Page 51 of Falling for Autumn
“And of course, Reuben told you.”
“Exactly.”
“I feel like such a fool. Everyone knew about it but me. I was accompanying him everywhere, bringing him around my daughter, letting him in my home, and I never really knew him.”
“You know him, Autumn. October is who he says he is.”
I scoffed. “And so much more. I’m not sure how much I mattered to him when he couldn’t even be bothered to tell me about this child. He was so busy judging Wilson, and he was in the same boat as he was. Not to mention, he’s been in jail for DV. How comfortable should I feel with that? I found myself wondering how long it would be before he put his hands on me.”
“Stop, Autumn.”
“No. You have no idea what a fool I felt like standing there trying to explain to my daughter’s father why I allowed another man to be in her life when I wouldn’t allow him in her life, especially when that other man was just as negligent of his responsibilities as Wilson was. I felt like such a damn fool. There was no way that I should have learned all that from Wilson.”
“Autumn, stop. Please.”
“For what? I don’t want to hear you defend him, Sarai. I know that he’s your husband’s cousin, but nothing justifies him lying to me or the things that he did.”
“You’re absolutely right. Nothing justifies his lying to you. And nothing could justify his actions, if in fact he did those terrible things, but he didn’t.”
I was ready to argue again, but her words stopped me from going further. Heat rushed over my face, and I knew that my cheeks were colored red. “What are you talking about? He admitted to them, Sarai.”
I was getting angry and ready to walk away from her. I really liked Sarai when I met her, and we had had lunch three times since then and talked almost daily. I loved the way that October’s circle had pulled me in; the women weren’t catty but welcoming. Yet, when everything went down between him and me, I had pushed back. I just needed time alone, and listening to what she was saying, I could tell that we probably wouldn’t continue our friendship.
“Did he admit to them, Autumn? Because, from my understanding, you asked him very pointed questions that he had to answer. But those questions don’t get to the heart of the matter, nor do they tell the truth.”
“I went online myself, Sarai. I saw that he served two years in the Withrow County Correctional Facility for domestic violence against Trisha Johnson.”
“You may have seen that, but it doesn’t tell the story,” she stated, smacking the back of her hand into her other palm.
“I guess you’re going to tell me that he was framed or he didn’t do it.”
“I’m going to tell you that it’s not my place to tell you anything, but I know that you’re both too stubborn to come together and work through it.”
“I’m not stubborn, and neither is he.”
“On this matter, you are. You’re being stubborn to protect your daughter and your heart after already being hurt. You have the right to do both those things, but you owe yourself, Auburn, and October the decency to hear the truth . . . the full story, Autumn.”
My jaws clenched, and Auburn started whining and wiggling in the cart. I pulled her up and into my arms. Patting her back, I replied, “I have to get home. My baby is hungry and sleepy, Sarai.”
“Fine. But let me leave this on your heart and mind: The only child he has is Auburn. There’s not a single child on this planet that has his DNA in their body. As it relates to the DV case, it was a setup to send him away. Consider that, and then I want you to be fair and at least hear him out. If you don’t like what he has to say and decide to continue the way you are, fine. But at least give him the benefit of the doubt.”
I shook my head as I continued patting Auburn. “Fine.” That was all I would concede to.
“I hope to see you again, sis. We consider you family,” Sarai stated and walked away.
I had planned to run one more errand before I headed back to my parents’ house. That wasn’t going to happen. I needed to get back and feed my child. After that, I had other plans to see to.
I hadn’t told my parents or GiGi all the details about what happened between October and me, because they were quick tojudge. I had told Wynter what happened, and she advised me to give him the grace to tell me everything. Now that Sarai had said what she’d said, I knew that maybe my little sister was right.
Wynter reminded me of when Frost hadn’t told her what was going on in his life when they’d first started dating. She thought he was cheating with the mother of his daughter because he went running every time she called. In fact, his daughter had some health complications that required them to be at her side whenever things went left. Once they had that conversation, it cleared up so much in their relationship. They had been great ever since, and they had a marriage that I envied.
I rushed back to my parents’house, fed Auburn her chicken nugget meal for lunch, bathed her, and then put her in bed for a nap. I asked my mama if she could watch Auburn for the rest of the day and night because I had some things that I needed to take care of. No sooner than she said yes, GiGi stepped into the room and hollered, “Girl, gon’ get your man. I was gonna give you another day to come to your senses before I went and snatched him up.” Mama and I both hollered at the same time, and I ran out of the house. I did not doubt that GiGi would try her hand with October if given half a chance.
A part of me regretted even opening the door for Wilson when he showed up on my doorstep out of the blue. When I saw him standing there, it had taken me by surprise. He came bearing diapers and a can of milk.
I should have thrown it back in his face. He had to know that she had outgrown all that by then, but he hadn’t. Foolishly, I had allowed him into my house when I should have slammed the door in his face. He came with apologies and “gifts,” beggingmy forgiveness. He said he at least wanted to see his seed. It was pitiful that the last time he had seen her, she was a few months old.
Somehow, I had convinced myself that he could explain his absence in her life. I hoped that he had something to tell me that made sense; he hadn’t. Wilson’s only interest had been in me and not Auburn at all. All the questions he asked were about me, what was going on in my life, and if I had moved on.
