Lynnia (33 page)

Dario

Thinking back on that moment alone with Lynnie in the guest bedroom at Chyra’s house had him wanting to punch a wall.

“
Yes, D., I’m pregnant. I was with Travis and …”

“You’re pregnant, but it’s not mine. I got it. I’m going to go.”

He’d quickly put his shirt on and zipped his pants. Before he left, he looked at Lynnie. Thinking about it now, he could’ve sworn that he saw a look of guilt on her face. She was hiding something. Had she been telling him the truth about who the father was? If there was a chance that he was the father, why wouldn’t she tell him? She wouldn’t do that to him. It didn’t matter that he was supposedly in a relationship with someone else, she should know that he would do right by his child. He hoped she knew that.

He didn’t know if he was going to be able to keep himself in check. There were things he needed to know for sure. Something didn’t sit right with him. she hadn’t exactly come clean. Lynnia had just allowed him to believe what he’d already put together. Which led him to wonder all morning, if what he’d stated was the truth or not. His plan was to make a trip to the restaurant or her house and find out.

Dario looked around his room in his apartment. He could hear his phone ringing, but didn’t know exactly where it was. By the time the third ring, he’d found it.

“Hey Quinnie, what’s going on?”

He could hear the sounds of her background which let him know that she was at her bakery. The call out of supplies and stages of their baked goodies let him know that her team was busy filling the many daily orders that Quinnie’s Bit O’ Sweetness Bakery had. Ever since the doors opened a few months ago, she’d been swamped with orders. She still provided the desserts for Lynnie’s restaurant and handled most of the major events that came through the restaurant on top of keeping up with the demands from the customers that came in every hour on the hour.

“Hey D’Ollie, are you able to come down to the shop within the next hour? I kind of need to talk to you.”

“You ‘kind of need to talk’ to me? That doesn’t sound cryptic or ominous at all. What’s going on?”

“Cute D’Ollie. I just think you and I need to have a little chat that’s all. I believe it’s beyond time for it. Are you able to meet me?”

“Sure. I’ll be there in twenty. I have a feeling I’m going to need some of your raspberry cream puffs and some coffee when I get there.”

Chyra’s laugh filled the airwaves and reminded him of Lynnie’s laugh. He smiled as she answered his not so subtle request.

“I think I can make that happen, captain. I’ll have your order waiting for you by the time you get here.”

“I have told you when I’ll be there.”

“It doesn’t matter. They’ll be waiting. How fresh they are will depend on when you get here.”

“Such a tease. I see why Zach keeps you around. Damn hot baker and her treats.”

“More than a mouthful.”

“On that note, I am getting off the phone before I start thinking impure thoughts about another man’s wife and a woman I think of as my little sister. See you soon.”

Before he ended the call, Dario heard her giggles and an “aww” from Chyra. The woman was insane. She probably learned that from her big sisters. Grabbing his keys off the kitchen counter, he started for the door.

This was going to be the first time he left the house in weeks without having to advise someone that he was leaving since he injured himself. He was slowly, but surely getting back into his old routine. His parents had left to return to Arizona the day before and he couldn’t have been happier. He loved them, but he’d been more exhausted dealing with his mother than having to work with an injured leg. The doc said he could possibly return to work at the beginning of next week if everything continued the way it was.

With all of that having been taken care of, he was finally able to let Lindsay down easy. After being with Lynnie again, he knew without a doubt that he would never be able to have anything with Lindsay. It was well passed the time to let that situation go. There were others he could pass the time with.

He’d called that gorgeous woman from the bar a week ago and they had a nice conversation. Her card had fallen out of his jean pocket and he decided to give her a call. They talked for a while before agreeing to meet. Coffee for him and tea for her led to dinner one evening. The next date was lunch at a bistro he didn’t even know existed. Things were good between them. He enjoyed the intimate moments, but he, once again, couldn’t bring himself to have sex with her. They’d kissed, touched, even felt each other up, but nothing. It was all him. He couldn’t bring himself to performing the act with someone while he was still trying to figure things out with Lynnie. Dario still had to find closure with that whole situation before he could think about moving on to someone else.

Dario could’ve seen a future with Brittney Taylor if only he could get that other damn Norton sister out of his system. Meeting with Chyra probably wasn’t the best idea, but he felt compelled to know what she wanted to talk to him about.

~~~~~~~

As promised, a red box was sitting next to a red cup on the table across from a beautiful, very pregnant Norton sister. Chyra was looking through some papers with a slice of pie and her own red cup sitting to the side of her. She smiled as soon as the door opened and the bell sounded. Her pen never stopped moving nor did her head lift.

“Welcome to Quinnie’s, enjoying your bit o’ sweetness here or to go?” a young lady with a streak of red hair called from behind the counter.

“Hey Macey, he’s here to see me. Thanks sweetie.”

“Mrs. Olsen, did you need me to help take care of the prep for the order tomorrow. Chantie and Phyllis are working on the dough and fillings already.”

“That would be fine. Will you ask Asia to come up front for me?” The young girl nodded and her curls bounced with the motion. Before she could get far, Chyra was talking again. “Mace, you’re coming in with Courtney tomorrow afternoon, aren’t you?”

“Yes ma’am. Did you need me earlier?”

“No. That’s not why I asked. I just wanted to make sure we had coverage for the …”

“Afternoon rush. I’ll be here. I’ll let Asia know you want her.”

Chyra smiled and nodded her head, “Thank you.”

When the girl had gone through the double doors, Dario took his seat and looked at Chyra.

She scrunched her cut little nose and squinted her eyes at him.

“What’s up, D’Ollie? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m still trying to get over the fact that they hardhead little sister is owner of her own shop and taking it all in stride like a boss; pregnant, married, and all. I’m proud of you, Quinnie.”

“Thanks D’Ollie. That means a lot.”

After giving Asia, the manager of the shop and a curvy, mocha chocolate beauty in her right, some information for running the shop for the next few weeks, Chyra turned her attention to him. She told him that she wanted to share some things that he may not know about her youngest, big sister. Her reason for the sharing was to help him better understand the woman that seemed to be too scared to allow herself the one thing she ultimately wants: true happiness.

“Derrick Sneider was the name of the first boy that ever made Evie feel like she was something outside of the daughter of William and Ella Norton or one of the Norton sisters. He was also the first to make her feel like she couldn’t go on without him to the point that she would take her life. He did that all within a twenty-four hour span. It scared the shit out of me,” Chyra explained to Dario, but he was shaking his head.

“I know. My mom called me that night. Your mother was a mess. She didn’t know how to handle the situation. Mrs. Ella P. and my mom had to go and sit with your mother because she was inconsolable. If you remember, that night your mother couldn’t be found for a while,” he told her as he held her trembling hand.

“Yeah, I remember. I thought she had to go to the job. I was so angry with her boss that night. I needed my mother and she was nowhere to be found. Zoie was there, but she wasn’t. She’d been going through her own thing then. Wynter and Rayna were in school. They were planning on driving home the next day. Nyema was asleep. Nakia had been sick that week and the sleepless nights with a toddler had her not hearing the phone ring. It was the scariest moment in my life.”

“It was for both of us. I found out the general gist of what went down between Derrick and Lynnia because your mother relayed what she’d learned from doing some digging. I had been on campus a couple times and knew the crowds so I knew who he hung out with. I threatened to kill him once I found him and he told me what he did. I promptly beat his ass for putting her through that shit. To this day, if he sees me he takes a different route.”

Chyra snorted a little, but it didn’t feel like there was any joy behind it. Such a heavy situation didn’t really allow for anyone to feel like they had the right to be happy. The outcome was Lynnia came out on the other side of it. It caused her sisters to pay closer attention to her and make her take breaks. The doctor that they forced her to see said that Lynnia tended to overexert and overextend herself to the point of exhaustion. Getting her out of the house, away from school at the time and work now, allows her the time to digress and unwind. One of the rules that the sisters enforced early on, when they decided to have weekly lunches, was to make sure electronic devices were set to vibrate and put inside purses. The only exception was when Dr. Wynter Norton was on call.

Lynnia had a shit fit conniption that first few lunches. After having it drummed into her head that it was for her own good, she finally let go of that notion. To this day, none of the older sisters know that she tried to take her life that day. They only know that Lynnia was in the hospital. To cover up the fact that her daughter needed to have mandatory therapy afterwards, Momma Norton suggested all of the sisters see someone for their issues. None of the other sisters had shared that they might actually need it just as much as Lynnia did, but they went as demanded by their mother. Dario continued after thinking on the woman Lynnie was after that.