Page 34 of A Major Love

“How you doing, Mr. Love?” Major said from a few steps behind me.

My father loosened his hold but kept his arms around me when he heard Major’s voice.

“I’m doing well, son. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

He released me and stepped around me to stand between Major and me.

“I thought it was time,” Major told him.

“Oh, it’s past time. Let’s go for a walk. Baby girl, your mother is in the kitchen. We’ll be back shortly.”

I didn’t object to my father talking to Major privately. He probably had a lot to say to the man who broke his only daughter’s heart, and who was I to interfere? As they walked away from my parents’ house, I went inside.

“Hey, Ma!” I greeted excitedly.

She stopped what she was doing at the sound of my voice, then turned around with her arms outstretched and a smile.

“There’s my baby. Major finally turned you loose, huh?”

We hugged as if it had been years since we last saw each other in person, but it had only been about two months.

“Yes and no,” I responded after kissing her cheek.

“What do you mean?”

“He came with me, and he went for a walk with Daddy.”

“Oh yeah? That should be interesting. You’re glowing, so I assume your reunion went well.”

We sat at the kitchen table, and my mother gave me her full attention.

“Overall, it went well, but we had some tense moments. I feel like I made it too easy for him. I wanted to give him hell, but when I saw him, most of the things I planned to say were forgotten.”

“Because you’re in love with him, and that took precedent. Did you get the kind of apology you deserved, and were you able to get some things off your chest?”

“He apologized a few times, and I believe they were genuine. When my brain was working, I said what needed to be said. He took the blame for everything that happened—or didn’t happen between us.”

“As he should have. He’s the one who screwed up.”

“He is, but after he explained, I somewhat understand.”

“Really? Do tell.”

“I don’t want to get into everything we discussed, but to keep it simple, the plan was for me to be in Onyx City for two years.When those two years turned into four, he wasn’t prepared for me to be away that long.”

“Didn’t you discuss your plans with him before making final decisions?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t say we discussed them. It was more like I told him about the opportunities, and he encouraged me to take them. When I got the internship, he decided that my time away no longer had an expiration date, but he would never ask me not to accept it.”

“Basically, your time apart became too much, and he didn’t know how to tell you?”

“Yeah. We’d always been honest with each other, or so I thought, but he never expressed how much the distance was wearing on him. When he messed around with his daughter’s mother, and she ended up pregnant, that was the beginning of the end for us.”

“A conversation between you two was necessary for you to completely heal from that situation, whether you choose to give him another chance or not. I know you two still love each other, and even if he doesn’t end up being my son-in-law, at least we can finally stop hiding our friendship with Marjorie and Godfrey.”

“What? Y’all still talk to the Lloyds?” I questioned, shocked and confused.

“We sure do. Things were a little tense when everything happened because your father and I wanted answers. They were just as pissed as we were and gave Major a hard time for a while. Ultimately, we decided that whatever was going on between our children was none of our business and to stay out of it.”