“It’s such a huge responsibility. It’s not just Avery, she’s got the kids, too. Am I ready to be a father figure?” I chew on his question for a few seconds.
“Let me ask you a question Jax. I’m goin’ to assume you’re helping Gen with homework at night and readin’ books to Blake at bedtime. Am I correct?” He sighs, signaling that I’m right. “So, it’s safe to say you’re already playin’ that role in their life. What happens when you stop showin’ up?”
Nothing but silence on the other end of the phone, though I know he’s still there.
“I have to go. I think you maybe owe someone an apology.” I end the call and it’s not long after, when we’re all cuddled together on the couch watching a chick flick that Avery’s phone dings, and I can tell by the way her face lights up that it’s Jaxson.
Dean
Whitley and I stroll through town, hand in hand. Things are moving fast between the two of us, but I still want to treat her the way she deserves, so I asked her out on a date tonight. Picked her up from her place at seven and told her to wear something sexy. You could have knocked me over with a feather when her front door swung open and she was standing there in this deep purple dress, a long slit up the thigh, these platform wedge sandals that were doing great things to her ass, and her hair pinned up in this twisty bun, leaving her neck exposed. It took everything I had to not drag her inside and fuck the shit out of her before we left.
I was able to keep my hands to myself though and we just finished dinner at the little restaurant in town and now she’s walking me through the square, pointing out new businesses that weren’t here before I left and some that were. Giving me the low down on the who’s and what’s of Monroeville since I’ve been gone. She nods her head towards a hair salon that never used to be there, the awning painted in bright swirls of color and a giant pair of scissors painted on the window.
“That is run by a woman named Lainey. She blew into town about three years ago and opened up a shop. We invited her to girls’ night on Thursday and she came!” She steers me towards a little coffee shop and drags me inside.
“Coffee at nine o’clock at night? What are we, eighty?” I grumble and she rolls her eyes, stepping up to the counter to order herself some foofy latte and me an Americano. There’s a guy behind the counter who looks like he’s stuck in the seventies. He’s wearing round sunglasses even though we’re inside and its night. He has on a tie dye shirt and I shit you not, flared jeans.
“Who’s your man-friend, doll?” He asks, eyeballing me as he rings her up. Whitley hitches her thumb over her shoulder.
“Leaf, this is Dean. Dean, this is Leaf. Him and his wife, Indigo, bought this place a few years back and turned it into the best coffee shop in town.” I choke a little at his name, but Whitley shoots me a glare.
“He is fine, sugar. Where have you been hiding him?” Leaf asks as he goes about making our drinks. Whitley slides her arm around my waist.
“He just moved back to town not that long ago and this is our first date night.” She shrugs her shoulders and I drop a kiss on her head, kicking myself for not thinking about taking her out sooner. There’s a commotion from the back, the sound of something shattering. He laughs and shakes his head.
“Uh, is everything okay?” I question, raising an eyebrow and Leaf waves me off.
“Oh, everything’s fine. My wife is super clumsy, she probably broke another plate.”
“J
ust my bong!” I hear shouted from the back and Whitley coughs out a laugh.
“Jesus Christ,” I murmur, “please don’t let Darla find out about these people.” I say quietly, referencing my mother. She’s always been one of those ‘free spirits.’ She smokes a lot of weed and only believes in herbal medicine.
“Darla?!” Leaf sputters, “we just LOVE Darla.” I drop my head on a groan.
“Of course, you do,” I mumble, and Whitley elbows me in the side.
“Darn tootin’, she’s always got the best weed.” Whitley doubles over in laughter at his comment and Indigo shouts her agreement from the back somewhere. Leaf hands our coffees to us and bids us farewell.
The main drag in Monroeville is this little town square, almost looks like something straight out of a movie. Planter boxes line most of the windows of the shops up and down the street, all filled with flowers bursting with color. After a short walk we find a bench to sit on and sip our coffees, taking in the warm night air. The humidity is still heavy even though it’s late. Being gone for so long, I had forgotten how humid Alabama can be. We’re silent for a long while, me with my arm stretched across the back of the bench, my hand toying with her shoulder. She leans against me and lets out a content sigh.
“Happy?” I ask, sweeping her hair off her shoulder and dragging my hand down the slope of her neck, causing her to shiver.
“Mmhm,” she murmurs, resting her head on my shoulder. “Do you... Do you ever think about how things might have been had things worked out the way we thought they would?”
She’s asking a question I’ve asked myself a thousand times. What if Everly had lived? Would we still be one big happy family?
“All the time,” I answer honestly, and I can tell by her face that my response surprises her.
“Really?”
“Of course, Whitley. Spent a lot of years running all the ‘what if’s’ through my head. What if Everly had lived? What if I wouldn’t have left town?” I shrug my shoulders and take a sip from my coffee cup. “I try not to live in that world, though. Stuck in my head. Do I wish things had played out differently? Hell yes. But even though it’s probably shit of me to say, I’m grateful for the time I spent outside of this town. Those years shaped me and made me who I am. Made me able to come back, ask for your forgiveness.”
She nods her head in agreement, chewing on my words for a minute. “It’s still hard for me not to be angry at you. Angry at you for leaving, angry at you for stayin’ gone as long as you did. But I’m tryin’.”
“I know you are, sugar,” I say, draining the rest of my coffee and tossing it in the trash can next to us. I stand and pull her up to me, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Let’s go home.”