She smacked her lips loudly and joined me at the headboard. “You can be so heartless sometimes, G.”
“You knew that and still married me, so what does that say about you?”
“Stop smoking in bed,” she deflected, snatching the remote out of my hand. I could’ve kept the banter going, but I knew when to pick and choose my battles, and I wasn’t about to talkmyself out of morning head. “One of these days, you’ll light us both on fire.”
“Yes, my love,” I responded as I lazily smoked the cigarette down to the filter.
“Governor Hopeful Branson is tuning in now to share a message with his supporters.”
“Isn’t that sad, Grant? Would you be sad if I died?”
“Devastated,” I murmured as Thaddeus’s tear-stained face materialized on the television screen. He held his prop—his son—tightly and peered into the camera, refusing to wipe away his tears because he needed the world to see how grief-stricken he was.
“His poor son,” she empathized beside me.
“I agree. I feel sorry for the kid. It’s rough losing a parent.”
Kiyah hummed in agreement, most likely reminiscing about the times we grieved our parents’ loss together. Sometimes, Kiyah would experience crying spells that she tried to keep hidden from our parents. I’d knock on her bedroom door, and the cries would suddenly muffle. I’d let myself into her bedroom, ignoring her soft but harsh whisper for me to go away. I didn’t have any words of encouragement to offer her because I was in the same boat. I could only offer, “I’m here.” And for Kiyah? That was enough.
“It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved wife, Anna. She was taken from my son and me too soon. Twice, she was taken—once with the hit-and-run and again due to carelessness. After continuous prayer, I made the decision to bring Anna home from the skilled nursing facility because I believe in the power of love and that love, along with prayer and medicine, could facilitate her full recovery.”
I snorted.
“What’s so funny, Grant?”
“This is a political power move.”
Kiyah sighed. “I hate to admit it… but… you’re right. He’s roping in the Christian demographic by mentioning prayer—”
“Repeatedly,” I added.
“Yep. He’s also making himself out to be a devoted God-fearing husband. I don’t know. He might be. It’s not my place to judge the man. I don’t know him. I can’t say he isn’t, but I know politics, and his wife’s death is an opportunity. Again, I’m not saying that’s what he’s doing, but I’m sure his campaign manager was whispering in his ear.”
“The next several months will be the most challenging time of my life as I grieve and adjust to my new reality. My years with Anna have been amazing. She’s given me love, kindness, patience, and a beautiful son.”
“Cue the single father bit,” I grumbled.
“I have big shoes to fill as a single father.”
We met eyes knowingly before flicking them back to the screen.
“As much as I believe dropping out of the race for governor of our great state is the right thing to do to focus on my son, I know Anna wouldn’t want me to. She believed in me and my vision for Texas to become one of the leading states in the country. I feel I’ve let her down by not getting her the justice she deserved, but I won’t let Texas down.”
“Now that’s a slogan—I won’t let Texas down. Bravo,” Kiyah murmured, clicking the television off. “And I thought lawyers were scumbags.”
I heard the teasing in her voice, but that didn’t prevent me from pouncing on her. We wrestled, stealing kisses and touches from each other here and there until we heard Casey shouting in the halls about us being late, Dad kicking our asses, and how we had fifteen minutes to get our asses on the bus.
I caressed her lips a final time before pulling away and giving her a reminder. “Oasis Motel; 11:59 PM, Ki.”
* * *
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, turning to my buddy, who looked as equally confused as I was.
“Listen, Big Bro. I-I don’t know what to tell you, but to be 100% transparent with you, I will be under the influence of shrooms in—” He paused to consult his watch, “about 12 to 15 minutes, and according to the nice frat boy I copped them off of on Sixth Street, my trip should last well into the reception.”
“Why the hell are you buying and taking drugs from strangers?” I growled in disappointment.
“Who else do you get drugs from? Do you have a drug dealer on speed dial?”