Skylar
Greyson cleared his throat behind me to get my attention as I drained water out of the crock-pot. “Hang on a second,” I said as steam rose out of the sink. I plugged the machine back in and seasoned the pork with more sage, salt and pepper. Then I put the lid back on and turned to face my husband.
He was grinning like a fool with his hands clasped behind his back and had Gwen sitting on the kitchen island in front of him. She was sucking on two of her fingers and watching me with her big green eyes as she leaned back against her daddy’s stomach. Her dark lashes cast shadows across her plump pink cheeks as I soaked in the sight of her.
Greyson had dressed her to match him. He was wearing a sweatshirt that read ‘World’s Greatest Dad’, and Gwen was wearing one that said ‘World’s Greatest Daughter’. The sweatshirts were gray with black font, and Greyson had even gone to the trouble of putting black leggings on our baby to match his black jeans.
“When did you buy those?” I asked, unable to stop the smile that was creeping across my face.
“I ordered them. They just arrived yesterday and I was waiting for the right occasion.” Greyson withdrew his hands from behind his back to reveal another folded up gray sweatshirt.
My smile stretched even wider as I grabbed it from him and let it fall open. “You bought me one too?”
Greyson nodded. “Of course I did.”
My sweatshirt read ‘World’s Greatest Wife & Mother’. I shamelessly pulled my shirt over my head and slipped into the sweatshirt. “I love it,” I said, walking around the island to kiss Greyson.
He looked down at my blue jeans. “You should change your pants so we all match.”
“Are you trying to impress Meek or something?” I teased.
“No. Maybe. I was going to ask him to take a picture of us.”
I rolled my eyes. “And I have to be wearing black too? Don’t you think you’re being a bit of a control freak?”
“A little bit, but deep down you know you want to do it.”
I considered his words.
“Fine,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him when he started to smile. “I’ll go change.”
After changing into my leggings to match my husband and daughter, I returned to the kitchen and resumed preparing dinner while Greyson played with Gwen.
Meek knocked on the front door shortly after and let himself in. He called hello down the hallway and we hollered for him to meet us in the kitchen. When he emerged from the hallway he had a purple gift bag in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other.
“You didn’t need to bring any wine,” Greyson said as he took the bottle from his friend. “You know how much we always have lying around.”
“I couldn’t show up empty handed, not when Skylar is cooking dinner. It smells amazing in here,” Meek said.
“Thank you, Meek,” I said over my shoulder as I added a sweet brown sugar and balsamic reduction to the pork in the crock-pot. “Make yourself comfortable. We’ll be ready to eat in half an hour or so. Greyson, could you open the wine and pour us all a glass?”
“Sure thing,” Greyson said, and then he handed Gwen off to Meek, who held her like he was holding a bomb that was set to detonate at any second.
“Uh,” Meek stuttered, “Make it snappy, will you Greyson?”
Greyson chuckled as he grabbed a corkscrew from one of the kitchen drawers. “You’re going to have to get used to holding her sometime, Meek. It’s been six months. She can’t still scare you that much. She’s not as fragile now.”
“I still suspect dropping her would be a bad idea,” Meek said.
“Please don’t drop her,” I said over my shoulder again.
“I don’t plan to, but babies are unpredictable. And so squirmy. You can’t trust them,” Meek said.
I laughed and stirred the contents in the crock-pot. “You can’t trust them? She’s a baby, Meek. She doesn’t have a devious bone in her body, unlike her father. Now is the time to trust her. It’s only going to get worse.”
“I used to lie about brushing my teeth when I was a kid,” Meek mumbled. “I hated toothpaste. I think I went two weeks without brushing before my mom caught me. So you two have that kind of nonsense to look forward to.”
Greyson scrunched up his nose as he poured three glasses of wine. “You’re sick.”
“I was a kid. Kids are sick. Keep up.”
Greyson shrugged and slid a glass of wine to Meek, who stared at it, and then looked back at Gwen, who was still half standing on Meek’s lap with his hands supporting her under her armpits. Greyson stepped forward and took her from him.
“Thank you,” Meek said.
I turned back to the island and took my wine. I sipped it, savoring the earthy, fruity flavor before sighing contently and watching Greyson bounce Gwen in one arm as he drank his wine. He was a natural at this whole father thing.
Everything he did with Gwen looked so natural. She was always calm around him and he had an uncanny knack for being able to stop her crying fits faster than I could, which was equally as wonderful as it was infuriating. I had a sneaking suspicion that the first word Gwen would speak would be ‘DaDa’ or ‘Daddy’. That day was probably just around the corner, and I was so excited to hear it. I also suspected Greyson might cry, which would be something I could hold over his head every time he boasted about being able to calm Gwen and claimed to be the ‘Baby Whisperer’.
As dinner time drew closer Greyson fed Gwen and made sure she had a clean diaper. Then he put her down to nap in the crib we kept on the main floor of the house. This way we didn’t have to have a baby monitor nearby as we sat with company, and sometimes when Gwen woke up she was content to lay in her crib and listen to us talk.
Greyson put her down as I served the meal. Meek took his seat at the table with us and we all tucked in to enjoy the meal.
“So,” I said after swallowing my first bite, “How are things going at The Citrine? Any big changes?”
Meek shrugged as he chewed. When he swallowed he took a sip of wine. “Well, I have some news, actually.”
“Oh?” Greyson said, resting his cutlery on the edge of his plate.
Meek nodded. “Bravo promoted me. You know I’ve been spending most of my time helping him get situated. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster teaching a mob boss ethical business… it took him a while to see the logic in handling disputes with communication rather than violence.”
“I can see that happening,” Greyson mumbled.
“His willingness to use physical strength as a first option of dealing with theft or cheating made me realize how well you ran the business, Greyson,” Meek said honestly. “You avoided a lot of drama and potentially bad publicity by keeping everything on the down low.”
Greyson shrugged but didn’t say anything.
“But Bravo has come around to see the wisdom in how The Citrine operates. He made me head of security and gave me full control of handling all altercations or issues on the property. He stays out of it because he has a temper.”
“You used to have a temper, Meek,” Greyson pointed out.
“Yes, but someone showed me that anger and brashness isn’t always the best way to solve a problem. Sometimes you just need to talk to people. Sometimes compromise is better than winning.”
Greyson’s eyebrows crept up towards his hairline.
Meek blushed.
I sipped my wine and watched the two men. They were practically brothers, but honest praise and recognition like this didn’t happen very often. I could see that Greyson was appreciative of Meek’s words, but seemed a little unsure of what to say. So I stepped in to help guide the conversation along.
“That’s great that Bravo sees your worth, Meek. He knows how valuable you are, just like Greyson did. You’re still happy there? That’s the most important part.”
Meek nodded at me and smiled. “Yes, actually. It’s been great. I mean, of course I wish Greyson would come back, because there was nothing better than working with my best friend. But I know you have a daughter now, and I know how precious time is with her. I couldn’t expect you to forsake that just for a casino.”
“I could visit more often,” Greyson said.
“You could,” Meek agreed, “But you won’t, and that’s okay. This is where you should be. With your daughter, and your wife- who cooks a mean pulled pork. This is delicious, Skylar. Thank you.”
I smiled under the flattery. “I’m glad you like it.”
We spent the rest of the evening chatting about the casino and some of the changes Bravo had made. Greyson was happy to hear there hadn’t been many. Topics shifted all over the place after that, from talking about Gwen to my sister to a surprising date Meek had gone on the previous weekend with a girl named Charlene. Apparently the date had gone well, and after much prying Greyson forced Meek to spill the beans that he was going out with her again the following weekend.
When we walked Meek out Greyson hollered after him to call and report back about how the date went. Meek flatly told him that he would be doing no such thing.
After locking up the house Greyson and I sat in the living room with Gwen. She drank a bottle of formula while sitting in my lap, and we indulged in watching some television while we played with her for an hour.
When Gwen started dozing off we put her to bed together, and then walked hand in hand down the hall to our bedroom. We left the door open to hear Gwen in the night, and went about brushing our teeth and getting ready for bed. Greyson beat me to it and watched me from bed while I washed my face and applied my moisturizer.
“Are you coming to bed, or what?” He called, rubbing the open space beside him in the bed.
“I’m almost ready,” I said as I applied a lip balm. Then I hurried over to the bed and climbed under the blankets beside my husband.
Greyson leaned over and turned off the lamp on his night stand, and we were plunged into cozy darkness. I snuggled up beside him and rested my cheek on his chest. He sighed deeply and wrapped an arm around me. Then, as always, he traced his thumb in circles over my bare shoulder.
“Tonight was fun,” I said.
“It was,” he agreed.
“And it seems like Meek is doing well.”
“He is, isn’t he? I’m happy for him. I wasn’t sure how it was all going to work out for him after I left. I felt a bit guilty about abandoning him.”
“You didn’t abandon him,” I said, “He knows that.”
Greyson shrugged beneath me. “I hope so.”
We were quiet for a couple minutes. I listened to Greyson breathe and knew he hadn’t closed his eyes yet. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” he said, his thumb falling still on my shoulder.
“Do you miss the casino? If you ever wanted to go back we could find a way to make it work. Even if you just went back part time. Bravo said you could any time you wanted.”
“Skylar,” Greyson said, his voice confident and firm, “I don’t miss it. I’m right where I want to be with you and Gwen. I’m happy with my life. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
I smiled into his chest and bit my lip. “Good. Me too.”
It warmed my heart to hear his reminder of how much he wanted to be home with me and Gwen. His life had shifted a lot since he met me, and sometimes my mind terrorized me with thoughts that one day he might realize he wanted his old life back. But every time I asked him his answer was the same, and he never showed any sign of wanting to go back to the casino. I believed him. He was happy here.
His thumb resumed its swirling on my shoulder and I closed my eyes as his heart beat beneath my ear.