The front door opened just as Simona stuck the key in the lock. “Hello.”
A dark-skinned older woman with salt-and-pepper hair cut in short layers smiled warmly. “You must be Simona. Come in and unburden yourself. My name is Marlena. Eve told me about your little one. I took the liberty of having my son bring over my grandson’s crib for you to use.” She walked while she talked. “So you can lay her in here. I put on some fresh sheets.”
“Thank you, Miss Marlena.” Simona placed Yasmine in the crib and covered her with the sheet. She turned the lamp down to the lowest setting and followed Marlena on a tour of the three-bedroom house. She tried to pay attention to the woman’s lively chatter, but fatigue set in and she had a hard time keeping her eyes open. Marlena must have noticed.
“You must be exhausted, child, and I’m just going on and on. Let’s get your things in so you can rest.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can manage on my own.”
Marlena waved Simona off. “Nonsense. Now, come on.”
Not having the strength to argue, Simona followed, and they emptied the car in no time. Simona thanked her, and Marlena told Simona she would be by tomorrow. She trudged down the hall to the bedroom next to the one where Yasmine slept and took out her phone to call Eve. There were three messages from Donovan that she had missed when she turned the phone off. She spoke to Eve briefly, hung up and listened to the messages.
Simona, baby, where are you? Please pick up.
Simona, please call me. I need to know you’re all right.
Tears blurred her vision.
Simona, I know this has been hard. Please come back. You don’t have to fight alone. I’ll be right by your side. I love you and need you here with me. Kiss Yasmine for me. Know that I will not stop fighting for us.
She held the phone against her heart and curled up in a fetal position on the bed as deep, wrenching sobs tore from her throat. Simona had no idea how long she lay there before she mustered up enough strength to shower and crawl beneath the covers for the night.
The next morning her head felt as if it weighed a ton, her throat was raw from crying and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. With supreme effort, she dragged herself out of bed and went to make oatmeal. Yasmine was already awake and would be ready to eat soon, especially since she had fallen asleep so early.
After she fed Yasmine and forced down half of a banana herself, Simona went out to the porch. She sat in one of the chairs and placed the little girl on her lap. She marveled at the beauty in front of her. Eve’s house was close enough to the ocean for her to have a small, distant view. Here, she didn’t have to worry about being hounded by the media and hearing the gossip on TV. Mrs. Battle had approved a six-week emergency leave, and that gave Simona time to decide her next move.
A flock of birds flew by, and Yasmine tried to squirm out of Simona’s lap to see where they went. Simona stood and walked to the edge of the porch so the little girl could see them. She pointed. “Birds. Can you say birds?” Yasmine said something and pointed. Simona laughed and kissed her. “That’s right, birds. You are such a smart girl.”
“Dadadada.”
She went still. This was the third time Yasmine had said it. The first time had been when they were at her grandmother’s house. Deacon Mitchell had come to dinner and mistakenly assumed Donovan was her father—a fact that Donovan never denied—and said, “Go to your daddy.” The man had thought it cute when she repeated it several times. The second time had been when Donovan came home from work one evening. The emotion that had filled his face had moved Simona to tears. He didn’t put her down for the rest of the evening.
A fresh wave of tears crested her eyes. Donovan probably missed Yasmine as much as she missed him...as much as they both missed him. But this was for the best, Simona assured herself. She couldn’t let him sacrifice all his hard work for her mistake.
* * *
Donovan was at his wit’s end by Friday. It had been three days since Simona left, and he hadn’t heard one word, though he’d left several messages. It was driving him crazy. The silence in his house was deafening, and his bed was cold and lonely. In the short time they’d been together, he had gotten used to Simona snuggling next to him or lying half on top of him to sleep. And Yasmine. God, how he missed her. She had even said “Dada.” He’d give anything to have his girls back. He needed them to make his life complete.
“Any word from Simona?” Terrence stuck his head in the door.