Status: This is probably a totally different story than what you're used to, but it's probably the most real to life one too, It's been my favorite to write, even better than my fanfic!
Rekindled
Going Home, Starting Over
Presley
Starting over is so hard to do, but is it really starting over or moving on when you go back home? I haven’t been back in Brookpoint in almost 12 years ago, since my brother’s funeral. I’d been back a few times, but mostly just for the holidays. It’s hard to get home and visit family when you’re a service wife. Brookpoint was all that I knew, I grew up here, had my entire first here. My first dance, my first kiss, my first boyfriend, my first love, and my first time, and of course my first broken heart all happened right here in Brookpoint, Texas. It wasn’t a little town, but it wasn’t the big city like Houston or Dallas either, but it was home to me.
I got out the car and took a deep breath, looking around….nothing had changed, it all looked the same. A small smile crossed my lips as I laid eyes on the porch swing that sat at the end of my parent’s large wrap around porch. It was where I had had my first kiss, Kyle Hunter. Me and Kyle grew up together; our moms were good friends who also had grown up together. My grandmother was his grandmother’s house keeper, so I guess you could say that my mom and his mom were damn near raised together. Kyle was also my first love, which I think everybody but him knew it.
“Well, are you gonna just stand there or are you coming in?” my mom called coming out of the house wearing a big smile.
“Nanny” Preston yelled jumping out of the back seat and running to my mom’s open arms. I smiled watching them embrace. This was probably the happiest that I’ve seen him in the last month. “Where’s gramps?” he asked
“In his big chair, go on in angel” she smiled kissing his forehead, before he took off running up the front porch and into the house. “C’mere baby” momma offered a smile, extending her arms for me, as I stepped in them; she wrapped them around me tightly
“Hey mama” I smiled squeezing her back “how you been?”
“I should be asking you the same thing? How are you holding up?” She took a step back to look at me “I haven’t really just talked to you since the funeral” she grabbed my hand as we headed back up to the porch.
“I’m okay” I smiled “getting better everyday. I have my good days and my bad days, but better everyday” I said as we took a seat on the porch swing. I could hear daddy and Preston in the house playing.
“Well, that’s good. It’s going to take some time, but you’ll be okay” she wrapped her arm around my shoulder pulling me close. “How’s Preston handling things?”
“He’s doing better than me mama. If it wasn’t for that little boy, I don’t know what I’d do. Throughout this whole situation, I’m learning that he’s a lot more stronger than I realized. He’s so much like Spencer, it’s not funny” I laughed
“Yeah, that little boy is a special angel from God”
“Thank you mama” I smiled
“For what?”
“For everything. I don’t know how I’d have gotten through all those arrangements and everything if it wasn’t for you”
“Baby, you couldn’t have done that alone, and there was no way that I was going to let you either. I knew how hard it was going to be, it wasn’t easy for me when I had to make the arrangements for your brother. Mama understands what you’re going through” she kissed my forehead “Now you know you’re welcome to stay as long as you like”
“I know; I just needed to get away from there for a little while. Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of Spencer and it was just too hard to handle.”
“Well, welcome home baby” she patted my hand before getting up “I guess I better get dinner started” she smiled
“I’ll help you”
“You don’t have to”
“I know, but I want to” I smiled
I walked in the house to find my daddy sitting in his big Lazy Boy chair, reclined back, and Preston sitting on the couch watching a football game. I walked over to him, reached over the chair and wrapped my arms around his neck
“Hey daddy” I smiled kissing his cheek.
“Hey babygirl” daddy kissed my hands
“I’m going to help mama cook”
“Where’s your bags?” he called getting up out of his chair
“In the truck” I called as I headed down into the kitchen
“C’mon Pres, let’s go get you and your mom’s bags out of the truck”
Mama had already pulled out the ingredients for dinner. I looked around the counter top, and could tell that she was making her famous pot roast for dinner. The roast was sitting in the sink, with new potatoes, baby carrots, onions, and green peppers all sitting on the counter.
“Lemme guess…pot roast and corn bread for dinner. Tricia must be coming over” I laughed. I knew my mom, she only made pot roast either for Sunday dinner or if we were having company or family over for supper that night.
“Why you say that?”
“Because I know you mama, there was no way that you didn’t tell Tricia that I was coming home” I laughed as I washed my hands to get ready to start cooking
“Well, if you must know, her and the kids are coming over, but not because ya’ll are here, only because they come over every week for dinner”
“Ok mama, if you say so” I chuckled as I began to cut the bell peppers. “You must have forgotten, I talk to Patricia just about everyday.” I shook my head laughing at my mom trying to be all innocent and stuff.
***************After Dinner******************
Dinner was good. My sister Patricia, her husband and high school sweetheart Craig, along with my niece Priscilla, who we call Princess; and nephew Craig Jr, or CJ as we called him, came over for dinner. It really felt good to be around family, not that I didn’t have any family in Spencer’s family, but it wasn’t like being with your own; with people that knew you. I really needed to be with them right now, they knew better than anybody what I was going through right now, being that we went through the same things about 9 years earlier when my big brother Preston, PJ we called him since he was named after my dad, was killed in the war as well. Being with Spencer’s family was just too hard to do right now; they just kept reminding me of how much I missed him.
I grabbed a glass of ice cold sweet tea and headed out the back screen door. I walked over to the porch swing and sat down, looking out at the star filled sky. I let the sound of the crickets and the cool spring breeze relax me. I began to slowly swing back and forth.
“Mind if I sit down?”
“Not at all” I smiled up at my sister standing in front of me
“It’s good to have you home” she smiled “even if it is under these circumstances” she put her arm around my shoulder
“It’s good to be home with my family Tricia, but….I just miss him so much”
“I know you do”
“I was sitting at home grading papers when I got the news” I started
“Presley, you don’t have to tell me this” she spoke softly
“I haven’t told anybody this at all”
“But you don’t have to if you don’t want to”
“I need to tell somebody”
“I know babygirl, but to be truthfully honest, I don’t think I could take it. I know Spencer was your husband, but he was my brother-in-law, and me and the kids are still trying to get over it too. We loved him too Presley. It’s like losing PJ all over again.” she said as a tear rolled down her face. “We’re going through this with you”
“Thanks sis” I smiled “Have I ever told you about how we met?”
“I don’t think you have” she smiled “That’s a story I would love to hear”
I smiled thinking back 10 years to the day that we met. I remembered it like it was yesterday. “It was the beginning of the 1st day of classes my sophomore year. U of H was always a sea of people, but it was somewhat quiet on this particular day.” I started taking a sip of my tea “I was sitting in the coffee house in the quad, on the patio reading a book. He taped me on my shoulder” I smiled
******************FLASHBACK*********************
“Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?” he smiled. The green flakes in his eyes sparkling.
“No, you can have it” I smiled, squinting my eyes from the sun.
“Thanks” he said, pulling out the chair and taking a seat “Mind if I sit here”
“I guess not, since you’re already sitting” I lightly chuckled
“Well, I asked if the seat was taken?” he looked me dead in my eyes. I wanted so badly to get up and walk away, to leave him sitting there, he was so rude, but his eyes had me in a trance.
“True, but I didn’t think that meant that you wanted to sit there. Maybe you should have asked if you could sit there. How do you know I didn’t want to be alone” I looked into his eyes.
“There’s no way a pretty girl like you wanted to be alone”
“Oh, so now you have manners?”
“Ok, maybe I did just come off a little rude, allow me to redeem myself” his eyes smiled “I’m Spencer” he held out his hand
“Presley” I smiled shaking his hand
“Presley? Like Elvis Presley?”
“Yeah” I laughed “My mom had a thing for him I guess”
“It’s pretty cool I guess” he laughed “I don’t think I know any chicks named Presley”
“Well, now you do”
“Where you from Presley, because you’re sure as hell not from here” he laughed taking a sip from his coffee cup
“What makes you say that?” This man was beautiful. His olive colored skin, green eyes; his body was that of a country boy who grew up on a farm, chucking hay and tending to the horses. He reminded me of home in a city kinda of way, if that makes sense.
“You’re not like the girls from around here. They would have been all over me by now, yet you’re sitting there calmly” he smirked
“Cocky much?” I laughed “I’m sorry, where I’m from, girls don’t fall over guys, and we’re ladies. We fall for gentlemen”
“Oh, well, I guess I have my work cut out for me then huh?” he smiled bright, the green in his eyes sparkling again.
“Who says I want to go out with you Spencer?”
“You will, trust me, you will” he smirked
“Do girls really like guys like you?” I laughed
“Yes” he sounded offended
“Well, I might be from a small town, but I don’t get off on the bad boy types” I smiled, knowing that all the while I really was intrigued by him. I wanted to get to know him better, I wanted to get to know his softer side, because I knew it was there somewhere under all that rough exterior.
“Well, let me get to know you then. Give me one date, and if you still think I’m just a bad boy; then I won’t bother you again” he smiled
“Just because I’m from a small town doesn’t mean I’m naïve. I know you’re just trying to see how far you can get with me, and it’s not happening sir”
“Why can’t I just want to get to know you? Here…lets start with this…I’m a communications major, and I’m in the reserves” he smiled sipping his coffee
“A patriotic man huh?” I smiled “I’m a history major, and I’m from Brookpoint, TX” I smiled; glancing down at my watch “I better get going, I’m going to be late for class” I gathered my things together and stood from the table.
Like a gentleman, he stood from his seat just as I did “Well, lemme walk you to class then” he smiled
“I guess so; I don’t see any harm in that”
**************END FLASHBACK*****************
I kissed mama and daddy good night before heading upstairs to bed. I walked into what is now CJ’s room and kissed Preston on his forehead. He was knocked out with his Woody doll in his arms. I walked through the Hollywood bathroom that separated my room from his, leaving both doors open in case he needed or wanted to climb in bed with me. Every since the funeral, Preston has been either sleeping with me, or climbing in bed with me in the middle of the night. He says he doesn’t want me to be lonely at night.
I grabbed the throw off my bed, and took a seat in the bay window like when I was a little girl. Back then I would look up into the night sky and talk to my grandpa who passed away when I a freshman in high school; then when my big brother died, I would sit out on the patio of my apartment and talk to him; but this time around I was talking to Spencer. Whenever I was missing Spencer, I would look up into the sky and talk to him, I know he was up there looking down on me and Preston and watching with a smile. At times I missed him so much it was like I could feel his arms around me holding me close.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this without you Spence” a tear rolled down my cheek. “I know you’re watching over us, but it’s so hard without you. I love you so much. I miss you like crazy baby” the tears were streaming now. “Being here at home with mama and daddy is going to be good for us, but not like being home with you. Preston is always going to know how wonderful you were. Every time I look at him, I can see you in his green eyes” a smile crossed my lips. “It’s late, good night baby” I smiled up into the night sky. I got up and went to get in bed, kissing my picture of him before turning off the lamp and lying down.
Kyle
“Daddy, are we going to see mom today?”
“Yeah doll, don’t we always on Sunday?”
“Are we picnicking out there or no?” my daughter always needs to know what we’re doing.
“Why? Do you have plans or something Brit?” I chuckled
“No daddy, I just want to make sure to pack a lunch for our picnic, that’s all” she smiled
“Yes, now go get ready for church, Grams is going to be looking for us”
Being a single dad wasn’t easy, I’ve been doing it for 14 years now, and with every year, there are new things to explore. Maybe if I had a son it would a little bit easier, but God decided to bless me with a lil girl, and I couldn’t be any happier than if He gave me a son. Having to tell Britney about her “womanly” wasn’t easy; I had to enlist the help of my mama and Ms. Sadie. If it wasn’t for them, I probably would have had a heart attack trying to explain that to my daughter.
Ms.Sadie Monroe; her and my mama have been friends since their childhood. Ms. Maylee; Ms.Sadie’s mom used to work for my grandmother as the housekeeper, so mama and Ms.Sadie were literally raised together. Brookpoint, TX is not a big place, but it ain’t small either, there’s two high schools which were segregated until the late 60s, early 70s something like that. Mama and Ms.Sadie ended up in the same school when the schools were interrogated. They stood together when the Civil Rights movement hit TX, along with my grandmother and Ms.Maylee. Mama says it didn’t take long for our little town to all come together and stand strong during that time, which says a lot for how strong and connected we are as a town in whole. Ms.Sadie has two daughters, and a son; Patricia, Presley, and Preston, or PJ as we called him. PJ died in Iraq when the war on terror first started. He enlisted in the services right after 9/11. I remember mama crying for days when she heard he died, it was if she lost her own son, but it’s understandable; seeing as how close mama and Preston’s mom are.
Presley Monroe. Just the thought of her brings a smile to my face. She was my first, and dare I say it, my only true love. I mean don’t get me wrong, I loved my wife Kelly, but nothing like the love I had for Presley. I never got the chance to tell her how much I loved her, but I like to think she knew, even if I never said it. Everybody else knew, even Kelly. See with Kelly it was all about getting whatever Presley didn’t have or couldn’t have. We live in a small town in Texas; interracial couples are not something that’s a regular around here, even in the 20th and 21st century. Presley was well liked by everyone, just like everybody else in her family. She was captain of the cheerleading team, and homecoming queen, not to mention Ms.Brookpoint for two years straight. Like I said earlier, there are 2 high schools in Brookpoint, and Kelly attended our rival school, which also added to the tension between her and Presley. Kelly wasn’t found of the fact that me and Presley were best friends, but that’s pretty much what happens when you literally grow up together. If given the chance, I’d tell Presley exactly how I felt about her. I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t kept up with what she’d been up to in the last 12 years. Ms. Sadie kept me posted on the ins and outs of her life. When she got married a few years back, I sent a wedding gift by mama; and mama and Ms.Sadie made sure to show me pictures from her wedding. She was a beautiful bride, and I would have given anything to be the person that she was walking down the aisle to. Her son was just as beautiful as she was. She named him after her brother. I would give anything to see her right now; just to apologize for the way things went between us, and to help her through this rough time in her life.
******************FLASHBACK*************************
“Hey Ky?” she turned to me, smiling brightly as we sat on her back porch swing. Her house had a porch that literally wrapped completely around the house, and there was a porch swing on both sides of the house. Presley and I would usually sit on the back porch swing and just kinda hang out, mostly in the evening when I would drive her home from the bowling alley or skating rink.
“Yeah?” I couldn’t help but smile back at her
“Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?”
“I dunno, I really haven’t given it much thought I guess” I shrugged
“Well, what would you like to be doing?”
“I’d love to be a teacher, a coach really. You know coach the football team to a state championship or something like that, you know give back to the community”
“You don’t just wanna get outta of Brookpoint?”
“I mean, yeah, of course I do, I wouldn’t mind moving to Houston or something like that” I looked down at my hands. I knew what was coming next; I knew that she was going to tell me to come with her, but I couldn’t. I had to tell her about Kelly, I just didn’t know how.
“Come with me then Kyle” she grabbed my hand “We can get outta Brookpoint together, like we always said we would. Don’t make me go by myself” she giggled
“I’ll have to think about it. I mean what am I going to do? You got a scholarship to U of H, where am I going to go to school? Am I just supposed to get a job and forget about school” I pretended to get upset. I decided that if I made her mad, she’d more than likely drop the subject and knowing her, she’d be mad at me for a few days, and by the time she had cooled off, me and Kelly would be married. No harm, no foul right?
“Kyle David Hunter, you will not just get upset with me because I want more for you than you want for your damn self” she stood up, narrowing her eyes at me
“I didn’t ask you to look out for me. You think that just because you got a full scholarship to school that you’re better than everybody. You ain’t better than anybody Presley. You think that my dream ain’t shit don’t you, you think that I ain’t shit too huh?” I stood up heading down the steps
“I can’t believe you right now Kyle. I can’t believe you of ALL people are acting like this with me. It’s that damn Kelly Douglas that’s feeding you all this bullshit, isn’t it?” she put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot on the porch impatiently.
“You leave Kelly out of this. I love her and you’re just jealous” I stepped back up on the porch, stepping closer to her. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes at that moment; at that very moment, my heart hit the floor so hard, that I felt like I was going to pass out. In that moment, I realized just how much I meant to her. The stinging in my left cheek from where she slapped me also let me know just how much I meant to her.
“Fuck you Kyle” her eyes filled with tears as she turned her back to me, went in the house, slamming the door behind her.
I couldn’t move, it was as though my feet were cemented to the porch. My eyes started to burn as the tears welled up in the bottom of my eye lids. I rushed down the steps of the porch and got in my truck as they started to fall. I felt lower than dirt. I had just hurt the one girl that I loved more than anything. I laid my forehead on the steering wheel as the tears freely streamed down my face. I could feel her eyes on me from her bedroom window upstairs, but I just couldn’t bring myself to look back up at her. I couldn’t bear to see the pain in her eyes again, and to know that I was the cause of the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. I sat up, wiped my face with the back of my hand, started my truck and took off.
******************A week Later**********************
“Hey Mr. Monroe, is Presley there?” it had been few days since I spoke to her, and she hadn’t called or come by or anything. I couldn’t stand not talking to her, it was killing me. “I’ve paged her a few times, but she won’t answer” I spoke into the receiver
“Kyle, she’s gone”
“Did she go to the allies or the rink?”
“No son, she’s gone. She left for school 2 days ago”
“She did?” my heart fell again
“Yeah, I thought you knew she was leaving for early orientation. She won’t be back until Thanksgiving” he replied
“Oh ok…well thanks Mr. Monroe” I hung up the phone and fell back on my bed. I had lost her, and probably for good too.
*****************END of FLASHBACK******************
That was 15 years ago, and I haven’t seen her since. I caught a glimpse of her at her brother Preston’s funeral, but she made sure to keep her distance. I could still see the pain in her eyes when she looked at me, and it cut just as deep as it did the day we last saw each other. I couldn’t even muster up the courage to go apologize to her.
“Dad! Did you hear me?” Britney said bringing me out of my thoughts
“I’m sorry bunny, what did you say?”
“I asked if I could sit with Aunt Sadie in church?” she looked at me with wide eyes. Britney has been calling Ms. Sadie aunt for as long as I can remember. Ms. Sadie was there when she was born, literally in the delivery room. She’s a nurse at the hospital.
“Yeah, that’s fine bunny, I don’t mind” I smiled. Like I said, our families have been inseparable for only God knows how long. “Just be ready to go when service is over though. It’s supposed to rain this afternoon, and I don’t want to get caught in it during our picnic”
“No problem dad” she smiled. I loved Britney with all my heart, she was my world. I may not have been completely and totally in love with her mom, but she was made from love.
I pulled into the church parking lot, next to mama and daddy’s car. We got out and headed into service, just before it started. Britney gave me a kiss and headed over to sit next to Ms. Sadie and the Monroe family. I took a seat in my usual section, in the middle. Over the last few years, our Sunday services haven’t been so segregated since we the new minister moved here. He was young and a lot more relatable then Rev.Woods was.
It was youth Sunday, so the youth and young adult choir sang. I have to admit I liked it when they sang, they knew how to rock the house. After service, I stood outside and waited for mama and daddy to come out.
“Hey son” my dad shook my hand and patted my back
“Hey dad” I smiled
“You look good today baby” mama smiled as I leaned over kissing her cheek. “Going to see Kelly this afternoon?”
“Yes ma’am”
“Hey grams” my daughter smiled brightly giving my mom a hug
“Hey darling! Don’t you look pretty”
“Thank you! Hey gramps, you watching the game today?” she turned to my dad
“Of course, the Cowboys are playing, so you know I’m watching the game” he laughed
“Hi my darling boy” Ms.Sadie smiled as she approached us.
“Hi Ms.Sadie” I leaned over, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Janey, ya’ll are coming over for Sunday dinner right?” she turned to my mom
“Of course. You making your famous pot roast right?” daddy smiled rubbing circles on his stomach
“Sorry David, I made pot roast the other night; the kids came over for dinner” Ms.Sadie patted my dad’s back, “But I did make some barbeque baked chicken with all the fixings”
“We’ll be there Sadie” mama laughed
“Good, Preston has already instructed us ladies to stay out of the den, because him and David will be watching the game” Ms.Sadie laughed, causing all of us to laugh too. She had an infectious laugh just like Presley. “Kyle, baby are you and Britney going to joining us?”
“No ma’am, going to picnic with Kelly” I offered a small smile stuffing my hands in my pockets
“It’s mama’s birthday Aunt Sadie”
“It sure is; send her my love” she pulled me in for a hug “I better get to the house so I can finish dinner, I’ll see you guys later” she kissed Britney’s cheek.
Starting over is so hard to do, but is it really starting over or moving on when you go back home? I haven’t been back in Brookpoint in almost 12 years ago, since my brother’s funeral. I’d been back a few times, but mostly just for the holidays. It’s hard to get home and visit family when you’re a service wife. Brookpoint was all that I knew, I grew up here, had my entire first here. My first dance, my first kiss, my first boyfriend, my first love, and my first time, and of course my first broken heart all happened right here in Brookpoint, Texas. It wasn’t a little town, but it wasn’t the big city like Houston or Dallas either, but it was home to me.
I got out the car and took a deep breath, looking around….nothing had changed, it all looked the same. A small smile crossed my lips as I laid eyes on the porch swing that sat at the end of my parent’s large wrap around porch. It was where I had had my first kiss, Kyle Hunter. Me and Kyle grew up together; our moms were good friends who also had grown up together. My grandmother was his grandmother’s house keeper, so I guess you could say that my mom and his mom were damn near raised together. Kyle was also my first love, which I think everybody but him knew it.
“Well, are you gonna just stand there or are you coming in?” my mom called coming out of the house wearing a big smile.
“Nanny” Preston yelled jumping out of the back seat and running to my mom’s open arms. I smiled watching them embrace. This was probably the happiest that I’ve seen him in the last month. “Where’s gramps?” he asked
“In his big chair, go on in angel” she smiled kissing his forehead, before he took off running up the front porch and into the house. “C’mere baby” momma offered a smile, extending her arms for me, as I stepped in them; she wrapped them around me tightly
“Hey mama” I smiled squeezing her back “how you been?”
“I should be asking you the same thing? How are you holding up?” She took a step back to look at me “I haven’t really just talked to you since the funeral” she grabbed my hand as we headed back up to the porch.
“I’m okay” I smiled “getting better everyday. I have my good days and my bad days, but better everyday” I said as we took a seat on the porch swing. I could hear daddy and Preston in the house playing.
“Well, that’s good. It’s going to take some time, but you’ll be okay” she wrapped her arm around my shoulder pulling me close. “How’s Preston handling things?”
“He’s doing better than me mama. If it wasn’t for that little boy, I don’t know what I’d do. Throughout this whole situation, I’m learning that he’s a lot more stronger than I realized. He’s so much like Spencer, it’s not funny” I laughed
“Yeah, that little boy is a special angel from God”
“Thank you mama” I smiled
“For what?”
“For everything. I don’t know how I’d have gotten through all those arrangements and everything if it wasn’t for you”
“Baby, you couldn’t have done that alone, and there was no way that I was going to let you either. I knew how hard it was going to be, it wasn’t easy for me when I had to make the arrangements for your brother. Mama understands what you’re going through” she kissed my forehead “Now you know you’re welcome to stay as long as you like”
“I know; I just needed to get away from there for a little while. Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of Spencer and it was just too hard to handle.”
“Well, welcome home baby” she patted my hand before getting up “I guess I better get dinner started” she smiled
“I’ll help you”
“You don’t have to”
“I know, but I want to” I smiled
I walked in the house to find my daddy sitting in his big Lazy Boy chair, reclined back, and Preston sitting on the couch watching a football game. I walked over to him, reached over the chair and wrapped my arms around his neck
“Hey daddy” I smiled kissing his cheek.
“Hey babygirl” daddy kissed my hands
“I’m going to help mama cook”
“Where’s your bags?” he called getting up out of his chair
“In the truck” I called as I headed down into the kitchen
“C’mon Pres, let’s go get you and your mom’s bags out of the truck”
Mama had already pulled out the ingredients for dinner. I looked around the counter top, and could tell that she was making her famous pot roast for dinner. The roast was sitting in the sink, with new potatoes, baby carrots, onions, and green peppers all sitting on the counter.
“Lemme guess…pot roast and corn bread for dinner. Tricia must be coming over” I laughed. I knew my mom, she only made pot roast either for Sunday dinner or if we were having company or family over for supper that night.
“Why you say that?”
“Because I know you mama, there was no way that you didn’t tell Tricia that I was coming home” I laughed as I washed my hands to get ready to start cooking
“Well, if you must know, her and the kids are coming over, but not because ya’ll are here, only because they come over every week for dinner”
“Ok mama, if you say so” I chuckled as I began to cut the bell peppers. “You must have forgotten, I talk to Patricia just about everyday.” I shook my head laughing at my mom trying to be all innocent and stuff.
***************After Dinner******************
Dinner was good. My sister Patricia, her husband and high school sweetheart Craig, along with my niece Priscilla, who we call Princess; and nephew Craig Jr, or CJ as we called him, came over for dinner. It really felt good to be around family, not that I didn’t have any family in Spencer’s family, but it wasn’t like being with your own; with people that knew you. I really needed to be with them right now, they knew better than anybody what I was going through right now, being that we went through the same things about 9 years earlier when my big brother Preston, PJ we called him since he was named after my dad, was killed in the war as well. Being with Spencer’s family was just too hard to do right now; they just kept reminding me of how much I missed him.
I grabbed a glass of ice cold sweet tea and headed out the back screen door. I walked over to the porch swing and sat down, looking out at the star filled sky. I let the sound of the crickets and the cool spring breeze relax me. I began to slowly swing back and forth.
“Mind if I sit down?”
“Not at all” I smiled up at my sister standing in front of me
“It’s good to have you home” she smiled “even if it is under these circumstances” she put her arm around my shoulder
“It’s good to be home with my family Tricia, but….I just miss him so much”
“I know you do”
“I was sitting at home grading papers when I got the news” I started
“Presley, you don’t have to tell me this” she spoke softly
“I haven’t told anybody this at all”
“But you don’t have to if you don’t want to”
“I need to tell somebody”
“I know babygirl, but to be truthfully honest, I don’t think I could take it. I know Spencer was your husband, but he was my brother-in-law, and me and the kids are still trying to get over it too. We loved him too Presley. It’s like losing PJ all over again.” she said as a tear rolled down her face. “We’re going through this with you”
“Thanks sis” I smiled “Have I ever told you about how we met?”
“I don’t think you have” she smiled “That’s a story I would love to hear”
I smiled thinking back 10 years to the day that we met. I remembered it like it was yesterday. “It was the beginning of the 1st day of classes my sophomore year. U of H was always a sea of people, but it was somewhat quiet on this particular day.” I started taking a sip of my tea “I was sitting in the coffee house in the quad, on the patio reading a book. He taped me on my shoulder” I smiled
******************FLASHBACK*********************
“Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?” he smiled. The green flakes in his eyes sparkling.
“No, you can have it” I smiled, squinting my eyes from the sun.
“Thanks” he said, pulling out the chair and taking a seat “Mind if I sit here”
“I guess not, since you’re already sitting” I lightly chuckled
“Well, I asked if the seat was taken?” he looked me dead in my eyes. I wanted so badly to get up and walk away, to leave him sitting there, he was so rude, but his eyes had me in a trance.
“True, but I didn’t think that meant that you wanted to sit there. Maybe you should have asked if you could sit there. How do you know I didn’t want to be alone” I looked into his eyes.
“There’s no way a pretty girl like you wanted to be alone”
“Oh, so now you have manners?”
“Ok, maybe I did just come off a little rude, allow me to redeem myself” his eyes smiled “I’m Spencer” he held out his hand
“Presley” I smiled shaking his hand
“Presley? Like Elvis Presley?”
“Yeah” I laughed “My mom had a thing for him I guess”
“It’s pretty cool I guess” he laughed “I don’t think I know any chicks named Presley”
“Well, now you do”
“Where you from Presley, because you’re sure as hell not from here” he laughed taking a sip from his coffee cup
“What makes you say that?” This man was beautiful. His olive colored skin, green eyes; his body was that of a country boy who grew up on a farm, chucking hay and tending to the horses. He reminded me of home in a city kinda of way, if that makes sense.
“You’re not like the girls from around here. They would have been all over me by now, yet you’re sitting there calmly” he smirked
“Cocky much?” I laughed “I’m sorry, where I’m from, girls don’t fall over guys, and we’re ladies. We fall for gentlemen”
“Oh, well, I guess I have my work cut out for me then huh?” he smiled bright, the green in his eyes sparkling again.
“Who says I want to go out with you Spencer?”
“You will, trust me, you will” he smirked
“Do girls really like guys like you?” I laughed
“Yes” he sounded offended
“Well, I might be from a small town, but I don’t get off on the bad boy types” I smiled, knowing that all the while I really was intrigued by him. I wanted to get to know him better, I wanted to get to know his softer side, because I knew it was there somewhere under all that rough exterior.
“Well, let me get to know you then. Give me one date, and if you still think I’m just a bad boy; then I won’t bother you again” he smiled
“Just because I’m from a small town doesn’t mean I’m naïve. I know you’re just trying to see how far you can get with me, and it’s not happening sir”
“Why can’t I just want to get to know you? Here…lets start with this…I’m a communications major, and I’m in the reserves” he smiled sipping his coffee
“A patriotic man huh?” I smiled “I’m a history major, and I’m from Brookpoint, TX” I smiled; glancing down at my watch “I better get going, I’m going to be late for class” I gathered my things together and stood from the table.
Like a gentleman, he stood from his seat just as I did “Well, lemme walk you to class then” he smiled
“I guess so; I don’t see any harm in that”
**************END FLASHBACK*****************
I kissed mama and daddy good night before heading upstairs to bed. I walked into what is now CJ’s room and kissed Preston on his forehead. He was knocked out with his Woody doll in his arms. I walked through the Hollywood bathroom that separated my room from his, leaving both doors open in case he needed or wanted to climb in bed with me. Every since the funeral, Preston has been either sleeping with me, or climbing in bed with me in the middle of the night. He says he doesn’t want me to be lonely at night.
I grabbed the throw off my bed, and took a seat in the bay window like when I was a little girl. Back then I would look up into the night sky and talk to my grandpa who passed away when I a freshman in high school; then when my big brother died, I would sit out on the patio of my apartment and talk to him; but this time around I was talking to Spencer. Whenever I was missing Spencer, I would look up into the sky and talk to him, I know he was up there looking down on me and Preston and watching with a smile. At times I missed him so much it was like I could feel his arms around me holding me close.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this without you Spence” a tear rolled down my cheek. “I know you’re watching over us, but it’s so hard without you. I love you so much. I miss you like crazy baby” the tears were streaming now. “Being here at home with mama and daddy is going to be good for us, but not like being home with you. Preston is always going to know how wonderful you were. Every time I look at him, I can see you in his green eyes” a smile crossed my lips. “It’s late, good night baby” I smiled up into the night sky. I got up and went to get in bed, kissing my picture of him before turning off the lamp and lying down.
Kyle
“Daddy, are we going to see mom today?”
“Yeah doll, don’t we always on Sunday?”
“Are we picnicking out there or no?” my daughter always needs to know what we’re doing.
“Why? Do you have plans or something Brit?” I chuckled
“No daddy, I just want to make sure to pack a lunch for our picnic, that’s all” she smiled
“Yes, now go get ready for church, Grams is going to be looking for us”
Being a single dad wasn’t easy, I’ve been doing it for 14 years now, and with every year, there are new things to explore. Maybe if I had a son it would a little bit easier, but God decided to bless me with a lil girl, and I couldn’t be any happier than if He gave me a son. Having to tell Britney about her “womanly” wasn’t easy; I had to enlist the help of my mama and Ms. Sadie. If it wasn’t for them, I probably would have had a heart attack trying to explain that to my daughter.
Ms.Sadie Monroe; her and my mama have been friends since their childhood. Ms. Maylee; Ms.Sadie’s mom used to work for my grandmother as the housekeeper, so mama and Ms.Sadie were literally raised together. Brookpoint, TX is not a big place, but it ain’t small either, there’s two high schools which were segregated until the late 60s, early 70s something like that. Mama and Ms.Sadie ended up in the same school when the schools were interrogated. They stood together when the Civil Rights movement hit TX, along with my grandmother and Ms.Maylee. Mama says it didn’t take long for our little town to all come together and stand strong during that time, which says a lot for how strong and connected we are as a town in whole. Ms.Sadie has two daughters, and a son; Patricia, Presley, and Preston, or PJ as we called him. PJ died in Iraq when the war on terror first started. He enlisted in the services right after 9/11. I remember mama crying for days when she heard he died, it was if she lost her own son, but it’s understandable; seeing as how close mama and Preston’s mom are.
Presley Monroe. Just the thought of her brings a smile to my face. She was my first, and dare I say it, my only true love. I mean don’t get me wrong, I loved my wife Kelly, but nothing like the love I had for Presley. I never got the chance to tell her how much I loved her, but I like to think she knew, even if I never said it. Everybody else knew, even Kelly. See with Kelly it was all about getting whatever Presley didn’t have or couldn’t have. We live in a small town in Texas; interracial couples are not something that’s a regular around here, even in the 20th and 21st century. Presley was well liked by everyone, just like everybody else in her family. She was captain of the cheerleading team, and homecoming queen, not to mention Ms.Brookpoint for two years straight. Like I said earlier, there are 2 high schools in Brookpoint, and Kelly attended our rival school, which also added to the tension between her and Presley. Kelly wasn’t found of the fact that me and Presley were best friends, but that’s pretty much what happens when you literally grow up together. If given the chance, I’d tell Presley exactly how I felt about her. I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t kept up with what she’d been up to in the last 12 years. Ms. Sadie kept me posted on the ins and outs of her life. When she got married a few years back, I sent a wedding gift by mama; and mama and Ms.Sadie made sure to show me pictures from her wedding. She was a beautiful bride, and I would have given anything to be the person that she was walking down the aisle to. Her son was just as beautiful as she was. She named him after her brother. I would give anything to see her right now; just to apologize for the way things went between us, and to help her through this rough time in her life.
******************FLASHBACK*************************
“Hey Ky?” she turned to me, smiling brightly as we sat on her back porch swing. Her house had a porch that literally wrapped completely around the house, and there was a porch swing on both sides of the house. Presley and I would usually sit on the back porch swing and just kinda hang out, mostly in the evening when I would drive her home from the bowling alley or skating rink.
“Yeah?” I couldn’t help but smile back at her
“Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?”
“I dunno, I really haven’t given it much thought I guess” I shrugged
“Well, what would you like to be doing?”
“I’d love to be a teacher, a coach really. You know coach the football team to a state championship or something like that, you know give back to the community”
“You don’t just wanna get outta of Brookpoint?”
“I mean, yeah, of course I do, I wouldn’t mind moving to Houston or something like that” I looked down at my hands. I knew what was coming next; I knew that she was going to tell me to come with her, but I couldn’t. I had to tell her about Kelly, I just didn’t know how.
“Come with me then Kyle” she grabbed my hand “We can get outta Brookpoint together, like we always said we would. Don’t make me go by myself” she giggled
“I’ll have to think about it. I mean what am I going to do? You got a scholarship to U of H, where am I going to go to school? Am I just supposed to get a job and forget about school” I pretended to get upset. I decided that if I made her mad, she’d more than likely drop the subject and knowing her, she’d be mad at me for a few days, and by the time she had cooled off, me and Kelly would be married. No harm, no foul right?
“Kyle David Hunter, you will not just get upset with me because I want more for you than you want for your damn self” she stood up, narrowing her eyes at me
“I didn’t ask you to look out for me. You think that just because you got a full scholarship to school that you’re better than everybody. You ain’t better than anybody Presley. You think that my dream ain’t shit don’t you, you think that I ain’t shit too huh?” I stood up heading down the steps
“I can’t believe you right now Kyle. I can’t believe you of ALL people are acting like this with me. It’s that damn Kelly Douglas that’s feeding you all this bullshit, isn’t it?” she put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot on the porch impatiently.
“You leave Kelly out of this. I love her and you’re just jealous” I stepped back up on the porch, stepping closer to her. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes at that moment; at that very moment, my heart hit the floor so hard, that I felt like I was going to pass out. In that moment, I realized just how much I meant to her. The stinging in my left cheek from where she slapped me also let me know just how much I meant to her.
“Fuck you Kyle” her eyes filled with tears as she turned her back to me, went in the house, slamming the door behind her.
I couldn’t move, it was as though my feet were cemented to the porch. My eyes started to burn as the tears welled up in the bottom of my eye lids. I rushed down the steps of the porch and got in my truck as they started to fall. I felt lower than dirt. I had just hurt the one girl that I loved more than anything. I laid my forehead on the steering wheel as the tears freely streamed down my face. I could feel her eyes on me from her bedroom window upstairs, but I just couldn’t bring myself to look back up at her. I couldn’t bear to see the pain in her eyes again, and to know that I was the cause of the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. I sat up, wiped my face with the back of my hand, started my truck and took off.
******************A week Later**********************
“Hey Mr. Monroe, is Presley there?” it had been few days since I spoke to her, and she hadn’t called or come by or anything. I couldn’t stand not talking to her, it was killing me. “I’ve paged her a few times, but she won’t answer” I spoke into the receiver
“Kyle, she’s gone”
“Did she go to the allies or the rink?”
“No son, she’s gone. She left for school 2 days ago”
“She did?” my heart fell again
“Yeah, I thought you knew she was leaving for early orientation. She won’t be back until Thanksgiving” he replied
“Oh ok…well thanks Mr. Monroe” I hung up the phone and fell back on my bed. I had lost her, and probably for good too.
*****************END of FLASHBACK******************
That was 15 years ago, and I haven’t seen her since. I caught a glimpse of her at her brother Preston’s funeral, but she made sure to keep her distance. I could still see the pain in her eyes when she looked at me, and it cut just as deep as it did the day we last saw each other. I couldn’t even muster up the courage to go apologize to her.
“Dad! Did you hear me?” Britney said bringing me out of my thoughts
“I’m sorry bunny, what did you say?”
“I asked if I could sit with Aunt Sadie in church?” she looked at me with wide eyes. Britney has been calling Ms. Sadie aunt for as long as I can remember. Ms. Sadie was there when she was born, literally in the delivery room. She’s a nurse at the hospital.
“Yeah, that’s fine bunny, I don’t mind” I smiled. Like I said, our families have been inseparable for only God knows how long. “Just be ready to go when service is over though. It’s supposed to rain this afternoon, and I don’t want to get caught in it during our picnic”
“No problem dad” she smiled. I loved Britney with all my heart, she was my world. I may not have been completely and totally in love with her mom, but she was made from love.
I pulled into the church parking lot, next to mama and daddy’s car. We got out and headed into service, just before it started. Britney gave me a kiss and headed over to sit next to Ms. Sadie and the Monroe family. I took a seat in my usual section, in the middle. Over the last few years, our Sunday services haven’t been so segregated since we the new minister moved here. He was young and a lot more relatable then Rev.Woods was.
It was youth Sunday, so the youth and young adult choir sang. I have to admit I liked it when they sang, they knew how to rock the house. After service, I stood outside and waited for mama and daddy to come out.
“Hey son” my dad shook my hand and patted my back
“Hey dad” I smiled
“You look good today baby” mama smiled as I leaned over kissing her cheek. “Going to see Kelly this afternoon?”
“Yes ma’am”
“Hey grams” my daughter smiled brightly giving my mom a hug
“Hey darling! Don’t you look pretty”
“Thank you! Hey gramps, you watching the game today?” she turned to my dad
“Of course, the Cowboys are playing, so you know I’m watching the game” he laughed
“Hi my darling boy” Ms.Sadie smiled as she approached us.
“Hi Ms.Sadie” I leaned over, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Janey, ya’ll are coming over for Sunday dinner right?” she turned to my mom
“Of course. You making your famous pot roast right?” daddy smiled rubbing circles on his stomach
“Sorry David, I made pot roast the other night; the kids came over for dinner” Ms.Sadie patted my dad’s back, “But I did make some barbeque baked chicken with all the fixings”
“We’ll be there Sadie” mama laughed
“Good, Preston has already instructed us ladies to stay out of the den, because him and David will be watching the game” Ms.Sadie laughed, causing all of us to laugh too. She had an infectious laugh just like Presley. “Kyle, baby are you and Britney going to joining us?”
“No ma’am, going to picnic with Kelly” I offered a small smile stuffing my hands in my pockets
“It’s mama’s birthday Aunt Sadie”
“It sure is; send her my love” she pulled me in for a hug “I better get to the house so I can finish dinner, I’ll see you guys later” she kissed Britney’s cheek.