Today. Tomorrow. Always (4 page)

I smiled and touched my son’s hair when he patted my hand, letting me know he wanted a closer look when the colors caught his attention. “See? Daddy took mommy there a long time ago. She got to talk about art, about history, and a bunch of other stuff that made me look really dumb compared to her.”

He grinned big at that.

I placed the paper back inside the box and pulled out another item. Immediately, a smile crossed my face at the sight of the small, brown bear clothed in a red t-shirt that read
‘I think you’re beary sweet’.
My mind went back to what felt like a lifetime ago to me and Sam’s senior year in high school. It was right after graduation, around the time she was getting out of the hospital following her car accident. I’d gone over to visit her at home one afternoon and she handed me this bear.
‘It’s for taking such good care of me while I was down, for being there,’
she’d said. I remembered it all so clearly, like it was yesterday.

Anthony squealed in my lap, wanting to hold it.

“Okay, okay, shhh… you’re gonna wake everybody up,” I said, smiling big as I let him take it. He had such a tight grip, I knew I probably wouldn’t get it back anytime soon. In that moment, I decided he should be the one to have it now, anyway. His mom would agree.

“What y’all doin’?” Terrell asked groggily, stepping down into the foyer. He walked into the living room where I sat sorting through the boxes.

“My bad. Were we too loud?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nah, I got up to use the bathroom and heard y’all down here.”

I nodded. “The boy couldn’t sleep,” I said, moving my fingers through Anthony’s curls with a laugh. “So we’re just going through these boxes my dad gave me.”

“Anything good?” Terrell asked, taking a seat in the recliner nearby.

I shrugged. “A few things, but most of it’s junk.”

He spotted the pile of pictures with Kira’s face plastered all over them. He let out a low rumble of a laugh. “Better not let Sam see these.”

I waved him off. “She wouldn’t care.”

“I know she’s not jealous or nothing, but how soon you forget the way she took it when she found out it was
Kira
in your bed that day… not Reina.”

He had a point. If Kira had been within a one-hundred mile radius when I broke the whole story down, Sam would have sniffed out her scent and gone in for the kill. Kira’s offense was much more than just her sneaking into my room and pretending to be her sister that day. She was the cause of me and Sam’s breakup, and everything else that followed. Granted, my secretiveness at the time played a part in Sam’s willingness to believe I was capable of doing what it looked like I’d done, but Kira was the catalyst that set the whole thing on fire. This fact wasn’t lost on Sam and it took a lot of talking and reasoning to calm her down the night we discussed it all. Terrell and Maisha weren’t there, but both had experienced the aftermath—Terrell as my sounding board, Maisha as Sam’s.

“Yeah… Maybe I should toss these sooner rather than later,” I concluded.

With another chuckle, Terrell scooped the pictures up and double bagged them before they made their way into the trash, just to avoid them being discovered later. He took a seat again, but this time not too far away on the floor.

“What you got there, Deuce?” he asked, bringing Anthony’s eyes to him as if that were his real name.

“Sam’s gonna kill you if she hears you call him that, you know.”

“That’s part of the fun,” he reasoned. That’d been the nickname he gave my son from the day he was born and Sam had grown to hate it even more over the eleven months since.

Anthony handed Terrell the bear in his hands, letting him look it over. “
I think you’re beary sweet?”
he read from the bear’s shirt. “What the hell is this?”

I laughed and started putting the items I planned to keep in that one box so they didn’t get mixed in with the others. “It was a gift from Sam a long time ago.”

He shook his head. “Looks like something corny she’d buy,” he concluded, handing it back over to Anthony.

I never laughed as much as I did when he was around, even now, despite the fact that it was nearly three in the morning. The little guy was finally starting to show signs of being sleepy. A small yawn was the first clue, rubbing his hands to his eyes was the next.

“Ready to go lie down?” I asked. He gave a nod and held on to my neck when I stood from the floor.

“Yeah, let your daddy get some sleep, boy,” Terrell interjected. “I don’t want him having any excuses out there on the court later.”

“Actually, Uncle Terrell’s the one who better make sure he’s well-rested. I’m expecting to see this miraculous dunk tomorrow.”

Terrell cracked up and turned out the light behind us as we headed back up. “I can show you better than I can tell you,” he promised.

“Yeah, okay… We’ll see.”

Chapter Four

Sam

“Happy birthday.”

I think I kissed every single inch of his face, making him smile before he’d even opened his eyes for the day.

“It’s eight and Terrell’s already in the kitchen talking trash about y’all going to the court today.”

At mention of Terrell running his mouth, AJ started laughing. My eyes went to his bare chest and stomach, stopping where the sheet covered his waist.

“How’s it feel to be twenty-seven?” I asked, forcing myself to think of something other than how badly I wanted him to be naked right now.

“Feels great,” he replied. “I’ve got everything a man could ever ask for.”

I was pulled into his arms the next second, being showered with kisses just like I’d done to him. When he stopped, I lie there on his chest, staring at the morning light as it filtered through our bedroom window.

“It’s beautiful out today.”

“It’s even more beautiful in
here
,” he countered, landing another kiss in the center of my forehead.

Of course I smiled, but then quickly moved away when I felt this heading down a path we didn’t have time for it to go. Terrell had a job to do and I couldn’t hinder him from doing it. We were on a strict timeline that began with him getting AJ out of the house so I could set up for his surprise party before guests started arriving at about noon.

“Get up and get dressed,” I said, smacking his hip lightly before hopping off the bed, heading toward the bathroom to shower. “And don’t embarrass me and your son by losing to that man downstairs,” I called out over my shoulder before closing the door behind me. The last thing I heard was AJ laughing.

I started the water and slipped out of my robe. The heated tile floors were a welcomed feel when I stepped out of my slippers, too. Blazing hot water scorched my skin, but I didn’t cool it down. This was how I liked it. The bathroom door crept open and then there were footsteps. Through the frosted shower door, I could make out AJ’s silhouette as he stood just beside it. Laughing, I asked what he was doing.

He sighed. “Trying to decide if I should join you or not.”

His mind stayed in the gutter… and I probably enjoyed that more than I should’ve. “Don’t,” I protested, knowing he’d throw off my plan if he did. “Later. I promise.”

“You know I’ll hold you to it.”

I laughed again. “I know you will.” Next, the sink turned on and I listened as he washed his face and brushed his teeth.

Maisha had Anthony with her so I could get my shower out of the way. There was a lot to be done in the next few hours, but I had it all planned out. Angel would be here by nine and so would Mrs. Hahn… I mean, Emi—I still hadn’t quite gotten used to calling her by her first name just yet. Between the four of us, we should be able to take care of the decorations and prep the tables before the caterers showed up.

We were expecting about thirty guests, but I was most excited about Dee, Karl, and my parents, making it into town. Dee and Karl would be staying here with us at the house for the night, so I’d already prepped their room while AJ was at work the day before. He’d be so happy to see everyone here, together.

“Okay, I’m out,” he announced, stopping at the bathroom door before exiting. His steps came toward me again, and then a second later the glass shower door eased open.

At first, purely out of shock, I covered myself with my hands, but then stopped hiding from him. I was covered from head to toe in suds and AJ stared, shaking his head back and forth.

“You’re so bad,” I said, shifting beneath the stream of water to rinse.

He didn’t deny that, reaching a hand inside the shower to touch me, his fingers cool against my breasts in contrast to the heat of the water.

“I think you should let me get in with you,” he said, propositioning me once again. “To hell with basketball.”

If he’d known how badly I wanted him closer, I’d lose this fight for sure. But my help would be arriving very shortly, so I couldn’t risk him running into anyone.

I turned my back and glanced at him from over my shoulder, which proved to be a bad idea because the sight of him made me want to give in even more. I had to stick to my guns, though.

“Tonight,” I promised.

A slick smile crossed his face. “Tease.”

“You like it,” I said back as the shower door closed once again.

By the time I made it downstairs, he and Terrell were gone like I predicted. “Do you think he suspected anything?” I asked when I found Maisha in the kitchen spooning oatmeal into Anthony’s mouth.

She shook her head. “Nope. And I made Terrell promise that they’d both take a shower there at the gym so they don’t show up all sweaty and funky for the party.”

“Oh, good. Thanks. I didn’t even think about that.”

Propping my hands on my hips, I looked around, wondering where to start. “I guess I should get going on the balloons. The tables and chairs should be arriving soon. Angel can decorate them once she gets here.”

“What you need me to do?” Maisha asked.

“Actually, if you can just keep an eye on Anthony until AJ’s mom gets here, that’d be perfect. If I know her, she’s gonna get tunnel vision when she sees him, anyway. Like always.” I’d joked to AJ that I think his mom preferred our son over
him
. He agreed, citing that Anthony hadn’t given her nearly as much hell as he had over the years.

I grabbed the bags of balloons and headed out to the patio. However, the second I did, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.”

After fumbling with the lock for a second because my hands were full, I opened the door to find Angel grinning on the other side of it. “Morning, Sammy!” she sang.

She pulled me in for a one-armed hug because her other was loaded down with tons of stuff for the party, including her gift for AJ, already wrapped.

“Point me in whatever direction you need me in so we can knock this out.”

I took a breath and scratched my head. “Well, I wanted you working on the tables, but they haven’t arrived yet. Wanna help me with balloons?”

She nodded and agreed. We went out to the patio like I’d started doing before she showed up, and we were well on our way. She and I had spoken the day before about the job prospect, working for Arata, and she jumped on it like I knew she would. The money was good and if she didn’t like it, the upside was that it was only temporary.

I watched her when she wasn’t paying attention. She was here today to help like I knew she’d be. In my head, she was always more like a sister than a cousin to me, and there wasn’t a single time I called on her for something that she hadn’t come through. From the big things to the small, she’d been there.

It broke my heart that life had thrown her a few curve balls over the past year, starting with her surprise breakup with Lamar. As close as we were, I still hadn’t gotten all of the details out of her, but I couldn’t understand what could’ve happened. They’d been going strong for a couple years when, the next thing I know, they’re done. Over. Angel was devastated.

Now, roughly a year later, she was finally starting to come out of the deep funk she’d been in. She wasn’t all the way back, but I knew she would be soon. I could feel it.

The sound of the doorbell distracted me from my thoughts and I hopped to my feet on autopilot.

Angel gestured for me to sit. “I got it.”

I took my seat again and went back to the balloons just as my phone rang. It was AJ. “Hey!” I said, a little too over-the-top, probably sending off all kinds of red flags in his mind.

“Hey,” he replied in a rush. “Kai just called. He’s gotta catch his plane, but there’s a document in my briefcase that I signed, but forgot to hand off to him yesterday. He should be there any minute.”

At the sound of his words, I peered through the sliding glass doors to where Angel stood with her hand on the knob.

“I think he already made it.”

“Cool. The sheet should be right on top,” he added. “I’ll wait while you look.”

That made me nervous because I had no clue when the tables, or his mother, or the caterers would show up, blowing my cover if he heard too many voices, too much commotion in the background. Still, I had to play it cool, so I did as he asked.

I walked in just as Angel pulled the door open, but I couldn’t see who was on the other side. I heard her give the visitor a soft greeting, but didn’t hear a response. I found AJ’s briefcase beside the couch where he’d left it the day before and didn’t have to do much digging to find the paperwork.

“Got it. I’ll go give it to him now.”

He thanked me and ended the call, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

I stepped into the foyer and Kai came into view; however, he didn’t see me just right away, mostly because his attention was completely on my cousin. It seemed like I’d walked up just as whatever short-lived conversation they were having was coming to an end.

Angel stepped back and pursed her lips together as she slipped both her hands into the back pockets of her denim shorts.

“Hey, Kai,” I greeted him, noting that he was a bit more casual than I was used to seeing him when I’d stopped by the office to visit AJ. He was dressed to travel—khaki shorts and a t-shirt. His glossy, black strands, which reminded me of my husband’s, were topped with a pair of sunglasses.

He responded with a warm smile and a nod as he pulled his eyes away from Angel. He did so in such a way that it seemed to be a struggle to look somewhere other than at her. “Samantha. Good morning.”

I smiled back, pretending not to notice. “I think this is what you needed?”

He looked the sheet over after taking it from my hand. The corner of his mouth lifted again, just like the expression he’d been wearing when I first walked up. “This would be it. Thank you,” he added, but his eyes shifted from me back to Angel for just a fraction of a second. It dawned on me that I should introduce them. Not only because they’d never met before, but because she’d be working for him as his personal assistant in the very near future.

“Kai, I’d like you to meet my cousin, Angel.”

He took a step closer and extended his hand to her. “Angel,” he said, repeating her name as he stared at her with enough intensity that even
I
felt it. “Pleasure to meet you,” he added. He had a way about him, an awareness of self, a smoothness to his personality, I guess you could say—his steady eye contact, confident tone. I know Angel didn’t miss it.

Her face was as red as a fire hydrant, actually, so I
know
she didn’t miss it. “You, too,” she said with a smile.

I tried not to grin. These two were definitely giving off a vibe. “I’m um…” pausing so they’d both look at me instead of each other. “I’m not sure if AJ told you already, Kai, but he mentioned that you were looking for a temporary assistant, and… well…” I gestured toward Angel like she was the prize on a gameshow, real dramatic-like. “This is her. Angel’s gonna be your assistant.”

They both looked shocked, which I wasn’t sure to gauge as a bad sign or not. What I did notice, however, was that Kai’s casual posture changed a bit and his smile dimmed, like he was now suddenly aware of the fact that he’d soon get to know Angel in a
professional
capacity. The smile wasn’t gone completely, but something had definitely changed.

“Oh! Okay… well, in that case, I look forward to working with you,” Angel said, trying to recover from the news that the man she’d just been ogling would temporarily be her boss.

“Yes, definitely,” Kai said with a lighthearted tone that now sounded far more businesslike than before. “I look forward to working with you as well,” he concluded.

That was the end of it. Kai went about his business to catch his flight, and Angel didn’t bring up the weird vibe from the introduction. I know I wasn’t imagining things, but we had too much to do, which meant we didn’t do a whole lot of talking after that. The tables finally arrived, the food was all set, and AJ’s mother had relieved Maisha of her babysitting duties. Some of the guests were already here, too. A few of AJ’s colleagues from work, a few of mine whom I’d gotten close to, and Dee and Karl had already called to say they were about ten minutes away.

I hurried upstairs to change my clothes, and came back down just as my parents showed up. I heard my father’s voice before I saw him, causing me to rush down the steps even quicker.

The words “Baby Girl” accompanied my father scooping me up into his arms. A kiss went to my cheek and I did my best not to cry, but it was always like this for me. I wished my parents had taken the same plunge as AJ’s, moving here to be closer, but I couldn’t expect that. My father’s patients were too dependent on him and he was far too dedicated to ever consider it. Still, a girl can dream.

My mother consumed me in her arms next. “I know we were just here a few months ago, but I missed you like it’s been years,” she confessed with a laugh. “Just let me make a fuss over you for a little longer.”

I was content with letting her hold on as long as she wanted to, but the sight of Anthony suddenly changed her focus. I was released and shoved aside like a ragdoll. Me and Daddy burst out laughing as she nearly snatched my son from AJ’s mother’s arms. Emi was used to her by now and just smiled.