Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
His eyes crinkle in the corners as he replies, “I decided to take a break.”
The woman tips her head back and laughs heartily. “Best thing about being your own boss, I s’pose.” Her brow furrows and she places a hand on her thick hip. “You just gonna stand there?”
Julius smiles then, bright and blinding, folding the small woman into his arms and rocking her back and forth. The woman grips the back of his cool wool sweater tightly and makes a content humming noise in her throat as Julius cradles her to him, and I decide to hate her.
They pull away from each other, smiling like a couple of fools, and the woman looks kindly to me before turning back to Julius. “You gonna introduce me to your friend, Jay?”
Jay? Not only does she get his smiles, but she has nicknames for him too?
Yep.
Fuck her.
I feel his eyes on me as I stare blankly at the woman and he makes lame introductions. “Tonya, this is Ana. Ana works with me.” He waves his arm out between us. “Ana. Tonya.”
Tonya takes my hand and smiles hard. “Oh, do come in. What are you having? I can make just about anything. Coffee, tea? I have soda, or I could make some Kool-Aid.”
Julius fights a sigh. “Tonya, sweetheart…”
Sweetheart? Oh, now I’m fuming. The sad part is that I don’t even know why.
Yes, you do. You’re jealous. Pea green with envy.
I hate my brain sometimes.
Tonya cuts him off with a wave of the hand. “Don’t you ‘sweetheart’ me, brother mine.”
Brother m—
Wait a second now.
My head snaps up.
Did she just say brother? This gorgeous woman, this Tonya, is his sister?
She walks down the hall, and Julius holds out his elbow to me. I take it wearing a look of puzzlement, and Julius nudges me along. Tonya speaks to herself as she reaches the end of the hall. “I so rarely entertain. I wish you’d have told me you were coming, Julius. The house is a tip.” As we enter the kitchen, she is flushed, looking like a frazzled mess, and with apologetic eyes, utters to me, “I wasn’t expecting company.”
Jesus Christ, I’m an asshole.
Okay, so maybe I was a little hasty in my judgment. I want to make up for my mistake.
My iced-up heart melts at the sweetness of this woman. She wears her heart on her sleeve. I know Julius won’t like it, but I can’t help myself. I need to set Tonya at ease.
Forcing a smile, I remove my hand from his elbow, step away and lie to Tonya. “I hope you don’t mind me saying, Tonya, but you have a beautiful home. I can’t see any of the mess you’re claiming is around here somewhere. I’d love some tea.” In my friendliest tone, I utter, “Can I help out?”
“Why, thank you, Ana. You’re too kind. Chamomile okay?” The relief in her eyes is obvious, and her tight shoulders droop as she smiles in return. “Well, why don’t you get the water on and I’ll fix us something to eat.”
Tonya crosses the kitchen to the refrigerator while I take the empty pan off the stove, fill it with water and put it on to heat. I move to get a few of the mismatched mugs off the windowsill, when warm fingers grip mine, cocooning my small one, squeezing . His body moves in close to mine, his front brushing my back, the delicate warmth of him seeps into me. I close my eyes and breathe him in. A shiver flows through me as he places his lips at the shell of my ear and speaks on a hush. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Without looking back, I murmur quietly, “No,” I concede. “I didn’t.”
But I did. Not for his sake, or even Tonya’s, but for mine. If there is one thing I have, it’s manners. And as I feel Julius’s large body retreat, I wonder how many days I have left to live, not meaning to, but hoping my good deed bought me one to spare.
Tension fills me as we leave my sister’s house a little over an hour later. The drive home is silent, a mild buzz of strain in the air. I don’t like the way Alejandra smiled when Tonya told her about how I look after her and Keke. I could almost see the spark of hope in her eyes. There was no need for it to ignite into a healthy flame. I quashed it with a muttered, “That’s because you’re family.” I turned to stare Alejandra right in the eye, with meaning. “I don’t give a fuck about anyone else.”
Her eyes held an emotion I couldn’t quite place, perhaps desperation or something akin to it. Alejandra kept quiet for the rest of our visit, as she was told, speaking only when spoken to, including when my sister’s face turned somber. “Ana,” she started, cupping her mug of tea, warming her hands, “you involved in all that badness my brother’s involved in?”