Home of my Heart

Chapter Six

“You know, I’m not sure whether I’ll kill you slowly or do it in one go,” I grumble as I watch Georgina pack food in containers for her and Leon to take on their trip. It’s six in the morning here in Callisburg, the sun’s up and shining. It’s not that she woke me up too early- I wake up around the same time back in Callisburg- but it’s the fact that she’s leaving two hours later.

Which means I’m going to be alone in her house until Troy comes to pick me up. I’m going to be left with enough time to think about what the f**k is going to happen when Troy arrives. Or how the rest of the day will unfold for the two of us.

Georgina has the audacity to smile at me and turn on her Southern charm. “Oh come on, Aide, it won’t be that bad. You were friends before anything happened between the two of you. The friendship has to be there somewhere.”

I’m about to slam my head against the granite counter. “If you wanted to punish me for leaving, you could make me do all the things you need to be done on my own. Why’d you have to invite him to do it with me?”

Georgina sighs and sets the loaf of bread aside and then lowers her head so she can be in level with me. “I know that it’s going to be hard for you to be around him, Aide. It’s going to be hard for him too. But there’s something that the two of you need to discuss.”

“Don’t you think we can do that on our own?”

“Oh please, I know both of you. Especially you. You’re going to dance around the subject for as long as you can until you can’t,” Georgina shakes her head and then removes the apron from her waist. For a moment, she looks like a picture perfect Southern woman preparing meal for her family. A future that I could’ve had if I had stayed.

I rest my head on my hands and then peer at Georgina. I know I can’t do anything to get myself out of this anymore. “So…who’s Sonny?”

A knowing smirk makes it way to Georgina’s face. “Why? Jealous?”

I scoff and roll my eyes. “No. I’m just curious.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, Aide.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not a cat person.”

Georgina rolls her eyes and takes a seat in front of me, any trace of teasing gone from her face. “Sonny is important to Troy.”

“Yes, I noted.”

Georgina sighs, her eyebrows furrowing together. She seems deep in thought and it takes her another moment to reply. “I’m not sure if it’s my place to say it, Aide. I think it’s better if Troy explains who she is.”

“George, if he’s dating her you can tell me. I won’t be mad or jealous.” I raise my hand and my ring takes in the light and glimmers in it. “I am engaged to marry someone back in Detroit. Troy and I, we’re history.”

Georgina purses her lips and still shakes her head. “I can’t, Aide. But you know who she is, I can assure you that and she is nothing close to what you’re thinking about.”

I huff in annoyance but know that I won’t get the answer no matter how much I try to pry. I can’t sway Georgina off even if I try anyway. So instead, I help her pack the food. There’s nothing that calms me more than cooking. I feel like I appreciated the task when I was still living with Troy, it was one of the things that distracted me from my desire of claiming my future.

My taking over of the kitchen gave Georgina enough time to prepare for the trip. I know she’s already packed her the things she need but I know her well enough too to know that she takes longer double-checking. By the time she’s downstairs again, I’ve laid out a fully-prepared breakfast for the two of us and Leon. Lance has already eating and is playing on the floor beside me as I take my seat on the dining table.

The front door opens and the two of us already know who it is. Leon comes in and grins at the sight of the food laid out for the three of us. “Oh sweet Jesus, thank you Lord for bringing back Adrienne. I haven’t eaten actual breakfast in a while.”

Georgina narrows her eyes at him and whacks him on the head. “What the heck do you mean, sweetheart?”

Leon rubs the back of his head as he takes a seat and then smiles lovingly at his fiancé. “Babe, I love you and all but let’s not deny that you’re not as a whiz as Adrienne is in the kitchen.”

“Apparently, she’s a whiz in everything,” Georgina mutters and rolls her eyes. I smirk, taking it as a compliment because I know that Georgina didn’t mean it in a bad way. Plus, if she wants to insult me, I know that she can do a far harsher one than that.

After breakfast, while Georgina washes the dishes and double checks everything else that they needed- I’m pretty sure the girl has some kind of disorder or something- Leon and I are at the backyard waiting for Lance to do his business.

“I’m really glad you’re back, Aide. And it’s not just because of your cooking,” Leon tells me, looking at me through his dark sunglasses. “I’ve missed you. There’s no one who can relate to me to handle Georgina’s crazy.”

His comment makes me smile and I turn to look at Lance while he digs holes around the backyard. Leon was one of my closest friends here in Callisburg. He still is. But there was a time that I thought that I lost him. Just like I thought that I lost everyone else here. I thought that Georgina would hate me forever but she didn’t. She came all the way here and to Detroit just to give me the invitation to the wedding. Simply getting invited is a huge deal.

I glance back at Leon and say, “I’m sorry, Leon. I should’ve given you guys the heads up or sent a text or called or sent in a letter or something.”

“But you didn’t,” Leon says quietly, his gaze fixed on his dog.

“But I didn’t.”

Leon runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “I’m not good with this kind of drama, Aide. I already feel awkward right now.”

The admission makes me laugh and I nudge him with my shoulder. “Thank you for inviting me still, Leon. I know that my presence might affect your wedding in a bad way but still you want me here.”

“I have no choice,” Leon jokes and then puts an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close and hugs me by the side. “I wanted to hate you for leaving, Aide. Seeing what your absence had done to Troy, I wanted to go to Detroit and drag your Southern ass back here in Tennessee to fix what you broke.”

Leon flicks my ear and then smiles at me. “But I understood you, Aide. You weren’t the only one who saw Troy at that point, and thought that he was dragging everyone around him down. I understood why you wanted to get out, Aide. I would too if I was in your position.”

“But you didn’t,” I say, looking up at him.

“Because I didn’t have the heart to leave him,” he replies quietly and then squeezes me, “But that doesn’t mean that you’re heartless. You just knew where your heart wanted to be. I don’t hold it against you.”

The tears prickle my eyes and I try my best to hold it together. The door opens and we both turn to look at Georgina leaning against it with a small smile. “If we all didn’t grow up together, I would think you’re stealing my man.”

I laugh and Leon and I stand up. I give Leon a side hug. He always was like a brother to me, even after I left, I’m glad he still seems like it. He kisses the side of my head and crosses the short distance that separates him and Georgina. I can’t believe that they’re going to get married. They deserved each other.

“We better leave now because you look like you’re about to cry and I’m pretty sure that’s going to lead to a long conversation,” Leon says, eyeing me cautiously.

I shake my head and pull both of them into a hug. “I’m just happy you’re both getting married. Even if I hate that I’m doing the preparations this week when I can’t prepare for mine.”

Leon looks at me seriously. “You can’t marry him until he’s Leon-approved.”

I grin and nod my head. “I’ll make sure to tell him that.”

Georgina and Leon left and I’m left to my own devices until Troy comes. I’m still curious about Sonny so I try my best to look her up on social media. I’m sprawled on the couch swiping at my phone with Lance nestled below me. By the time lunch time rolls in, I get up and make myself a sandwich, making sure to make an extra one for Troy.

I stop when I reach for bread. Lance whimpers below me and I stare at him. “Should I make him one too, Lance?”

He barks twice.

I shake my head and lower the bread, gripping the counter tightly as a memory comes into mind, almost knocking me off-guard. The memory feels so real, so vivid, and I can almost feel his arms wrapped around my waist and his head resting on my shoulder.

“That looks good, love,” he had said every time I cooked for the two of us. He kissed my shoulder, his lips brushing my skin.

“You’re hungry?” I had asked him, buttering the bread and moving so I could get out of his grasp and place the bread into the toaster. “This will only take a sec.”

His hand was on my waist again and just as the bread was in the toaster, he pulled me so I could face him and I gasped in surprise. Our faces were inches apart and he planted a sweet kiss on my lips. “I’m hungry for you.”

Lance barks and it brings me back to the present.

I look at the golden retriever sitting next to me. “It’s not a big deal to make him food, right? I mean, it’s not like making him turkey sandwich means anything other than giving him food.”

Lance barks. I take it as confirmation.

I finish eating my lunch and then begin the process of getting ready. I let the warm water cool me and drown my thoughts and anxieties for today. It’s then that I begin to hear someone downstairs and I’m suddenly scared because Lance isn’t barking. Immediately, I jump out of the shower but don’t turn it off. If there’s a thief in the house, I’d rather have him think that I’m in the shower.

I hastily wrap a towel around myself, ignoring that fact that I’m soaking wet and the towel I grabbed is thin and I might be showing too much skin than I like. But I tiptoe downstairs as quietly as I could and grab the nearest object I can use to defend myself.

Troy turns around and his eyes widen when he sees me with an umbrella raised.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on?” Troy asks, staring at me with alarmed blue eyes.

I slowly lower the umbrella and stare at him in disbelief. “You couldn’t have knocked or rang the doorbell?”

He holds up a key. “I kind of know where they put the spare key around here and have gotten use to just waltzing in.”

I exhale loudly in agitation and spot Lance sitting comfortably in the kitchen. I was so scared the thief might’ve done something bad to him yet there he is, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Troy follows my gaze and chuckles.

“Lance is used to me. So I’d rather not hold it against him.”

I huff and then remember that I’m still in my towel and I pull it closer to my body. “I’m going to finish getting ready.”

Troy’s eyes trail my body and I shift uncomfortably under his gaze. He chuckles and rolls his eyes. “Don’t act like I’ve never seen it, Aide.”

Immediately, I can feel heat rising in my body and I turn away, rushing back into the bathroom. I close my eyes and lean against the door once I’m safely inside and curse myself for acting the way I did. I finish the remainder of my shower and hastily go back into my room. And then I remember the sandwich I made earlier and know that he won’t touch it unless I tell him it’s his.

“Troy!” I call out to him from the top of the stairs.

“Yes?”

“The sandwich on the counter is yours.”

I don’t hear any respond from him but don’t bother waiting around until he does. I change into a casual outfit. When you work for television, you kind of have a different concept of what casual is. For the first time in a long time, I’m allowed to dress for comfort and not for the media. I don’t even bother with makeup, just swipe a Chapstick on my lips and leave my hair down without even bothering to style it like I always do.

When I get downstairs, I find Troy staring at the sandwich I made. “You’re not hungry?”

At the sound of my voice, he turns to look at me and reaches for the sandwich, taking it gingerly by hand. “I am. It’s just that, it’s been a while since I’ve had your sandwiches. You used to make me some after I got off work.”

I don’t know how I’m supposed to reply to that statement and turn away instead. The silence between us is palpable, filled with unspoken truths and questions that neither of us had the voice and audacity to say out loud. The ringing of my phone cuts through the silence and becomes my saving grace. Funny, how it’s Pastor Dean.

I slide to answer.

“Hey.”

“Mom told me you went to the house directly yesterday,” Dean says, not bothering with a greeting which is how he usually is. “How did that go? She didn’t give me much details but I have a feeling that it wasn’t a good encounter.”

I sigh and then head to the living room, sinking into the soft sofa. “She still hates me.”

“She doesn’t.”

“You’re supposed to say that because you’re supposed to believe the good in people.”

Dean chuckles in the other line. “No. I’m supposed to love the unlovable, and forgive the unforgivable. How was I supposed to help you if I didn’t do that?”

“Touché.”

“Anyways, what are you doing today? Maybe we can have coffee and then grab dinner after.”

I glance back at Troy who’s finishing his sandwich and then turn back to the conversation I’m still having with my brother. “Georgina asked me to do some things for the wedding.”

“I can help you out with that.”

“Actually, she asked both Troy and I to do it.”

There’s silence on the other line for a full minute until Dean speaks again, “Troy? As in Troy Richards? The guy you left here in Callisburg heartbroken and torn and without giving an explanation or even a goodbye?”

“That sounds so extra, Dean.”

“You know it’s true,” Dean counters and then sighs, “Does Edmund know about this?”

I glance at Troy again. He’s playing with Lance. The sight makes me smile. “No. He doesn’t and he doesn’t need to. Georgina asked us to do this and we’re only doing both her and Leon a favour.”

“Adrienne,” Dean says, and I hear the warning in his tone, “You’re not going to end up falling for him again, aren’t you?”

I’m sputtering at his question and wonder where he acquired the audacity to ask it. “No! Of course not. I’m with Edmund and I love Edmund. All Troy and I have is shared history.”

“History is still big thing, Aide,” Dean replies quietly, “I just hope you don’t make the same mistake twice.”

“I’m old enough to know that, Dean.”

He sighs. “I’m only looking out for you. I guess I’ll see you for dinner at Crab’s? Bring Troy along. It’d be nice to see him some place other than church.”

“He goes to church now?” I don’t hide the surprise in my voice.

“You’d be surprise what pain can do, Aide.” With that said, Dean hangs up on me and I go back to find Troy on the ground and playing with Lance. It’s a heart-warming sight to see.

I ruin it by clearing my throat. Troy looks up but the smile doesn’t leave his face. That full-blown smile that used to make my knees go weak. “Dean called. He wants to have dinner with me tonight.”

Troy nods. “I’ll drop you off wherever you’re having dinner then.”

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to invite him. I suddenly wished I had asked Dean to do so but then I’m pretty sure I’d get an earful of none-faith related sermons from him. Troy stands up and dust himself off of Lance’s fur and then helps the dog into his big crate so he doesn’t ruin the house while we’re not around.

We’re already locking the house by the time I find the courage to invite him. “So this dinner, Dean wants you to come.”

Troy pauses before he twists the key on the door and looks at me. His blue eyes search my brown ones and I know what he’s looking for even if he doesn’t say it out loud. I know that he wants to know if I’m fine with it. I give him a small smile.

“He says it’d be nice to see you out of church.” My voice is soft when I say it and I’m not sure if I should add more to the statement.

It’s like there’s a silent agreement as Troy continues to look at me and he slowly nods his head. “Sure, it’d be nice to see Pastor Dean tonight.”