Page 129 of The Blessing

Grey starts fussing from his position in my arms. He’s wanting down so he can crawl around and play with his stuffed animals. I place him on the floor at my feet, but instead of wobbling away, he hugs my legs and stays put. Fucking goofball. I smile at him before turning my attention back to his grandmother.

“Thanks. Ronnie put a lot of work into it.”

“I can see that. Well, let me give Grey one last kiss and I better get going,” she says, not bothering to hide her boredom.

“You want to leave already? You just got here,” I try to reason with her. “Besides, the food hasn’t gotten here yet.”

“What are we having?” she asks. Although, I don’t know why. It’s obvious she’s completely uninterested in this whole affair.

“Pizza,” I answer simply. “Then we’re having Grey’s birthday cake and ice cream.”

“You know I can’t eat that stuff, Trevor,” she answers in that tsk-tsk type of tone. “I’m on a diet. I’m sure my personal trainer would have a field day if he knew what you were planning to feed me.”

I sigh, defeated. If she wants to go, fine. I guess I’m just happy she gave Grey a few moments of her time in the first place. But he’s her only grandchild for fuck’s sake! Why wouldn’t she want to be involved in his life? Whatever. Good. Fucking. Riddance. If she doesn’t want to be here, fucking fine. I obviously can’t fucking stop her.

“You don’t want to stick around to see Travis?” Hell, she always loved him more than me. I’m surprised she doesn’t want to wait around so she can say “hello.”

“I might drop in after I run my errands,” she says as if that were a compromise.

Can’t her fucking errands wait?

“That’s fine,” I say, no longer giving a shit.

She kneels down to say goodbye to the birthday boy, quickly giving him a hug and a kiss before she stands and turns to leave. “I love you, Greyson,” she says to him before giving him one last wave and leaving my apartment. I pick him back up and return to Ronnie’s side. She’s talking to Eden and Josie. I see they’ve moved their conversation to the dessert table, where they would be in clear view of my entire conversation with Evelyn. Jesus, can Ronnie be any more transparent?

I attempt to pass Grey off to her so I can grab a drink for myself, but she quickly stops me. “I think the pizzas are here,” she says before walking past me toward the front door.

“Pizza?” I ask, confused. No one knocked on the door that I heard.

“Yeah,” she says, looking suddenly flustered. “I have to run downstairs to get them. They mixed up the apartment numbers.”

Fuck, she’s a terrible liar. I nod, pretending like I believe her and let her leave with every intention of following her. I quickly turn to Eden and ask if she could hold onto Grey for a bit. She doesn’t miss a beat and quickly takes him from my arms. I walk slowly across the room so no one’s alarmed, jog down the hallway, and run down the steps until I’m outside our apartment building. I find her in the parking lot with Evelyn. I stop in my tracks behind a van so they don’t notice me. Ronnie is right up in her face. My beautiful girl’s face is flushed with anger as she speaks. I stand back in shock. Once I feel neither of them have realized I’ve joined them outside, I take a few steps forward so I can hear them more clearly.

“I don’t understand, Evelyn! Just help me fucking understand!” Ronnie shouts in her face. “That’s your grandson in there and you can’t seem to give him the time of day. And Trevor… God, do you know how your actions have affected him? I know you’re not his mother… but you raised him! How could you not love him at all?”

“I don’t have to stand here and listen to this,” Evelyn tells her as she attempts to walk away.

“You don’t have to listen to anything, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to hear it! Greyson loves you—you’re his grandma for God’s sake—yet you don’t even pay any attention to him. And Trevor… Trevor loves you even if he can’t admit that to himself. How could you possibly be so blind to this, Evelyn? I’ve only seen you and Trevor together twice and I can see that much!” Ronnie’s near tears at this point, still standing in front of the woman I called “mom” for so many years so she can’t walk away. “Evelyn, how could you not love him? He was just a little boy. He was innocent in all that shit.”

Tears fill my own eyes as I listen to her. I can’t believe she’s standing up for me in this way. She’s saying all the stuff I’d never say myself. She’s saying all the shit I didn’t even want to admit to myself. Ronnie sees me for what I am and understands me better than anyone. In this moment, I feel like I’m falling in love with her all over again. Fuck, I love her more than anyone has ever loved another person, and it’s obvious now that she feels the same way.

“He needed you! Grey needs you! Why are you acting like this? How can you act like this? Don’t you care about anyone? Or do you really only care about yourself?”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Evelyn coldly cuts her off. “You just met me. How dare you act like you know me enough to judge me?”

“I may have just met you, but Trevor has told me enough.”

“Did he?” She snorts. “Did he tell you about his father? Do you understand what it’s like to raise a child that’s not your own?”

“I’m sorry about that, but like I said, Trevor was an innocent child! Why make him pay for his father’s sins? He didn’t do anything to hurt anyone,” Ronnie says, her voice still trembling with anger.

“It doesn’t matter,” she waves her off. “He was a constant reminder of my husband’s infidelity. Although, even if he were mine, I’d feel the same way about him. He’s been a fuck-up his entire life. Ever since he was a little kid, he caused nothing but trouble. He never held a candle to my son—”

Ronnie’s hand shoots out and slaps Evelyn across the cheek, shutting her up. As soon as her hand makes contact, I hear her gasp and she quickly steps back, covering her face with her hands. She’s too shocked to speak. When she finally regains her composure she spits out, “How could he get any better with a mother who didn’t believe in him? A woman who would speak of his faults every time he even tried to succeed. How dare you treat a child like that!”

“How dare I?” Evelyn mocks. “Strong words coming from a young girl who doesn’t have a child of her own. You can play mommy all day long with my grandson, but that doesn’t make you a real mother.” She stops for a moment to look Ronnie up and down before saying, “Dean really did do a disservice to his son when he named Trevor as his guardian.”

Ronnie brings her hand up again, and for a moment I think she’s going to smack her once. Her hand shakes in the air before she clenches it into a fist and brings it down to her side. I can see her entire body is shaking as she takes another step toward Evelyn. “Trevor is a better parent than you could ever be. I might not know you well, but of that, I’m certain. He isn’t a fuck-up. He’s a beautiful man who’s had a tough upbringing. A man who’s dealt with so much and has overcome every obstacle he’s faced. You see someone who’s flawed, and I do, too. Except, I find his flaws beautiful because I love every part of him. He’s the best father Grey could ever have. I wish I could’ve met Dean because it would’ve been nice to have known someone who loved Trevor unconditionally like I do. Evelyn, did you ever stop to think that maybe Dean knew it would be a mistake to leave Grey with you?! No—he knew Trevor was going to be the parent Grey needed. He knew that his brother would’ve made the best possible father for his son. Anyway, you may not love them, but I love them enough for both of us.”