Promise by A.Somers (top 10 motivational books .TXT) 📕

Chapter 7—

We finally pulled into the driveway of my house, back to the way we had always done. “Are you ready for this?” I breathed. My eyes were looking straight into Brad’s, studying his expression. He smiled and nodded. I turned to look back at Bradley, who was fast asleep in the backseat. Brad’s things were in the trunk, ready to be moved back into the house. I sighed, took a deep breath, and opened the door. I got Bradley out of the back seat, closing the door gently so that he wouldn’t wake. I walked steadily to the door and opened it. Brad followed, hesitantly, behind me. God, let them see! I walked into the house, taking Brad’s hand as I stepped in. We walked to the living room where my mom and Mike were waiting. Their smiles disappeared the moment they saw us, Brad particularly. Mike stood up and my mother grabbed his arm, preventing him from moving any further. “Hey,” I murmured. Mike’s face was stern; my mother’s nearly the same. “Alison. Kaye. Mitchell,” my parents breathed in synchronization. I suddenly felt scared, which was new for me. I’d never been in trouble with them before. I was always good, and in this case, I wasn’t really being ‘bad’. I could feel Brad tense up behind me, his hand still in mine. I took a deep breath, getting ready to explain. My mother stood up before I could gather the words together in my brain. I turned around to Brad and gave him Bradley. “Go on upstairs with him and I’ll be there in a minute,” I smiled at him. He smiled back and went up the stairs. I turned slowly back to my mother. Her face was softer this time, calmer. Mike’s was the same. I opened my mouth. My mother’s eyes filled with tears and she wrapped me in her arms. She sobbed quietly on my shoulder. I was confused. What this about Brad, or was it something else? I comforted my mom, rubbing her back. When she was calm enough to speak, she turned to see my face. I could tell that this wasn’t about Brad at all. Her eyes dropped to the floor as she spoke, “Your grandmother called this afternoon, before you got home.”

I was definitely confused now. Mammaw had been dead for almost 4 years now. Then it came to me, I had more than just one side to my family. I’d never known my father’s side of the family. Mike and Mom were my family. Why would she have called if she’d never met me? Mike’s voice broke the silence, “Honey, you’re dad was in an accident. He passed away this morning.” I wasn’t sure what to think, as I allowed the words to sink in. Of course, I was a little sad, someone was dead. But, it didn’t tragically hit me. I mean, I’d never met the man. And, from what I was told, he didn’t want to meet me. So, tears didn’t come to me. Mike spoke again, this time quieter, “Why is he here, Alison?” My gazed met his eyes, and I began to try to explain to him. “I forgive him. And, I hope that you can too. You don’t have to clearly understand, if you don’t want to. But, Bradley deserves to have a family. A complete family, with his daddy too. We can’t give that to him, not alone. But, we can forgive. I really do love him Daddy. I do.” Mike’s expression softened. I wasn’t sure why, but something looked as if it had melted his heart. Little tears streaked his cheeks. “Wha…What did you say?” I was confused for a moment. “I…uh... I said I love him.” His hands came up to embrace my face. His fingers smoothed across my cheeks. He pressed his lips to my forehead. I smiled. What had I done to make him this happy? “Baby girl, you called me Daddy.” Tears were streaming now. I hugged him tightly. That meant the world to him. I’d never known that before. He’s always been my dad; I just never thought to call him so. He stroked my hair. I smiled widely. “Dad, can he stay? Please.” He looked down at me and nodded. He hugged me once more and kissed my forehead. I leaned down to hug my mother, who was sitting down on the couch, amazed by what she had just seen. I smiled and scurried up the stairs.

Brad was in my room lying down with Bradley, both of them knocked out. I stood in the doorway, smiling at them. I went to the closet, quietly, and got out some sweatpants and a tank top. I went to the bathroom and closed the door slowly. I threw my hair into a messy bun and put my pajamas on. I brushed my teeth and rinsed my mouth quickly. I opened the door slowly. I flipped the light off and walked to my bed where Brad and Bradley were still stretched out wide. I leaned over and grabbed Bradley. I carried him to his room, changed his diaper and dressed him in his pajamas. I lay him in his crib, kissed his forehead, and went back to my room. Brad had shifted over to the outside edge of the bed. I climbed over him and rolled over to the other side. I pulled the blankets up over us and curled up next to him, clinging tight. I sighed to myself and smiled. My life was finally done spiraling. It was back to the way it was. I drifted off into a comforting sleep.

Chapter Eight—

When I woke up, the sun was shining bright into my room. My eyes struggled to open in the light. My mind raced back to what had just happened the night before. I smiled. I looked over to find the other side of the bed empty. I wiggled my body over the edge and swung my legs over the edge, dangling my feet. I hopped up and went to carry on my daily routine. I showered quickly, and dressed carelessly. It’s Saturday, who cares!! I thought to myself. I threw my hair into a messy bun and went down the stairs. As I got half way down the stairs, I smelt the amazing aromas coming from the kitchen. Bacon, sausage, eggs, and a hint of cinnamon tickled my senses. It made my mouth water and my body to move quicker. When I got down to the kitchen, I discovered the creator of the scents. Brad was standing at the stove, over a pan of large pancakes, while Bradley dozed off in his carrier. I looked over to the clock and noticed that it was already noon. Wow!! He smiled when he saw me, and I crossed the space between us to kiss him. I breathed as our lips separated and our eyes met. “Good morning beautiful,” he said to me. My face lit up like a Christmas tree and I couldn’t help but smile.

After I had wolfed down my breakfast, I helped Brad clean up the kitchen. I was humming my favorite song, when Brad looked over to me suddenly. His face was thoughtful and I studied his expressions to see what he was about to say. “Let’s go out tonight, just me, you and Bradley. I want to go somewhere special, get dressed up and all, you know?” I looked over to him, my face a little surprised, and smiled. We hadn’t been out anywhere for quite awhile, and I didn’t mind dressing up every now and then. “Sure,” I said. He smiled brightly at me. He turned and picked up Bradley, kissing his face and whispering to him. When I finally had the kitchen cleaned, I went to give Bradley a bath. He didn’t mind baths so much now, which made it easier for me to do. I didn’t like to see him upset or crying. It made me upset. My thoughts wandered back to when I first gave him a bath. My thoughts came back to what I was doing.

I dressed Bradley carefully. I sighed once I had finished, noticing his exhausted expression. I fixed his bottle and laid him down. When he finally fell asleep, I went upstairs to lie down for a few minutes. I plopped down on my bed and closed my eyes. My brain started to race as I thought about the occasion for tonight’s outing. Our anniversary was in June, and it was only April, so it wasn’t that. It wasn’t either of our birthdays. I could not seem to find the reason for this event, but I decided to just go with it and enjoy our night out. I wasn’t sure what restaurant we were going to, but Brad said we were to dress up. So I got up off our bed and went to search my closet for something to wear. I picked out 4 dresses, 2 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, and at least 10 pairs of shoes. After trying on all the things I picked out, I decided to wear a turquoise tank top with silver sequins with a white button-down dress shirt over, and black dress pants. I went through my shoes and found my turquoise, sparkling strappy heels.

When it got close to five, I went back to my room and began to get ready. I straightened my hair, did my make up, and got dressed within an hour. When I was finished, I went to get Bradley all dressed up in his khaki pants, blue and white polo, and socks. I packed a diaper bag full, which included bottles, bottled water, formula, a camouflage bib with “I Love Mommy” printed on the front, and plenty of diapers and wipes. When we were finished, I put him in the carrier, grabbed the bag and my little clutch purse, with my credit and debt card, phone, and wallet in it. I hurried down the stairs to meet Brad at the door. He took Bradley and my hand and we walked out the door. He put