of bridesmaids to ushers. But Chandra had refused to accept my hesitation. She’d gotten her fiancé to find another friend to join the wedding party, and since I was working nine-to-five, I had time after work to get up to speed on all the other requirements.
My smile stayed put as we drove through the Florida Keys. Chandra had found an amazing venue, a beautiful hall that was now decorated top to bottom in pale purple and light blue, the wedding colors.
Leaving Mercy and Sylvia together in the reserved seating, I hurried into the back room where I knew Chandra would be getting ready.
The room was small, more like a closet, and I had to squeeze myself inside. “Hey, sis. How are you feeling?”
“Nervous. Excited. Terrified. Freaking out.” She grinned. “I couldn’t be happier.”
“Really?” I had to admit she was glowing like never before. “Even though our parents didn’t come?”
“Don’t worry about that. You were both invited, and they’re the ones who chose not to come. It’s their problem, not mine, that they’re missing this.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”
“Sylvia’s here? She’s so sweet. When are you two going to tie the knot?”
I had to laugh. “We’ve only been together for six months. We’re not rushing into anything yet.”
“But you think it’s heading that way eventually?”
“I know it.”
“Wow.” She shook her head. “I was never that sure about Darius, especially early on, and look at us now.” She twirled around. “If you’re that confident already, maybe it means something.”
“I think it does.”
“Everything is going right for you these days. Mercy, your girlfriend, your business…”
“It really is.”
Sylvia had convinced me to apply for business loans several months ago, and the organizers had been so impressed with my business plan that I’d actually gotten a grant I wouldn’t have to pay back. It was intended to encourage young people to become entrepreneurs, and I guessed I was one now.
Even though I was still working at the real estate office, I spent my spare time working on opening my independent grocery store. I was working up to seventy hours a week again, but working on my own business felt completely different from toiling away for somebody else. Once my store opened, I intended to quit my day job. With the way things were going, the business was guaranteed to succeed. Instead of going to job interviews, I’d be the one hiring the employees.
Sometimes Sylvia joked about coming to work for me. I knew she never would – she loved her new job too much. With Max as a reference, she’d gotten hired as a clinical counselor at a group home. She’d found a passion for helping troubled teens figure out how to get on the right path. She claimed to be no-nonsense, but I saw her soft side when she talked about them. Her heart seemed to grow bigger by the day. She’d found her true calling, and I couldn’t have been prouder.
/>
The ceremony was about to start. After walking up the aisle next to an usher, I stood at the front with the other bridesmaids. Chandra had never looked so radiant, and Darius seemed overwhelmed with emotion as he watched her walk down the aisle. They kissed to seal their union, and I searched the crowd to meet Sylvia’s eyes.
I wondered if she was thinking what I was thinking – that soon, that might be the two of us.
When the ceremony was over, I rushed over to find her and Mercy. The other guests streamed around us, talking about how perfect the wedding had been and how much they were looking forward to the reception.
I’d thought Mercy would be bored and fidgety, but she seemed as moved as anybody else. “Darius is my uncle now?” she asked.
“Yes, honey, he is.” I patted her shoulder.
Mercy looked like she had something else on her mind.
“What else are you wondering about?” I asked.
She hesitated another moment. “Who is Sylvia?”
I laughed. “She’s my girlfriend, baby. You know that.”
“I mean to me,” she said seriously. “Is she my aunt, like Auntie Chandra?”
“Well… no.” I looked at Sylvia, wondering how I should respond to this. Sylvia raised her eyebrows as if to say she didn’t know either. “What do you think she is?”
“My friend’s dad had a girlfriend, and they got married and she was her new mom,” Mercy said confidently. “I want Sylvia to be my mommy, too.”
“I don’t know about that.” My heart jumped into my throat. “Sylvia and I haven’t been dating for that long. If we keep loving each other the way we do, then maybe that can happen, but we can’t make any promises.”
“When will that happen?” Mercy pressed.
My cheeks heated up. “I don’t know, baby. I can’t say.”
Sylvia pulled her onto her lap. I used to hate seeing anyone else touch my baby, used to get so jealous at anyone else trying to take my place. When Sylvia did it now, I just felt love and affection. She belonged with Mercy as much as I did.
“When would you like it to happen, sweetie?” she asked.
“Soon!” Mercy said. “Tomorrow!”
I swung my arm around Sylvia’s shoulders and bent my head toward Mercy. “You want us to get married tomorrow? I don’t think we can pull a wedding together that fast. Something like this takes an awful lot of work, you know.”
“I know that,” she said. “I’m not a baby.”
I suppressed a giggle. “So what would you want to happen tomorrow?”
“For Sylvia to be my mom,” she said. “To live with us and always be together.”
“That might be possible,” I said slowly. Sylvia had been spending more time at our place lately, and moving in together had definitely crossed my mind. It was quite obvious to me now that the three of us were better together.
“It might be more than possible,” Sylvia said. “I didn’t tell you yet, but two of my roommates are moving out soon, and the last one is thinking about leaving. We might be able to have my place all to ourselves.”
“Yay! I knew we could!” Mercy clapped her hands. “Can we get a puppy, too?”
“Settle down, baby,” I said. “We haven’t decided on anything yet.”
“Yes, we did! We’re all going to live together, and Sylvia’s going to be my mommy, and Deedee’s going to be my kitty, and we’re going to get a little puppy named Jiminy Cricket.”
Sylvia squeezed my hand. “Works for me.”
“Really?” I searched her eyes. “You’re ready to sign up for all of this?”
“More than ready, Jenelle. I’m dying to.” She smiled at me, and the pure love in her eyes made my heart ache with joy. “I want to marry you, and one day when you’re both ready, I’d like to adopt Mercy, too. I love both of you more than anything – and there’s space in my heart for a little dog, too. I know it’s too early to say this, but honestly? I want to be in your lives forever.”
A tear spilled from my eye. “I want that, too.”
“Me, three!” Mercy piped up.
I put my arms around both of them and the pure, shining joy in my heart overflowed and spilled into the rest of my body. I was surrounded by love and happiness on this beautiful day.
And we were going to stay this way. Forever.
***
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Also by Kim Hartfield:
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