Summer shuddered at his words as he stalked out the room slamming the door.
♥♥♥
Nick was disgusted with himself. He hadn’t handled Summer well at all. What was it with him? Why did he always seem to hurt or upset her? She was only reacting to how he had been treating her. Was it too late? Had he pushed her to the point of no return? He had every intention on apologizing to her for being a jackass and treating her so badly. He was planning to tell her he would do whatever it took to make things right between them, to put the past where it belonged and move forward. Somehow, things had taken a tragic detour. Summer ended up crying and he ended up storming out the room slamming the door.
Needing to burn off frustration, he decided to walk instead of taking a cab back to his office in the blustery February air. The biting cold didn’t seem to bother him as he walked against the gusting wind. Several blocks into the walk his frustration was still present as the cold air began to chill him. Fastening the top button of his wool overcoat, the rectangle box in the breast pocket shifted. The elderly woman he passed gasped, “oh dear” as an expletive exploded from his lips.
Nick nodded and mumbled an apology to the elderly woman. The rectangle box made him think of the sweet, sleeping Summer he’d left at the hospital earlier that morning. Not wanting to wake her he left a note on the bedside table.
Summer,
I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful.
I’ll be back later this morning to see you and the baby.
Sweet dreams,
Nick
Before coming to the hospital, he stopped at Tiffany’s on Walnut Street. The platinum three-carat diamond tennis bracelet in the display case caught his eye. Beautiful and sparkling, reminding him of Summer. Nick let out a deep sigh. Enemy. She thinks I treat her like an enemy. For her to make such a statement meant her feelings for him were changing, if they already hadn’t. Summer was slipping threw his fingers; he felt it in his gut.
♥♥♥
How they did it, Summer didn’t care. She thanked the Lord in heaven her parents made it to Philly. It was only by His grace that they had. Their surprised arrival was just the pick me up she needed. She hadn’t expected them until later that night or the next day. Summer was sitting in a chair nursing the baby when her mother barged through the door with dramatic flair startling her.
“Baby, I tried to get here as fast as I could!”
Rushing over to her daughter, Nita awkwardly hugged her tight, making sure not to squeeze the baby.
Summer leaned into her mother’s embrace. “Mommy you made it. Where’s daddy?”
Waving her hand, “He’s out there. Saw the sign ‘Mother is Nursing’ on the door. Said he wait until you’re done.”
Removing the baby from her breast, Summer laid the infant against her chest gently patting his back. Her mother smiled as tears shone in her eyes. “My baby is a mother. I remember the day you were born, seems like yesterday.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course baby. That’s something you’ll never forget.” Nita smiled. “You’ll see.”
Summer nodded her head in agreement. After all the pain and suffering she’d gone through, she was sure she would never forget it either.
“You want to hold your first grandbaby?”
“Yes, but let me go get your daddy first. You know how impatient he is. Probably out there complaining ‘bout what’s taking you so long.”
Summer’s mom left the room quickly returning with her husband.
“There’s my princess.” Summer’s dad announced loudly with a smile in his voice as he went to his daughter with outstretched arms.
“Hey daddy.”
Summer held the baby in her mother’s direction, prompting her to take him. She wanted, no, needed her father to hold her. It had been so long since she’d been in his arms.
As soon as her mom took the baby her dad held her in his strong arms making her feel safe. The moment her head hit her father’s shoulder she started to weep.
“What’s the matter princess?” Her father’s deep vibrating voice soothingly caressed Summer, making her almost forget about Nick, his funky attitude and the fight they had earlier.
“I’m just glad to see you and Mommy.” Summer said as she clung to her father.
“Princess you know the minute they cleared that runway we’d be here. We would have been a lot longer getting here if that Nick fella hadn’t chartered us a jet.”
Summer’s father smoothed her hair, stroking the long strains as he talked. Summer felt like a ten year old again as her father called her by her childhood name and stroked her hair. Usually she cringed every time her dad called her princess; after all, she was a twenty-six year old woman. However, for the moment she allowed herself to go back to that safe place when she was a child and her daddy could make anything better.