Page 86 of If You Love Me

“The shower’s all yours,” she said.

Grabbing my things, I headed into the bathroom to shower. Twenty minutes later, I was brushing my teeth and slipping into my pajamas. When I stepped into the bedroom, Evenie was seated on the chaise in front of the bed, flipping through the TV. Her hair products sat at her side. She looked back at me and beckoned me over.

“Come on. You said you would detangle my hair, so get to it, sir.”

I chuckled as I climbed on the bed and positioned myself behind her. She handed me a comb and brush, and I got to work parting her mass of hair into four equal sections. I worked on the first section by parting it in half and working my way from the ends to her roots. As I worked, I noticed that Evenie had a slight tremble. She kept trying to shake it off, but it wasn’t working.

“You okay?” I asked.

She looked up at me with a faint smile. “I’m fine… just a little cold. Keep going.”

I wanted to address it, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. The more I combed, the more she seemed to tremble. I looked around to find her eyes tightly shut and her lips moving with no sound. When a tear slipped from her eye, I stopped brushing.

“Baby, talk to me,” I said softly.

She remained quiet with her eyes closed and her lips pursed.

“Ev, you can talk to me, love. I know it’s something. You’re sitting here trembling and crying. Maybe I can’t fix it, but I can be in it with you if you let me.”

She was quiet for a few seconds longer before taking a deep breath.

“There were times he used to make me roleplay as his wife. Like… put me in her clothes. He used to force me to sit so he could brush my hair and style it like hers. He’d put makeup on me… spray me down with her perfume. Then he would make me lay down and cuddle with him while he smelled me and told me how much he loved me. If I didn’t say it back, he would get mad and hit me.”

I could feel my anger rising. I swear that man was lucky he was dead. Reeling in my anger, I wrapped my arms around my wife and kissed her temple.

“I’m sorry you had to endure that. I wish every day that I could have protected you, but you’re safe now. You’re home, and nobody is ever going to hurt you again.”

The tears were free falling from her eyes at this point.

“I was doing so good…” she said, sniffling. “I thought I’d be okay with this because it was you, but it’s triggering me.”

“What do you need from me right now?”

“Just hold me.”

I put the brush down and wrapped my arms tighter around her. She held onto me, her body still trembling. I heard thepitter patter of Summer Rose’s feet as she came to the door. She paused when she saw her mother crying.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Mommy is just having a moment. You want to help me make her feel better?”

She nodded as she made her way over. “You want me to sing you a song, Mommy?”

Evenie sniffled. “I would love that.”

Summer cleared her throat as she took her mother’s hands. “You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

I smiled as she continued singing. At this point, she’d dropped her hands and was now cupping her face as she sang to her. Summer was truly a special little girl. When she finished singing, she climbed in Evenie’s lap and cuddled up with her while I finished detangling her hair. By the time I was done brushing and twisting it, Summer had fallen asleep.

Evenie got up and carried her to bed while I put her things away. When she returned, I was under the covers, flipping through the channels. She was quiet as she grabbed her bonnet and put it on. When she turned to me, she looked a little nervous. Slowly, she rounded the bed to the vacant side, trailing her finger along the edge. She stood there for a minute, contemplating if she wanted to get in.

Reaching over, I grabbed the covers and tossed them back.

“Come on,” I said, patting the mattress.

She climbed in and immediately cuddled up next to me with her head on my chest and her arms around me. A deep breath expelled from her lips as she finally relaxed.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, stroking her arm.

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