Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 70429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Desiree nodded in understanding, then when his two brothers entered the room, he passed the baby to Axel for a turn.
“Axel, stop being a baby hog.” English chuckled as she stood outside the doorway, on the phone again.
Axel handed the baby to Legend and the man sat down on an old brown chair, holding that baby close to his chest and crying his eyes out. It was the damnedest thing. He had never seen his brother so vulnerable. So moved. So overjoyed.
He chatted with all of them for about thirty more minutes, gave Melanie a hug when she arrived, and said goodbye to English who was making social media posts on Desiree and Legend’s behalf. Many of Desiree’s family members continued arriving bearing gifts, huge teddy bears, blue and white balloons, colorful flowers, and sentimental greeting cards. The place teemed with excitement.
He zipped up his jacket and walked out into the cool air. Once he got into his car, he realized he was going to pass out if he didn’t take a few deep breaths.
What a good-lookin’ baby. Legend will always remember today. It’s painted on his soul now.
He wondered if his father had ever held him that way, if at all? Did my daddy hold me close to his chest, the way Legend held his newborn son? He didn’t know why that thought entered his mind, but it did, resting there. Making itself comfortable, while making him quite uncomfortable. He pushed the thoughts away, refusing to go there for a second longer. Lighting one of the celebratory cigars he’d brought for himself, he began to drive off to head to Clifford’s, his original destination, when suddenly his cellphone rang. He answered it without looking, still in a bit of a daze.
“Caspian speaking…”
“It’s me. The Black sun. The White moon. The woman who did a semi-ghost move on you. But it was half-spirited. You knew I’d call.”
“I didn’t know you’d call. I just knew I wasn’t gonna call you again. I called ya twice. That’s my limit.”
“Limit? But it’s me, askin’ your beautiful behind out for coffee and to join me in a ‘get to know me’ session from the inside out. Outside in. Let’s begin… It’s me, the melting of the snow, the smoothness of the ice, the roll of the dice, and the curve of the rainbow. I am the sun’s smile in the day and the frowning, falling stars in the night. I am the first kiss and the last dance, the love of jazz music playing at night. I am the midnight birds with blue eyes, taking a fast, exciting flight…”
Smiling at her words, he turned the music down and merged onto the main road. Silence ensued—but it belonged there, where it was safe, warm, and secure.
“It’s you, huh? The woman I’ve been thinkin’ about since the first time I saw your beautiful face. It’s you, the lady who knows her way around a yard sale and a revamped vase. It’s you who gave me a long list of what you would never accept. It’s you who kept my dick hard and mind erect… It’s you that I spread out like a tapestry along that hotel wall… It’s you that I craved to cum inside and give you my all… It’s you that popped your fingers and applauded, even when I was playin’ offkey… It’s you, the woman who didn’t call ’cause she needs to know that she’s safe with me…”
“Well, damn!”
He burst out laughing.
“And here I was thinkin’ I was doin’ somethin’, being smooth with it! Just that fast, you pulled the rug out from under me.” I’m going to do more than pull the fucking rug out from under you when I get a hold of you again… “I knew you were a journalist, but I didn’t know you could do improv poetry. GET INTO IT!” Azure began to snap her fingers and he laughed some more.
“It’s good to hear from you, beautiful.”
“Well, I’m glad I could brighten your day, handsome. Hold on a sec…”
“All right.”
His eyes brimmed with moisture, the emotions coming from left field. Perhaps too much had happened in such a short time that day, and it was forcing him to feel. Feel things he didn’t wish to feel.
He’d been at a low point when he first got into his car and now, hearing Azure’s voice, everything was all right.
It was the hospital. It brought back too many memories. Hospitals mean death to me, but then there was Legend’s baby… new life… total opposite of death. I’ve been pushin’ down a lot of shit. I’m fallin’ apart…it’s catching up to me. Bein’ here in Louisville is taking its toll… ‘You can run, but you can’t hide,’ Legend warned me again… That’s Mrs. Florence’s doing. She did this!
He wanted to be angry because that emotion was easier than grief, but he simply couldn’t muster it. Grief it was.