His Queen

The Anniversary Party Pt.2

“Please don’t tell me you hate me, because then I will cry.” Renee sighed as they walked through the gardens.  “And I mean ugly whale cry.” Giving Cleo a playful evil eye, Renee sniffed, “And that would be so rude since I invited you to this bomb ass party.”  

Laughing, Cleo nodded, “Very true, and with you rocking the hell out of all white, I would never live with myself if it was ruined.” Renee grinned as she softly told Cleo, “I didn’t mean to upset you. I can admit I knew Shelia had a thing from my son that was unrequited. I wasn’t saying she was a better choice or trying to get in your head.”  

Cleo giggled a little shaking her head, “No I know, it was a test. I don’t know what kind, but a test to see if I was good enough for Tyrone. I guess I was just scared because I felt like I failed.”  

Standing in front of vibrant red roses, Renee asked honestly confused, “Why’s that?” Cleo nervously breathed out, “Um, okay so since meeting Tyrone I’ve been...so crazy about him. I kept thinking this amazing man was going to get bored and run. And I kept waiting and trying to protect my heart...but it didn’t work. He kept winning and proving he wasn’t going anywhere. And I knew meeting all of you was serious for him, it meant something.”  

Serious as a heart attack now Cleo assured Renee, “I can’t be someone I’m not. So, when I came to your house, I was coming as me. And I had all guards down for those kinds of attacks. And I guess, I had held it all in.”  

Listing them off, Cleo admitted, “From that Aliera girl, and the girl from his school showing up at his house, and then this waitress throwing coffee on me,” Renee looked at her concerned, but Cleo shook her head, “Yeah that’s a story over cocktails for another day, this is yours. And she was just thirsty.”  

Renee honestly almost melted as Cleo shrugged a little as she cheekily admitted, “I was embarrassed because after not reacting crazy or violent to any of those, it was Shelia. Shelia that drags it out, makes me upset, I went a little hard in the paint. I didn’t know how to respond after that. It felt like I’d just ruined everything.”  

Feeling so elated, Renee could almost cry. “Sweetie, I did the same test on Alyssa. Wanna know what she did?” Cleo slowly nodded and Renee remembered, “She sat there all high and mighty and then told the girl she could have him if she was “so pressed about him”. But she also called her fat, ugly, broke, and a bunch of other horrendous things.”  

Renee gently stroked Cleo’s cheek, “But you, you cared, because the idea of losing him scares you. And the anger of it being threatened bothers you. Fighting for him isn’t something you’re going to ever have to stop doing. Marrying a man like Tyrone will always be a roller-coaster, but I can assure you. It comes full circle always.”  

Renee was leading Cleo back when she asked, “When did you know Mrs. Royal?” Renee stopped and turned to face her with a loving smile, “I had a feeling at the party, how you handled yourself. You didn’t need as much help, and you didn’t need saving. But when you told Shelia off, that’s when. That's when I saw it in your eyes.”  

Cleo grinned confused, “Me about to fight? How is that a tell of anything?” Renee giggled as she leaned in and whispered, “Because Cleo, if you hadn’t cared about my son, her threats would have been irrelevant. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t truly love him.”  

Hot in the face at his mama calling her out, Cleo got a kiss to the side of the head and a stern, “And it’s mama darling, none of this Mrs. Anything!” Flouncing off, Cleo was left giggling and feeling so happy she could tap dance.