“I've wanted you to meet her for a while now, but just didn’t know how to tell you.” His voice was still raw with emotion. “We had gotten so far in our relationship, and I was so worried that if I told you, I would break your trust. I know how hard it is for you to trust people. ”
“What’s her name?” I asked after a moment.
“Ann.”
My heart sunk, it had dawned on me who he had been texting all along, not another woman named Ann, but his sister.
“Her real name is Ryann. My parents had a sense of humor about naming kids. Nothing like having a son named Stacey and a daughter named Ryann.” He gave a half-hearted chuckled. I remembered all the texts, and suddenly understood why they said “I love you”, and “I miss you.”
A chuckle escaped my lips. I don’t know why that was the emotion that came out, but it did. I felt it taking control of me, rocking my body. Cee stepped away, looking at me concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I'm such a bitch,” was all that I could sputter out between laughs. I shook my head, overwhelmed.
“I thought you were cheating on me with an Ann. I read all those texts, and saw all the phone calls.” Tears were streaming down my face, I was so happy, so angry and so relieved that I didn’t know what else to do but laugh and cry.
Cee continued to stare at me puzzled, trying to comprehend what was so funny. When I finally was able to get myself under control, I looked up at Cee and he was grinning from ear to ear.
It took him a moment to realize what had finally clicked in my brain. He wasn't cheating on me at all and I wasn't mad anymore. He grabbed me and kissed me on the lips. It was exactly what I needed. I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks, better than a blush or a glow. He released me from his lips, but still held on to me.
“I'm sorry, sorry for everything,” he said, his hands strong on my back. “I should have told you from the beginning that Ann was my sister. Whenever I got a call from Grace, it was from the hospital, this hospital, to let me know how she was doing.”
Cee stared at me with his dark eyes. “I wanted to tell you as soon as you saw those messages, but you were so angry. I didn’t have a chance. I should have told you sooner. I can understand if you are still mad at me. I kept something big from you.” He released me from his arms and straightened up. I grabbed his hand and looked up at him.
“I understand.” I smiled up at him. He was such a good man. “You love your sister. You protect her. Just promise me this...”
“Anything.”
“Never keep anything from me again.”
“I promise, as long as you do me one thing,” he replied.
“What?” I clinked, unsure of what he would ask.
“Never keep this from me.” He touched my chest above my heart. I felt it skip a beat.
“It's yours,” I whispered. I meant it. He deserved my heart. And with that, I leaned in and kissed him.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Would you like to meet her?” Cee asked.
“Of course, but is it too late?” I wasn't sure how much time had passed in the ER, but it was well past ten, I knew that much.
“No worries. I also have an in with the nursing staff.” He winked and grabbed my hand. “Besides, it will give Ben some time to show his cast off to Richard.”
We walked through the winding halls of the hospital. I was expecting it to be the standard white walls and white floors, but was surprised. There was artwork hanging from the walls of bright flowers, or cartoon characters. The floors had feet painted on it directing you where to go. The cheeriness of the atmosphere made me wish that adult hospitals were more like this.
We finally found ourselves at the orthopedic entrance. We walked through the double doors to a receptionist desk. Sitting typing on their computers were two nurses, and one looked up from the computer as we approached.
“Cee! How are you doing? We normally don’t get to see you anymore on this shift.” The nurse stood up and gave him a hug. She was a cute older woman, with blond hair and kind blue eyes. She smiled at me. “And who might this be?”
“This is my...” He looked at me, not wanting to introduce me wrong.
“Girlfriend, Jes.” I held out my hand.
“Oh, so you're the one who he won't shut up about. So glad to meet you.” She shook my hand. “Many of the nurses were mad that you took this handsome guy off the market.”
I smiled, and looked at Cee.
“Can we go see Ann?” I asked the nurse.
“Sure, they just finished up a movie. You'll find her in her room. Don’t stay too late. You know how much Agnes hates it if you keep her up.” The nurse walked back around the desk and sat down. Cee grabbed my hand and led me up the hallway.
“Agnes?” I looked at Cee.
“She's the morning nurse. She likes to have people up in the morning and she gets upset when I keep Ann up late. Ann isn't exactly a morning person.”
As we walked along the hall many of the doors were open, but the rooms were darkened. I could hear the soft murmur of televisions, and the beep of machines. I passed by one room and saw a kid laying in his hospital bed, fast asleep. His sheets were decorated with super heroes, just like the ones Ben wanted.
The thought of Ben being up here broke my heart.
We turned to the last door in the hall and knocked. Cee pushed the door open to find Ann laying on her bed. The room was covered in drawings, and pictures of her and Cee. She had dark purple sheets with white stitching. She looked like any other 12 year old girl tucked into bed, and if I hadn't seen the IV poles and machines, I would have thought it was a typical room.
The first thing I noticed about her was her red hair. It was fiery red with natural streaks of blond in it, exactly opposite of Cee’s. It framed her pale face and stood out against the white pillowcase she was laying on.
“Cee, I didn’t think you were going to come tonight.” She held out her arms for a hug. I saw Cee melt to that smile as he walked over and gave her a giant bear hug. I melted into the wall, not wanting to disturb their time.
“We had an unexpected visit to the ER with Ben. He broke his arm. Dr. Carl actually took care of him. Do you remember him?” They broke off into chatter about Dr. Carl, and the stupid jokes he used to tell to make Ann feel better.
I stood by the door, entranced watching their interaction together. Cee almost became another person. His body language was more relaxed and there was a twinkle in his eye that I had never seen before.
Ann’s eyes flickered over to me and Cee stopped talking. “I wanted you to meet someone while we are here.” He held out my hand so that I would walk towards them. “This is Jes.” Ann’s eyes lit up, and she gave me a huge smile.
“You're Jes! I'm so glad to meet you.” She held out her arms for a hug. I smiled at the greeting and walked over, happy to oblige. I wrapped my arms around her and felt her strong grip as she wrapped me in her arms. She was stronger than she looked.
“Hi, it's so great to meet you too,” I said after being released from her arms. I was at a loss for words to say anything else.
“He didn’t tell you about me did he?” She looked over at Cee, giving him a disapproving pout. For being just twelve years old, she sure did have some attitude.
“No, he just told me about you a few minutes ago,” I admitted, glancing bashfully at Cee.
“STACEY JOAN COOK,” Ann chastised in a serious voice. I couldn't help but giggle. She sounded just like a mother.
“Ryann Oscar Cook,” he teased back.
“Don’t call me Ryann. You know I hate that.” She made a gag face.
“Then don’t call me Stacey and making up crazy middle names.” He looked at me. “Joan is not my middle name. She just likes to make up ridiculous middle names to tease me.”
I laughed. Just watching them showed they were true siblings that really cared about one another. I heard a knock on the door. It was the nurse that greeted us at the station.
“Hey, sorry
to interrupt, but visiting hours are really over. And you...” She pointed her finger at Ann. “Have physical therapy tomorrow. I don’t want Agnes getting on my case again for letting you stay up late.”
“But Mary, this is my first time meeting Jes.” She pouted her lower lip and gave big puppy dog eyes.
“Nope, that will not work on me tonight. Say goodbye.” She covered her eyes to avoid the look Ann continued to give her as she walked out of sight.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Ann.” I hugged her one last time.
“Glad to meet you too, Please come visit again soon . I would love to have a girl to talk to. Cee doesn’t like to talk about boys, or hair or really anything that I like to talk about.” She rolled her eyes at his exasperated sigh, but smiled when Cee bent over and gave her a final hug goodbye.
“She will be back, that I promise you.” He kissed her on the forehead and pulled the sheets up.
“Good, I want to try some of her spicy French toast you were talking about.” She gave me a final wink.
“Good night, Ann.” Cee said. Exasperated.
***
“She is adorable,” I said, taking his hand as we walked down the hallway.
“I'm glad you like her. She really likes you.” He grinned at me as he gave a slight wave to the nurses at the station on our way back to the ER.
Things were falling back into place, I was actually smiling by the time we got back to where Richard and Ben were waiting to be discharged. Richard looked up from his phone.
“The nurse came back, it looks like we are okay to leave. Ben is not exhibiting any concussion symptoms.” Richard sounded as relieved as I felt. “We're ready to go when you are.”
“You ready to go home?” I held my hand out to Ben.
He grabbed it, and I helped him up from his laying position.
“Yes.” He yawned at me. The bags under his eyes suggested that he was as ready to go home. “But where did you guys go?”
“We visited Cee’s sister,” I responded.
“And you didn’t take me? I want to meet her too!” Ben tried to sound angry, but a yawn cut him off mid-sentence.
“You were a little busy,” I reminded him. “We will meet her again. Just ask Cee.”
“I promise you will get to meet my sister Ben. Now lets get you home,” said Cee.
We got him back into some clean clothes Richard had brought with him and made our way out to the car. Richard gave Ben one last hug.
“I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Let me know if you need anything.” He stood up and looked at me.
“Let me know if you need anything as well.” He gave me an awkward hug and walked to his car. I stared after him, feeling a strange happiness in my chest. We weren't partners anymore, but at least he was treating me as an equal.
Cee got Ben in his seat, and made sure he was secure. Ben already was dozing as soon as he was clicked in. The ride back was quiet and uneventful. Cee carried Ben up to his bed and I tucked him in quietly. I stayed for an extra moment, just watching his chest rise and fall, lifting the green cast up and down. I was beyond glad that he was okay.
We walked back down stairs and I collapsed onto the couch. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to remember the events of the day and how everything flew by. I felt the cushion beside me indent as he sat down. He put his hand on my head and slowly stroked my hair.
I couldn't believe so much had happened. I had started out my day hating this man, and lying to my son. Now, I had my son tucked into bed with a broken arm, and the man I was afraid I had lost forever was sitting there stroking my hair.
“How are you feeling?” Cee asked. His voice was soothing and wonderful.
“Exhausted. Stupid. I should’ve listened to you. Should’ve,” I murmured, feeling myself drift off to sleep while he continued to play with my hair. I opened my eyes. “I have to take you home. I just remembered that I picked you up.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He continued to brush back my hair. I couldn’t fight sleep any longer and I closed my eyes. “Don’t worry about any of it.”
I slept like a rock. I hadn't slept this good in days. I woke up feeling rested. I stretched and opened my eyes to see my bedroom. I didn’t remember falling asleep in my bedroom. I checked the clock, it was already eight o'clock, and I was late for work. My cell phone was not in its normal spot, and I ran downstairs, frantic to find it. My boss was going to be pissed.
“Have you seen my cell phone I'm late for work and need to call in,” I asked Cee as I ran to the couch trying to find the damn phone.
“This?” He waved my phone in the air.
“YES!” I hurried over and reached out my hand.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I called your office this morning,” Cee said, dropping it in my outstretched palm. “I let them know what happened to Ben last night. They said to take the day to make sure he is all right.”
I smiled, instantly relaxing. He really did think of everything and I was so thankful my job was understanding. I was going to be a model employee after this.
“Thank you.” I went over and gave him a hug. “How did I get to bed last night?”
“I carried you, then I slept on the couch. I wanted to make sure that if you or Ben needed me, I was here.” He hugged me tight. “I checked on him a few times last night, and he was sound asleep.”
“Wow. You're the best,” I told him.
“Cee, you’re here!” Ben shouted as he jumped the last two steps. He lost his balance slightly, forgetting that one arm was a bit heavier than the other.
“Yes he is, and I took the day off,” I informed Ben with a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Everything kind of hurts, though.” He rubbed his knee where there were scabs forming.
I looked at Ben and frowned. He was still in his clothes from last night. We had been too tired to get him in his pajamas. I laughed as I touched his face. He even still had some dirt on his face from when he fell.
“We'll get you some breakfast, and then we'll get you in the bath and clean you all up,” I said.
“Moooom, I can do it myself.” He frowned at me like a little teenager.
I laughed. “Let's see how well you can eat your breakfast with one hand, and then talk to me about the bath.”
Cee had a breakfast of toast, eggs and bacon ready for us in no time. Nothing too fancy, but delicious and perfect for what we needed. We watched as Ben tried to butter his toast with one hand, giggling at him as he was unwilling to ask for help. He continued to stab through his toast with his knife. It wasn’t until his third failed attempt that he finally looked at me.
“Alright, can I have some help?” He refused to make eye contact.
“Of course,” I assured him. “You did a decent job. You'll get better at it.”
I grabbed the butter and jam and made him a slice of toast. We ate in silence, still waking up from our long nights. When we cleared off the last piece of bacon we started to clear the dishes. Ben brought over things one at a time, learning how to use his non-dominate hand for things.
We started on the next task of getting Ben to take a bath. Luckily Cee had broken a few arms in his childhood and helped Ben with everything. At about noon the door rang, and Richard was there with lunch.
“Hi, sorry to stop over unannounced. I just wanted to see how everyone is doing.” Richard smiled nervously. “I brought food.”
He brought in the bags of food and laid out the sandwiches and chips he brought. Ben came over and talked to his dad some more, reassuring him that everything was okay.
We ate lunch together, laughing at Ben as he tried to open a bag of chips and instead making the bag explode and flinging chips everywhere. After we polished off all of the food, Richard headed back to work so Ben could lay down to watch some TV while Cee and I cleaned up.
“Cee, thank you again for everything,” I said while tossing the trash away. “I really appreciate it. I'm glad too to have some time to talk with
you.”
Cee placed the last dish in the dishwasher and looked at me. “Me too.”
“So, you know Ben starts school next week, and I really don’t need a nanny anymore,” I said slowly. Cee's body tensed up at the words, so I quickly continued. “So I was wondering, if instead of being my son’s nanny, would you be my boyfriend?” I could feel the cheesiness of the words as they left my lips.
“Ah, finally, my sense of romance has rubbed off on you.” He got closer to me, pulling me in. He leaned in and gave me a kiss.
“That’s not an answer,” I retorted, but secretly loving it. He kissed me again.
“If you want me as your boyfriend, I'll have to get some paperwork for us to fill out, expectations, and time frames. I mean I do have things to do.” He chuckled and gave me another kiss.
Epilogue
“Do I look okay?” I turned around in my short white dress, and all the girls oo-ed and awed at it. I had kept things very simple. I opted for a strapless tea length gown with accents of pearls and lace around the bodice. My hair was gently curled, falling around my shoulders and accented with a flower at my ear.
“You look fantastic!” Cindy assured me, walking over to me and giving me a hug.
“Absolutely wonderful!” Melissa agreed from the corner holding up her glass of champagne to cheers at me.
“It's almost time to go,” Tracy interrupted, pointing at her watch.
“Are you ready for this?” Ann asked. She sat in her wheelchair nearby.
“Okay.” I took a big breath in and started to follow everyone out the door. As I walked toward the door I remembered how quickly time seemed to have flown by.
Two years since Cee walked into my life.
Each day was better than the last. I couldn’t believe that each day I could fall more in love with someone.
After about six months together, and a lot of begging from me, he finally moved in with Ben and me. I wanted to have him around all the time, I also wanted him to stop being a nanny and do something he really wanted to do. I wanted him to pursue his dream of becoming a chef.
Ann wheeled herself by and grabbed my hand. “What are you thinking about?” she asked. I smiled down at her. “I was just remembering how Cee proposed to me.” I chuckled fondly at the memory.
Walking on Sunshine: A Sweet Love Story (Seasons of Love Book 1) Page 18
