Page 55 of The Impossible

“You’re what? Patience, stop playing with me.” She didn’t believe me.

I shook my head just as I heard the patio doors slide open. When I looked away from my phone, Hondo stood there for a few seconds before he began undressing to join me.

She was silent. “With a baby?”

“Yes, Paige, a baby.”

“Now I really have to come there. You’re making me an auntie.”

I grinned, eyes jumping between my husband behind my phone and my sister. My attention was all over, especially because he was now down to his briefs. “Was that the icing on the cake?”

“Maybe, and now I see your attention is split, which means Hondo is near. I’ma let you go, but best believe we will discuss this soon. Hello, Hondo.” She greeted him with a smile.

“What’s up, P?”

They shared a few words before she assured me she’d call back tomorrow. That was fine because I had every intention of calling her if she didn’t.

“She good?” Hondo spoke into my neck at the same time he wrapped his arms around me.

“Yeah, just having a moment. She might be coming back here. I offered for her to stay with us or at my con⁠—”

“Either place is fine. Just let me know when and I’ll send them to get her.”

“I figured that much. It’s up to her. I won’t push but I’ll check in with her in the morning.” I turned and faced him. His frame towered over me until he picked me up so we were face to face, my legs wrapped around his waist.

“I love fucking looking at you,” he said out of nowhere, bringing a big grin to my face.

“I love that you love looking at me because I love looking at you too.” I leaned forward and kissed him.

“Yo, you so fucking corny,” he said once we parted.

I giggled. “Maybe, but you love me.”

“No doubt.”

I woke up the next morning to my phone ringing. I was in bed alone, but I remembered Hondo’s cologne invading my senses this morning as he leaned down to kiss my forehead before he left for work. I was in one of those dead sleeps, the type that made waking up right now to a constantly vibrating phone piss me clean off.

I reached under my pillow for my cell phone, then pulled it out. When I looked down at the screen, I saw an incoming call from my father. I second guessed if I should answer. When I decided to answer, the phone stopped ringing. I was about to turn over and go back to sleep, but of course it started ringing again.

“Hello.”

“Patience.” My father’s voice sounded strained.

“Yes.”

“Is there any way you can come by the house today, so we can talk?”

“Absolutely not. Trying to kill me on my wedding day, then at the same fucking Bistro where my mother died, then sending my brother to try and ki—” I started, but he interrupted my statement.

“What are you talking about? I would never try to kill you. You are my daughter, my flesh and blood.”

“Well, you have a funny way of showing it, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Patience. If you’ll just meet me, we can have a conversation to figure this out. Have you spoken to your brother? I can’t get in touch with him and his wife is wo⁠—”

“Did you not just hear what I said? He tried to kill me.”

“Patience, ple⁠—”