Page 31 of Full Circle

Her lips were a firm line as she scrutinized my face. “What’s done is done now. I don’t know how your daddy will react.”

More tears fell as I climbed into the tire swing, wrapping my arms around the rope to bury my head in my elbow. I hated disappointing everyone. After a moment, Nana’s bony hand settled on my shoulder, offering comfort I wasn’t wholly sure I deserved. Nothing had happened, but that didn’t mean we hadn’t broken everyone’s trust. Wesley would likely not be allowed over anymore. The coward in me was grateful Daddy didn’t want to talk to us at the same time because the thought of listening to him yell at Wesley was enough to turn my stomach. Desiree was blowing the whole thing way out of proportion, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why she was in my room to begin with. She never braved the tower steps because of her ridiculous heels.

None of that was enough to dry my tears, however. I didn’t dare tell Daddy or Nana how I really felt about Wesley, but I also didn’t want to lie to them about the change in our relationship. There was no way Desiree would allow me to have a moment alone with him if we admitted we wanted to date. Daddy had already started changing the rules and Wes had only been home for 12 hours. Maintaining our friendship on Desiree’s terms was the only route I could see that wouldn’t result in the loss of his presence in my life, too.

Nana cleared her throat loudly and gently tapped my shoulder. I whipped around to find Daddy and Wesley walking towards us with Daddy’s arm around Wes’ shoulders. That had to be a good sign, right? I couldn’t imagine Daddy doing that if he was going to keep us separated.

As they drew nearer, I saw Daddy give Wesley an encouraging smile and nod towards me. Wesley came over to the tire swing and lightly cupped my cheek. “It’s okay, Celeste,” he whispered.

I was so confused. Clambering out of the tire swing, my face blotchy and wet from crying, I turned to Daddy expectantly. He slid his hands into the pockets of his robe, leaning back on one foot. Just over his shoulder, I saw Desiree come outside, slamming the screen door behind her as she stood with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her glare was enough to power the sun, even from several feet away.

Daddy sighed. “Wesley and I had quite the chat just now,” he began. “I believe both of you when you say nothing happened, so I’m not going to punish either of you.”

“What?!” Desiree cried from behind him, dropping her hands into fists at her sides.

Hope burgeoned in my chest.

“But,” continued Daddy, “we all have to acknowledge that things have changed between you two. Things I could stomach when y’all were thirteen aren’t gonna fly now that you’re going on 16 and entering high school. Wesley and I agreed that he is no longer going to go into your room without a chaperone. The same goes for you with his room, Celeste. Hang out in common areas only. We clear on that?” His blue eyes were watery as he leveled me with a pointed stare.

His restrictions were more than fair. “Yes, Daddy!” I agreed, hugging him around the middle. What was once a bone crushing hug was softer now, but just as welcoming and assuring as ever. I opened one eye to see Wesley standing with his hands in his pocket watching us wistfully. When our gazes locked, he gave me an overconfident wink.

Stifling perfume clouded my nostrils as Desiree hobbled near, her high heels sinking slightly into the soft dirt. “Perhaps it would be best if Hillary hung out with them, too,” she offered. “After all, there’s strength in numbers!”

For a brief second it looked like Daddy was considering it. “Wesley and Celeste have always done their own thing,” he finally said. “I think it’s best we leave ‘em to it and trust that their bond is something special.”

My heart leapt up to my throat. It was the first time since Desiree entered the picture that Daddy had spoken up for me like that. Without even looking at him, I could sense the smug satisfaction rolling off Wesley in waves. He definitely didn’t like Desiree.

And apparently with good reason. As I extricated myself from Daddy’s embrace, Desiree was glaring daggers at Wesley, her mouth pursed like she swallowed a sour lemon. It was a look that promised there was more to come.

“Come on, dear,” she said, winding an arm around Daddy’s waist while simultaneously still glaring at Wes. “Let’s get ready to head into the restaurant.”

“You go on ahead. My head is already starting to hurt and I don’t know that I’m gonna make it in today,” Daddy said. It was then that I noticed the way he grimaced from the sunlight, his eyes squinting as though it was too bright for him to handle.

“Darling, never without you!” Desiree cried. She was suddenly overcome with concern for him, rubbing his back and leading him towards the house. “You go right back to bed. I’ll just grab your wallet real quick and head over to Savannah for that homeopathic remedy you like so much!”

They shuffled into the house together, taking all of Daddy’s warmth with them.

Nana snorted behind me. “’Homeopathic remedy’ my foot! She just wants to go spend his money!”

Wesley’s head whipped back to her. “What do you mean, Nana?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Just what I said, lovebird! The only thing that woman has managed to do since the day she batted her eyes in Doug’s direction is dwindle his savings account!”

He shot me a quizzical look as though waiting for confirmation. I minutely shook my head to indicate he needed to leave it alone.

“I’m going back to my place to watch my shows,” growled Nana. “You two try to keep your hands off each other. I don’t care how good you look together!”

I let out a shaky laugh. “Yes, ma’am.”

With that, she stomped off towards her cabin behind the main house.

Wesley looked on with confusion. “Since when does she watch her shows at her place?”

I shrugged. “Ever since Desiree moved in and told Nana that her shows didn’t belong in a good Christian household. Nana called her a hypocrite and started spending more time in her own place.”

He nodded before languidly drawing my arm through his elbow and meandering towards the front of the house. We walked in companionable silence for a couple minutes while my mind tried to process everything that had happened in the past hour. There were so many emotions lacing through me that I might end up with whiplash.

“Where are we going?” I finally asked with a laugh as he steered me up the dirt driveway, away from the house.

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