It wasn’t until Colbie joined us that her parents finally made eye contact with their daughter. I vowed to myself to stay out of this as much as possible, but I wouldn’t leave her side, nor would I allow them to venture into territory that made Colbie uncomfortable. She might be their daughter, but she was my heart.
Her dad was the first to speak, and he didn’t mince words. “Sugar, this nonsense has to stop.” He poured himself and Elise a cup of coffee, and then met his daughter’s stare.
Colbie cocked her head to the side. We glanced at each other, and she grimaced. “What nonsense, Daddy?”
“This not speaking.” His Southern accent was thick, and I thought maybe he had a show of his own the way Elise did. “It’s gone on long enough.”
If the room were black and white, I would have sworn we’d been transported to Mayberry through some strange space, time, and television continuum.
“Is that why you drove all the way here from Brogdon?” Colbie’s voice cracked, and she furrowed her brow. “To tell me that I’m not doing something the way you want me to?”
“No, honey.” Elise reached across the table to take Colbie’s hands, but Colbie pulled back before she could touch her. Her mother was visibly put off by her daughter’s reaction, but she forged ahead. “Sometimes your daddy isn’t good with words.” She patted her husband’s hand as if to excuse his poor behavior. “I think maybe we just all need to talk. The four of us.”
I leaned back in my seat, folded my arms over my chest, and let out a heavy sigh. Elise’s gaze darted between Colbie and me, but it dawned on me that she was as nervous as Colbie.
“I don’t know how you and Eli formed your…” She paused before giving our status a title, “…relationship. Or how you kept it going when you were gone. Daddy and I were confused by everything that happened.” Her shoulders slumped when she exhaled. “Colbie, can’t we all agree that none of us handled any of this very well?” That was a huge admission of wrongdoing coming from the woman who did no wrong.
My jaw might have dropped, but I concealed it well; however, I didn’t try to hide my eyes going wide at her willingness to shoulder some of the blame.
Colbie wrapped her hands around her warm mug of coffee and stared into it for a second before she lifted her head. “I can agree to that. There are things I wasn’t honest and upfront about. But one thing I was clear on was what would take place if you continued to shut me out. I told you what my plan was for this past summer and what the school year would look like. You both buried your heads in the sand. And whether you like my relationship with Eli or not, it isn’t going to change.”
If they were smart, one of them would interject before Colbie got on a roll. Once she found her voice, there’d be no stopping the months of disappointment that had resulted in countless hours of counseling.
“There’s no use crying over spilled milk, sugar. The only thing we can do is move forward.”
Colbie leaned back and laughed. “Daddy, with all due respect, this isn’t just spilled milk. It’s my life. And you’ve invaded mine here. One I’ve worked hard to normalize without anyone in the family—other than Caden—supporting me.”
Caden had come to visit with Jess, and he and I had talked, man to man. He hadn’t had nearly the issue with my relationship with his sister as his family had. Caden’s greatest concern was Colbie’s happiness and health.
“And Caden is a large part of the reason your father and I are here. He and Jess.”
“Why?” Colbie narrowed her eyes, wondering how her brother had played a part in the odd encounter, probably imagining ways to hurt him the next time she saw him for putting her parents up to this.
“Jess has shed some light on your relationship with Eli since you left. We saw her a good bit over the summer, and she argued in favor of your being here with him. And when Caden came home after they visited, he told us how well you were doing. How happy you seemed.”
Her dad’s face lit up when he smiled. “I heard you got all As this semester. I’m proud of you, Colbie. Vanderbilt’s a tough school.”
“Thank you.” Her response was hesitant. Colbie had no idea what to do with their praise. She’d wanted it, coveted it for years, and now that she was receiving it, her confused expression looked like she was listening to a foreign language and trying to comprehend it.
Phillip put his forearms on the table. His brows dipped, and his eyes darkened. When he leaned forward toward Colbie, I dropped my arms from their folded position and prepared myself to pounce if necessary. “I also heard you’re considering dropping your minor next semester.” His statement wasn’t accusatory. Instead, it was possibly disappointment that lingered in his tone, or maybe even regret.
If Jess had been here, I would have laid into her right after I strangled her. This was a really touchy subject in our house. With a music minor, Colbie needed to practice. The rooms on campus were frequently booked and difficult to get into to say the least, especially as a freshman. Without a piano at home, music had been a struggle since the start of the year. I’d looked at new instruments; I’d looked at used instruments; I’d look at renting. But Colbie wasn’t a novice. She not only needed but deserved a decent one, and it was as expensive as buying a high-end car. So, the rounded windows that faced the street currently sat empty until I could figure out a way to put a piano in that spot.
“Yes, sir.” Colbie chewed on her lip not wanting to admit the reason.
Elise sighed. “Colbie, I don’t expect to fix things in a conversation around your breakfast table.” She reached across the space, and Colbie finally let her mother connect with her. “But we brought you something, and I hope that you’ll see it as us trying to lay the foundation to start to build a bridge that we should have constructed years ago.”
There was only one way to buy Colbie’s attention, and they’d known it.
“I don’t understand, Mama.”
I did.
Part of me hated them for being able to do it when I couldn’t, and part of me wanted to hug them for giving her something she needed when they’d done nothing for so long.
“Are they in the driveway, Phillip?” Elise appeared excited to give her daughter something she knew she’d love, and in that minute, I set aside my petty jealousy. The Chapmans had the means, and it was important to Cole.
Colbie stood. “Who?” She didn’t wait for a response, and I followed on her heels.
Her parents talked behind us, but Colbie raced toward the door without shoes on or a jacket. When I finally caught up with her in the driveway, she stood with her hands clasped over her mouth and tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn’t speak when the driver and the passenger hopped out of the large, white box truck. The driver rolled up the back door, and Colbie’s shoulders shook.
Her eyes went to her parents. “For me?” She was choked up, and while I’d never condone buying off kids, in this case, the Chapmans had done the right thing.
Her mom tried to play it off. “It was just collecting dust in our house, and Jess told me all about your front windows and how beautiful your piano would look there.” Elise stuck her hand in her pocket and held out the key to Colbie, but before she released it, a tear of her own slid down her cheek. “I’m sorry we locked it, Colbie. I promise, if you’ll give us a chance to fix things, we’ll never shut you out again.”
Mrs. Chapman wasn’t just referring to the piano lid. That key had as much metaphorical meaning as literal. I didn’t get the impression that the gift came with any stipulations though…just the most sincere apology two people who didn’t apologize could find.
“Sugar, I hope you’ll consider sticking with music. Your mama and I’d love to come hear you play this spring.” And there was her dad’s first brick in the mortar of the foundation to a relationship with his daughter.
She nodded, unable to speak. There were times I couldn’t get the girl to stop talking, and others when her silence said more than all the words in the English language. This was
one of her moments of incomparable silence. Colbie was vulnerable, bare, and completely exposed, and the best thing I could do was step up. I wrapped my arms around her and pressed her head to my chest while she let out the emotions that overwhelmed her.
This wasn’t the solution to Colbie’s problems, and it wouldn’t guarantee a reconciliation with her parents. It was, however, a start. Colbie had a heart of gold and a forgiving spirit. And all she’d ever needed was for them to see her for who she was and love her as she came. But if they’d done that as flawlessly as Colbie had done everything else, then I wouldn’t be standing here. Their imperfections had given me a gift I never would have had a chance at receiving otherwise.
We stepped back as Elise and Phillip directed the piano delivery, but I never let Colbie go. “You okay, beautiful?”
She nodded and looked into my eyes. “A bit overwhelmed. Raine is going to have a field day with this one.” Colbie giggled, but it was her way of recognizing that what she’d wanted had come full circle, and now, she had to put in the work to keep it going.
I’d be there every step of the way, whether it was to hold her hand or carry her when she couldn’t walk. “One day at a time, baby.”
She smiled, and the purest form of joy I’d ever witnessed radiated from her soul, a contentment I hoped to see for the rest of my life. Colbie lifted onto her toes and gave me a quick peck.
“I love you, Cole.”
“I love you, too, Eli.” It was the way those five words came together, the curve of my name on her lips, the heat of her breath on my skin, the pulse of her pupils when her nostrils flared.
From the moment I’d met her, I had never stood a chance against loving her. It was in me, who I was designed to be. Loving Colbie was as natural as breathing, and without her, I’d cease to exist.
My lids closed, and our lips met. I didn’t kiss her with passion; I kissed her with promise.
Promise to be patient.
Promise to be faithful.
Promise to protect.
But most of all, promise to love.
Everything about her was perfect—for me.
THE END
About the Author
Stephie is a forty-year-old mother to one of the feistiest preteens to ever walk. They live on the outskirts of Greenville, South Carolina, where they house two cats and two dogs in their veritable zoo.
She has a serious addiction to anything Coach and would live on Starbucks if she could get away with it. She’s slightly enamored with Charlie Hunnam and Sons of Anarchy and is a self-proclaimed foodie.
Also by Stephie Walls
Bound
Freed
Redemption
Metamorphosis
Compass
Strangers
chimera
Beauty Mark
Fallen Woman
Girl Crush
Unexpected Arrivals
Label Me Proud
Family Ties
Gravel Road
Dear Diamond
Co-written as Stella with Leddy Harper
Third Base
Home Run King
Dr. Fellatio
Her Perfect Page 36
