Southern Sweets (Midnight)

by Cori Williams

  “Yup, go on ahead and get changed. I’ll be right outside the door waiting for you.”

  “Okay.” Thank the lord she isn’t a teenager yet or I’m sure I would be getting some serious attitude with the way I’m clinging to her. I don’t know why I’m still being so paranoid. Danny was right where he deserved to be after recovering from the bullet wound. I don’t think he would have ever done anything to her in the first place, but he should’ve thought out his plan just a little bit better. I honestly don’t feel any guilt about it and I don’t think I really should.

  “Hello?” a deep voice calls from the front.

  “We’re back here!”

  Tanner comes through the kitchen, eyeing me standing outside the bathroom door. “What are you doing?”

  “Waiting for Paisley.”

  “Do you need to stand right outside the door? You know there’s not an exit back here, right?”

  “Shush. I’m her mom, I’m allowed to worry.”

  “Amelia.” He laughs, shaking his head and I narrow my eyes. “Not going to argue.”

  “I’m ready!” She skips out of the bathroom and then screeches when her eyes land on Tanner. “Daddy, you came!”

  “Of course I did. I wouldn’t want to miss seeing my princess. You ready?”

  “Yup!”

  The three of us walk next door and Monroe greets us brightly. It’s odd to be doing things together as a family once again and slightly awkward but it feels good. The whole situation with Danny seemed to bring Tanner and me closer together again but I’m not really sure what’s going on between us. I’m just glad we’re friendly and able to do stuff together like this for Paisley.

  I step towards the studio room that Monroe points Paisley towards but she wags a finger at me. “Nu-uh, parents sit over there.” She points to a lounge looking area that’s centered in front of a glass window I assume is like a two-way mirror.

  “What? I’m your best friend so the rules don’t count for me.”

  “Amelia, no. She’ll be fine.” She points to the seating area once again. “Now go.”

  “Fine,” I huff, sneaking another glance at Paisley, who has already forgotten about me and is chattering with the group of growing girls.

  “C’mon.” Tanner latches onto my elbow, dragging me towards the waiting area. “See? She’s just fine.”

  “I know,” I whisper. “I just…it’s just—”

  “I know, Amelia. You don’t need to explain it to me. I want to be with her every minute of the day, too, but it’s just not possible. She’s growing up—case in point.” He tilts his head towards the class and I giggle as she jumps to the center of the room, spinning around in a circle with her tongue hanging out and her eyeballs crossed. Monroe tries hard not to laugh as well, seeing as she’s disrupting class already.

  She’s so full of life. My heart clenches in my chest at the thought of losing her.

  “It was all my fault that it happened,” I murmur, shaking my head and willing away the tears. “What if someday she remembers? How am I going to explain it? Well, sweetie, your mom was dating this guy for the second time and he had it out for her because she was a bitch when she broke up with him the first go around, all because she had a thing for your dad, and obviously that didn’t work out either,” I rattle on but Tanner interrupts me by grabbing my hand, stroking the top with his thumb. The gesture is so simple but soothing at the same time.

  “Amelia, don’t dwell on it. If I’ve learned one thing lately, it’s been that you can’t live in the past; you can’t fix it, you can’t go back in time—so just don’t waste the life you have left. Live for today and love for tomorrow.”

  “Wow.” I swallow thickly. “That was…that was really philosophical of you, Tanner.”

  His eyebrows raise before he bursts out laughing so hard tears well at the corner of his eyes. It’s good to see him laugh that hard about something. I haven’t seen him this carefree in a while. “Philosophical, no,” he replies after calming his laughter. “Just speaking the truth. I’ve learned a lot in my old age.”

  “Oh yes,” I answer with a roll of my eyes. “Such an old man.”

  “But on a serious note,” he says, still holding onto my hand, “when and if that day comes, which I kind of doubt it will, we’ll explain it together. Paisley needs to know that even her mom and dad made mistakes. We’re not perfect, but the best thing we’ve done is had her and loved her as hard as possible.”

  “I agree.” I blow out a hard breath and smile—really smile.

  And then we sit there for the rest of Paisley’s first dance practice, hand in hand, and watch our little blessing together.

  Epilogue

  “Miss Amelia, what are you doing in here?”

  I’d been caught red-handed, my fingers freezing in midair from situating the flowers on the creamy silk covered table. “Oh you know, just making sure everything was alright with the cake.” Everything is perfectly fine with it—wonderful, in fact. A four tiered cake, each layer a different flavor and filling with smooth buttercream frosting and pink flower accents. It’s my best work yet—it should be since I had spent every waking minute on it to make it that way.

  “You didn’t think I would get it here okay? Have I messed up an order yet?” Ronnie teases.

  “Well no, but—”

  “You’re right, I haven’t. The cake looks beautiful and everything else does too—including you,” he adds with a wink. “Now get on out of here. I think you have more important things to do.”

  “Alright. I’m going, I’m going.”

  “There you are.” Monroe yanks on my hand, pulling me down the hallway in a hurry. “Where did you sneak off to? No, wait, I already know. You were staring at the cake again, weren’t you?”

  “Is that such a bad thing? I like to stare at my work sometimes. I’m in awe of myself.”

  “Well you should be. You are pretty awesome at what you do.”

  “Thanks for letting me keep my big head.”

  “Amelia,” she snaps, pushing me into the room and slamming the door behind us. “How in the hell can you be so calm right now and worrying about the cake? That’s the least of your concerns right now.” She blows out a breath and then takes several more, her eyes briefly closing.

  “Um, Monroe, everything all right over there? You aren’t going into labor, are you? Because that would definitely be a concern.”

  “No, I’m not going into labor.” She reopens her eyes only for them to grow as big as saucers. “At least I hope not. Wouldn’t it be a little early? I’m not ready yet—not at all.” She begins to wave her hands around in a flustered motion and I close the distance between us, grabbing a hold of her.

  “Okay, time to do your breathing again. Everything is fine, you’re okay. You’ve had an easy pregnancy, there’s nothing to worry about. You’re in the home stretch.”

  “Home stretch? Right, right, right. Okay, you’re right, completely right.” She shakes her head, a slow smile forming on her lips as she rubs at her protruding belly. “You’re totally right. It wasn’t an easy road getting here, but once I got down the road, everything’s been pretty damn easy. This little munchkin didn’t even give me morning sickness.”

  “Lucky,” I mutter, remembering back to the hell Paisley put me through when I was pregnant. I basically had to hug the porcelain throne 24/7 for the first couple of months, and I didn’t have Tanner by my side to help me get through it.

  Monroe and Miller had been through a lot to get here though, so I know she would have gone through anything to have a baby. After two failed invitro-fertilizations, they were starting to lose hope; they started to look into adoption, surrogates, every possible option…and then the miracle baby happened.

  After being told countless times that they wouldn’t get pregnant without help, they proved everyone wrong. I think it was because Miller didn’t like to fail at anything in life; his sperm was determined apparently. She didn’t know until she was about five mo
nths along because she didn’t have any symptoms and she didn’t expect to be able to get pregnant.

  But as soon as they found out, Miller tried to place Monroe inside of a bubble, treating her like a delicate flower. She was delicate, but there was no way in hell you could get that woman to sit still for long. She did cut back on stuff at the studio since she didn’t want to risk the blessing they had been given, but she was still there to oversee things and handle a few classes. It was adorable watching her dance around with her cute baby bump hanging on for the ride. If the child doesn’t come dancing straight out of the birth canal, I’ll be shocked.

  “Okay.” Monroe claps her hands with a squeal. “Time to get dressed!”

  “Alright, hopefully it fits.”

  “Oh it’s gonna fit,” she scoffs. “I’ll make it.”

  I sigh when she unzips the garment bag and I see my dress once again. You would’ve thought when I, Amelia Emerson, went dress shopping that it would’ve taken me multiple trips to find the perfect dress. That wasn’t the case at all. I knew this was the one after trying only two others on. It was long and flowy, strapless with a lace overlay, a light cream that I knew my mom would chide me about since it wasn’t pure white, but I didn’t care. It’s perfect.

  I hold up my curls as Monroe helps me step into it and I suck in a deep breath as she scootches the zipper upwards. “Almost there,” she says quietly, I think trying to convince the both of us. Monroe and I are the only ones who know why the dress might not possibly fit. I took a test two days ago and I have no idea how I’ve been keeping it a secret; I feel like I’m about ready to burst at the seams and shout it to the world.

  Just like Paisley, this baby wasn’t planned, but to say I’m in a much better place in my life is an understatement.

  “Got it.” We both sigh in relief and Monroe pushes on my shoulder. “Now you can look.”

  I spin around slowly and bring my eyes upwards so I can get the full effect, looking at my reflection in the mirror. And then Monroe and I both proceed to burst into tears. My heart swells in my chest. Everything is perfect—my dress, my hair…my makeup, not so much anymore.

  “I love it,” I whisper, a hiccup catching in my throat, mascara running down my cheeks. “Who would’ve thought, huh?”

  “It took you long enough.” Monroe bumps her shoulder into mine, sniffling.

  “Hey, you had a long-ish engagement, too. These things take time.”

  A light knocking on the door interrupts us and I manage to tear my eyes away from the mirror as Monroe opens it. “Amelia,” my mom breathes, breezing into the room. “You look so beautiful. You’re absolutely glowing.”

  I bite down on my bottom lip, almost spilling the beans. “Thanks, Mom. How’s Paisley doing?”

  “Fabulous, she’s hanging out with her papa right now and he’s trying to make sure her dress stays clean and her hair stays neat. She’s so excited about walking down the aisle with you. Are you ready?”

  I nod quickly. “I am—completely and utterly ready.”

  She places a hand on my cheek. “I’m so happy for you and proud. I know I didn’t ever say it enough, Amelia. I watch the way you are with Paisley and I wish I could’ve been half the mother you are. You’re such an independent girl with her own business that couldn’t be more popular. You can survive on your own and you have. But that man completes you and I’m so happy for the two of you. You make one another better if that was even possible.” She pats my cheek once more and then rubs at her eyes, making my own widen. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen my mom cry. She’s always so put together. I guess some things do change.

  “Thanks, Mom. And even if you weren’t the best mom sometimes, you’re making it up with Paisley. She loves you and Dad so much.”

  “I know. That little girl…she is just too much. Such a spitting image of you at that age, sometimes I have to blink just to make sure I didn’t go back in time. And this one,” she rubs a hand over my mostly flattened stomach, “will be just as loved, if not more.”

  My mouth drops open. “How did you know?”

  “A mother always knows, Amelia. And I can’t wait to be a grandma again.” She rolls her eyes. “But let’s not bring it up until after the ceremony, why don’t we? Could you at least give me that?”

  Monroe snorts and mumbles something under her breath, earning her a sour look from my mom. Those two still don’t get along all that well, but today, I’m not letting anything ruin my memories.

  “Um…” I clear my throat, turning towards Monroe. “Want to help me with this mess on my face?” I grab a tissue and dab at my eyes. “I promise, no more tears, just don’t let me look in the mirror again.”

  “Oh like the tears aren’t going to happen again, woman. You haven’t even made it down the aisle yet. What do you think’s going to happen when you see him? I remember what it was like when I saw Miller waiting down there for me.” Her bottom lip trembles. “Oh my God, now you have me crying. He’s just so amazing and I wish I could marry him all over again. And now he’s going to be the father of my child. I just can’t wait until I see him hold our baby. Can you imagine brooding, quiet Miller holding a baby?” she sniffs, the tears flowing. “You think I’m crying now, just wait until then.”

  I laugh, rubbing at her back. “Those hormones are getting you good, girly.”

  “I know, I know.” She fans her face and sucks in a breath. “I’m good now, I promise. Let’s get to work.”

  “Time’s a ticking,” my mom chimes in. “Oh, wine.” She points to the unopened bottle chilling in the center of the table. “Well, since you two can’t have any of this,” she laughs gleefully, “I might as well take it off your hands.”

  “I’m so jealous,” I grumble, knowing that just a few sips would at least help with the nerves tightening my stomach. I might be nervous, but I also can’t wait for the seconds to tick away on the clock until I’m walking down the aisle.

  “Here we go,” I murmur, placing one foot in front of the other as the music starts up, How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding drifting through the speakers as I get closer and closer to the man waiting at the end for me, the man that saved me when I didn’t even know I needed it, the man that waited for me when I didn’t know I needed the time, the man that had completely changed my world. I cried every time I heard these lyrics, and this time is no different.

  Paisley squeezes my hand and I squeeze hers back, knowing that she’s right beside me on this journey to my forever, made everything complete. My dad guides us with his arm looped through mine, my one hand clutched around the intricate bouquet of flowers. I wouldn’t call myself a bridezilla, but I was very particular about the details that went into planning and I couldn’t be more over the moon than I am right now with how everything turned out.

  The day is crisp, not a cloud in the sky, which is all I could ask for really when planning an outdoor wedding. Monroe and Victoria wait at the end as well, in pale yellow dresses with cowboy boots; I think I had made Monroe’s year when I decided that the boots would be a needed accessory.

  I bite down on my lip, trying to take some control over the tears as I remembered how exactly we got here.

  The turning point

  I never thought Tanner and I would end up back together—never in a million years—but fate had another plan. We slowly started to gravitate towards each other, and to say I was confused was an understatement, but I decided to push the confusion away and just let it happen. The major turning point happened one day after we took Paisley to her preschool open house. Instead of heading back towards my apartment complex to drop us back off, he went the opposite way of town.

  “Where are we going?” I looked at him, my brows twisted. If I had to explain our relationship to anyone right that very second, I honestly couldn’t. We were together a lot, but things seemed to be slowly changing. A stolen kiss here, a long intense stare there. Tanner was worming his way back into my shattered heart, slowly putting the pieces back
together and I didn’t know if he was even trying. I didn’t want to overthink things, but I couldn’t help it. Was he really wanting to try things between us again?

  “You’ll see.” One corner of his mouth tugged up as he turned off the main road, down a long winding driveway. Paisley was asleep in her car seat, worn out from exploring her new school. I couldn’t believe she was going to be heading there soon. It seemed like just yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital, in pure awe of how tiny and adorable she was, and now she was flying the coop. I was sure I would have a panic attack on the first day and would be one of those parents that sat in the parking lot, twitching and in tears until the school day was over.

  “Where are we?” I asked as I stared up at the sprawling house that was perched on the hill, my eyes landing on a wraparound porch that I had always dreamed of.

  Tanner pressed a button on his visor and then pulled his truck to park in the attached garage. “C’mon, blondie.” He pulled on my hand, yanking me across the front seat.

  “Tanner, we can’t just leave Paisley in here. She’ll freak out if she wakes up.”

  “She’ll be fine. She’s been here before and there’s no one out here but us.”

  “She’s been here before?”

  “Yup,” he answered with a pop. “Now let’s go.” He tugged on my hand again and I let him pull me from the truck, glancing over my shoulder the whole time at Paisley, who remained asleep.

  The landscaping was immaculate as we walked up the stamped concrete sidewalk and the rocking chairs that dotted the porch looked comfy and made me want to plop right down in them but I quickly forgot about them when Tanner pushed open the entry door and I stepped inside.

  “Wow,” I whispered, my eyes everywhere all at once. The exposed wooden beams in the ceilings were gorgeous; the living room was open and airy, painted a soothing bluish grey color. And then there was the kitchen. My feet carried me there quickly and I let out a breath as I ran my hands across the smooth granite counters—and there was a lot of them. The appliances made me giddy as I checked each of them out, all stainless steel, and a double—yes, double oven. My mind was racing with everything that I could cram in that oven; the possibilities were endless.