The Other Side of the Pillow

“Yes, I did. Just never got around to going through all of the paperwork.” She paused. “Besides, you never did anything to hurt me. Most of my friends who demand their names back do it out of spite. Daniels has grown on me, so no point in trying to get people to call me something else.”

“True.” I started playing with a pen on my desk. “I was only calling to check on you.”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m good.”

There was yet again an uncomfortable silence between us.

“Tevin, I need to get back to work, unless you needed something,” she finally said.

“No, no. I don’t need anything.”

“Well, then, take care and—”

“Wait a second, Estella. I do need to get something off my chest.”

She seemed irritated. “And what’s that?”

“In all these years, I’ve never apologized to you.”

“What would you need to apologize for? We never hated each other. Sometimes two people grow apart. Sometimes there is simply way too much water under the bridge, to the point where the cars on it get flooded. Sometimes life throws us curveballs that we can never catch.”

“And I agree with everything you said. I do. But now that I’ve had time to mature, evolve, and think about it all, I realize that I could have been more understanding about what you were going through. I could’ve been a better man and a better husband.”

“No, you were a good man then and I’m sure you’re a good man now. I was not mentally prepared to handle the loss of our babies. Not three. It was a pain that I had never imagined to be possible, and you tried to stand there by my side. I pushed you and everyone else away.”

“So how are you doing now?”

“I’m making it work. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never give birth naturally. My fiancé and I are considering adoption, though.”

I had no idea that Estella was engaged. Then again, there was no reason why I should have been privy to that information. When we broke ties, we also broke ties with mutual friends. She had her circle and I had mine.

“Wow, congrats on the engagement!” I told her. “He’s a lucky man.”

“Thanks, but I’m the lucky one. He accepted me, flaws and all, and I’m grateful for that.” I could hear her moving around on the other end of the phone. “Do you have someone special in your life?”

“Yes, I do. It’s only been a few months, but I’ve never felt this way before.” I suddenly felt guilty for saying that, even though it was the truth to a great degree. “I mean . . .”

“Tevin, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I’m glad that you have found love again. Both of us deserve to be happy.”

“Yes, we do. Well, I don’t want to keep you. This is my office number, if you ever need anything.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for checking on me, Tevin. I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

“And I’ll keep you in mine.”

We both hung up and I got up from my desk, took off my white coat, replaced it with my suit jacket, and walked out the door. Life was hard, but it was never meant to be easy. I was determined to make Jemistry and me work out. So far, so good.

Chapter Thirteen

“We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.”

—Tom Robbins

Jemistry cooked some chicken and pasta for dinner, popped open a bottle of Moscato, and was making an attempt not to talk too much. I felt bad and flattered at the same time; she was really trying to please me.

She had on this purple dress that made her fineness shine bright and these sexy-ass, bone-white pumps. Some women don’t get that men are truly turned on by the heels. Hell, I wished women would have kept them on in the bed from time to time. Then again, I enjoyed playing with and sucking on a pretty set of toes. Jemistry had beautiful feet; she was on point from head to toe.