“The fish are at home, baby. They’re fine. I’ve just made sure they’re settled in properly. That’s where all of your things are.”
“At home?” My heart thunders. What’s he saying?
“Our home, Precious. The home we’re going to share for the rest of our lives.” He puts both hands on my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug. “Did you really think I’d let anything happen to our fish? I love them, baby, just like I love you. This place is paid off. I’ve dealt with it all. As for your job, I don’t think you need to worry about losing it.”
None of this is making any sense. My fish are fine. They’re all fine. Geo has taken care of them; he’s taken care of everything. For me. Can I really be that lucky? “What do you mean?”
“This is going to sound like a strange question, baby, but have you noticed anything going missing from your apartment since you’ve been here? Like intimate things? Panties?”
I feel my face go red. “How did you know that?”
“Earlier this afternoon I went down to the city hall and spoke to some people there. After I told them a few things, they searched the office of Wesley Havers and found some…very interesting items. He’s going to be answering some serious questions. Did you know he had a wife?”
“No!” I shake my head, thinking about what he tried to do to me. “I won’t have to identify the panties, will I?”
“No, baby. Just know that as far as your job is concerned, I think it’s safe. But there is something I need to tell you, and I just pray to God you’ll forgive me. Because, baby, this is real for me. All of this is real. And truth is, I’m not letting you go, I’ll chase you down if you try to leave me, but I hope you can find it in your sweet heart to forgive what I’m about to tell you.” He takes a deep breath, and I don’t say a word before he continues. “Baby, I’ve done bad things. I’m going to be in court in a few days’ time for an assault charge. The truth is I was in the wrong. My lawyer thinks we can make a deal for a community service sentence, but it’s possible that might not be on the table. Either way, I’m going to plead guilty because it’s the right thing to do. If I go to prison, that’s on me.”
I take a deep breath. This is a lot to process. But Geo is trying. He’s trying to be a better person. And that takes courage and commitment. As I look at him, I think I fall more in love with him than I ever was before, if that’s possible. He’s done bad things, but to me he’s perfect.
Without even thinking about it, I throw my arms around him, lifting myself against him and wrapping my legs around his waist.
“I love you, Nicci,” he says. “It’s our turn.”
“Maybe,” I mumble, half to myself. “Maybe it is our turn to be happy, after all.”
14
NICCI
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
“Yes, I’ll accept the charges.” I look over my shoulder and Geo nods.
“You got this, baby.”
I take a deep breath and return his nod, then hear a click on the other end of the line and my heart jumps. I’ve got her on speaker. I like Geo hearing everything. We hide nothing from each other, which is the way I wanted it.
“Nicci? Are you there?” My mom’s voice sounds far away, as it usually does when we talk on the phone. She gets one call a week, and after not speaking for quite a while, we’ve regularly been talking now for about three months.
“Hi, Mom.” I swallow hard, and Geo comes up behind me, pressing his body against the back of my head, his warm hands on my shoulders. When I told her Geo, and I were together, at first, she was angry. We didn’t talk for a few weeks after that, but we’ve come to an understanding that the subject is not up for discussion. She can wish us well or opt out of asking, whatever she decides. She’s done more the latter, which is fine.
Other than that, conversations with my mom are usually light. I ask how she’s doing, she usually says she’s fine and we chat for our ten minutes about nothing all that important, but today I’m going to ask her what I’ve wanted to know for a long time.
“How you feeling? The baby still keeping you up?”
I rub a hand over my bulging belly. “Yes, a bit. Won’t be long now though.” I look up at Geo, and he gives me a soft smile.
He’s my rock. His issue with the law resolved itself in the best way possible. He paid a hefty fine, two years’ probation and one hundred hours of community service, which he’s turned into a mentorship program for young men who are trying to turn their own lives around.