Page 13 of Finding You
“Hey, girl,” she said to her best friend. She and Teresa had known each other for over ten years, and Raven wasn’t sure what she would’ve done without her over the past year.
“Hey to you too. I thought you were going to call me back last night,” Teresa said. There was traffic noise in the background, and it sounded like her friend was walking. Based on the time, it would be her lunch break.
“I know. Sorry about that. After I called to let you know we’d made it here, it took a little while to get situated.”
“I bet it did. I can’t believe you decided to drive to Chicago, by yourself, with two infants. God bless you because I can barely handle taking my two rug rats to the grocery store.”
Raven smiled. Teresa had a four-year-old and a six-year-old, and they were a rambunctious pair. Sweet, but still busy getting into any and everything. The good thing was, Teresa didn’t have to raise them alone. She and her husband worked full time and shared all the responsibilities with the household and the kids.
That’s what Raven wanted—a loving partner to walk through life with. Her mind flitted to Zion, but she quickly shot thoughts of him down. She knew what the test results would reveal, but she had no idea what the future held as far as he was concerned.
“So how is the bed and breakfast? Is it everything the website claimed it to be?”
“Ha!Girrrl…” Raven couldn’t help but chuckle.
She’d been surprised and so grateful when Teresa had gifted her the seven-night stay in the bed & breakfast. The original plan had been for Raven to spend her birthday there for some rest and relaxation. As well as visit her aunt and cousin who lived in Chicago.
But then Raven found out she was pregnant, and her world flipped upside down with the shock of it. She had still planned to visit Chicago for her birthday, but morning sickness that lasted all day, every day for weeks had changed her mind. After that, life had her pushing back the trip and embracing the fact that she was going to be a mom.
Thankfully, there wasn’t an expiration date on the gift certificate. Now, knowing what she knew, Raven would be forever in her friend’s debt. Raven’s adoptive mother, Gladys, used to say everything happened in God’s timing. Raven believed that until her adoptive parents, the only parents she’d ever known, were killed in a car accident when she was fifteen.
Her mom and dad had just returned from a business trip, and on their way home from the airport, they’d been involved in a five-car pile-up. Another driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and had killed six people in the process and injured three more. Raven had been devastated.
After that, she had lost faith in God. But after last night, maybe things were turning around because she was starting to think God was all up in the mix of her showing up in Chicago now. Divine intervention at its best. Yesterday had been one surprise, or maybe miracle, after another.
“Hello? You still there?” Teresa said, and Raven shook herself out of her thoughts.
“Oh, sorry, but yes, the Greystone is gorgeous,” she said, describing the home that had seven-bedroom suites and numerous other designated spaces. It really was a beautiful building, and from the moment she walked in, it felt like home. “The people who own and operate the place, especially Mrs. Priestly, are wonderful. They welcomed me as if they’d known me forever, and they loved on Zanaya and Andrew the same way.OH, and did I mention the owners are my babies’ grandparents?”
Raven grinned and braced herself for when that would sink in with her friend. At first, there was silence on the other end except for people talking in the background. Then, when Teresa still didn’t say anything, Raven glanced at the cell phone, wondering if she’d lost the connection.
“Hold up. Wait. What?” Teresa screeched, then apologized to someone around her before she lowered her voice. “Raven, what the heck are you talking about? Are you sure you’re alright? Because I thought you said the people who owned the B & B are NayNay and Drew’s grandparents. I know your parents are no longer with us, and you don’t…”
Her friend’s words trailed off, and Raven could almost hear her piecing it all together in her mind. Even when Raven replayed the day before over and over in her head, it felt like a dream. An unbelievable fantasy that seemed impossible.
“Surely you’re not saying…” Teresa cut in, bringing Raven back into the present. Her friend huffed out a breath. “I’m not even sure how to get my question together because there’s no way you’ve found the grandparents when you don’t even know the kids’ father’s name.”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” Raven said, careful to keep her voice down. The building seemed well built since she barely heard anyone in the next room or in the hallway, but she didn’t want others to hear the conversation.
She filled her friend in on everything that happened the day before and stopped each time her friend screeched in shock. Hearing herself repeat the encounter with Zion, Raven had to chuckle. If she hadn’t experienced the face-to-face herself, she wouldn’t believe it either.
Teresa had been in Las Vegas with her when Raven first met Zion. Raven had never been much of a traveler, but when Teresa suggested the weekend trip, she had jumped at the opportunity.
“I—I…” Teresa stuttered, then started laughing, and Raven joined in.
“I know. It’s crazy,” Raven finished for her. “I’m still reeling.”
“Oh, my God! Wow! Hmm,Mr. Deep-Sexy-Voice’sfirst name is Zion, not Andrew. I had wondered if he’d given you his real name. I just wished you two could’ve exchanged more information that night. Then maybe you could’ve connected with him sooner, and that ex of yours really would be history.”
“As far as I’m concerned, Maximus is history,” Raven said of her ex-boyfriend who happened to own the company Teresa worked for. “I told him the last time I saw him that I wanted nothing to do with him.”
“Yeah, but you’ve been saying that for almost a year and a half. For a while, I thought he had finally gotten the message, but then he was back.”
Yeah, Raven thought the same thing. Maximus Osbourne was a rich, entitled, narcissistic jerk who she hated she’d ever gotten involved with. Like Teresa, Raven had worked at Maximus’s company, and after years of being there, she and he started dating. It had been a world-wind affair until she really got to know him. The more she knew about him, the less she liked. Not only had she broken things off with him, but she had also left the company to start her own business.
Right now, the only thing she liked about Maximus was his grandfather, who she lovingly referred to as G-Pop. Shortly after she and Maximus started dating, he had introduced her to him. Christopher Osborne might’ve been over twice her age, but an immediate friendship had bloomed. For an old dude, he was charming, funny, and she and G-Pop had bonded over tacos and all the things they didn’t like about Maximus.
Raven smiled at the thought. She should call him. The last time they talked had been after he’d gotten out of the hospital after some intestinal issues. She really needed to check on him.
