When Love Comes Around (Love Conquers All) Read online

  “No, way dude!” Patrick’s loud voice boomed. Both men chuckled, raising and clinking beer bottles in midair.

  “Yes sir. She’s just like her momma that’s for sure.”

  ♥♥♥

  Coming down the short-carpeted hallway the two women stopped. Looking at each other Donna and Starr softly giggled as they overheard the men laughing at something that was obviously funny to them. They were out there having a grand ‘ole time together.

  Donna wrapped her arm around Starr’s waist as they headed to where the men were. “You have yourself a good man, baby.”

  Starr beamed at her mother. It felt good to know she truly hadn’t given up on men. “I know, Mommy. So do you.”

  Entering the kitchen, Starr asked, “What’s so funny?”

  Both men swung around, answering in unison. “Nothing.”

  Each woman placed their hands on curvy hips, lifting an arch brow as if choreographed. They had a funny suspicion that they were the topic of humor. It didn’t take long to prove they were right.

  Kevin shifted his gaze trying hard not to make eye contact with Patrick. Earlier before the women came out, they compared notes on how similar mother and daughter were. Not only did they share physical attributes, but mannerisms as well.

  However, it was a lost cause when his gaze bounced from Donna, to Starr, and then back to Patrick. As the two men eyes connected, both grinned, reading the other’s thought before erupting in laughter.

  Donna shook her head masking a smile pretending to be annoyed. “Look at them acting like twelve-year-old little boys.”

  Making a tsking sound with her tongue against her teeth, Starr agreed. “Yep, twelve-year-olds little boy with cooties.”

  Cocking his head to the side, Kevin asked in amazement, “Starr, how do you and your mom do that?”

  Wrinkling up her nose, she said, “Do what?”

  Standing, Patrick imitated the women’s identical gestures. “You know, putting your hands on your hips and doing that thing with one eye brow.”

  Waving a hand, both women said, “Oh that.”

  Mother and daughter spun facing each other. Bursting into laughter, Donna hugged her child again, for what seemed like the hundredth time. “What can I say? She’s mine through and through. Wait until you see me with both my babies together,” Donna bragged. She was so proud of her girls. Despite their having a rocky childhood, overall they had grown into wonderful adult. “Now that will be something. I can’t wait to meet Karen.”

  “Patrick, you’ll love my sister and her two rug rats, Alicia and Kyle.”

  Moving over to Patrick, Donna wrapped her arms around his waist. “Maybe we can go visit Karen and the kids.”

  Patrick affectionately gave Donna a gentle squeeze. “I’d like that sugar.”

  Standing on the tip of her toes, Donna kissed Patrick on the lips. “Good, maybe we can see them soon.”

  Just as Starr grinned at Kevin as they looked on at the older couple’s display of affection, her stomach growled like she hadn’t eaten in months.

  “Okay, I don’t mean to break up this little love nest but I’m starving.”

  She hadn’t had anything to eat in hours and now she was feeling nauseous with a fierce hunger headache trying to attack her. If she didn’t get food soon she was going to be one sick puppy.

  Patrick chuckled. “All right little ladies and gent, get your coats so we can get you fed. I know you guys are hungry after that long drive and talking all afternoon.”

  Grabbing their coats, everyone headed to the door. Donna and Kevin were the first to leave out. As Starr was about to follow suit, Patrick gently tugged at her elbow prompting her to stop. Facing him, she looked up into bright blue serious eyes.

  “Starr, I hope I didn’t upset you earlier with what I said about your father and all.”

  Starr tenderly smiled at the older man, wishing her mom’s path had crossed with the gentle giant years ago. Taking a step closer she wrapped her arms around the huge man’s middle. When his arms embraced her, she let out a small sigh. Though she only met this man a few hours ago, for the first time in her life, she felt a true father’s love as he held her. Why couldn’t you have been my real daddy?

  Stepping back from the embrace, she took his large hands in hers. “Patrick, you didn’t upset me. Those were tears of joy. I’m just so glad my mom is finally happy.” Pausing for a second, she looked him directly in the eye. “And I know you’re the one responsible for her happiness.”

  Patrick swallowed the lump in his throat. He had been worried that Donna’s children wouldn’t accept him. That’s why they hadn’t told Starr and Karen about their relationship. Then when Donna’s long lost husband came back demanding he wanted another chance, he feared her children would try to talk Donna into reconciling with their father. He could have danced on air when Starr made it known that she and Karen supported Donna in her decision to finally end a marriage that caused her nothing but misery and pain.

  Gently squeezing the small hands that held his he thanked her. “I’m glad you approve. Donna makes me just as happy. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

  Tilting her head to the side, she gave him a puzzled look. “Why wouldn’t I approve?”

  Uncomfortably, the large man shifted from one foot to the other. “Well…Because I’m white.”

  Hugging the large man again, she laughed. “Listen here, Poppa Patrick, this is the last time I want to hear this color foolishness from you and Mommy. If she makes you happy and you make her happy, it doesn’t matter if she’s green and you’re blue.” Giving him a teasing, scolding glare, she said, “Understand?”

  Giving her a tight bear hug, Patrick laughed. “I understand Sugar Two.”

  “Uh, Poppa Patrick?”

  “Yeah, Sugar Two.

  “I can’t breathe.”

  Releasing his hold, he threw his head back and laughed. Sometimes he didn’t realize his strength. “Come on let’s go. They’re waiting for us.”

  Starr laughed accepting his hand as they walked hand in hand out the house, down to the sidewalk.

  Standing on the sidewalk Kevin wrapped an arm around Donna’s shoulder as they witnessed the exchange between Starr and Patrick. “Everything is going to be all right.”

  Looking up into the handsome face smiling down at her, Donna agreed. “Yes, everything is going to be all right.”

  ♥♥♥

  Closing her eyes, Starr snuggled even closer to her snoring husband. Her life had changed dramatically over the last twenty-four hours. Years of feeling hurt and disconnected from her mother had begun to heal as they promised to never allow anything to weaken their bond again. No longer would she have to worry about her mother’s happiness because she knew in her heart she had found her soul mate in Patrick Wahl. A man that would give her mother all the love she needed and deserved. A wonderful man who so willingly wanted to be something her own father didn’t want to be…A father to her and Karen and grandfather to her niece and nephew.

  Who would have thought a thirty-two year old woman would be so giddy with the notion of having a new daddy?

  Chapter 32

  Walking down the street arm in arm, thee four beautiful and well dressed women were Philly’s very own version of Girlfriends. Pedestrians passing by eyed the foursome as they gaily talked and laughed taking up the sidewalk as they strutted along Chestnut Street.

  The morning had begun with Christmas shopping in Chestnut Hill, as the small group went from shop to shop in search of the perfect Christmas gifts. Karen and Summer repeatedly admonished Ava and Starr each time they purchased clothing or toys for their children. At the rate the aunties were going, neither mother would have a single gift of her own to put under the tree.

  Whenever Karen or Summer protested, they were coolly reminded, “Leave us alone. It’s our prerogative if we want to buy our godchildren every toy in the store.” Both mothers simply rolled their eyes and walked away before becoming irritated.<
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  By lunchtime, they had hit almost every shop and boutique. Hands sore from carrying large bags, tired and hungry, the next stop was the small pizza shop across the street from Borders Bookstore. Scanning the pizzeria, the place was packed with starving Christmas shoppers.

  “We’ll never find a place to sit.” Summer complained as her stomach began to rumble.

  “Ah, God is good.” Karen mumbled under her breath as she spotted shoppers vacating a table in the corner. Making eye contact with the last person leaving the table, she gave a pleading look as if to say please don’t let anybody take that table. When the man smiled, nodding his head in acknowledgement of her plea, she sent him a radiant smile. “Come on y’all, that guy is holding a table for us.”

  Quickly weaving through the tables, the women resembled the eighties arcade game Centipede. Dropping heavy bags in the corner, each woman profusely thanked the kind man for holding the table for them. If he hadn’t been so kind, they would’ve been standing and waiting for at least another hour.

  “No problem, anything for such lovely ladies.” The stranger smoothly voiced, his eyes fixed on Karen.

  “Thanks.” They all sang out at the compliment as they waved goodbye.

  After a filling lunch the foursome dropped their packages off at Summer’s house in Chestnut Hill. Wanting to stick to their goal of completing Christmas shopping in one day, they piled into Ava’s SUV, jumped on Lincoln Drive, and headed downtown to do some more shopping on Walnut Street.

  Five hours and several shopping bags later, the discussion of food was brought up again as bags were loaded into the back of the SUV.

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Dang girl, what you got a tapeworm?” Ava teased as she strategically arranged the bags from prying eyes that might try to peep through the tinted windows. The holidays always brought out the worse criminal elements. It didn’t matter that the SUV was parked in a lot; if someone wanted to go from vehicle to vehicle in search of free shopping there was nothing stopping them; certainly not the security guard at the booth making ten dollars an hour. The last thing any of them wanted was to have their gifts stolen that had collectively cost them thousands of dollars.

  Leaning against the side of the door, Karen said, “I was thinking the same thing, Ava. Starr, honey, you’ve been eating up a storm lately.”

  Pursing her lips, she contemplated what Ava and Karen were saying to her. Now that she thought about it, it did seem like she was eating a lot. For some reason, she just couldn’t get enough to eat. She didn’t even want to think about how many pairs of pants she had tried on this morning until she found a pair that comfortably fit her waist, hips, and thighs. Not to mention that when she tried on a skirt earlier at Ann Taylor the size twelve didn’t fit, the size fourteen had a nerve to feel a little snug and finally, the sixteen had the audacity to fit perfectly! Starr made a mental note to get her behind back to the gym at least four times a week. With Kevin busy taking on new clients, they hadn’t been able to get their early morning run in. The man was bone tired. Lately, he had been working fourteen hour-long days. The last thing he wanted to do was get up at five in the morning to go running. Luckily for him, there was a fitness center in his office building where he could get his three times a week workout in. Starr concluded she would have to do the same thing.

  Moving in with Kevin, she had to make some major adjustments. She now had a husband and an elderly mother-in-law to think about. She went from keeping a small house spotless to a large, four bedroom, two and half bathroom home. Also, she had to get accustomed to doing laundry for two, preparing meals for two, sometimes three, if Beverly came over for dinner, in addition to all of the other activities she did before getting married.

  With all of this new activity going on, something had to give until she could adjust. Unfortunately, her regular workout schedule had been sacrificed, but not anymore. First thing Monday morning, Starr decided that she was going to leave for work an hour earlier and hit the gym. This extra weight had to go.

  “You got something to add?” She asked her other friend since everyone else was commenting on her current eating habits. Why hadn’t they commented on her weight, too? If they had noticed how much she was eating, surely they noticed the spreading hips.

  Summer looked at her, and then shrugged a slim shoulder. “No, I don’t have anything to say. You’ve been eating a lot lately. What’s the big deal?”

  Starr grinned at her petite friend. She could always count on her to be the free thinker of the group. If the others said, “go right,” she would say “go left.” This time she was going left with Summer. She was hungry and didn’t particularly give a hoot about her spreading hips. I’ll get to the gym first thing Monday morning.

  “Well let’s go then. I’m starving, where to?”

  “How about that Brazilian Steakhouse?” Summer suggested, tapping her top lip with a leathered gloved finger. “Shoot, what’s the name of that place? Nick and I went there a few months ago.”

  “You mean, FOGO DE Chao on Chestnut Street?” Ava threw over her shoulder as she slammed the trunk door of the vehicle.

  “Yeah, that’s it. Ooh, Starr you’ll love this place. It has a salad bar that’s to die for.”

  “That’s what I heard. One of my coworkers had lunch there and said the food was absolutely incredible.” Karen chimed in.

  Linking an arm through Karen’s and then Ava’s, Starr said, “Well, FUJI DEL COW it is.”

  The other women cracked up laughing. Starr was forever jacking up a name. It’s “FOGO DE Chao crazy lady,” Summer teasingly corrected as she linked her arm through Karen’s making them an unbreakable chain as they exited the parking garage.

  Closing her eyes, slowly chewing, savoring the tender lamb chop, Starr was in heaven. She had never been to a restaurant that served a selection of so many mouth watering succulent meats. Everything from the pork roast, to the filet mignon, top sirloin, chicken breast wrapped in bacon, sausage, pork and beef ribs, and leg of lamb was scrumptious. Stuffed, she couldn’t remember all of the fifteen different savory, fire-roasted meats she sampled. All she knew is that every last one of them were beyond delicious.

  Rubbing her tummy, she had to undo the button on her slacks. Not only had she tasted every meat, she went to the salad bar four times. Summer hadn’t lied when she said the salad bar was awesome. Everything from crisp fresh vegetables, ripe and juicy fruits, gourmet cheese, all types of greens, fresh baked breads, cured meats and fish adorned the larger than life salad bar.

  Letting out a satisfied sigh, she closed her eyes fully sated. That food was soooo good! I definitely got to get my tail to the gym on Monday. At the rate she was going, her hubby wouldn’t be able to effortlessly pick her up anymore. Uh-huh, I can’t have that happening. Nothing thrilled her more than being picked up and carried to the nearest spot to be made love to. Whether it was a bed, a table, or a chair, it didn’t matter as long as Kevin was the one loving her.

  “Starr?” Hearing her name being called she lazily opened her eyes.

  “How you just gonna stop talking to us in the middle of a conversation?” Summer huffed turning over the round disc from green to red signaling the waiter to keep moving. If another thing were put on her plate, she would have to be rolled out the door.

  “Sorry, Boo.” Starr smiled ignoring the three pair of eyes boring into her. It had been over a week since she and Kevin had come back from visiting her mother and new stepfather. With their busy schedules, this was the first opportunity she had to tell them the entire story in detail, with the exception of Karen.

  Picking up where she’d left off, word for word she recited her mom’s story of how Patrick landed on her doorstep in a severe thunderstorm. He had walked for miles in the thick mud pushing his Harley when he stumbled upon Donna’s small country cottage. A combination of cracking lightening, thunder, and pounding at her front door had scared the living daylights out of Donna. Against her better judgment, she felt sorry for the He
ll’s Angel look alike. Letting him in, she provided shelter until the storm was over and a tow truck could be called to take him and his bike back to his log cabin some fifteen miles down the road. The following week Patrick showed up with a bouquet of flowers and an offer to join him at the local diner for a cup of coffee. Donna kindly accepted the beautiful flowers, but refused the cup of coffee. The gentle blue-eyed giant kept coming around with flowers and his offer to go to the diner. Finally, one day she broke down, climbed on the back of his Harley and off they went.

  Elbowing resting on the table, chin propped up in her palm Karen smiled. “I can’t wait to meet Poppa Patrick.” After talking with her mom’s new husband for hours on the phone, she too, felt an immediate connection with him. When Starr called her the next morning after she and Kevin had arrived at their mom’s, she asked to speak with Donna and then Patrick. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe her sister, but she had wanted to hear the fantastic news directly from the source. All those years of seeing her mother live as a hollow shell was over. Before hanging up the phone, she made the couple promise to come for a visit at Christmas.

  “I’m so happy for your mom. I can’t wait to meet her and Poppa Patrick.” Ava said, leaning over giving Karen a tight squeeze. For years, she and Summer sat by helpless as their best friend and her sister downplayed that not having their mom around hadn’t affected them, as if it didn’t matter. She didn’t understand how they got by with seeing their mother on a once a year schedule. Whenever the sisters talked about Donna, the longing in their voices to have her around permanently was heartbreaking.

  It did matter. Ava could attest that it did. Countless sleepless nights nagged her, reminding her how one’s heart could literally ache when you couldn’t have the one you loved.

  Summer took a sip of her iced tea then set it down. “Are you guys still fighting over who they’re staying with?”

  Starr giggled. “We’ve decided it would only be fair if we shared them.”