Sunday was the only real day she had off. The idea of church then lunch at one place and dinner at the other made her frown. She wanted to sit in the backyard with Rene and watch Lady play. She wanted to curl up on the couch with him and watch movies.
“Rene, I really do want to live here with you. I know it’s not as lovely . . .”
He shook his head. “It’s ours. Or rather it’s the parish’s, but we’ll make it ours and figure out where we want to go from here. We need our own place. Even if some miracle happens and I get to keep my job, I would want to stay here with you. I love Darois House. I thought I would raise my kids there, but it’s okay. The only thing a house needs to be a home for me is you in it.”
She brushed her lips against his. He should probably know that this house came with some distractions. “You should know that sometimes there are protests in our front yard. They’re usually very respectful, and sometimes there’s food.”
“What?” Rene frowned. “We should stop that.”
“Nope. That’s democracy at work right there.” She took his hand and opened the door, the smell of bacon making her stomach rumble. Maybe family meals weren’t so bad. “You’ll get used to it. Also, you’ll need to learn how to bake because the mayor’s spouse always runs a bake sale before school starts back up. Mom has been taking care of it so far, but it’s in your hands now. And we’ll need to perfect your wave. If you don’t properly wave to crowds, my career could be over.”
Teasing him was going to be a perk of her marriage.
“I will run the best bake sale this parish has ever seen, and my wave is kingly,” he promised.
“Rene.” His mother was at the bottom of the stairs.
“Mom.” He handed Lady over and strode down to wrap his petite mother in a hug. “I’m sorry. I should never have spoken to you that way. Please forgive me.”
“Of course. I’m sorry, too. Oh, Rene, I didn’t mean any of it.” Cricket held on to her son, tears in her eyes. “I was scared to tell you about Louis because I worried you would think I didn’t love your father.”
Rene stepped back. “I know you married him for similar reasons to why Sylvie married me.”
He understood nothing. Sylvie moved down the stairs and joined them in the living room, catching sight of her mom in the kitchen. “I married you because it gave me a good excuse to not do all the stressful dating stuff. I always knew I was going to marry you.”
His jaw had dropped, likely at her audacity. “Really?”
That was her story and she was sticking to it. She would tell their kids that, yes, she always knew their daddy was the one. “Absolutely.”
She glanced over and her mother was standing in the kitchen, a smile on her face. Her mother liked it when her plans came together, and her daughter marrying the man she’d always loved had definitely been in her momma’s plans.
“That’s my baby,” her mother said, a spatula in her hand. “You rewrite history to suit yourself just like I taught you.”
Cricket had taken her son’s hand and led him to the couch. “It’s completely different. You and Sylvie have a long history. I married your father because I couldn’t have the man I wanted and my life was slipping away. I wanted a family. I wanted children. I wanted you. Sylvie didn’t marry you to have a family. She married you because she loves you. That came later for your father and me.”
Sylvie moved to the coffeepot and poured out two mugs. She looked to her mom, her voice going low. “Maybe we should give them some privacy.”
Her mother turned a bacon strip. “No. You need to sit with your husband and hold his hand. He needs you with him, and honestly, Cricket does, too. I think this conversation has a lot to do with you.”
“You loved Louis?” Rene asked quietly.
Sylvie set the mug down in front of him, holding her own in her hand. She felt Rene’s hand reach for her free one. Yes, her mother was right. He needed her to be here in this moment with him.
“I loved him when I was a girl. He was the son of my father’s best friend, so my brother Sebastian and I played with Louis a lot. I cared about him, but he stayed away from me. I tried to kiss him once when I was a freshman and he was a senior.” Cricket’s eyes went teary, but she gave them a smile. “He said I was too young.”
Sylvie turned to her husband.
Rene’s hand squeezed hers. “Dre thought you were too young. I was willing to take the risk.”
It was good to know she wasn’t the only one rewriting history.
“She was too young,” her mother said from the kitchen. “If you tell Dre I said this, I’ll put a whammy on you, but he was right. My Sylvie needed some seasoning, if you know what I mean. I want you to think about what your family would have done to her back then.”
Sylvie still thought she could have handled them, but she was willing to let it go. “The point is Louis didn’t come back for Cricket the way you did for me. In fact, I think it was Louis’s idea for Cricket to marry your father.”
The front door came open and Dre walked in, Louis following behind him. Dre carried a bag of groceries, and Louis stopped at the sight of Rene.
“Rene, I’m sorry. I was dropping off Andre. I’ll head home.” Louis looked tired, like he’d stayed up worrying all night.
“Come on in, man,” Dre said, walking through the living room toward the kitchen. “Rene got some loving last night, and he’s in a much better mood. He’s not going to punch anyone now. Well, except Charles. We’re going to take him out and feed his nasty ass to Otis. That way at least the bastard has done some community service.”
“By teaching Otis to eat human flesh?” It sounded like the start of a horror movie to Sylvie.
“Bad guy flesh,” Dre countered. “It has to taste different.”
Her mother’s eyes rolled. “You are not teaching that gator to eat your enemies.”
They were getting off topic. “Come and join us, Louis,” Sylvie said. “We’re going to sit down and have a lovely breakfast, but Cricket was explaining how you two managed to find your way back together. I think knowing that history would help Rene.”
Louis closed the door behind him and moved to sit next to Cricket. “She was my best friend’s sister. I cared about her, but she was off limits. It felt disrespectful to her brother.”
“Preach,” Andre said. “I should not have to watch my best friend horn in on my sweet, innocent sister. I hear you. Oww.”
“Next time I will use this spatula on your behind,” her mother promised her brother. “You know what I’m saying next.”