Page 116 of Hot Tea & Bird Calls
“Again, not that simple.”
“Shanice breastfeeds Theo around the clock. You get to leave the house for hours to smack a ball around, and I only hope she gets an equivalent of that time to herself.”
At that, Byron steeled, and so did the air of the room. A bubble-popping game sounded from Briana’s phone. God, Celene shouldn’t chastise her father at a low point, but this was pissing her off. Shanice wouldn’t allow herself to spend more than an hour at the gym with Celene until she rushed home to tend to the baby.
“You don’t understand,” Byron said, voice thickening to something she used to heed.
Celene shrugged away from Donovan. She had enough weight on her shoulders. “Then, help me understand.”
“Relationships are work. Children—” He gestured at Fiona spinning in place as she tapped at the screen, then the drip connected to his hand, bright against his deep tan skin. “Are work, Celene. You don’t understand because you can’t understand. If I need advice about coaching managers, you’re the first one I’ll call. Dealing withlifestuff is my domain.”
The tension now made its way around Celene’s neck. Her single sigh may have hinted at her frustration, yet she sharpened her glare in metal stakes. She’d left a bed warm from actual love in her life to get ridicule?
Around her, the rest of their party shuffled uncomfortably. At a loss. Specifically, Celene met her typically talkative sister’s eyes, disappointed by those eyes growing wide and not her mouth in a rebuttal. Was everyone stunned? Or did they agree?
Celene gripped the bedside control panel, not realizing she’d gnashed her teeth into her inside cheek until she tasted blood. “Isn’t that convenient?”
He hadn’t expected that response. Her father straightened in a soft, weak wince, his short nails scratching into his cheek.
“When I’m available, my unmarried status is a plus for you. You siphon my time and energy with barely any consideration for thislifeyou’re throwing in my face.” Celene’s nostrils flaredwith her temperature. “Then, when you’re angry, you hurl it at me as a weapon. It’s fucking disrespectful.”
Byron reacted only to the swear word, tutting, “Watch your mouth around?—”
“I don’t give a fuck, Dad.”
“Fifi, let’s go find your sister. Maybe she got Cheetos.” Briana corralled the only minor out of the room. Reluctantly, Celene was sure, since she loved being in the know.
“Talk about disrespect,” Byron retorted, his gruff voice rising. “I’m your father and I’m in the damn hospital?—”
“Exactly.” Celene sneered the meanest smile she could dole out as she stressed each syllable. Donovan cursed under his breath. “You’re in the hospital. Something’s gone wrong and you’ll need to fix it, won’t you? You’ll need a lifestyle change.” Her stomach pressed harder against the bed’s side. “Why didn’t you tell me Shanice struggled through postpartum?”
“What does that have to do with?—”
“Dad. I know you love her, but admitting you need help isn’t conceding you’re too old.”
It finally clicked. Withstanding the anger sewn into his thick eyebrows, understanding came through. “Yes, it does. I’d been there for your kids’ mothers.”
“And it’s a new day and age.” Celene patted his knee under the cold, starched covers. The one he’d been rubbing last time. Her point was clear. “I may not be married, and I may not know how to rock an infant to sleep. God, I may get abandoned by a fiancée and disappear for weeks and take on your stupid pet projects, but I’m not a disposable woman. I’m more than who I’m attached to.”
Celene’s breath faltered when Elise formed at her side, hand clasping her shoulder.
Elise had a smile for Byron. More than Celene could muster. “Celene’s done a fantastic job on the summer house, Dad. Pictures don’t do it justice.”
Donovan nodded dutifully, his black hair too gelled to bend. “Izzy won’t stop asking about it.”
“I put up the security cameras,” Ajay threw in, grinning. “Before that, you didn’t have to worry about anyone sneaking there. It looked condemned.”
Getting backup touched Celene, though she continued searching her father’s face. His frown hadn’t subsided.
Seconds ticked by with the beeps on the vitals monitor.
Seconds, then over a minute.
And Celene tried, “Dad?”
For acknowledgement. An apology. Anything.
Instead, as stubborn as one could be, he hit the console button to slant into its resting angle, his eyes closing. “I need sleep. See yourselves out.”
