WIDOWer

CHAPTER 5

Warren arrives home a little before three and Lisa is sitting in the kitchen when he walks inside

“I was starting to think you were intentionally trying to wait for Julie to get home to avoid talking to me” she states when she sees him

Walking over to her Warren says

“Hey Ma! Thank you so much for being here!” he says sweetly giving her a quick kiss on the cheek

Lisa laughs and says

“Don’t even try it!”

“Tell me about this friend, girlfriend, that I had to hear about from Julie”

Sitting down to the table Warren asks

“What is the big deal?”

“There is no big deal, I’m just curious, that’s all”

“I just asked Julie how she felt about me having a friend. She assumed I meant a girlfriend”

“I’m not talking about Julie. Tell me about the girlfriend. And don’t try to deny it, you already told me that you have one!”

Warren laughs then asks

“What would you like to know Mother?”

“Everything!”

“Well, not everything!” she adds quickly

“But, what’s her name? How long have you been dating? And does she have kids?”

“Her name is Bria, I’ve been seeing her a little over three months and no, she doesn’t have any kids”

“Has she met Julie?” she asks

“That’s actually a funny story.” He responds and Lisa eyes him inquisitively

“Funny story how?”

“Well, her and Julie have known each other for years. But I only found out they knew each other at Julie’s birthday party, this past weekend. So, to answer your question, yes and no”

“Julie knows her as Aunt Renee, not my girlfriend”

“Aunt Renee, you mean Sue’s sister?” Lisa asks

“Yeah, it’s not her real sister, they’re best friends. But yes.”

“Oh, yeah. Julie is crazy about her. She talks about her more than Sue when she goes over there. Especially this weekend, she bought her a bunch of stuff from her birthday list, and it was her birthday yesterday” Lisa laughs then narrows her eyes realizing he’d been with her

“That’s where you were. And I thought you had a business trip.”

Ignoring her Warren says

“So, I’m not really sure how to go about it. Aunt Renee is supposed to be coming over for dinner tonight so Julie can give her, a birthday gift.”

Lisa laughs and stands up, walking over to the sink, she says

“I was going to cook a pot roast for dinner tonight”

“You’re staying here again tonight?” he asks turning to look at her

“Yes, I was. If that’s ok.” She replies

Walking back over to Warren, Lisa says

“For tonight, just let her treat Aunt Renee to dinner and give her, her birthday present.”

“I personally can’t wait to meet, what did you say her other name was?”

“Bria!”

“Yes, Bria! I can’t wait to meet Bria!”

“Ma!” Warren calls out when Lisa starts walking towards the garage

“I’m going to the store!” she replies not turning around

Warren gets up and follows her. When he walks out to the garage, he lets up the door and sees Doug driving up.

“Ma, can you get Julie from school. I can meet you at the store!”

“Yes, I’ll pick her up. And don’t worry about meeting us. I’ll make sure she gets your girlfriend a nice gift!” Lisa states laughing as she pulls out of the garage

Shaking his head, Warren walks out to meet Doug. As they’re standing at the trunk of his car, Marcus pulls up beside them.

“Are we planning a bachelor party or what!” Marcus says getting out of the car

“No! Look, this gift bag and this card were given to Bria!”

Marcus and Doug just stand there dumbfounded

“From who? You” Marcus asks

Reaching him the card, Warren states

“No, not me, some guy she works with!”

When Marcus opens the card, he cracks up and says

“Ha-ha!” then reaching the pictures to Doug they both laugh, and Warren says

“I’m glad y’all find this so funny!”

Once they collect themselves, Marcus asks

“Ok, so if…” he pauses looking back at the card

“If Dillon gave this, all of this…” he says gesturing to the bag and card

“To Bria, then how in the hell did you get it?”

“When she met me Saturday, she was upset and later she ended up telling me that it had something to do with him accosting her in the parking garage at her office. She really didn’t go into detail about what happened. But she was adamant she didn’t want the gift bag, she wouldn’t even open it. She told me to throw it away. So, after I looked inside to see what it was, I threw it away.”

“Then called me to come get it!” Doug says finishing his story

“Yes!” Warren replies

“Ok, so what are you going to do with it?” Marcus asks

“Bro, this is an HR situation!” he adds

“I don’t know yet. But this definitely isn’t going to HR.”

“This stays between the three of us! Because whatever happens, Bria can’t find out about any of this.”

“Wait, wait! So, Bria doesn’t know about none of this?”

“The lingerie, handcuffs, toys…?” he asks

“No, and I want it to stay that way!” Warren says cutting him off

“Man, Bro. I don’t know” Marcus states shaking his head

“Anybody crazy enough to give somebody all this! There’s no telling what else he’s willing to do!” he adds

“Yeah Warren, Dillon seems a little unstable!” Doug states

“And how you know they not involved?” he adds

“Trust me, I know!” Warren says

“Bria is off work this week, so he has to get the message by Friday!”

“What message?” Doug and Marcus both ask at the same time

“That she’s not interested, and this was the biggest mistake of his life!” Warren states

Standing there just looking at him Marcus takes the pictures and the bag from Doug’s trunk and says

“We got you Bro!”

With that said, they have an unspoken agreement, that the situation will be handled. Once Doug and Marcus leave, Warren calls Bria to let her know about the changes with dinner. When he doesn’t get an answer, he sends her a text

Please, call me when you get a minute!”

Warren grabs his luggage out of the car and when he goes back into the living room, his phone is ringing.

“Hey!” he says answering the call

“Hey you! What’s wrong?” she asks

“Nothing. Well, actually, it depends on how you take what I’m about to tell you.”

“My mom is staying here again tonight.”

“She’ll be here for dinner. She’s actually cooking dinner tonight!” he states

“Ok” she says a little unsure what to take from that

“Does that mean you want to reschedule?”

“No, Julie told my mom that I might have a girlfriend so, she asked me about you when I got home.” He replies

“What did you tell her?”

“That I’m celibate!” he laughs

“What do you mean?” he asks

“We both know that’s the furthest thing from the truth, and you know what I mean. Did you tell her that Julie doesn’t know you’re dating Aunt Renee?”

“Yes, I told her about you, and that Julie doesn’t know about us.”

There’s a long silence on the phone and Warren says

“I know this wasn’t the plan, so I’ll text you my address and give you time to think about it. Dinner is at seven!”

“Ok, thanks” Bria says finally, unsure if she’s ready to meet his mother.

When Bria hangs up the phone, she walks back into the living room with Susan.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, Warren’s mom is staying for dinner”

“Oh, that’s sweet. I heard Lisa is really nice, I’ve never met her though”

“Sweet, that’s the word I was thinking” Bria replies

“Ok, so back to it. He came to your office…” Susan states trying to get her to focus and pick up with the story

“Yeah, he wanted me to go bowling with him and some friends.”

“You’ve met his friends and you’re already best friends with his daughter, now you’re meeting his mom!” Susan laughs

“But why? I am not…” Bria begins

“Bria Renee, stop it! You are overthinking this. Junior is a really nice guy. He’s the closest thing to perfection that either of us has ever known. He’s a millionaire, he owns several legitimate, successful businesses and he’s fine as hell. He’s kind, genuine and loving and he’s been an amazing single father for four years.” Susan states cutting her off

Bria sits looking at her for a while then says

“That’s just it. I don’t know Junior, I know Warren.”

Susan laughs then says

“Girl, he’s the same person. Those are just names. How has he made you feel?”

“You seem to really like him. I mean, you were going on a weekend getaway with him, and I didn’t even know you were dating anyone!” she laughs again

“I don’t want to meet his mom. We’re not there yet or at least I’m not!”

“Why not, what’s the hold up? And you better not say Jaylen adulterous ass!” Susan states

Bria just glares at her then standing up she goes into the kitchen, grabs two wine glasses and takes a bottle of wine from the fridge

“Let’s talk about something else!” she states

“How is the remodel at the shop going?”

“Good, they’ll be done next week.”

“I wish you were off next week too so you could help me with the grand re-opening.”

“You need to just leave your job, so we can be like Junior and open up nail shops all over Florida, Georgia, and Alabama…”

“Why is everyone wanting me to leave my job?” Bria asks cutting her off

“Everyone like who?”

“You and Warren!” she responds

“Why does he want you to leave?”

“He mentioned the idea of me coming to work at 981…” Bria says then takes a long sip of wine

“Oh, D*mn!” Susan says putting her hand up to her mouth

Bria stops and looks at her, surprised by her reaction

“D*mn, what?”

“If he asked you that, that means he’s picturing a future with you.”

Bria shakes her head but doesn’t respond.

“Speaking of work, I almost forgot to tell you about what happened Saturday when I was leaving work” Bria states remembering the encounter she had in the parking garage with Dillon.

Eventually dressed in a denim blue jean shirt dress and over the knee boots, Bria pulls up to this massive single-story Mediterranean estate, a few minutes before seven. Once she double checked to be sure she was at the right address, she turns off the car. Seated right off of lake Jackson, Warren’s house wasn’t the only house on the street, but it was definitely the most immaculate.

When she rings the doorbell, Warren answers the door wearing an army green basic slim fit t-shirt, jeans, and boots. Smiling when he sees her, he says

“Good evening gorgeous!” when he starts to lean in, she says

“Hey!”

“Happy Birthday Auntie!” Julie says running up from behind Warren, giving her a big hug

“Thank you so much!” Bria replies

When they both ignore Warren, he closes the door and watches as Julie leads Bria into the house

“I can’t believe you actually came! You gotta meet my granny.”

“Ok!” Bria replies

“Granny, this is Aunt Renee!”

“Aunt Renee, this is my grandma Lisa!”

“She stayed an extra night to cook dinner for us!”

“Very nice to meet you Grandma Lisa! Whatever you’re cooking smells incredible!”

“The pleasure is all mine and thank you!” she smiles

“Make yourself at home, Julie and I were just about to set the table.” Lisa states

“Warren why don’t you fix our guest a drink!” she adds as Warren walks into the kitchen

“Sure!” he replies

While Warren is at the bar fixing a drink, Bria walks up next to him, and he whispers

“I was starting to think you weren’t coming!”

“I’d never turn down an invitation from Julie!” she states

Reaching her a glass, Warren says

“I’m glad you came!”

In no time, dinner is served, while they sit around the table eating, Bria asks

“How was school today, Julie?”

“It was ok.”

“Just, ok?” she replies

“Yeah, I didn’t have art today!”

“We have an art show next Friday. And I didn’t get to work on my paintings today.”

“Oh, my. That sounds like fun. What are you painting?”

“Well, I’m doing three. One is a tree branch, ones a butterfly and my favorite one is of a street. It has trees and a lake. We had to paint something with depth, so I did a simple street, but I added some cool details.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Hey, you should come to my show. If you’re not busy” Julie states

Bria glances at Warren and Lisa, then smiling at Julie she says

“Can I let you know?”

“Sure! If you can’t, I’ll just take lots of pictures with my new camera!” Julie replies

“So, Renee, what do you do?” Lisa asks

“I’m in marketing!” she replies

“Oh, ok. That sounds fascinating”

“You’re being really quiet Daddy!” Julie states

“I, um. I’m just eating.” he smiles avoiding eye contact with Bria

Julie leans over to Bria and whispers

“Daddy has a girlfriend. He’s probably thinking about her!”

Bria laughs almost choking on a potato, glancing at him then back to Julie she says

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah!”

“Is that ok?” Bria asks lowering her voice some more

“Yeah, I think he’s lonely” she whispers

Warren clears his throat and asks

“Would you two like to be alone?”

Julie and Bria both sit up straight, and Julie says

“No sir!”

Laughing Lisa gets up from the table and asks

“Who wants dessert?”

“I do, I do!” Julie responds

“But before we cut the cake, you have to open your gift!” Julie states getting up from the table grabbing the gift bag from the living room

Bria eyes Warren and he just sits there smiling.

“You didn’t have to get me anything!” she says when Julie comes back and sits a gift bag in front of her

“But thank you so much!” she adds

Bria opens her gift bag to find; an ‘It’s official, you’re awesome!’ coffee mug filled with gift cards and a box of chocolates.

“This is absolutely amazing! You know me too well! Thank you, Julie!” she says giving her a big hug

“You’re very welcome!”

“Now, cake!” she adds

“Yes, time for cake. Go help granny bring the cake in” Warren states standing up walking over to Bria

“Okay!” Julie replies heading into the kitchen

Bria stands up and they walk into the living room

“I know you were behind the gift thing!” she whispers

“I was not, I didn’t even go with her!” he replies standing there surveying her

“You look amazing!” Warren adds with a raised eyebrow

“Don’t even think about it! Julie already told me you have a girlfriend!”

“She what?” he says shocked

“Yeah, that’s what we were whispering about!” she states just before Lisa and Julie walk back into the dining room

“I was finally able to talk Julie out of singing the birthday song!”

“Thank you for that and thank you all so much for tonight!” Bria smiles

“Mrs. Daniels, dinner was amazing. Thank you, Julie for my thoughtful gifts and thank you Warren for oking the invitation!”

After they finish eating cake, Julie convinces Bria to stick around and tuck her in before leaving. While Lisa is helping her get ready for her shower, Warren shows Bria the rest of the house.

“You have a beautiful home!” she says when they walk outside the back door

“Thank you!” he replies standing just inches from her

Stepping back, Bria says

“Stop it!”

Warren takes her hand then pulls her into a kiss

“She’s in the shower!” he whispers then deepens their kiss

Startled by a knock on the glass, they break apart,

Turning they see Lisa standing there. When they walk back inside, she tells Warren that Julie is asking for him.

“Isn’t she in the shower!” he asks

Rolling his eyes, Warren says

“I’ll be right back!”

Lisa turns and watches as he leaves the room, then turning back to Bria she says

“You two seem to have hit it off, Aunt Renee!” she states emphasizing Aunt

“I…” Bria begins but Lisa continues cutting her off

“I’ve heard nothing but great things about you. Julie adores you and I’m pretty sure you are one of her favorite people.”

“That being said. How do you feel about possibly being a stepmother to her? It’s a far cry from being Aunt Renee!”

Before Bria can gather a response, Warren walks back over to them. Sensing some tension in the air, he asks

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m gonna make sure Julie doesn’t need anything and turn in myself!” Lisa states

“It was nice meeting you Aunt Renee!” she adds leaving the two of them alone

Bria glances at her as she leaves then smiles at Warren

“Just ignore whatever she said!” he states knowing something had been said between the two of them

“Was Julie, ok?” She asks sweetly

“Yeah, she’ll be out in a few minutes” he replies

They stand there in silence for a moment, then Bria walks over to look at the wall of pictures. Filled with pictures of Warren, Julie, Warren’s parents, and several unfamiliar faces. But only one picture of Mia, a family picture that seems to have been taken shortly before she died.

Julie walks back into the living room, dressed in a ‘vacay all day’ tank top and shorts and says

“I’m all done!”

Turning to her Bria smiles and says

“Aren’t you adorable. I need that shirt!”

“We’ll have to find you one! Do we have time for a story?” she asks looking at her dad

“If you have time for it, it’s fine with me!” he replies glancing over at Bria

“Sure, let’s go!” she states

Once they get in the room, Julie closes the door and says

“I didn’t really want you to read, I wanted to talk to you!”

“Oh, okay!” Bria replies worried where this might lead

“Do you think we should have your dad come in too?” she asks

“No, I can only tell you. Because I know you won’t tell him!”

“This year, when I wrote my note to my mom, I said that I wanted to be a big sister just like her. And now my dad has a girlfriend. Since my mom died, he’s been really lonely. But lately, he’s been happier.”

“And you think that’s because he has a girlfriend?” Bria inquires

“Yeah!”

“What does that have to do with your note?” Bria asks

“Because maybe they’ll get married, and I’ll finally get to be a big sister!”

“So, you’re happy about your dad having a girlfriend?”

“Yes! I mean, I miss my mom a lot. But I don’t know her as much as daddy did. A lot of things he talks about, I can’t remember. But I’ll always love her, for being my mom.”

“That is really sweet, but you have to remember that just because he has a girlfriend, doesn’t mean that’s who he’s going to marry. Before you get your hopes up, you should really talk to your dad.” Bria replies

“He doesn’t talk to me because I’m just a kid. He won’t even let me meet her!” Julie responds

Bria gasps then shakes her head

“Well, bless your heart. The only advice I have is you just have to find a good time to talk to him. Sometimes parents make decisions trying to protect us, but if you talk to him and tell him how you feel, maybe he’ll open up.”

Julie just lays there but doesn’t say anything

“Or maybe if you don’t want to talk to him and tell him, you can write him a letter. Kinda like you did with your mom. Except you can just give it to him or hide it under his pillow and let him find it.” Bria continues

“Yes! That’s perfect. I’ll write him a letter!” Julie leaps up from the bed and gives Bria a big hug

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“I love you so much and thank you for listening!” she states

“You are most welcome! Anytime.”

“I love you too, now I’m gonna tuck you in and say good night before daddy gets us both!”

“Good night!”

“Night!” Bria says closing then leaning against the door

Standing there with her eyes closed Bria exhales, not realizing she’d been holding her breath. Once she takes another deep cleansing breath, she heads into the living room.

Warren is in the kitchen when she walks out. Grabbing her gift bag and purse Bria walks over and says

“I guess I better take off!”

Walking over to her, Warren wraps his arm around her and says

“You don’t have to leave yet”

Pulling away, Bria says

“That’s exactly why!” then shaking her head she says

“You don’t know how to behave!”

When he grabs her hand, she turns around pulling him to the door with her,

“Come walk me out!” she states

When they get outside, Bria walks straight to her car door. When she tries to open it, Warren stands in the way.

“Have lunch with me tomorrow!” he states

Bria shakes her head and says

“No. Go surprise Julie and have lunch with her at school”

“That’s a good idea. You should come with me!” he replies

“No!” she whispers not quite meeting his gaze

Warren steps back and asks

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just tired” she responds

“Were lying to each other now?” he asks

Staring into his eyes, on the brink of tears, Bria says

“I can’t talk about it”

“I’ll call you tomorrow!” she murmurs giving him a quick kiss on the cheek then gets in the car

Overwhelmed with thoughts, emotions and information, Bria drives around downtown for a while before going home. A million questions bombard her mind and she’s not exactly sure how to process the past two hours.

Does she want to be a wife or a stepmom? Is she capable of really trusting again? Is she falling for Warren? What did Lisa mean ‘it’s a far cry from Aunt Renee!’. Does she want to have a baby, how will Julie respond when she finds out, Aunt Renee is Daddy’s girlfriend?

The concept of being Julie’s sounding board and not being able to tell Warren what’s going on had all become too much. Would all this lead to choosing who to betray, the loving eight-year-old, she’d grown to love and adore or a seemingly great guy, who seems to have inadvertently found his way into her heart.

The following morning, Bria wakes up to someone knocking and ringing the doorbell. When she looks out the peep hole, she sees Susan standing there with two coffee cups in hand

“What, it’s too early!” Bria states opening the door

“And why not just use your key?” she adds

“Chica, it’s after nine! And you got a boo thing now.” Susan smirks

“Why are you still in the bed, anyway? I want to know how your birthday dinner went!” Susan says

Shaking her head, Bria grabs one of the coffee cups from Susan and after taking a long sip, she says

“It was a complete disaster! And I’m not talking about it!”

“Aww, come on. You are so dramatic, you said Warren bringing you home from the lounge was a disaster and look, y’all are practically married!”

“No, no we are not!” Bria says shaking her head then walking over, sitting down on the couch

“You got…” Susan begins but is interrupted by the doorbell

“Who is that? I should have just gone to work!” she states as Susan opens the door

“Hey Junior, good morning!” Susan states when she opens the door and sees Warren standing there

“Renee, I’ll call you later!” she adds then after letting Warren inside, she quickly closes the door behind her, before Bria or Warren can respond

“Good morning!” Warren states greeting Bria

“Is it good though?” Bria replies sarcastically

“It is!” he states walking over to sit next to her

“I could tell you weren’t ok last night. So, I came to see if you were ready to talk about why.”

“No, and for the most part I won’t ever be able to”

“Sorry” she whispers finally turning to look at him

“So, something is bothering you, but you won’t tell me what it is” he asks

“I can’t!” Bria replies

“Did my mom say something to you?” he asks

“No” Bria shakes her head

“I mean other than the slick comment she made about me being ready to be a stepmom.”

Warren takes a deep breath and Bria puts her hand on his leg and asks

“Have you thought anymore about telling Julie about us dating?”

“No, not really. Why?”

Bria shakes her head and says

“Ok, what I’m about to say, you can never repeat.”

Warren just sits looking at her for a moment then says

“Ok, what”

“Promise!”

“Promise what?”

“That you’ll never repeat it!”

“I promise, just tell me” Warren says

“Julie didn’t want me to read her a book last night. She wanted to talk!” she confesses

Warren just sits waiting for her to continue

“Ok, and” he says finally

“That’s it, she wanted someone to talk to. Someone that wouldn’t tell you!”

“And that person, was you?” he asks a little confused

“Yes”

“Ok, so what did she want to talk about?”

Bria shakes her head then stands up

“I can’t tell you” she mutters

“Not only can I not tell you, but you cannot tell her I even told you that she wanted to talk to me.”

“In your mind, we read a book and that’s it!” she adds

“Babe just tell me. She won’t know you told me.”

“Honestly, I can’t!” she says softly sitting back down next to him

“I don’t like being in this position.” She states

“Julie has always been able to talk to me and never have to worry about me mentioning our conversations to anyone. So, if I have to choose, I’m going to choose her!”

Warren just sits back on the couch and looks at her then laughs

“So, you and Julie had this fake aunt and niece secret conversation and now you want to break up with me.”

“What, was it something about Mia?” he asks

Now irritated, Bria laughs then says

“I’m glad you can find humor in this, cause I don’t.”

“I’m saying that Julie, my niece that I’ve known and had a relationship with for over six years now, confided in me. And yes, to answer your question if that upsets you before I break my word to her. I will break up with you.”

“The only thing I can tell you is the same thing I told her. You two should talk.”

“Now before you or I do or say something we regret, real or fake!” she says standing up

“I’m going back to bed because I am on vacation and should be able to sleep in, in peace! You can let yourself out!”

Bria walks into her bedroom then locks the door and climbs back into bed.

Thursday evening, the night before the art fair, Bria gets a text message from Warren

Hawks Rise Elementary School

5020 Meadow Ridge Drive, Tallahassee, FL, 32312

The Art Fair will be in the cafeteria

Friday, October 11th @ 6pm

Not having heard from Warren since the morning after their dinner, she ignores the message and goes back to watching tv. A few hours later Bria has fallen asleep and is awaken by the doorbell.

When she finally makes it to the door, she turns on the porch light and sees Warren. When she opens the door, they just stand there, neither of them saying anything.

“Warren, what do you want?” she asks finally

“I owe you an apology!”

Bria just stands there looking at him but doesn’t respond

“I found this under my pillow tonight. Something tells me it was your idea.” He adds reaching her a piece of paper

Dad,

I love you so much and I know you’ve been really sad since mom died

Now you seem to be a little bit happier, I know that’s because you have a girlfriend

I don’t really remember mom like you do,

A lot of stuff you talk about, I can’t remember anymore

But I will always love her for being my mom

I just want to be a whole family again

Now that you are happier, I hope we can

If you’re happy and you have a girlfriend, I want to meet her

If you like someone, you shouldn’t keep them a secret

I love you

With tears in her eyes Bria looks up and with an I told you so look on her face, she hands him the letter back.

“Bria!” Warren says when she steps back to close the door

“Go home Warren!” she says as tears threaten to fall