Lemon Cake

Chapter Forty-Two

Tulip had just spilled every messy detail to her brother; everything from meeting Jasper, falling for him, hooking up with him, having their baby, and losing him. It was safe to say he was stunned. William hadn't spoken a word since walking in the house nor uttered a sound. The only visible sign that life still flourished in his athletic, slender frame was the repetitive glances he took of Sidney sitting adjacent to him at the dining room table. It had been going on for a minute too long and the silence that swelled verbiage that wasn't the music fluttering throughout made her shift in her seat.

"Say something." Tulip finally insisted, leaning further on the table.

William's nostrils widened from the deep inhalation he took in sliding his brown eyes from the girl that casually smiled at him to the steaming mug of coffee resting between his fingertips. "I need something stronger."

"The strongest thing I have is..." Tulip glanced at her fridge, scanning through her memory of its contents. "Extra sweet tea. If you count sugar as a drug. My ex slung it like it was."

"Is this Jasper or..." His grip tightened around the mug's handle as his eyes finally settled back on her.

"No." She shook her head, falling against the chair's back languidly. "Harrison. A baker."

"A baker!" Sidney gleefully said, looking up from the book she'd been reading. "I love doughnuts and cakes and cookies; can we go?"

"Of course, you have a sweet tooth." William mirthfully chuckled. "Yeah, she's your daughter."

Sidney blinked from Tulip's humor-lacking face to the man sitting near her that was just as solemn and she slightly frowned. "That's not a bad thing."

Just before her, frown could graduate to a full-blown scowl, Will added. "It's not at all. I just wish..." He exhaled heavily, drugging a hand down the side of his face. "You hid an entire human from me...from me, Tutu. We talked almost every day back then. I thought we were closer than that."

He weakly fell back in his seat with his sight trained far away probably running his mind over the years and months of the past. Revisiting the time when they were both away at college staying connected with an endless stream of texts and frequent phone calls.

Tulip settled her hands in her lap so she could wring them as roughly as she needed to. She wasn't ready for this moment. She didn't like disappointing people. Her entire professional life depended on her pleasing individuals and she was good at it. She loved seeing the sparkle in their eyes that stemmed from gratitude, respect, and astoundment.

It was the same gleam that her grandmama emitted whenever she touted home a report card with nothing lower than an eighty-five and the beaming in her brother's eyes whenever she executed a flawless routine under the Friday Night Lights as he sat on the bench with the rest of the defensive line. The shine that ignited in his optics whenever he took in the sight of her was fading as she sat across him and it was breaking her heart.

"I..." She glanced down as tears pricked the wells of her eyes. "...didn't want to..." She swallowed hard leveling her gaze back to him. "...disappoint anyone." A tear fell against her will. The rebellious little shit rolled down her cheek and brought a twin in tow.

"Tutu." He breathed out her nickname in a way that always made her feel loved and understood. The rigidness of his face smoothed out leaving a tinge of pain in its wake. "I could never...you're my baby—" The sister was vacant from the statement as it has always been since their parents passed on. He always took his three years of older existence seriously. "You should've told me. I would have been there."

"And that's why I couldn't." She quickly rebutted. "It was my mistake to fix. Not yours."

"Mistake?" Sidney quietly spoke the word as if it was a term she'd never heard and had to taste every letter to comprehend it. "I'm a mistake?"

The hurt in Sidney's eyes felt like a bowl of ice-cold water thrown in her face. She had completely forgotten Sidney was sitting there.

"No. No. No." Tulip quickly refuted with a shake of her head. "You're not. I didn't mean you. You were unplanned." She peeled Sidney's hand away from the book to hold it softly. "The circumstances were a mistake. Getting pregnant so young was a mistake but I always wanted you. Always." She guided Sidney out of the chair to her and rubbed the tears from their girl's face ignoring the ones sliding down her own. "I always wanted to be your mother. I just wasn't ready then and that was the mistake, that I wasn't ready for you when you came. Do you understand?"

Sidney slowly nodded, her eyes searching Tulip's face as if she was looking for something. She must've found it because her mouth ticked up. "Were you ten, too." She shook her head as a thought brightened up her face. "Well, I'm ten and not college. So, fifteen."

Tulip's chuckle was echoed by her brother's then she clarified, "No but close. I was a kid, though...emotionally." She wiped her tears as she turned back to her brother keeping the little one by her side.

"I've made many mistakes. I'm human." She shrugged weakly. "I'm not going to apologize for Sidney, getting pregnant in college, or her adoption but I'm sorry for not telling you when she came back into my life."

"Look..." Will firmly said, cutting her off. "I'm not looking for an apology. I don't need one. You don't owe me one. It's just..." He let out a breath and a wide mouth smile followed in its wake. "I have a niece. A niece."

Within a couple of seconds, he was out of his chair and had Sidney in a hug. "I'm your Uncle Will." He said once he released her from his embrace. "You can call me Uncle Will."

Sidney giggled, "I've never had an uncle before."

"Now, you do." He said, caressing the side of her face and latching his eyes onto his sister's.

She smiled her thanks back at him and he shook his head validating what she already knew; her brother loved her with all of him and he'd never be mad at her for long.

"You've got the best one in the world, too," Tulip added.

Will's chest puffed out just a bit as he smirked. "Yeah, you hit the jackpot."

"Okay, you're doing too much." Tulip chuckled. "He's going to get the big head and as you can see his head is already massive."

Sidney tilted her head and squinted. "Is it?"

Both Tulip and Will couldn't help but laugh as the child took their little inside joke literally. However, the humor was snatched from Tulip's face as the chime of an incoming text brightened her cell on the table.

Jasper

I'll need you to open the door. My hands are full.

She didn't get any time to count the number of burger, fry, and milkshake emojis that trailed behind the words because Sidney had already dashed to the door with Will a couple of steps behind her. Fortunately for Tulip, the girl hadn't heard the 'bitch' that was muttered under Will's breath but she had.

"Fuck!" Tulip groaned before launching from the chair as Sidney flung open the door. "Will! William!"

It was too late. Her brother had already swung.

What do you think Will did? Is it validated?

How do you think William will be as an uncle?

Do you think Tulip owed her brother an apology?

Why do you think Sidney frowned at William at the beginning of the chapter?

What's your opinion, is Sidney a mistake?