Page 26 of Stat: Love In Scrubs

She came rushing from the kitchen with her hair bouncing as she ran. The biggest smile on her face as she looked up at our new guests. I appreciated my mother, Yara, and my father for allowing me to do this alone.

I knelt beside Esa and wrapped my arm around her waist.

“Hi, baby girl. Remember when I told your mom’s parents were on an emotional vacation?”

Veronica’s mother choked up behind me at the mention of the emotional vacation, but I had to continue.

“Yes,” Esa responded, looking back up at them.

She was no longer smiling but concerned, and I’m sure it was because they were behind us, crying.

“Well, these are your grandparents from your mom. They’re home from their vacation and made you their first stop. Do you want to meet them?” I asked.

Esa nodded with a smile, and I released my hold on her waist so she could walk around me to them. Ron kneeled, and Marissa followed. I stood up and stepped back, wanting to give them time with her. Esa walked over and held her hand out, smiling politely.

“I’m Esabella, but my daddy and all my family, oh, and my friends call me Esa. Esabella is a lot to say.” she proclaimed causing everyone laugh.

Ron took her outstretched hand and shook it, then Marissa followed. “It’s nice to meet you finally, Esa.”

“How was your vacation? It was a long one! My dad doesn’t ever allow us to stay at the beach that long. He has to get back to the hospital to deliver babies!” Esa shared.

I noticed when she said, ‘Deliver babies, ’ that her parents visibly looked as if they had been hit in the chest. But I tried to recover quickly and put on a smile.

I knew this would be hard for them, but I had to give them credit for at least trying to get to know Esa. I hoped this wouldn’t be the last time.

“It was definitely a long trip. Your daddy is definitely right about not staying away too long. I’m grandma Marissa, and this is grandpa Ron.” She introduced them.

I took a few steps back as Esa started telling them everything there was to know about her. I decided to give them a moment alone with her. I stepped into the kitchen with my mom, whose eyes were wide, and Yara was sitting at the island, snacking.

Yara finished the bite of whatever my mom had given her, that she was trying to hide from my view, and then held her arms out for me.

I walked into her open arms as she wrapped them around my waist then laid her head against my chest. I placed two fingers beneath her chin, then tipped her head back to kiss her.

“Don’t be coming in my kitchen trying to be fresh, Desmond,” my mother complained.

I couldn’t help but laugh. It was the mood lightener that I needed.

It took a lot for me to watch the interaction between them.

Not to mention, Marissa and Veronica were practically twins.

They didn’t differ much when it came to their looks.

When I looked at Marissa, it was as if I were looking at what Veronica should have become.

It was a harsh reality, but one I had long since overcome.

I could hear Ron and Marissa in the living room with my dad. I turned back to face my mom.

“I need you two to go set the dining room table. You know where everything is, Desmond. Oh, and your?—”

Before she could finish, Dezirae was walking through the door holding gift bags.

We rarely ever saw her because she was a loner and a workaholic.

Which was a lot for me to say since I was a doctor, but Dezirae was a lawyer and partner at her firm.

So, it was rare for her to make it to dinner or anything on the same day as me.

“Mama, your favorite child has arrived!” she announced.

I smiled and made my way over to hug her.

“I don’t know about the favorite part, but it’s good to see you,” I told her, then placed a kiss against her cheek.

Yara stood with her hands clasped in front of her, a smile on her face. I turned Dezirae until we were facing her to introduce her.

“Yara, this is my sister Dezirae, and sis, this is my woman Yara.”

Dezi stepped back and gave me a look of surprise. “Woman? Oh, mama, you knew about this and didn’t tell me?” she asked my mom.

My mom waved her off as Dezi turned her attention back to Yara with a big smile and a hug.

“It’s nice to meet you, girl. I don’t know what you’re doing with him, but he’s alright,” she added.

I nudged her out of the way.

“Mama, you didn’t tell me Ron and Marissa were coming today. Well, come to think of it, you ain’t been telling me a lot of things.” Dezi said.

I shook my head and took Yara’s hand into mine to lead her to the dining room so we could set the table.

“You didn’t tell me your sister was coming. I’m trying to remember if you told me you had a sister.” Yara said as I grabbed the plates from the china cabinet.

I shrugged. “I could have sworn I mentioned it. We don’t see her often because of her demanding career. My parents were lucky to have given birth to a lawyer and a doctor. We’re both just busy as hell, and our schedules never align. I guess today it did.” I told her.

She smiled and took the plates from my outstretched hand to put them in their place.

We silently placed each setting where it was intended to go until there was enough room to seat eight people.

As soon as we finished, everyone was walking into the room.

Ron and Marissa came into the room last, with Esa walking between them.

The moment they laid eyes on Yara, their smiles dropped.

I realized in that moment that they weren’t aware I had also moved on.

I made sure to place Yara and me at the opposite side of the table.

Esa sat between Ron and Marissa. At the same time, Dezi sat beside Yara and my mom.

My dad helped my mom bring the dishes into the space to place them on the table.

They even placed Yara’s cake on the table.

I could tell Yara was nervous because Marissa kept sending glares in her direction. Once my parents said grace, we began filling our plates with the many different dishes my mother had cooked. I spoke up to introduce them, but Marissa spoke first.

“First, Celeste, everything looks amazing, and we want to thank you and Senior for allowing us to come tonight.”

“It was no problem, and it’s nice to see you too. You look good, girl, and you’re wearing that platinum.”

Marissa ran her hand over her head with a smile before she looked over in my direction, then back at Yara again.

“Desmond, are you going to introduce us to your guest?” she asked, then took a bite of the steak in front of her.

I smiled with a nod, then looked over at Yara, who looked a little nervous. I took her hand into mine and then placed a kiss on the top. I wanted to reassure her that everything was fine.

“Yara is my daddy’s girlfriend!” Esa exclaimed, then took a big bite of her macaroni and cheese.

“Girlfriend?” Ron and Marissa said in unison.

“Yes. Yara, these are Veronica’s parents, Ron and Marissa.” I told Yara.

She smiled in their direction and spoke up. “It’s nice to meet you, Ron and Marissa. I’ve heard so many good things about you.”

Marissa gave a tight smile before correcting Yara. “That’s Mr. and Mrs. Harley to you, dear. We’re just meeting. Also, we’re your elders. Where did you meet her, Desmond?”

Yara’s smile dropped immediately, but she looked down at her plate and began to eat.

Like the food was the only thing keeping her mouth closed.

I reached for her hand and squeezed it, letting her know I understood.

I was trying to give them some grace because this was all a shock to them.

I knew I should have done this meet-up separately.

I don’t know why I thought they would go from never seeing Esa to also being okay with me dating again.

The reason I hadn’t thought of that was because I was never looking for their approval. I had my own emotions and shit to cross to get to where I was now. I wasn’t going to wait longer for someone else’s problems to be resolved.

“She is the owner of Esa’s Academy, she attends, and no need to be rude. That was my fault for introducing you the way I did. Had she known your last names, trust me, she would have used them.”

“That I can stand by. The first moment she spoke to me, she used my last name.” My mom spoke up.

My dad was sitting at the end of the table, watching as everything happened. He continued to eat, waiting for anybody to get beside themselves.

“No problem. So do you usually date your students' parents?” Marissa asked.

Ron tapped her wrist as if to tell her to calm down. I was getting ready to speak again when Yara placed her hand on my wrist to stop me. I looked over in her direction, and she glared at me, letting me know she had it.

“Actually, no, Mrs. Harley, I don’t. Desmond was a special case, but I will tell you this.

I am trying to be respectful, but if you make one more backhanded comment, the respectable woman you see before you will no longer be here.

You can get to know me without being rude, as you just tried to school me on manners.

I’m going to implore you to use some as well. ”

Dezi laughed and then coughed to cover it up before picking up her glass of wine.

My mom was even smiling at the end of the table while eating.

Marissa looked like she wanted to cuss Yara the fuck out, but I hoped she didn’t.

I wasn’t going to allow them to disrespect her a second longer.

If they had a problem, they needed to pose that animosity towards me.

Esa tapped Marissa’s wrist to get her attention off Yara.

“Ms. Yara is the best. She is kind, and she plays dolls with me, colors with me, and we make breakfast together. She is nice. You don’t have to be mean to her.” She told her, shocking everyone at the table.

Marissa opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say. I’m sure she didn’t expect Esa to recognize she was being openly rude. Ron cleared his throat to get his wife's attention.

“Please excuse my wife, it’s not you, Yara. It’s just a shock. We hadn’t expected Desmond to move on from our daughter so quickly.”

I couldn’t hold my tongue a second longer. “Quickly? It’s been six years, Ron. How long was suitable for me to wait? If we’re talking about time.”

Ron’s jaw ticked as he placed his fork to the side.

“As much time as necessary to not replace my daughter like she meant nothing. When you took those vows, it meant forever. Yet you’ve just moved on with a piece of her like she never walked this earth.”

“Dezi, take Esa upstairs for a moment.” My mother said.

Dezi pushed her chair back from the table and waved Esa over. Esa looked at Ron and Marissa, then silently left with Dezi. Once she was out of the room, I dropped my calm demeanor. That was only in place for Esa’s benefit.

“You must have spoken a different set of vows or heard a different set. My love for your daughter didn’t vanish the moment Yara walked into my life.

I only appreciated her more because when Yara came around, I knew how to identify this unique feeling I had only once felt with your daughter.

I deserve to live a life of love, and so does Esa.

Let’s talk about how I gave grace for the amount of time you took to leave behind a piece of your daughter, like she didn’t matter. ”

Marissa cried and slammed her hands against the table.

“That’s not fair! Veronica was my baby, and I should have never had to bury her. It’s your fault! You should have saved her. You’re a doctor, for God’s sake! Why didn’t you see the signs? You were supposed to keep my baby safe.” She cried.

Tears slid down my cheeks at her words. If they thought I hadn’t heard those words more than I liked to admit, they were wrong. Yara was rubbing circles against my back when my mother stood from where she had been sitting.

“Enough! When we invited you into our home, it wasn’t to break down my son so that you could feel better.

It was so you could get a chance to get to know the little angel your daughter left behind.

Yet here you are wasting precious time that isn’t promised to any of us, pointing fingers.

Especially when you know he isn’t the reason your daughter passed.

It wasn’t anything anyone could have done.

How was he supposed to know she had an underlying health condition that was dormant in her body until the stress of the labor brought it to the forefront? He couldn’t have!” My mom said.

Yara leaned in front of me to wipe away my tears with the sleeve of her shirt, then whispered in my ear.

“Don’t allow this moment to harden your heart, baby. I see it more now. They’re still broken, and they don’t want to make a change. It makes them feel closer to their daughter to stay in pain.” She spoke.

I glanced in her direction and nodded, then placed a kiss against her cheek.

Ron stood with his wife as she placed her hand on his.

“We’re going to go. We tried,” he announced.

My father finally stood.

“That would be for the best,” then led them to the front door.

I knew in my heart that this would be my final attempt to connect with them. I would give Esa the opportunity when she is older to reach out again. But I was done, and I had done my part for Veronica. I know she would have been highly disappointed in her parents.

“These damn people fucked up my family dinner, and I rarely get my two kids home at the same time.” My mom said.

I couldn’t help but laugh because she rarely cursed unless someone truly pissed her off.

“We can finish dinner. I’m still hungry. Emotional moments bring it out of me. Not to mention, I’m sure Esa’s not done with her plate. I know she's upstairs, mad as heck, thinking her plate is cold.”

We all laughed and nodded. My mom left the room, leaving Yara and me alone to get Dezi and Esa so we could finish dinner. I turned to face Yara, and she placed her hands on both sides of my face.

“Don’t open your mouth and apologize. You can’t control the actions of others. Not to mention, you didn’t just allow them to dog me out. It’s fine. When people are hurt, they can do anything. Just don’t bring that into what we have.”

“I hear you, Boss lady,” I responded, then leaned forward to place a kiss against her lips.

I didn’t need years with her to know she was going to be my wife, by any means necessary.