Page 26 of Finding You
Before they made it to the middle of the hallway, Zion noticed the smell of fresh paint. He was surprised he hadn’t smelled it the moment he entered the house. Probably becauseseeing his parents had distracted him. Now he was really curious about what his mother had done, and where were his sisters?
His dad disappeared into the third bedroom, the one Zion used as a home gym. A few minutes later, he heard his sister, Essence, tell Onyx to get out.
Before they reached the room, the dog returned to the hallway and sat on his hind legs. He glanced at Zion, panting with his tongue hanging out, his body still trembling as he barely controlled his excitement.
“This is our gift to you,” Zion’s mom said as they approached the room.
He pulled up short in the doorway, shocked by the transformation of his space. He barely recognized the room but didn’t miss the anxiety on his sisters, Dorian, Essence, and even his sister Nyla’s face. All of them stood near the windows on the far wall. Not only had his family painted one of the walls a sea-foam green color, but the space was fully furnished.
A nursery.
“Whoa,” was all Zion could say as his gaze slowly took in every detail.
The room looked like something out of a magazine. It was beyond amazing, and his family had clearly thought of everything. No expenses were spared from what he could see.
“Peanut, don’t just stand there like a big lug. Come in and check out our handy work,” Nyla said, using the nickname she’d given him when he was a kid.
Though he was probably closest to Dorian since they were only a couple of years apart, Nyla was the one he typically confided in since they had similar personalities. For people looking in from the outside of the family, she and he would probably be considered the problem children. The ones who had a penchant for trying anything once, which sometimes led to them getting into trouble with their parents.
Even Nyla’s style of dress, the grunge look, had been an area of contention between her and their parents. Dark eye makeup, black lipstick, piercings, and black nail polish along with baggy and sometimes raggedy clothes didn’t go over well with them. Though she had evolved over the years, especially the last few months of dating her tech geek boyfriend, she still looked like she should be in a rock band. Her short, curly hair was slicked back, small earrings lined her outer ears, and tons of bangles jingled on her wrists. An oversized flannel shirt, holy jeans, and black combat boots, added to the look.
Nyla’s hands were on her slim hips as she studied him. “Well? What do you think?” she said with attitude.
“We didn’t have time to paint the whole room, but if you want the other three walls painted, you can do that yourself,” Essence said. She was his oldest sibling and like a second mother to him. Considering she was the one who had paint on the baseball cap she was wearing, as well as her T-shirt, it was safe to say she’d done the painting.
Zion entered the space slowly, taking it all in. He ran his hand over one of the baby beds that looked familiar but different. It was the one that he’d had as a baby, but it had been painted white. The other one looked similar, but there were a few small differences. He was impressed they could find one that looked similar since it had been thirty years since they’d bought his.
“This is incredible,” he said, more to himself than to the others in the room.
When Zion felt something against his leg, he realized Onyx had followed him and was staying close. He rubbed the dog’s head and kept his hand there to make sure the mutt didn’t get into anything.
As Zion continued glancing around, he was in awe of how they’d thought of everything. All three bedrooms were a greatsize, but this one suddenly appeared larger than it was. The carpet tiles that he’d had in the room weren’t old, but they’d covered it with a huge rug that almost went from wall to wall. It had colorful numbers, letters and objects all over it and blended perfectly with the decor.
Everywhere he looked, they’d put their touches on it. The kids’ names and a bouquet of balloons were stenciled on one of the white walls. There were also crib mobiles attached to each baby bed, and it was clear his dad had been busy putting furniture together. Besides the small beds, the room included two comfortable-looking rocking chairs, a short bookshelf, a cabinet, and a changing table.
“Wow, you guys outdid yourselves. How’d you even get it all done? I just found out the results today.”
“For the record, this was not my idea, and I told them they should talk to you first,” his father said as he leaned against the wall near the door. “But you know how strong-willed they all are.”
“Yeah, I know.” Zion had stopped next to Dorian and Nyla and pulled them both in for a bear hug, ignoring their protests. Then he turned the hug into a headlock, holding each one of them hostage with both his arms.
“I can’t stand you. Let me go! Dad!”
“Mom! Tell him to stop!”
Dorian and Nyla said at the same time while swinging at him, trying to get him to let go. Onyx barked and jumped around them, wanting to get in on the fun.
His sisters might’ve been older than him, but by the time Zion had been ten, he’d been taller than both. He used his height to his advantage back then and now. They hated when he playfully manhandled them, and no doubt, they’d get even at some point.
“And you,” he said to Essence after he released the other two, “I can’t believe you let them pull you into this. I’m surprised you were able to get time off work.”
He hugged her and placed a kiss on her cheek. Essence was a nurse, and since her son was seventeen and practically grown, she often picked up extra shifts. She claimed it was because most of the nurses had small kids and sometimes needed time off. Zion thought otherwise. She took on tons of extra shifts to keep herself busy, but she loved her job, especially now that she worked in the pediatric ward.
“I have a baby niece and a nephew. Of course I wanted to help get their room together. I met them yesterday when I stopped by the B & B, and Zion they are too cute. Hard to believe they are yours,” she cracked as she eased out of his hold.
“Ha! I see you have jokes.” He gave the room another glance. “The space is beautiful. Thank you, guys.”
“So you like it, huh?” his mother asked.
