“Oh, my god. So, he ran outside in only his underwear and carrying a play sword? What did his dad say?” Tamara’s laughter rang out as she wiped tears from her eyes.
“He just picked him up and brought him right back in the house to his momma. That boy was determined to help his daddy tame that wild horse. Not sure why he felt he needed a sword.”
Okay, maybe it was time to interject. “I thought I was a knight.” All eyes in the room turned to me. Tamara’s eyes were wide in what appeared to be shock. Gladys gave me a sly look because she knew what I was going through inside. Brandon, on the other hand, couldn’t help the smirk on his face.
“A knight?” Tamara’s question floated in the room like the soft petals of a rose.
See, there I was with that poetry bullshit again. Maybe it had just been too long since I called up one of my lady friends. Maybe if I did that, I wouldn’t be drawn to the lady across from me as much as I was.
“Knight’s ride horses and they have swords. I wanted to help my dad with his work that day. That’s how my mind pictured it.” I was only seven years old at the time, so I could be forgiven.
“Um, but in your underwear?” Tamara giggled again, looking over at Gladys.
I walked further into the room and sat down at the table, right across from the woman who made my stomach tie up in knots. This was crazy. Right?
“What Gladys failed to mention is that I had a helmet….”
“You had on one of your daddy’s black cowboy hats!” Gladys interjected with a burst of laughter.
Shaking my head at her, I patted her hand. “It was a knight’s helmet. Remember, I was seven. My imagination was amazing.”
“I would have loved to see that. I can’t even picture it.”
The devil on my shoulder jumped out and took over my mouth. “You want to see me in my underwear?” Tamara’s eyes went wide, and I could see a burgundy hue come over her face. Blushing? Now, wasn’t that the sweetest fucking thing ever?
“What? No! I meant, just that you were a kid. I bet you were funny and cute.”
Brandon, who was quickly losing points as my best friend, spoke up. “Nah, trust me. This guy is anything but cute and funny. Now me I’m freaking adorable in my underwear.”
Gladys shook her head and leaned over to Tamara. “Don’t you listen to a word they say? Both of them were knocked upside the head a time or two. And if they don’t stop all that talking and eat this food I made, they’re gonna get it again.”
“Come on, Ms. Gladys, you know we love your food,” Brandon said, grabbing a plate.
“Were you raised in a barn?”
I listened to Gladys and Brandon go back and forth, which was normal for them. This was how we interacted. She wasn’t blood, but she was like a second mother to both of us. So, while I listened to them, they weren’t my focus. That was solely on the woman sitting across from me, her eyes trying so hard to avoid looking at me as she watched the interplay between the other people at the table.
The next thirty days would be hard as hell for me, but now I had a new mission. Protect Tamara. Handle the ex-husband giving her hell. Convince her to stay here with me and make me whole again.
Yup, I had this covered.