Page 101 of When Love Takes Root

“He’s not,” I whispered.

Corinne held my gaze through the phone. “Then don’t punish yourself before the man even gets here. You can honor what was real and still be open to what God is showing you now. Those two things don’t have to fight unless you make them.”

My throat tightened.

Leilani reached for my hand and squeezed it, her palm warm and salty from chips. “You’re not betraying Jamal because you still have a pulse, Celly.” I looked down fast. Her fingers squeezed again. “And you’re not betraying your babies by letting them see you be a woman, not just their mama.”

Calista stepped back and lifted the outfit. “Put this on.”

I looked at her through the mirror. “You bossy for somebody younger than me.”

Calista lifted her chin. “I’m married. That adds seniority in dating foolishness.”

Cassia rolled her eyes. “Girl, please. You’ve been married five minutes and already act like you wrote Proverbs.”

Calista pointed at her. “And you’re single enough to think a man texting good morning counts as leadership.”

Cassia gasped. “First of all, good morning is foundational.”

Leilani nodded. “It is foundational, but it is not a ministry.”

Corinne clapped once through the phone. “Amen.”

My laugh came full and unashamed, surprising me first. My sisters smiled at the sound before they smiled at the joke, and I had to look down because their faces told me something my heart was not ready to name.

They had missed me.

Not the mother moving on fumes.

Not the widow everybody handled carefully.

Me.

By the time I dressed, finished my makeup, fixed my locs, and stepped back into my bedroom, the noise stopped so abruptly I thought something had happened. Calista went still beside the bed. Cassia’s mouth softened. Leilani blinked too fast. Corinne leaned closer to the screen, her teasing gone.

I looked between them. “What?”

Calista smiled first, and it trembled at the edges. “You look like yourself.”

I looked at myself in the mirror.

I looked alive.

I touched the edge of my top. “I don’t know if I’m ready.”

Leilani pushed herself out of the chair and came to stand beside me. “You don’t have to know forever tonight.”

Cassia nodded. “You just need to know whether you want to get in the truck.”

Corinne looked straight into the camera. “Getting in the truck isn’t a marriage license or a pregnancy announcement. It’s just dinner.”

Leilani lifted one finger. “Now, if you want to bust it wide open and tell that man to bring it back, that’s between you, God, and your good knees.”

“Leilani!”

She pressed a hand to her belly and blinked like innocence had ever lived in her body. “I said if. I didn’t say go forth and ride the electrician. I’m still saved.”

I covered my face with both hands. “Get out of my room.”