Chapter Five
“Why do we have to go to some stupid party where we don’t know anyone?” Dayton griped as Chloe applied eye shadow.
Her teeth clenched, but she kept her expression serene. “Once you get there, you can make friends.”
“I don’t want to be friends with those people.” He sat on the floor outside of her bathroom, bouncing a rubber ball against the wall, pouting.
“Dayton, please stop doing that. You’ll leave marks on the wall.”
“No, I won’t.” Bounce. “Why can’t I stay here?” Bounce.
“Because you’re nine and we’re all going to the party—as a family.”
Bounce. “This sucks.” Bounce.
“Hey, watch your mouth. And stop with the ball or I’m taking it.”
He grumbled something under his breath and Mattie stepped around him. “Mom, can I wear these?” Her youngest held up a pair of shorts.
“No. Where did you even find them?”
“In the closet. Please?”
“No, sweetie, it’s too cold for shorts. You’re wearing what you have on.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s winter, retard,” Dayton sneered.
“Hey!” Chloe pivoted, wondering where he even heard such a word. “We do not talk to each other like that and I don’t want to hear that word out of your mouth again. Apologize to your brother right now.”
“Sorry, stupid.”
“Hey!” She glared, appalled and disappointed at his defiant attitude. “Dayton, go to your room until you’re ready to sincerely apologize.”
The ball slammed against the wall as he scrambled to his feet, shoving Mattie as he marched down the hall. “God! I hate this family!” Ten seconds later his bedroom door slammed.
“You okay, bud?”
Her youngest shrugged.
She lovingly tousled his hair. “Dayton’s just in a bad mood.”
“He’s always in a bad mood.”
“It’ll get better. Why don’t you go wash your face and put on your shoes?”
“What about Day?”
“Let me worry about your brother.”
A few minutes later Chloe finished getting ready and walked to Dayton’s room. She knocked and entered. “Day?”
He was lying across his bed with his cheek on his arms, scowling. Dry tracks from tears marked his stoic face. She sat on the edge of the bed and laid her hand on his back. “Wanna talk about what just happened?”
“No.”
“Just because you’re in a bad mood doesn’t give you the right to take it out on others. That’s not how it works.” He said nothing and kept his gaze on his bedspread. She sighed. “You owe Mattie an apology.”
“Why? He’s annoying.”
“He did nothing to you and you called him a name and pushed him.”
“He wanted to wear shorts and there’s snow on the ground. That’s stupid.”
“That doesn’t make him stupid, Dayton. That makes him a seven-year-old boy. You used to ask to do the same things.”
The longer this moody preteen stuck around, the more she accepted her sweet little boy wasn’t coming back. She missed that guy, missed the closeness he cut out of their relationship without warning.
Of course, her sons would grow up, but why did growing up have to mean growing apart? It killed her that he wouldn’t talk to her about his feelings.
She ran her fingers through his brown hair, savoring the contact because he—for once—allowed it. “You need a haircut.”
“I don’t wanna get a haircut. I wanna grow it out.”
Her eyes closed as his perpetual anger added to her worry. This negativity was starting to fester and affect their family as a whole. Something had to give.
“I’ll tell you what. You try to be a little nicer to your brother and I’ll think about it. If I hear you fighting with him or calling him names, I’m taking you right to the barber. Deal?”
He took a deep breath then grumbled, “Deal.”
“Good. Start by apologizing to him. Then put your shoes and coat on so we can go.”
They arrived at Tyson and Kat’s around four-thirty. Cars lined the quiet street and filled the driveway. The old house was beautiful, Ty’s renovations highlighted the original charm while adding plenty of modern amenities.
Kat’s welcoming grin greeted them as she opened the door and offered to take their coats. Kids shouted and ran around the living room while two older boys stood in the center playing Wii. Chloe nudged her boys in that general direction and headed into the kitchen, where she heard other female voices.
A tall African American woman with dreadlocks charged past Chloe and snapped at Jade, “Girl, get out of my way. You got no business bein’ by that stove.”
“How long until that’s done, Gloria? I’m starving.” Jade surrendered the wooden spoon and stepped back from the stove.
“Don’t rush it!” The woman waved a hand of claw-like nails at Jade, shooing her from the steaming pot.
Chloe warmed at Jade’s laugh. Laughter was good. “Hey.” Chloe waved, announcing her arrival.
“You came!” Jade walked over and gave her a hug. “Are the boys here?”
“Yes. I sent them to play with the other kids.”
“Good.” She turned to the woman at the stove. “Gloria, this is my friend Chloe. Chloe, this is Tyson’s sister, Gloria.”
“Nice to meet you. I’d shake your hand, but I got to guard my gumbo or Jade’ll eat it. Darrel!” the woman shouted and Chloe jumped.
“What, woman?” a hassled, masculine voice yelled from the other room.
“Go pick up the pizzas!”
“You go pick up the pizzas!”
Gloria stilled and slowly turned her head over her shoulder. Her dark eyebrow lifted like the hook of a question mark and she stared at the wall.
Surprisingly, a man in his late twenties, presumably Darrel, appeared a moment later holding a set of car keys. “I’m going.”
Gloria turned back to the pot and stirred the gumbo, muttering something about useless fools thinking they could talk to her like that.
“Come on, let’s go sit.” Jade took Chloe’s arm and led her through the house to the dining room. Tyson and Jeremy sat laughing with Kat and an older couple Chloe assumed was Tyson’s parents.
“He ain’t ever gonna learn.” The older woman chuckled.
“He better not mess up the order or Gloria’s gonna kick his ass for sure,” Tyson said and the rest nodded in agreement.
The older woman noticed Chloe and smiled. “And who is this?”
Jade nudged her toward a chair. “Celia, this is my friend Chloe. Chloe, these are Tyson’s parents, Celia and Maurice Adams.”
The conversation turned to how she knew everyone but quickly moved to other topics, so as not to dampen the mood. Thirty minutes later Darrel returned with a stack of steaming pizza boxes and Chloe helped the women set out plates and situate the children.
By the time it was dark everyone finished eating and Kat arranged bowls of ice cream toppings along the counter. Jade seemed to be very relaxed and enjoying her third bowl of Gloria’s gumbo.
The kids continued to play video games and Chloe was glad to see Dayton had left his place on the couch, where he’d been sulking, to join the others. Once Kat had everything set up for the sundaes, she called the kids and all her well-organized hard work was destroyed. But she was a good sport about it and smiled at their excitement.
After the children had their fill, Chloe carried the messy spoons and bowls to the sink while the adults helped themselves to dessert. Tyson approached Kat from behind and tenderly kissed his wife on the neck. Chloe suffered a pang of envy for their happy marriage.
She helped herself to a small bowl of chocolate peanut butter and rejoined the others in the dining room. As they sat, enjoying their dessert, Mr. and Mrs. Adams said their goodbyes.
Chloe waited with Jade as Tyson walked his parents out. She heard him speaking to someone as he entered the room and almost choked on a chunk of peanut butter when Jeremy said, “What’s up, Trent?”
Quickly dabbing any chocolate off her lips, she hoped her lipstick was still intact. Her concern for her appearance derailed as Jade bolted out of her chair, hand over her mouth, and rushed from the room.
Her sudden exit triggered immediate concern and Jeremy took off after her. Little Davis, Gloria and Darrel’s son, ran into the dining room covering his mouth. “Ew, Aunt Jade just barfed in the snow!”
“What?” Kat stood and left the room.
“I’m gonna sit this one out,” Tyson said, taking his seat again.
Chloe stared at her melting ice cream as Trenton took the seat next to her and examined the leftover gumbo at Jade’s vacated spot.
Tyson pointed to the bowl. “That’s probably what did it.”
“Don’t you go blaming my gumbo for her getting sick,” Gloria snapped.
Trenton’s low voice tickled Chloe’s ear. “And how are you this lovely evening, doll?”
Her entire body tightened as his deep voice sent chills racing over her skin. Swallowing, she pretended to be unaffected. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“Good. Good.” His hooded gaze scrutinized her face and her heart beat clumsily.
“Everything all right, man?” Tyson asked as Jeremy returned.
He shook his head. “She was sick in the hedges. Sorry. She must be coming down with something.”
“It’s fine. Between living with a five-year-old and a pregnant wife, it doesn’t bother me anymore.” Everyone froze at Tyson’s words.
Jeremy suddenly looked like he might need to take a trip to the hedges himself.
“Jeremy?” Chloe said softly.
On a long, slow exhale, Jeremy dropped into a chair.
It suddenly clicked. Jade’s taste buds were off, she was congested, had a hefty appetite, and her stomach was unsettled. Either she had the flu or she was pregnant.
“Could she be?” Chloe whispered.
Eyes wide, he shook his head. “I guess. I mean, we just had our honeymoon. It isn’t like we’ve been sleeping in separate rooms.”
“Do you think she realizes—”
A door slammed and Kat rushed by, shoving her arms in her coat. “Ty, I’m running to the store!”
Gloria grinned. “She realizes.”
Twenty minutes later, everyone sat silently in the dining room waiting for Jade and Jeremy to come downstairs. No one seemed sure about how to react to the idea of Jade possibly being pregnant. It was an extremely touchy subject, her old wounds still tender and sensitive.
Chloe could see the worry in everyone’s eyes, except for Trenton’s, but only because she refused to look his way at all. Jeremy walked in and everyone held a collective breath.
His expression was unreadable. “It’s positive.”
Everyone exhaled, excitedly talking at once. Kat burst into tears. Jeremy was obviously overwhelmed. Tyson passed his friend a beer and he chugged it.
Trenton whacked a large hand on his friend’s back. “Mazel tov!”
Jeremy’s grin hardly penetrated his shock. His gaze turned to her. “She’s asking for you, Chloe.”