Complicated Relationships (The Southern Devotion Series Book 3) (17 page)

Chapter Thirty

It's so hard to say goodbye

The funeral went as well as any funeral could. A few of the nurses came to pay their respects. Other than that the room held only Lanie, Macy and me. During the service, I noticed my father sitting at the back of the chapel. When it was over, he turned to leave, respecting my wishes of not speaking to Macy. Cremation was my mother's request, so there would be no burial to attend.

"I'll be back in a minute," I leaned over and whispered to Lanie. I needed to get closure. "Mr. Jacobs," I called out.

He turned, shocked to see it was me. "I don't deserve a dad now?"

"Dad's don't walk away."

"Fine. What do you want, Tristan? I did as you asked and came quietly and was trying to leave quietly." He fiddled with his key ring looking anywhere but straight at me. When I didn't speak he looked up, and his eyes were red. He'd been crying over a woman he abandoned at the worst point in her life.

I couldn't let him get to me right now. "Did Mom's lawyer contact you?"

"Yes. I won't contest the will. It's the least I can do for you two. I signed off on his paperwork. It's all yours."

He began to walk away, and I called out to him again, "Dad." That one word stopped him in his tracks. "All I have is your hotel room number. Give me your cell number."

"I thought…"

Interrupting I clarified, "If Macy changes her mind one day and wants to talk to you, I want to have your number, so she has the chance. I'll give you mine as well, and you can call and check in with me anytime. I won't make her talk to you ever. That will be her decision alone. She may not be an adult officially, but she acts more like an adult than most of the ones I know. She had been hurt a lot too, and I won't be the one to allow her to be hurt by you."

He handed me his phone with a new contact open. "Enter your information and send yourself a text, you'll have my number. Thank you, son. This gesture means more than you know."

After sending myself a text I handed him his phone and added, "One more thing. Macy graduates this coming May. I'll text you the info. Again, you can come and sit in the back. When it gets closer, I'll ask her if she wants you there, I'll text you so you know it's safe to show your face to her. Do we have an understanding?"

You'd think I'd given him a million dollars the way his face lit up. "You don't owe me anything, Tristan. The fact that you want to do this for me means the world."

"None of this is for you. It’s for Macy."
              "I agree. And no matter what you think about my decision to leave, I know I did the right thing by having you raise her. She's a beautiful young woman, and you've been a wonderful influence on her."

Anger began to boil inside of me. I began to regret opening up to him. If he knew how many times we had been close to eviction or how many times I had to go beg a neighbor for food for Macy. I learned the schedule at the grocery store for the days they offered the most samples and I wouldn't eat anything but that on those days. When ramen noodles were on sale, it was like getting a steak dinner. The first couple of years, I was so scared that I couldn’t take care of Macy that I almost put her in foster care. It would've killed me to do that. Getting the job at Disney, saved my life almost literally.

After a few deep inhalations, I simply responded with, "Thank you. Macy makes it easy. She's about the best teenager ever."

"And that young woman with you, she's quite beautiful. How long have you been together?"

"About six months."

"I can tell you love her." His statement made me sick to my stomach. As though I wanted to hear him tell me that he recognized love? He is the last person I want to compliment me on a relationship. Again I had to bite my tongue from getting angry.

"I do. Macy's very fond of her as well. I need to get back to them now. Thank you for coming today." Reluctantly I shoved my hand toward him to shake. He surprised me by taking it and then pulling me into a hug. At first my body stiffened in shock. After a moment, I reciprocated the hug.

"If she asks, tell Macy I was here and that I love her, please?"

"If she asks, I wouldn't lie to her about you being here."

Inside the funeral home, Lanie had her arms around Macy as she stroked her hair and spoke softly to her. I couldn't hear the words, but I know Lanie enough to guess they were what Macy needed to hear. My phone rang causing them both to turn around. I mouthed 'sorry' before stepping back outside to answer the call.

"Derrick?"

"Hey, T. I'm sorry about your mom. Mary Jane filled me in. I wish we could have been there for you."

"It's fine. Macy and I are fine. How are things there?"

"That's why I called. Mary Jane is in labor. We wanted to make sure you knew that your namesake was on his way into the world."

Instantly I began to laugh, "You called at exactly the right time like Mary Jane always does. I needed good news. As soon as we get home tomorrow I'll call to see if we can come to the hospital. How is she?"

"Good. Everyone is here with us, except you guys. We all miss you, and we're all thinking about you."

"Thanks, man. It means a lot. Tell Mary Jane...I'll see her soon," I said.

"I'll tell her you love her too, T. See you guys soon. Have a safe trip home." Derrick and Ashton Collins had to be two of the nicest guys ever born on this planet. The person that said nice guys finished last hadn't met those two.

As my two favorite girls stepped outside, I shouted, "Mary Jane's in labor!"

Macy squealed with excitement and ran to hug me. Her face was still red and puffy from crying; her hair matted to her face from sweat and tears combined. Through all the grief and despair, she can feel joy over this news, and that let me know she'd get through this just fine.

"Can we go see her as soon as we get home?" Macy asked.

"Absolutely. I already told Derrick we'd be there. You'll come with us, right?" I posed the question to Lanie, so she didn’t feel left out.

"Of course. Is everything with the estate settled?"

"Yeah, it is. I wish we could leave tonight."

"I need to make a phone call," Lanie excused herself.

Macy asked the question I feared coming, "Did I see dad?"

"He was here. He said to tell you he loves you."

For a brief moment, her eyes lit up. It broke my heart a little. "Oh," was all she responded.

"He respected your wishes about not talking to him. However, I did get his number and told him that if you want to talk to him would day, I'd give it to you. It's completely up to you Mace. I'd never keep you from him if you wanted to get to know him again."

She flung her arms around me tightly. "Thanks, T. One day I might want to. I'm not ready yet."

"We can fly out tonight if you two are ready," Lanie called out as she held her phone to her ear. "I paid to have our flights rescheduled."

"Thank you!" Macy and I replied in unison.

And three hours later we were on an airplane on our way back to Nashville.

Chapter Thirty-One

New Beginnings

The frigid air in Nashville was a shock to our system after the warmth of Florida. Before we boarded the airplane, Lanie contacted a friend of hers to give us a ride to the hospital. Familiar faces filled the waiting room when we arrived. We were swallowed up in hugs repeatedly by Ashton, Gracie, Cameron, Gavin, Katelyn, and Maria (Derrick and Ashton's mom). Each offered condolences with a comment about how much they missed us. Moments like this were the reason I moved Macy to Nashville without too much thought. She needed a family, and now she had one.

"Is he here yet?"

"Not yet," Ashton answered. "Derrick is back there with her. I know she'll be happy to see you. She has been worried about you."

"I can't wait to see them all."

Derrick burst into the room, "It's a boy!" It was a statement that came as no surprise, we all knew it was a boy. I suppose it's better than saying, 'it's a baby!'. The room erupted in cheers all around. Derrick was the next one bombarded in hugs. When he spotted me, his smile grew wider, "You made it!" He grabbed me in a hug and tugged me toward the door. "I want you to be the first to meet him."

Mary Jane's hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was sweaty and looked as though she hadn't slept in a week.  Witnessing her staring at her baby boy with such love made her look like the most beautiful woman in the world. Derrick gave me a light push into the room and then shut the door leaving us alone.

She glanced up and gasped, "Tristan," she whispered happily. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Do you want to hold him?"

She placed him in my arms, and I watched his tiny face scrunch in different positions. His wrinkled brow, his tiny nose, his bright pink lips, ten tiny fingers, and moving the blanket I checked and found ten tiny toes. "He's beautiful, MJ."

"Thank you. I'd like to think I had something to do with that," she teased.

"He looks like you. He has Derrick's dark hair though." His head was full of thick black silky hair. I kissed his forehead and handed him back to her.

"I thought you weren't coming in until tomorrow?"

"Lanie arranged for us to come home early when she found out you were in labor. I have so much to tell you about my trip. Maybe when you get home, I can come by and visit."

"Not maybe. You better."

"Alright, quit hogging the baby now," Cameron demanded as he barged into the room. "Hand him over."

Cameron confiscated the baby from MJ freeing her arms. She held them out to me, and I leaned in to hug her. "I'm so glad you're home. We missed you and Macy. Katelyn has been asking about her non-stop."

I hadn't had a chance to explain the will information to Macy, so I had to be quiet as I relayed a message to Mary Jane. I moved my mouth to her ear and whispered, "I have the money to pay you and Derrick back for camp. And I have more than enough to send Macy to college next year."

Mary Jane beamed with excitement but kept things quiet. We researched for hours on ways I could afford Macy's college education. There was a high chance that she would get an academic scholarship, but in the event that she doesn’t I needed a backup plan. Derrick and Ashton had offered to give us a loan that I could pay back over the years. With the inheritance now, I could make sure that Macy achieved everything she wanted to.

Taking a moment I glanced around the room noticing everyone cooing over the baby or checking on MJ. Gracie handed Craig to Lanie, and it looked like the most natural thing in the world for her to hold the baby. She didn't seem nervous at all like I did. Though she was smiling, I could see her eyelids were heavy. It hadn't occurred to me how much she had been through the last few days; she had to be as exhausted as I felt.

Once she handed the baby back to Derrick, I announced, "Congratulations you two. He's a handsome kid. I don't want to run, but we've had a long day, and I need to get my girls home."

Hugs were handed out again with promises of getting together for a celebration once Mary Jane and Craig went home. The three of us had stepped out of the door before I remembered that we'd been dropped off. "Shoot," I mumbled.

Lanie chuckled, "Did you have the same realization as I did just now? That we have no car?"

We both broke out in a fit of delirious laughter with Macy staring at us with confusion. We must have been pretty loud because Cameron opened the door and said, "What's so funny, Tri-Stud?"

"We have no car," I said each word through bursts of laughter, my stomach aching at the hilarity. It wouldn't have been as funny if we hadn't both been sleep-deprived.

Cameron gave a small laugh, nothing close to the ridiculous guffawing coming from Lanie and me. "Give me a second." A moment later he returned holding keys in hand. "I'll give you a ride home. Where's your luggage?"

"My friend Sara dropped us off; she's leaving the luggage in my garage, so we didn't have to bring it in the hospital." Lanie offered an explanation since she calmed down from her fit of laughter. "Tristan said we could bum a ride with one of you guys but in all the excitement we completely forgot to ask."

"Have no fear, SuperCam is here. You two need some sleep."

Lanie and Macy took the backseat together. Half way home they grew quiet, and I turned to see Lanie's head resting against the window with Macy's head resting against Lanie's shoulder. Both were sound asleep and adorable looking.

"Have you heard from Angel since Thanksgiving?"

"I went and saw her yesterday. I wanted to tell her about your mom, I knew she'd want to know. She sent her love and," he reached into the console between us and pulled out an envelope, "she sent you this letter."

"How's she holding up?"

"That is one tough chica. She looked fabulous, and she said she was feeling pretty good. She was a bit weak that day, so they had her using a wheelchair. She told me it has been good for her being in there because she never misses a dose of medicine. They are on top of it."

"That's good. I've been thinking about her a lot. I hate that she spent Thanksgiving in there alone. At least she'll be out in time for Christmas with everyone."

"Angel's been through a lot and she bounces back like a champ every time. Not to be nosey, but did your dad show up for the funeral?" I laughed out loud, startling Cam a little at first. "What's so funny?" Cam asked confused.

"Not to be nosey? Isn't that painful for you…not being nosey I mean?"

Cameron nodded and replied, "Touché."

"To answer your question though, yes he did show up. It was awkward, but it's over now. All I want is to go home and get some sleep. None of us slept well in the hotel room. It was a nice room, but we were all emotionally drained."

"I get it. In all seriousness, I'm glad you're home. And on that note, you are
officially
home."

We were in the driveway, and the girls grumbled through moans and groans of waking up.  Cameron let Macy lean on him while I lifted Lanie out of the back and carried her inside. I walked Cameron to the door and thanked him for the ride.

Macy yawned, mouth agape, arms stretched above her head, and then gave me a hug. "I'm going to bed. You two could use some alone time I'm sure. Love you, T."

"Love you too, squirt."