Bent not Broken (323 page)

“It’s ridiculous that you are still so good looking,” I joke. I reach out and run my hand over his short, now prickly, hair. “You’re head is flawless. That’s crazy. It is absolutely the ideal shape. Oh, you have a little scar here.” I say as I rub my finger over the indentation. “What do you think?” I ask as I set the clippers down.

He runs a hand back and forth over his head. His eyes meet mine in the mirror. “It looks great. I’m impressed. Now, for the fun part, he says as I roll the towel up with all the hair on it.

“What’s that?” I look back up at him.

Mirth dances in his eyes. He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “You get to work on getting all these little hairs off of me in the shower.”

“Mmm…I like the sound of that.”

Nineteen

Quite Taken

“BABY, I NEED you to wake up,” Adrian calls softly while moving his hands and mouth over me.

“Already?” I felt like I’d just gone to sleep. I pry my eyes open a little and notice the room is still blanketed in darkness. “What time is it?”

Adrian pulls back a little from lavishing my breast to mumble, “Four.”

“Adrian, we don’t have to get up yet. We just went to sleep three hours ago, and you need your rest,” I whine.

“I want to make love to my wife, and I can sleep on the plane,” he mumbles before switching breasts. His actions along with his claim have me stirring again.

“OK, baby,” I say as I run my hands over his shaved head.

He pops up and whispers, “And I want to talk to the boys.”

I smile. “Good plan.”

****

I CARRY A sleeping Finn into Archer’s room while Adrian follows behind me with a half-asleep Paris. I kiss Finn all over his head. “Wake up, Finny Finn Finn,” I chant.

“Mom?” he mumbles.

“Yes, honey?”

He lifts his head and looks around, those big brown eyes half-closed. “Why are you waking me up at the butt crack of dawn?”

“Finn!”

“What?”

I roll my eyes. “Nothing.” We’ll chat about language later. “Adrian wants to talk to you before we take him to the airport, OK?”

He turns in my arms and spots Adrian. They grin at each other. “I don’t want you to leave,” Finn tells him.

“I know, buddy.” My heart crumbles and tears spring to my eyes, so I take a swift breath in and release it quickly to keep from losing it.

“It’s OK, Ma,” Paris says, “you can cry if you need to.”

This makes me laugh instead. “Thank you, Paris. I think I can hold it together for a little while,” I say, grinning at my sweet son. Finn puts his thumbs at the corners of my eyes and swipes. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

I place Finn on the bed next to Archer, which finally rouses him. Archer doesn’t even open his eyes; he just peels back his covers for his brother to climb in beside him. Paris climbs up on the other side and squeezes in. I catch them like this in the morning all the time. It never fails to warm my heart and have me counting my blessings.

“Boys, I need you to wake up. We want to tell you some things before we go.” I watch in fascination as all their eyes pop open. If only they would get up for school so easily! Hmm…maybe that will be Adrian’s permanent responsibility when he’s living with us full-time waking up my morning monsters. “Mornin’, guys.” They mumble their responses. “You know how I told you I was going to ask your mom to marry me?” They all nod. “Well, I asked her, she said yes, and we got married.”

Well, that certainly cut to the chase.
I told him I was nervous about telling them because I didn’t want them to feel left out, and he told me to let him handle it, telling me he knew how to word it for guys. I stare at the boys, waiting for some reaction. Paris’s eyes get big. Archer grins.

It takes a few seconds for it to sink in before Finn shuffles from under the covers and throws himself at Adrian, hugging him tight around the neck. “Can I call you Papa?” he asks. Adrian chuckles.

“If that’s what you want. I like Papa.”

“It’s the only French word I can remember besides
merde
.”

My breath swooshes out before I spit out, “Finn Thomas Hebert! Do you even know what that means?” When his little mouth pops open, I throw my hands up. “No! Don’t even say it. I don’t want to hear that word come out of your mouth again, young man.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says as he tries to hide behind Adrian’s shoulder. Mmm hmm, he knows he’s crossed the line.

“I like Papa,” Paris says, bringing our attention back to the subject at hand.

“Me too,” Archer agrees.

“Well, that settles that then. I’m Papa,” Adrian says with a smile that he shares with each of us before speaking again. “All right boys, here’s the deal. I can’t go into detail now, but your mom and I are going to keep this to ourselves for a while. OK? I’m not asking you to lie to anyone, mind you. Just keep this our business for now. But if anyone asks, you should tell them to talk to your mom and let her handle it. OK?” They all nod. “Last thing I want to talk to you about.” He blows out a deep breath and runs his hand back and forth over Finn’s head. “I know you boys already know a lot about what is going on over there with the war and all, but you need to know that I’m very good at my job. It has been my honor and privilege to take care of my brothers, so you can bet I’m going to be taking care of business. I’m going to be extra careful now that I have you guys counting on me, OK?” Nods all around. “If you get scared, talk to your mom. Don’t worry about me, though. This is my fifth time going to war if you can believe that. I’m experienced and smart and fast. Got it?”

“I want to join the Marine Corps, Papa, and be just like you,” Archer says with a little hiccup. I have to look at the ceiling and swallow hard.

“Right now, Marine, I want you and your brothers to take care of your mom. You already do a great job, but you’re really going to have to step up now that I’m not going to be around. Everybody good with that?” I look back down to four sets of eyes glued on me and lots of “yes, sirs.”

“All right,” Adrian says as he stands up and tosses Finn on the bed before picking him up by the ankles and dangling him over the bed. “Finn, quit messing around and get dressed,” Adrian says over the boys’ giggling.

****

WATCHING MY SWEET man move around the airport saying goodbye to everyone is heartbreaking. His parents don’t show, and I’m beyond pissed. I mean, even if they’re awful, they are his parents. The boys are keeping everyone entertained while we and the other families wait. Adrian’s bandmates show up in full force and lighten the mood by alternating between their crude humor and touching remarks. Farah and her husband show up, of course. When Garner walks in and grabs Adrian and lifts him in the air, we all crack up. Garner drops him back to his feet but not before giving him a huge, sloppy kiss on his cheek that has Adrian giving him a kidney shot. I thought Garner was being his usual over-the-top self until he turned to Bonnie and I saw her wipe his eyes and then give him a small kiss.

All of this occurs without Adrian letting me get more than six inches away from him.

When the boarding call comes over, I feel a chill make quick work of my body and close those six inches to burrow into Adrian’s side.

“I love you so much,” he tells me. “Everything’s going to be OK.”

Before I can speak, I hear a woman’s voice behind me and feel Adrian stiffen. Turning, I see the woman who has to be his mother. I’ve seen pictures of a younger, less tired version of her.

“Mom,” Adrian says as he moves around me to hug her. “I thought you weren’t going to make it.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss saying goodbye to my baby boy,” she chokes out. “I tried to get your father to come, but he said he’d already told you goodbye. Anyway, that’s why I’m so late.”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too, son.” He turns her around to face me. I smile nervously.

“Hello, Celeste,” she says sweetly. “I hear you’re quite taken with my son.”

I laugh and look at my blues before looking back her. “Yes, ma’am. Quite taken,” I confirm.

“Good, good. You’re a good person. And Adrian deserves someone good.”

I don’t know what else to say but thank you. Thank you for being here, thank you for seeing the good in him and the good in me, and thank you for saying what he needed to hear.

Everyone takes that moment to give him one last, quick hug. He picks up each of the boys and hugs them extra tight and tells him how much he loves them before turning to me.

Tears shimmer in both of our eyes, so I smile and throw myself around him, hugging him to me tight. “I love you so much, Adrian. I’ll miss you so much.”

“I love you too, baby.” He pulls back a little and gives me my blues. I frame his face and kiss him long and hard. I hear the last call for his flight and feel my best friends move in tight. I clutch at him and shake my head no a little as the thought of being without him overwhelms me before I finally tear myself away.

He pulls me back quickly, and his gravelly voice whispers, “I’m really gonna miss my
mimi
.” I give a little bark of laughter through my tears. Locking eyes with me one more time, he grabs his duffle bag and backs out of the terminal to get on the plane that will take him away from us.

I lose him after he makes his way through security and through the gates. I let go of a deep breath and look to see the boys still waving. Bonnie and Farah are holding me from each side. I cross my arms over me and pat their hands. “I’m good.”

Bonnie leans in and says, “Did he seriously just call you his pussycat? And in French?”

I can’t respond for the huge grin that’s on my face. Farah gasps, “He calls you his pussycat?” In French?” I smile at her and nod. Her mouth drops open before she breathes, “That’s hot!”

The giggles that pour out of me at that point are the kind where you can’t tell if someone is laughing or crying. I turn and give my girls hugs and say, “Thanks for that. I needed a good laugh.”

“Thank your man,” Bonnie says. “He certainly knows how to lighten up the mood.”

“Yes, he does.”

“Celeste, I cannot believe your families did not blow a gasket when they found about y’all,” Bonnie says.

I blow out a deep breath. “Well, we probably would have made a bigger splash, but war has a way of trumping things. I think even our family realizes the severity of this situation and will probably save the theatrics and threats for another day.”

It’s the strangest thing afterward. No one is in a hurry to leave. We all just enjoy each other’s company. Adrian’s mom tells the boys Adrian story after Adrian story. They are a captive audience. Finally, we start to disperse and head out. When I look around, it’s just us girls along with my boys and Adrian’s mom.

“Celeste, is that your engagement ring?” his mom asks. I smile and nod. “It’s beautiful, honey.”

“It really is, Cel, I didn’t want to say anything earlier and draw attention away from our goodbyes, but it’s gorgeous,” Bonnie says.

Farah picks up my hand and looks at it in detail. The wedding band is unique; it’s covered in tiny diamonds and blends seamlessly with the two diamond bands encircling the engagement ring. It’s a trio of bands, and it’s hard to tell they’re separate, which works perfectly, since we’re keeping the official aspect of our relationship to ourselves for now.

“Thanks, y’all,” I tell them.

“So when’s the big day?” his mom asks.

“We’re going to have a small ceremony at Holy Name two weeks after Adrian’s return. That would put it somewhere around mid-April. We have to be flexible. You know how the military can be with dates.” They all nod.

We say our final goodbyes. The girls offer to come over, but I insist that I’m fine. Adrian’s mom makes me promise to bring the boys over sometime. I’m thinking I’d rather her come over to my house because of Adrian’s father, but I don’t say anything about that just yet. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Farah hangs back from the others and says, “I’d like to tell you something real quick. I don’t think that Adrian would mind now.” I just nod. “Remember that night that I told you that he came clean to me in the club?” I nod again. “What he said…I’ll never forget, Celeste. I called him on it when he said he didn’t love you. I told him you were both fools, denying what you felt for each other. He finally broke down and said that the only thing that made him a fool where you were concerned was because you owned him. He said he didn’t even exist without you. That he was an empty vessel and that you filled him and owned him until he didn’t know where he ended and you began.”

“Wow,” is all I can utter when she finishes. “I…now…that’s so beautiful that I just want him to come back so I can kiss him harder, longer,” I say forcing myself to laugh so that I don’t cry.

She hugs me tight. “I didn’t want to make you sad. I just wanted you to know how much he loves you and has for a long time too.”

Once the boys and I get home and take care of the chores that have to be squared away, we pile in the living room and watch comedy after comedy. Our laughs are slow to come at first. It feels awkward to laugh when our hearts are so heavy. After our third movie and some pizza that I had delivered because I had absolutely no energy to cook, my phone rings and we all jump for it.

“You’re on speaker,” I say when the call goes through.

“Well, hello, my little family. I miss you guys already. What are y’all doing?”

“Hey, Papa!” Finn yells before I can tell him that he doesn’t have to yell. “We’re having a movie marathon.”

“Ah, what’s playing tonight?”

Paris pipes up and tattles on me. “Ma made us watch the
Princess Bride
first.”

“Hey, y’all love the
Princess Bride
,” I say, affronted.

“Yeah,” Adrian agrees, “y’all always laugh.”

“But she always chooses that.” Paris insists. I laugh because it’s true.

“Adrian,” Finn singsongs, “we’re gonna watch your favorite comedy next.”

“
Jaws
?”

Archer snorts with laughter. “No, the
Goonies
!”

“All right, boys,” I cut in, “let me talk to Adrian real quick about what’s going on. I’m sure he doesn’t have long. Y’all go brush your teeth and then we’ll watch the
Goonies
before lights out.”