CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
It takes us three weeks to finalize the paperwork for the house, and the contractors need another two weeks to complete all the renovations and paint.
The four of us will be sleeping upstairs, and the largest bedroom is being turned into a second living room for now. Everyone chose their own bedroom colors: Bea’s apartment will be rose pink, my room will be olive green, powder blue for Matt, apricot for Angelo, and Russian violet for Jarel.
In the meantime, Jarel and I return to the playground, Matt and I spend another night at the library, and Angelo and I hike whenever the weather allows.
Twice a week, we go on group dates. The guys think it’s for fun, but the truth is that I’m terrified that once we move in, they won’t be able to stand each other, and I’ll be caught in the middle.
Saturday night, the four of us are lying on blankets on Matt’s roof, staring at the stars.
“I’m going to have to tell Mama that we’re moving in together,” Angelo says. He’s lying between me and Jarel, but I assume he’s talking to the group. “Otherwise, she’s going to come by one day, and I’m not going to be there.”
“How are you going to do that?” Matt asks.
“Crowdsourcing ideas,” Angelo says. “She’s not going to care that Val and I are moving in together. Layla and Latrice won’t either. But how do I explain you two?”
“In this economy?” Jarel quips.
“Then she’ll ask why we didn’t just get a smaller place.”
“Extra hands to take care of the kids?” Matt suggests.
“Then she’ll want to know how long it’s going to take for her to get some more grandbabies.”
“Not too long,” I say, and Angelo kisses my temple.
“Maybe you should just tell her the truth,” Jarel says.
“I can’t do that,” Angelo says.
“Why not?” Matt asks. “She’s against polyamory?”
“Nope. She’s all about ‘live and let live; love and let love’.”
“She just doesn’t want you in that kind of relationship,” Jarel says.
“Something like that.” He waves his hand. “Doesn’t matter. Back to the immediate problem.”
It’s not like Angelo to be that evasive, and I wonder what the real reason is.
“She knows you reconnected with us,” Jarel says. “I think the economy angle is a good one. Lots of people older than us still have roommates.”
“A lot of radiologists?” Angelo asks. “Doctors who also own a condo?”
“Maybe my student loans are outrageous, and I have a gambling problem.”
“What are you going to tell your parents, Jarel?”
“I’m not,” Jarel says flatly. “When I visit Mom, she wants to reminisce, and I’m not speaking to my father right now. It won’t come up.”
“You’re not talking to your father?” Angelo and I ask simultaneously.
“Let’s not,” Jarel says.
It’s clear that Angelo shares my desire to ask more questions, but neither of us does. “What about you, Matt?” Angelo asks.
“Hadn’t really thought about it. We spend most of our time talking about Julie or Tracey. We don’t really talk about my life. I’m not in a rush.”
Jarel leans up. “You’re important too, Matt. Don’t forget that.”
“You’re just saying that because I saved your life,” Matt says.
“Only partly,” Jarel says.
It’s moments like that that make me believe we can move in together and be okay. Maybe I am worrying too much?
“I think less is better,” I tell Angelo. “Tell her that we moved in together. If she asks more, tell her Jarel and Matt are living here too. If she prods, tell her that I wanted a big house, which is true, and on our current salaries, we couldn’t afford this place on our own. Also true. We can come back to the real reason later.”
“Look at you balancing on that tightrope of honesty,” Matt says.
“You should go into politics,” Jarel adds.
“You’ve all seen me dance. You know I can spin.”
“Oh, that made me cringe,” Matt says.
Angelo doesn’t look at me, but he grips my hand. “You’ll go with me tomorrow?”
“What about Andre?”
“Out of town.”
“Latrice is done hating me?”
He looks over. “She never hated you. Latrice doesn’t victim blame. It just took her a minute to adjust.”
“‘Victim blame’?” Matt asks. “Are you two going to eventually tell us what happened?”
“Andre do something?” Jarel asks.
“I bet it wasn’t Andre,” Matt says. “I bet it was fucking Cole.”
Jarel, finally out of his sling, leans up on his forearms and looks at me. “Was it? Did Cole fucking do something to you?”
I sigh. “Not exactly.”
Angelo looks at Jarel. “She needs you to let this go for now. Both of you. She’ll tell you when she thinks it's the right thing to do.”
That’s the first time any of the guys have stood up for me against the others, and it gives me goosebumps. I squeeze Angelo’s hand in appreciation.
Jarel looks at me, and I quietly sing, “Let it go. Let it go.”
He smiles slightly and lies back down.
“So,” Angelo continues, “dinner tomorrow?”
“You bet.”
***
Ms. Imani wraps me in a bear hug. “We haven’t seen you in a while. Things are okay?”
“Things are great.”
We help her with dinner, and Layla joins us when she arrives. The twins come bounding in shortly after, followed by Latrice.
“Can I talk to you?” Latrice asks, touching my elbow. When I follow her into the living room, she adds, “I’m sorry about Andre and even more sorry for Cole.”
“Thanks, Latrice, but it’s not your fault, and it was a long time ago.”
She gestures toward the couch, and I sit next to her. “When Andre went to that party, I was thirty-five weeks pregnant with Jack and Jola. He was out for his last hoorah, and not only should he not have been at that flippin’ party, he knew better than to bring Cole anywhere with college women.” She lowers her voice so that Jack and Jola can’t hear her. “He fucked up, Val. Big time.”
“Would it have been better if you hadn’t found out?”
“No, I’m glad Angelo convinced Andre to do the right thing. We’ve let this Cole nonsense hang over us long enough. We’re sorting through it with our shrink.”
“You two are going to be okay?”
“I think so. We’ve survived worse.”
“How do you feel about me at family dinners?”
“Come whenever you want.”
“What if Andre is here?”
She rolls her eyes. “He’s going to have to get over it.” She points at the kitchen. “You and Angelo seem pretty serious.”
“We are.”
“Then there’s no reason for you to stay away.”
I sigh, relieved. “Thank you, Latrice.”
She leans forward to give me a hug, and when I return the hug, I see Angelo standing in the doorway. I wink at him, and he winks back before returning to the kitchen.
***
I read to the twins while the adults finish cooking dinner, and when we sit down, Angelo says, “I have some news.”
Latrice and Ms. Imani both become statues before placing their napkins in their laps.
“This oughta be good,” Layla says.
Angelo takes my hand. “Val and I bought a house. We’re moving in together.”
Ms. Imani smiles. “That’s great, baby.”
“What’s happening to your old place?” Layla asks.
“I’ve finished renovating it. It goes on the market next week.”
“Can I have it?” Layla asks.
“‘Have it’?” Angelo asks with a smirk.
“Yeah. Live in it.”
“How are you going to afford that?” Ms. Imani asks.
“What ‘afford’? Angelo already owns it.”
“He has a mortgage,” Latrice says. “You gonna pay for the mortgage?”
“How much is the mortgage?” Layla asks.
“More than you can afford,” Latrice says. “Ya know, seeing as how you don’t have a job.”
“School is my job,” Layla retorts.
“But it doesn’t pay,” Latrice says.
I now see the sisterly squabbling Angelo warned me about.
“Not your decision anyhow,” Layla says. She turns to Angelo. “C’mon. Please?”
He releases my hand and turns his whole body toward her. “What would you do with it?”
“Duh, live in it.”
“Throw massive parties that get the cops called?”
“Psh, no. I’m not throwin’ no parties that require me to clean up. That’s why I go to other people’s parties.”
“What parties?” Ms. Imani asks brusquely.
“None, Mama,” Layla says. “I just stay in my dorm and study all day.”
I have to stifle my laughter, and Ms. Imani rolls her eyes.
“Does your scholarship pay for off-campus housing?” Angelo asks.
“I think so.”
He strokes his chin. “I’ll make you a deal. You use your scholarship to cover utilities and all your own food. If there’s money leftover specifically for housing, you can pay me rent, and I’ll front the rest of the mortgage, but two months after you graduate, you start paying real rent.” He points at her. “But if the cops get called even once, you and I will have it out, understand?”
“Thank you, Angelo! You’re the best brother ever!” She wraps her arms around him, and he laughs as he hugs her.
“Aw,” Jola says, “Uncle Angelo is being altruistic.”
“That’s the word of the week,” Jack informs me.
This time, I can’t suppress my laughter, and Latrice shakes her head.
“Congratulations, you two,” Ms. Imani says, looking at me. “I hope you’ll be very happy.”
***
“You’re okay with Layla living in your house?” I ask as Angelo starts the car.
“Oh yeah. It’ll help keep her out of trouble.”
“Her turning the focus on herself helped us avoid other conversations too.”
“Yeah,” he says, but his voice falls.
“Angelo, what’s the real reason you don’t want to tell your mom?”
When he pulls out of the driveway, he takes my hand, and his fingers begin their gentle exploration.
“Angelo?”
“I don’t like disappointing Mama.”
“How would this disappoint her?”
He’s quiet for a couple of minutes, then says, “She’s always wanted me to get married. She wanted me to give me her engagement ring to my wife.”
“What if you’d had a husband?”
“She’d give it to my daughter.”
“That’s still possible.”
“I know, but this is different. I ended up with a woman but can’t get married? That’s going to bother her for sure.”
“Does it bother you?”
“It did a little. It would have been nice to propose and have a ceremony, but I’ve accepted that our love is beautiful in its own way. Buying a house together is enough of a commitment for me.”
I turn over my hand, and he strokes my palm and wrist. “You still give me chills and butterflies, you know that?”
He smiles slightly. “I do, and it’s one of my favorite things about us.”
“Mine too.”
We ride in silence until we come to my current home, and he strokes my hand the entire time. When he pulls up, I ask, “Would you rather have an easier life? Rather be with someone you can marry?”
“Hell no,” he says immediately.
“You once asked if you could see other people.”
He shuts off the engine and turns toward me. “That’s when I feared you’d leave me for one of the other guys.”
“You don’t have that fear anymore?”
“No, I believe you love me as much as you love them.”
“I do.”
He takes my hand and kisses my palm. “The love you and I have is transcendent. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, and I know you feel it too.” He strokes my forearm and watches me twitch. “Why the hell would I want to have an easy life when I can have you?”
I smile, and he kisses me.
“How much do you love me?” I ask.
“So much.”
“Enough to help me continue to pack?”
He laughs. “Just barely.”
I laugh. “That’s mean!”
We open our doors, and he takes my hand as we approach my townhome. “Helping you start your new life with me? Why would I ever pass that up?”
But I’m not just starting my new life with him. I’m starting my life with all three of them.
And a feeling continues to nag that this will only work in my dreams.