Page 58 of Really Truly Yours
“It’s okay.” She resettles, her hand returning to her waist in a telltale pose.
“You alright?”
“Sure.”
I give her the old side-eye.
“I missed a couple of pills. I’m fine.”
“Sydnee. Let me drive you home.”
“No. I’m good. I’ll take them in the morning.”
What am I supposed to do? Drag her out of here? A guy gets in trouble for that sort of thing.
I plop back down, making the entire row of linked chairs shudder. “Sorry.” That’s twice now.
The laugh I hear is quiet, suitable for the hour. What time is it? Eleven? Is midnight closing in?
“Can I ask you something?”
I loll my head over. “Fire away.”
“May I ask what Donny’s told you about the past?”
I cross my arms on my chest, then unfold, trying to find a comfortable position while allowing Sydnee her space. Being a big guy is great in the world of sports. In the regular world, it has drawbacks. Now, if Sydnee would allow me to curl my arm around her shoulder…
Nope.
She exhales. “I’m sorry. I’m being nosey.”
“Yes, you are, Sydnee Lou.” I bump my elbow to hers. “But you’ve earned the right.”
Lines crease around her mouth. The nickname?
I stretch my left leg that’s trying to cramp. “Well, let’s see.” I launch into the sad story Donny told me. Sydnee nods here and there, occasionally seeming to hear some new detail. “Since my mom was cheating when he left, when he showed up again after a long separation and there was Tripp, he didn’t think twice when she said he was someone else’s. By then, she was angry at him for taking off and didn’t want to be tied to him. However, I guess that’s the visit when I was conceived, and right after I was born was one of the times he got sent to prison.” I drag my finger across a blemish in the denim on my thigh. “They gave it one more shot after his release. I had just started kindergarten. He ended up violating his parole and went back to jail. When he got out, he learned about her death. Suicide.”
Sydnee’s sweet face settles thoughtfully. “Do you remember that?”
I nod. “Yes. What I remember most, though, is losing Tripp that day. Cried my eyes out when they put us in separate cars and drove him away.”
Her lids fall over her eyes as her head shakes. “Why would they do that?”
“Well, Tripp wasn’t particularly easygoing. They took him to a foster home that was up for dealing with troubled older kids.”
“I am so sorry.”
“Yeah. It sucked. Anyhow, someone came around and wanted Donny to surrender his parental rights so I could be adopted. He told me he thought that’s what would be best for me.”
Her silence when I pause for a moment speaks volumes.
“I know what you’re thinking, but that doesn’t make what he did okay.”
Like everything about Sydnee, her smile is soft and gentle. “You can acknowledge he was correct on one point without stamping approval on everything, Grayson.”
I squint, hooding my eyes. “Gray, remember?” Why must she keep throwing up that wall?
“Okay.”