Page 70 of Hung Up
She’s my height, which makes me feel a little less out of place, considering Stevie’s smaller five-foot-three stature. It’s obvious that this is their older sister, Addie. It’s almost like I’m looking at an early thirties version of their mother—blonde hair, oval face with a sharp chin, a nose that hooks a little at the end, and freckles dancing across her cheeks.
The only thing these three share is the same piercing green eyes.
Stevie has dark brown hair that’s been dyed to fade to blonde at the ends, and I have a sneaking suspicion it’s to look a little more like her mother and sister. From glancing at the picture frame with their father, it’s obvious that Jesse got his looks from him over his mother.
“Okay, time for some ground rules,” Loretta says from her spot at the stove as she turns around to look at the four of us. “No arguing about the houses, no talking about any of your sexual habits,” Addie's brows shoot up at that one, “and for the love of all that is holy, no swearing in this house. Got it?”
The three siblings nod in unison, and the sight makes me laugh through my nose. Jesse glances at me and winks before he walks up to his mother, leaving me with his sisters. Addie walks over and holds out her arms, letting me decide whether or not I want to step into them. Shrugging, I close the distance and step into her embrace, a brief and welcoming exchange.
“I’m Addie.” She smiles, and I can’t help but feel a little envious of her smile—it seems all the Hayes children were blessed with beautiful, straight, white teeth. “You must be Faith. It’s so great to finally meet you. I’ve watched a few of your interviews.”
“You have?” She nods, and I find my grin mimicking hers. “Which ones?”
“You covered a few boxing matches a couple years ago.” Considering I only covered boxing for two short months in my entire career, I know exactly what she’s talking about. Boxing was a little too gruesome for me. “When Jesse finally told us your name, I ended up watching a few of those, too. It’s really impressive how you’re able to throw yourself into any sport you’re handed.”
I can feel Jesse’s eyes on my back as a blush creeps into my cheeks. “Thank you, that means a lot.”
Before she can respond, Jesse appears beside us, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Well, you girls will have to make plans to chat some other time. We’re going back to my place.”
I frown. “I thought we were having dinner here?”
“Plans changed a little for me tomorrow while you were chatting with Stevie, so I want to make you dinner tonight, instead. We’ll have dinner here tomorrow.”
“Yeah, not a chance, brother,” Stevie replies, her hands on her hips. “You just got here. You get to see her all the time; she’s staying. You’re more than welcome to go home, though.”
I’m about to open my mouth, but Addie beats me to it. “She’s right, you know. You brought her here to meet us, not to hide her away in your house.”
“Technically, this was supposed to be my two days with her. Meeting you guys was just an unfortunate result.”I can’t believe he’s pouting right now.
“An unfortunate result?” Stevie looks genuinely offended and takes what I think is supposed to be a threatening step closer to her brother. “The only unfortunate thing for her is having to deal with you.”
“Guys,” Addie starts, trying to get them to stop, but Jesse removes his arm around me and closes the gap between him and his sister so they’re toe to toe.
Stevie’s neck cranes back as she looks up at him. Her eyes narrow and her shoulders roll back, so I take a small step to the side so they can see me as I say, “Are you two really fighting over me right now?”
“Why don’t you come over here, honey?” Loretta calls from her spot at the stove. “Tell me what you think of this.”
Jesse and Stevie are chest to chest now, yelling over one another to try and get in the last word. I roll my eyes and leavethem to it, heading into the kitchen and joining Loretta. As I approach her side, she holds a wooden spoon in my direction that has some red sauce on it. The second it lands on my tastebuds, I swear I’m in heaven and have to fight the moan from slipping past my lips.
“That is the best sauce I’ve ever tasted in my life,” I tell her as she goes back to stirring, a large, satisfied smile on her surprisingly smooth face. “If I knew the first thing about cooking, I would ask for your recipe.”
“Your mother never taught you?”
I hesitate, my mouth opening and closing for a brief moment. How much do I tell her? Do I really want to divulge the details of my childhood with her? But one look at her face and I find myself crumbling. Loretta has that motherly aura that immediately pulls you in, making you want to tell her everything—your fears, worries, concerns—because you just know she’ll take care of you.
God, I’ve missed that.
“She never really had the time,” I start, trying to get myself comfortable with opening up about this part of my life with someone else. “I mean, I was an only child, but she had…other things she had to worry about.”
Loretta gives me her full attention, the spoon now resting on a small dish on the countertop as she faces me. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, honey. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, it’s okay.” I glance behind me to see Jesse and Stevie in the living room, having an arm wrestle on the coffee table. I take a deep breath, turning back around. “My father, well, he cheated on my mother. A lot. He also got really angry when he was drunk. It rarely ever got physical, but he was really good at beating her down emotionally. And since she refused to leave him because she didn’t want me growing up in a split household, I spent more time being her shoulder to cry on and trying toprotect her than I did actually being a kid. So, no. She didn’t really have the time to teach me.”
I prepare myself for sympathy, for an onslaught of I’m sorry’s and hugs in an attempt to comfort me. But much to my surprise, I don’t get that. Instead, Loretta takes off her apron and slips it over my head, spinning me to tie the string behind my back. Once it’s secure, she reaches for my hand and leads me over to the adjoining counter where one uncut yellow pepper lies amongst a set of chopped ones.
“Why don’t you cut that pepper for me, and I’ll get the ingredients you need for the dip?”
Nodding, I wordlessly grab the knife and begin to cut the pepper in front of me. It’s not until I’m halfway done that I realize what Loretta did—distract me.
