“I love you too.” I barely got the “too” out before his lips were back on mine and I was being carried out of the kitchen.
I didn’t need a newspaper to tell me where I was or who I was supposed to be with.
I was exactly where I was meant to be.
For the first time in my life, everything looked like it was going to be okay.
CHAPTER 29
Caleb
“Didyour mom ever braid your hair, Grace?” I heard Noelle ask as I passed the hallway outside her room.
Peeking inside, I was overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of Grace on the floor behind Noelle, sitting crisscrossed as she braided her hair into what looked like a French braid. I never could master those. I still attempted it though after a few YouTube tutorials. Noelle always said they were lopsided.
“No, she didn’t,” Grace answered softly, her lips forming a straight line.
This must have been a triggering topic for her.
I hated to be eavesdropping, but now I wanted to know if I needed to rescue Grace from an uncomfortable conversation with my daughter.
We were just coming down from the high of our first Thanksgiving dinner as a couple earlier in the day. My mother and Grace baked pies with Noelle while I cooked the main course. A few friends from the bar stopped in, including Jena and Max.
Everybody had a nice time, and I was grateful when Noelle was cool with Grace spending the night. This would be the first time Grace would be staying over while Noelle was here.
Earlier in the week, the three of us had dinner, and I broke the news to Noelle about how Grace and I were official. I had been apparently worried for no reason. Her reaction was an eye roll and a sassy, “I already knew that, Dad. So five minutes ago.”
Excuse me.
Joke aside, me being in a relationship was a big adjustment and I wanted to make sure my daughter was okay with all these new changes.
Clearly mothers were on her mind, judging by this conversation.
“My sister taught me how to braid my hair,” Grace said after a few moments of silence.
I was surprised Grace was offering information about Julia so freely to Noelle.
After the other night when Grace blurted out that I was in love with a killer, I admit I had to take a step back. Hearing something as disturbing as that was jarring, but I knew my mother wouldn’t have let things escalate to this level with Grace had she been a threat to myself, or more importantly Noelle, so I composed myself and heard her out.
I didn’t know how I didn’t see it before. Grace was plagued with guilt. I knew she had secrets and that they must have been dark. Judging by her reaction and words after the fact, I was the first person to actually try to understand her and her pain. I couldn’t believe how much she blamed herself for things out of her control and for mistakes most young people today make.
Her parents were the ones who disturbed me the most. As a parent, it gutted me to see Grace face such rejection emotionally from her own parents. Selfishly, it also made me concerned for Noelle and her having Roxy as her “mother figure” or lackthereof. I knew she was becoming more and more interested in the female perspective. My mom could only do so much to ease Noelle with some of the struggles she was going through.
Noelle would always have me. I just hoped love was enough.
Funny, or not so funny depending on how you look at it, I felt the same way about my relationship with Grace.
“So you don’t have a real mom either?” Noelle questioned, and my heart sank.
I gasped and found myself leaning on the wall for support, hoping I didn’t make too much noise to reveal myself yet.
“I have a mom. She just didn’t braid hair or anything like that though. I—we had nannies, my sister Julia and I…” Grace trailed off. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could imagine how upsetting this was for her.
But for some reason, I felt the urge not to interrupt this moment between the two of them.
“But you have your sister,” Noelle said pointedly. She didn’t know Grace’s story, so it was an innocent assumption.
I heard Grace inhale sharply. “Actually, she died a little while back,” she murmured softly, her voice cracking. “But she was like a mom to me sometimes. My mom was gone a lot. I was left alone. Julia was older, cooler, and she would take me to places like Coney Island or the zoo.”
