Chapter 24
As Famke finished reading a bedtime story to Precious, she was torn in her feelings. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever anticipated a moment in her life where she would be able to do the things, she had done that night. Helping Imani give Precious her bath and then picking out pajamas and reading a bedtime story were all pipedreams she had never permitted herself to contemplate. She was snuggled up to the child who was tucked in her bed with Royal sitting at the end of the bed watching and it felt intimate and special. For the first time in her life, she felt like a mom. Yet, for all these blessings, she was feeling terror and sorrow and more than a smidge of anger.
None of this was real.
It didn’t matter how much she had wanted it to be. She could never be Precious’ mother. The role had
belonged solely to Mindy and those were not shoes she was capable of filling. The photo of Mindy, Prince and Precious on the bedside table mocked her desperate craving to be more than a friend Precious had made at a coffee shop owned by her uncle’s best friend. The only way this could end was in heartbreak for Famke. She couldn’t shake the thought.
As she closed the book with a quiet movement, Precious turned her big brown eyes to her.
“You read stories good,” she blinked up at her. “You do all the voices.”
She smiled and hugged her to her side, “Bram used to insist.”
“Did you have to read him stories because your mommy and daddy died too?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “My mom and dad both died in a car accident when I was sixteen and Bram was eight. My aunt took us in until Bram got sick, but she couldn’t take good care of Bram, so we moved out on our own. One of Bram’s favorite things was reading stories. I used to read him a chapter a night from his favorite books while he was, in the hospital but sometimes, he would beg me to keep reading and I would read until he fell asleep. I might have spoiled him a bit because he was sad.”
“I’m glad you’re here to read me stories.” Precious snuggled against her. “I wish you could stay with me forever. Uncle Royal doesn’t do the voices right.”
If ever a child had mastered the art of begging with their eyes, Precious could run the master class. Her eyelashes batted and her lips pursed as she looked between her uncle and Famke.
Oof. Famke decided this child might be the death of her sanity and the catalyst to the worst heartbreak of her life if she continued to play the pitiful, woe-is-me cards she was holding up.
“Who would do my job at the coffee shop if I stayed here with you?” she made eyes at Precious trying to make light of the request. “Also, Bram goes to school in Pittsburgh. I don’t want him to live all alone. Here you have your family, but I am Bram’s family.”
“Bram can stay here and go to school with me, and Keshaun could make a coffee shop here for you. He’s
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Chapter 24
rich.”
She flicked an annoyed glance at the smirking man at the end of the bed who hadn’t offered an ounce of help to dissuade this conversation.
“All of my things are in Pittsburgh.”
“We can get a truck and bring them like we brought my stuff from my old house.” Precious wasn’t giving
“Sweetie, it’s not so simple.”
“Why not? I love you, Famke. You’re my bestest friend. I don’t want you to go away. I promise to be a good girl. You will never have to yell at me or anything. I won’t even tattle on you if you smoke cigarettes.”
This was the second time in an evening the tattling thing had risen up and she frowned at it. “I don’t smoke cigarettes, but can I ask why you would think this is important?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“What if it’s important though?” Famke asked. “Maybe we need to talk about it. Maybe it wasn’t tattling but telling. Smoking is dangerous.” She shot a glance at Royal who was now frowning at the words of the
child.
“Nu-uh,” she shook her head vehemently. “I can’t tell. I promise I’ll never tattle on you, Famke. I promise. Please stay forever with me. There’s lots of rooms in Uncle Royal’s house.”
She took a deep breath. “Sweetie, I have my own life in Pittsburgh, but you can come visit me.”
