It's Only Love (The Matthews Family)

Professor and Doctor Edwards’s family, I shook my head. Nothing like the funky bunch.

“What? You think you’re the only one with trash-talking aunts and touchy-feely uncles?”

“And I am really sorry about that, too.”

“No need.” Natasha laughed. Her laugh was so intoxicating to me. “And believe me; I got some aunts and uncles that could probably drink your Aunt Anita under the table. I remember plenty of family gatherings where the half-gallon bottle of Wray and Nephew would be on the table while they played dominos, and they’d get drunk as Cooter Brown.”

I laughed. “I guess families are the same all over.”

“They are. But now I’m curious about something.”

“About what?”

“How come you never talk about your mother and father?”

I took a deep breath and looked at Natasha. I knew sooner or later, if this thing went any further, that we’d have to talk about it. A little breeze was blowing off the ocean, and Natasha looked beautiful against the backdrop of the setting sun.

Perfect time to bare my soul to—my friend.

“My mother’s name is Susan. You met her two brothers, my uncles Don and Willie, and her two sisters, my aunts Anita and Patrice. She was the youngest. I never knew my father. His name was Jesse Matthews. They met in high school and fell, what my grandfather called, stupid in love.”

“I see.” I looked at the look on her face and wondered how much of this I wanted to share with her.

“So here’s how the story goes. My mother turned seventeen in June, my sister, Rhonda, was born in July. The following June, both of them graduated from high school, and they got married two weeks later in July. They had been married for three years when my brother, Stevie, was born. It was a year and a half later when my mother told my father that she was pregnant with me.”

I glanced at Natasha. She seemed content to listen to my story without comment, and that made me wonder what she was thinking.

“Before I was born, he joined the army so he could support his family. He said that he was going to send for us as soon as he got finished with basic training.” I paused for effect. “She never saw or heard from him again.”

Natasha’s facial expression changed from compassionate listener to one of sympathy. “I’m sorry,” she said in a way that made me feel that she felt my pain. “I can’t imagine what that must feel like.”

It made me feel more comfortable about continuing. “With three kids, no husband, no job, and nowhere else to go, my mother moved back in with her parents.”

“Your grandparents.”

“Yes.” I walked with my back a little straighter. “My grandfather was a great man, and my grandmother was a wonderful woman, who showed me so much love.”

“I can tell that they were wonderful people by the way your eyes light up when you talk about them. After everything that you guys had been through, I am glad that they were there for you.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But not all my childhood memories are happy ones.”

“I think all of us can say the same thing. But I imagine yours was a difficult childhood until your grandparents took over.”

I had reached the point of no return. I could end the story right here and change the subject to her family. But for some reason, I wanted to tell her everything.

“I remember my mother telling me that it was my fault that my father left her. She said they were doing just fine until I came along.”

“That’s a horrible thing to say to a child,” Natasha said with a look of disbelief on her face.

“She did, and it used to make me cry every time.” I laughed. “You wanna hear something funny?”

“Yeah, I’d love to hear . . .” Natasha said, and it seemed like she was hanging on every word I said. I looked at Natasha, gazed into her eyes, and I felt like what I was saying was important to her.

“I was such a cry baby when I was little that Stevie used to call me Vickie.” Natasha laughed, and she laughed hard. “And if you tell anybody, you and I are going to have words.”

Natasha straightened up. “Right . . . got you . . . your secret’s safe with me or its pistols at dawn.” She said, and then she burst into laughter again.

“Don’t laugh.”