“Mommy.” John Henry sat up and put his hands over Hazel’s cheeks so that she was looking at him. “That is Ruston.”
“I know, baby boy. His name is Ruston.” Hazel smiled with her dimple when she said the words. “Let’s go make breakfast, so he can get up.” She gave him a wink as she got up and gathered the boy into her arms.
Ruston watched her climb off the bed with the little boy in her arms, watching her hips sway as she left the room, humming a song as she went.At least she has no regrets, Ruston thought as he climbed out of the bed. Grabbing his clothes, he went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He would have to run home before people started showing up. No way was the book club going to see that he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.
Frowning, he wondered if that felt like he was ashamed of what had happened last night. He knew he wasn’t—he wanted to tell everyone he was in love with her, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life waking up to her. Or even to her kids. But he also knew that Hazel wasn’t ready to declare anything to him or the world. There were issues she had to work out before there could be a future for them. He hoped those issues could get resolved sooner rather than later.
Once dressed, he left the bathroom, and he could hear her singing downstairs. She sang when she was happy. He was proud it was him that had made her happy. He was happy too.
Knowing she was downstairs and occupied for a minute, he walked over to a closed door and opened it. This was a big intrusion on Hazel’s family, but he needed to see. The door opened to another small room, like Hazel’s. This one also had a twin bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. It felt much roomier, but it was missing the crib and toys that hers had. The bedspread was blue, and the car posters on the wall told Ruston that this was Henry’s room. A few posters had fallen on the floor, and the bedspread was crooked on the bed. There was a good amount of dust on everything, and a small population of dead flies lay on every surface. Other than the dust and bugs, it looked like the kid was coming off the bus at any moment. The room was completely trapped in time, never moving forward.
Shutting that door, he opened the next one, but it was much the same as the other. Bed, dresser, nightstand, dust, dead flies, and posters falling off the walls. But this room was a little more cluttered. Papers were on the desk, and books were scattered in different areas of the room. On the bed was a book, open and dusty.
Closing the door, he could believe that the rooms had actually been left untouched by everyone in the house for almost six years now. Hazel had brought home a new life to raise in this house, and she had to keep him in her room with her. Who wouldn’t clean out one of those rooms for that little boy? Those kids were never going to be here again, but Hazel and John Henry were here every day.
Hazel would never get over that day if it greeted her every time she passed these rooms. The living triplet needed closure that this situation would not let happen. And she needed closure to stop the pain she was constantly in.
Happily, she was still singing in the kitchen when he made his way into the room. The radio was playing, and she was singing along. John Henry was sitting on the counter eating a waffle and wiggling along with his mom’s dancing. Walking up behind her, he slipped his arms around her and pulled her back to him. Her movements stopped, and she leaned back into his body.
“Don’t stop singing, Hazel,” he said into her neck as his lips grazed her soft skin. “I love it when you sing.”
“I’m no good at it,” she argued as she pulled away and took John Henry off the counter, placing him on the floor.
When he pulled her back to him again, they were face to face. “Dance with me then.”
She did. Throwing her arms around his neck, she tapped the beat against the back of his neck. Quietly, she leaned her head onto his chest as they danced slowly through the kitchen. One song ended and another began, but still they danced. And she hummed along.
“You still have no rhythm,” she murmured into his chest.
“You will have to teach me,” he responded, wanting to dance with her every day.
Ruston felt a tug at his leg, and he lifted John Henry into his arms, and they continued to dance. After a song or two, the boy got tired of it and pushed away from them, forcing them apart in the process. Ruston wanted to pull Hazel back into his arms, but John Henry was demanding something to drink.
“Can I borrow your car and go get changed and shave?” he asked.
“Do you have to shave?” she asked, running a hand down his cheek.
“If you let me use your car, I will not shave today. See what you think of the stubble tonight.” He winked, hoping to be with her again that night.
Smiling at him, she leaned against the counter. “Keys are in it.”
Taking her hand in his, he said, “If I kiss you goodbye, I’ll never leave.”
He nearly ran to the car in hopes of getting back to her sooner. Climbing into her car, her smell surrounded him. He had no idea where he was. Natalie had driven him out yesterday, and he wasn’t paying attention like he should have. Pulling out his phone, he opened the map to get directions, but before he did, he made a location for Hazel’s house. When asked what he wanted to name the location, he started typing Hazel’s name but instead stopped. On second thought, he typed home. Because suddenly, wherever Hazel was, that was home.
CHAPTER11
Once Ruston had left,Hazel called her grandmother and found out that her grandfather’s condition had not changed overnight. Hazel had filled the older woman in on what Math was helping her do that day. Grandma had told her that she should be getting the work done herself, not having her friends do it for her. Hazel knew she was right; she should be doing it herself. If she was going to do this, she had to actually do it. Alone.
After she hung up with Grandma, she went outside and had John Henry run around the yard. With all the courage she could muster, she called Tess and told her that Math need not come over. Hazel would do it herself since it was her job. Not listening to her friend’s protest, Hazel hung up.
If this was really what she wanted, she shouldn’t need any help. It would take a lot of time, and she had no one to watch John Henry, so he would have to go along with her. Life was hard, but she should be used to that by now. And it wasn’t getting any easier anytime soon.
Better start the day. It was going to be a long one.
Walking into the yard, she picked up John Henry as a cloud of dust appeared on the county road. The cloud turned into a small SUV as it turned onto her driveway.
But instead of listening, Tess drove her little red SUV into her yard and stopped by the house. Hazel was in jean shorts and an old T-shirt, but Tess was dressed in black dress shorts and a form-fitting sleeveless blouse that showed off her baby bump. Tess was always dressed ten times better than anyone else.