MANNY©

Chapter 16

Rachael arrived at her favorite Indian cuisine restaurant that she loved.  She walked in to see Bette, Lucy, Janice, and Candice at a comfortable table near the window. The hostess showed her to the table before handing her a menu to order. After she ordered her food, she glanced up to see her friends all stare at her with huge grins on their faces.

"What?" She simply asked while they continued to stare. "Bette mentioned that you finally had a chance at a Valentine's Day of your own,"  Lucy spoke for the group.  "We were wondering if you had fun." The others all nodded as they kept smiling. Rachael just focused on pulling her napkin out and on her lap before shaking her head. "Well, I'll tell you mine when Bette talks about hers," Rachael informed the group.  At that moment, three heads whipped around to face her so fast that they gave Bette whiplash. She began to blush while starting to fiddle with her bracelet. 

"Look, Rae, this is about you and Tyler. Not me and Avery." She explained. Rachael grinned while the others began to ask them both questions at the same time. "Okay. Okay." Bette told them, calming them down when their food arrived. Once they began to eat, Bette told them about Avery and how they met. They remained animated while feeling so happy for their friend. "And ladies it's a wonder I'm walking now." Bette ended her story with a smile. They all laughed some as Candy glanced at Rachael, who was eating quietly. "What about you Rach?" Cindy asked Rachael.

Rachael looked up and smiled before wiping her mouth then take a sip of her iced tea. "It was the sweetest thing ever." She began to tell them, fighting the smile that dared to cross her mouth. "He was illumining all this sexiness. And the sensual way he handled me was out of this world. He bought me this very sexy, revealing outfit with matching heels. The sex. Oh God, it was mind-blowing. He let me be in control. He made me feel all these feelings, that I never knew existed." Rachael explained to her dearest friends before noticing the wetness in their eyes. It was then she realized her own eyes initiated the flow of tears around the table.

She began to use an extra napkin to wipe her eyes with her friends wiping their eyes also while she continued. "And when held me told me he loved me, it seemed to make so much sense. You know how when you say it to the air and it floats about before wrapping around you like a soft, warm blanket on a freezing night. That's how it felt to me. And he held me so tightly as I started to fall asleep in his arms. Like he was afraid to let me go." She finished telling them before starting to sob feeling so much happiness. "And I'll be damned if I didn't love that. My babies are in love with him as much as I am. Ty is Kal's best friend. He seems to be that perfect therapy Kal's always needed to help him come into our world. Even it's just a small step. It's more than anyone dared to hope." Rachael told them, not noticing her voice went to a whisper.

Her friends leaned in and intently listened to her continue to get it all out. "And-and my little girl took upon herself to call him Daddy.  She practically has us married already." She said while she began to cry harder, releasing all the emotions that were bottled up inside.  They all closed in around her to each give her hugs, not even caring about where they were. She felt so good to purge the tears and emotions she had held in for so many years.

Rachael calmed down some while wiping her face before looked back at her best friends in the entire world. "Guys, if this is some wonderful perfect dream, don't wake me" She begged them in a bittersweet tone. "Please, just let me sleep. I want this happiness to continue. I'm so glad for Tyler. I thank God every day that he saw my ad and wanted to work to take care of my children. But now, he doesn't just work for me. He's apart of my family. He's apart of our family and all this is making me so scared. It's like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Please don't let me wake up." She repeated. Bette wiped her eyes then signaled for the check.

Candy wiped her eyes also as she noticed that a lot of the patrons in the restaurant shed their own tears as well. Janice glance to see Bette pay the check while she and Lucy helped Rachael to her car and all followed her safely to her home. They got her inside the house to see that Tyler was inside with Kal while Maddy was doing her homework.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked, stepping up to watch them take her to her room. He noticed they all  were crying when Bette stopped him in his tracks.  He watched the others get her inside her room. "Come on, Tyler we need to talk." She said leading him into the kitchen. Maddy finished her last problem then walked out of her room to see her Aunties were leaving from her mom's room. "Auntie Janice! Auntie Lucy! Auntie Candy!" She greeted them as they arrived down the stairs. "Maddy!" They all said before she each gave them a hug.

"Is mommy home?" She asked no one in particular. "Yes, sweetie. She's upstairs." Lucy said while they waited for Bette to come back. "Okay." She said before going up to see her. Maddy opened the door to see that her mom was lying on her bed curled up. The last time she saw her like that, it was when Kal was a baby. "Mama?" She said softly while cautiously stepping up to the bed. "Are you okay?" "Yeah, baby." Rachael sniffed back before looking at her daughter. "Then why are you crying?" Maddy worried before tears of her own came to the surface of her little brown eyelids. "I'm so happy that we have Tyler to love and love us back. It's just been a long time since I felt this good." Rachael admitted while making a  sniffing sound. "This is me happy. These are tears of joy, baby."

Maddy gave a smile before hopping on the bed to hug her mom tight. "Good," Maddy said with a sigh. "Tyler is the best and he loves you, mama. Kal and I love him as much as he loves us." She stated before kissing her mom on the cheek then getting up. "Mama, don't worry about anything. Tyler's here now and he'll protect us." She told her mom with a bright smile.

"That's right." Tyler's deep voice said, causing both mother and daughter to look up. "Hi, Daddy." Maddy greeted, beamed at him before getting up to go towards him. Rachael watched the sight of them hug and give each other kisses on the cheek, causing her heart to swell. "Hey, Sweetie." He greeted Maddy. "May I have a snack before dinner?" She asked him while still hugging him. "Yes, you may." He told her. "There's some yogurt covered raisins waiting for you on the counter. I need to talk to your mom."

"Okay." She said before stopping at the door. "It's all okay, Mommy." Maddy reminded her before leaving out the room. Rachael silently watched the pain in his eyes as he crossed the room and climbed into his side of the bed. He pulled her back into his front as he exhaled a deep sigh. "Everyone left a few minutes ago." He began to tell her. "Bette told me about the conversation you all had." He turned her around in his arms before continuing. "I'm so glad to learn about how you truly feel with me.  All I want is you and the kids.  Safe, healthy, and happy." He leaned in to kiss her passionately before breaking the kiss to look in her beautiful brown eyes.

"I heard that I'm fired." He told her before starting to chuckle.  She made a face before she understood the statement. "Well. I thought about firing you since you're with me now." She admitted. He smiled then leaned in to lick the bottom of her lip. "It's okay. It doesn't matter." He confessed to her. "I quit the moment we first kissed." Rachael looked at Tyler in amazement before he spoke again. "You think we have a little time for us before dinner?" He asked her before wiggling his eyebrows. "I think so." She said before they both sat up. "I didn't get a chance to eat that much. So I need to work up my appetite." They both shared a laugh as they stripped their clothes off and began to make love.